Phase 2 Installation of Updated Parking Meters Underway

Kirstin Davis, Communications Manager, 509.625.7773

Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 11:37 a.m.

This week, City of Spokane Parking Services is installing the second phase of new single and dual space on-street parking meters in the downtown paid parking area. This is the next step in the on-street parking renovation project that began with the Downtown Parking Study in 2019. The ninety-page study, provides an assessment of all parking in the downtown area, curb activity, policy review and recommendations for an upgraded on-street parking system.

“Having the downtown core fully equipped with the modern devices creates a better parking experience for customers,” says Steve MacDonald, Community & Economic Development Director.

ParkMobile will become the exclusive mobile app payment provider effective Friday, October 14. Passport is being phased out because the contract was not renewed. Customers who have remaining monies in Passport wallets will be reimbursed to their credit card or by check if they have remaining; or provided with a digital coupon code for $2.40 with ParkMobile if they have less than two dollars remaining. Passport customers can learn more about refunds on the City’s website.

Where will updated meters be installed?

Phase 2 meters will be installed east of Washington to Division and south of Spokane Falls Blvd. to First Avenue with a few exceptions. See map below.

Benefits:

  • Payment Options: Meters will accept credit/debit cards, coin and mobile payment for increased flexibility.
  • More Information: Meters will have more information available to parking customers on the devices such as time status, reservation information and payment instructions.
  • Better Visibility: Meters will be color coded according to time limits for better visibility. Customers will be able to see time remaining and receipt of any payment on the meter. 2-hour meters will be purple, 4-hour meters blue and all-day meters green.
  • Consistency: Meters on a block face will be the same time stay limits. Two-hour limits are purple, four-hour time limits are blue and all-day spaces are green.
  • Convenient & Accessible: On-street parking customers will experience increased parking availability because there will be less time-stay violations, reducing “circling around the block” and waiting for a space to open up.
  • Space Makeover: Currently, there is a meter for every on-street parking space. Most of the new meters will be “dual-space” meaning there will be one meter for two spaces. This will remove almost half the meters within the downtown core. The unused posts will be removed or repurposed for bicycle racks.
  • Improved Service: With less and more reliable devices, Parking Enforcement Specialists will be able to improve the health and safety of the community by having more resources to respond to unsafe violations.

What can on-street paid parking customers expect?

  • There will be a combination of new devices and old meters through the on-street paid area for a few years. New meters will be concentrated in the downtown core, old meters will be in the outer portions of the paid parking area.
  • New devices take all forms of payment, old devices only take coin and mobile payment and can no longer accept credit card payments.
  • The online parking map will be in transition during installation events and will not be accurate until the end of the installation week. Traffic lanes should not be affected.
  • Mobile app payments require a minimum charge of $1.20.
  • On-street paid parking can only be used for the maximum time stay of the zone once per day.
  • Each block face is a separate zone.
  • Updated meters with digital screens can accept coin, credit card and the ParkMobile mobile app, by phone, and online payments.
  • Disabled parking permits allow for free parking up to a maximum of four hours regardless of time stay limits.

Reserved parking spaces are indicated with red or orange no-parking tow away placards providing the hours in which they are not available. Parking customers can utilize the space outside of the reserved time. Vehicles parked in reserved space within the time shown on the placard are subject to ticketing and being towed.

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