CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Motorists in Charleston now have the option to pay for parking meters with their smart phone.
The city implemented the first phase of its parking system changes Monday.
Customers can use the Parkmobile app at parking meters on the outskirts of the downtown area. There were fluorescent green stickers added to about 800 parking meters in the area between Pennsylvania Avenue to Morris Street.
“You can pay through your smart phone and there will be a $0.40 transaction fee,” said Mary Dickerson, director of Traffic, Parking and Transportation for the City of Charleston.
People will need to provide a license plate number, where the car is registered and enter a method of payment.
Dickerson said people can also continue to use coins to pay the meters.
“These meters will still have the same functionality as they currently do. This just gives another option to the customer to either put the coins in as they’ve always done or pay through the smart phone through the app,” she said.
The changes come as a result of a parking study in the city. The 800 meters are the first phase of the changes. The second phase will be this May and includes the installation of new smart parking meters in the downtown area.
Parking rates will also increase in the following locations:
100 and 200 blocks of Hale Street
Unit block of Dunbar Street
200 block of Leon Sullivan Way
Unit block to 400 block of Capitol Street
Unit block to 300 block of Summers Street
Unit block to 300 block of Laidley Street
800 block of Kanawha Boulevard
1000 block of Virginia Street East
500 to 1000 blocks of Quarrier Street
Customers will pay $1 for the first hour, $1.50 for the second hour and an additional $1.50 for the third hour with a three-hour maximum time.
Dickerson said she hopes the changes will help with traffic problems in downtown Charleston.
“Our goal with the Parkmobile app is to introduce the payment options for customers to use in the fringe areas of the City of Charleston to help alleviate some of the congestion in our downtown core,” she said.
The Parkmobile app is available for download on iPhone or Android devices.
To learn more about the app, visit us.parkmobile.com. For more information about parking changes in the city, CLICK HERE.