Parking in city - try out new app
If a lack of coins stops you parking on the street, you might like Hamilton’s new parking app.
PayMyPark is part of council’s ‘‘two hours free in the CBD’’ scheme, which began at the start of October. Some people are still feeding the meters out of habit, but now don’t need to until the third or subsequent hour – when the rate jumps to $6. The other option is to use the app, which was downloaded about 1000 times in the first week of the trial. Download PayMyPark
It’s free and on the Apple App Store or Google Play. You’ll need to enter your details and add some credit.
❚ Find a spot
Before you leave, bring up what council’s parking team leader John Purcell calls a heat map indicator of where you’re most likely to find a park. ❚ Park
If you’re parking for under two hours (and haven’t used up your free CBD time for the day), you don’t have to do anything. If you expect to be longer, you have two options, and you need to enter the bay number which should be on the kerb.
Fixed period: Pay for a set period, by 15-minute intervals.
Start-stop: Press start when you park. Be warned - the app will put a hold on the cost to park the rest of the day, or tell you how long you can stay with the credit you have. When you get back to your car and press stop, the app will refund everything except the time which you have used. If you stayed for under two hours, you will get a full refund.
Two hours free in the CBD is a nine-month trial. PayMyPark is also used by Tauranga, Wellington and Hutt City Councils, and New Plymouth and Timaru district councils.