New meters to ease downtown parking
Motorists offered more options; no receipt needed
Some things about street parking in downtown Houston are unlikely to change: It will always require akeen eye for available spots and the courage and skill to wedge your car between large trucks.
A paper receipt, however, is becoming unnecessary as the city replaces its parking meters with newer models that give drivers more options and can even send a text message alerting them that their time is about to expire.
Rather than place a receipt on the dashboard indicating payment, those parking downtown can now input their license plate number when paying by cash or credit card. The machine relays the list of paid vehicles to parking enforcement officers, who simply verify the vehicle is accounted for. If drivers prefer, they can get a paper receipt for the dashboard as before.
“Hopefully it is easier on our customers and it is easier on us,” said Maria Irshad, who oversees Park Houston, the parking division within the city’s Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department.
Thefirst 276 meters have been installed in northern parts of downtown, primarily around the county courthouse. Parking rules have not changed, and the new meters, like the old ones, require that a button be pushed to activate them.
Over the next five years, 1,054 meters — some dating to 2006 — will be replaced. The city is spending about $10 million on the new meters, which essentially pay for them- selves via parking fees.
Downtown visitors Tuesday said the new meters made paying for parking easier, even if finding a spot can be a challenge.
“I kind of like it,” said Tyra Brown, 41. “It’s better than the other ones and you don’t need to get a receipt.”
Visiting a county court to give a friend a ride, Bobby Doll, 26, said the new meters were easier to use. Step-by-step directions made it virtually automatic, he said.
“You just go through the steps,” Doll said.
The meters being replaced were a vast improvement over old-style machines that required coins, but they also had some problems. Powered by a solar panel atop the kiosk, some of the meters had trouble staying on during “the four months without sunshine” in Houston, said Lara Cottingham, deputy assistant director in the regulatory affairs department. Paper jam
People also left cups and other litter on top of the panel, disabling it, said Jerry Keeth, division manager for meter operations for Park Houston.
Paper receipts became a major hassle. Humidity and heavy rain gummed up the slot where the machine spits out the receipts. The paper jams led to bro- ken meters and frustrated drivers.
“I’ve tried to parkdowntown and both machines on the block would be broken,” Roger Reese said.
Irshad said the new meters were designed with a sensor to alert Park Houston when the paper dispenser jams, which also shuts down the meter so someone doesn’t inadvertently pay and not receive a receipt.
Eventually, parking officials hope fewer and fewer receipts are needed.
“Definitely the future of parking is your cellphone,” Irshad said.
Houston is not alone in moving toward cellphone payments or identifying cars by plate number, though it is a relatively early adopter of the technologies. Nearly every major city in the country has moved to parking that allows for paying by credit card, though others have stuck with small parking meters as opposed to a kiosk system.
Miami and Washington, D.C., have had success in moving customers to pay-by-phone, with about 45 percent of parking revenue in Washington coming from phone payments as opposed to paying at the meter, according to the International Parking Institute. Dwindling space
About 9 percent of people parking in Houston pay with Park Mobile, a smartphone a pp connected to the city’s meters, Irshad said. A driver simply registers a vehicle, punches in the five-digit location shown on the sides of parking meters, and pays via PayPal or credit card. The app also sends warnings and allows someone to add more time to the meter remotely, provided they have not used all of the three-hour limit that applies in some places.
Use of the app is especially high in areas close to college campuses, Irshad said.
A35-cent transaction fee is added with the smartphone app and pay-by-text from the meter.
Booming downtown development is reducing parking space.
As of 2013, the downtown area had more than 100,000 parking spaces spread across roughly 68 parking garages and 82 surface lots, along with onstreet parking controlled by the city. The number has decreased as surface lots were cleared to make way for new office and residential projects. Some upcoming projects, however, include more parking, notably around the George R. Brown Convention Center where new hotels are under construction.
As downtown continues to develop, reducing the need to use cars for trips within the urban core will become more important, said Bob Eury, Downtown Houston Management District executive director.
Officials recently announced that the free GreenLink shuttle service will be expanded to operate a nighttime route starting next month, so people can park once and explore more of downtown.
Street parking will still play a vital role, officials said, especially for quick trips.
“The three-hour limit is not changing,” Irshad said. “If you’re going to be downtown more than three hours your best bet is a garage.”