COLUMBUS – Parking meters are about to become a thing of the past in parts of Columbus.
Starting this month, the city will begin replacing parking meters with new “pay-by-plate” kiosks, a system city officials hope will streamline the parking payment process, making it easier for drivers by opening up more parking spaces and simplifying parking zone numbers. Existing zones will be consolidated into fewer larger parking zones, making it easier to identify zone numbers.
After parking their vehicles, motorists find their mobile pay zone on the street signs near their parking spot, walk to the nearest kiosk, enter their license plate number and pay using a credit or debit card or coins, Jennifer Gallagher, director of the city’s Department of Public Service, said.
Mobile payment using the ParkColumbus smartphone app will continue to be an option and drivers can add time to their parking spot when using the new kiosks in the Downtown, Brewery District, Short North and OSU campus area.
The Division of Parking Services will begin removing meters in the Brewery District on Tuesday, then move north through downtown, the Short North Arts District and the University District.
By the end of May, Gallagher says mobile payment and the new pay-by-plate kiosks will completely replace parking meters, except for a limited number of handicapped-accessible and 30-minute meters.
The ParkColumbus app will be updated to include additional mobile payment methods for those without a smartphone, including scan-to-pay, text-to-pay and call-to-pay options, Gallagher said.