More payment options for downtown parking on the way
SPOKANE, Wa. — You’ve been there before: circling the block in downtown Spokane chasing the next open parking spot.
The City of Spokane is upgrading our downtown space to make it safer, and more user-friendly, and no task is too small.
New parking meters are now getting installed in the downtown core. Most meters will be dual meters, which means one meter will service 2 spots. The extra posts will be removed, and some will be transitioned into spots to lock up bikes.
All the changes go into effect, starting on Tuesday, May 17th. The map below illustrates the phasing of when meters will be replaced, and when.
Phase 1 is in red. Those changes happen between May 17th and May 20th. Phase 2 is in grey. Those changes will happen in June.
Parking meter replacement phasing
Parking meter replacement phasing
The parking meters to be replaced extend beyond these two zones, but that will happen over the next 2-3 years as the funding becomes available.
The main motive behind this change is that the current meters were first installed in the late-90s and haven’t been replaced since then. They operate on a 2G network, and pretty soon, those are not going to be supported.
“It was hard to find parking! We found a parking spot and it only takes coins so we’re going to have to hurry up and go back,” one downtown parker explained to us. “We’re going to have to go back! First, get coins then go put the money in.”
Soon, challenges like this will be a thing of the past. The main advantage of these new meters is that they will accept a variety of different payment options.
You can pay by mobile apps, online payments, credit cards, and coins.
“I’m a little bit old school so I don’t mind sticking change in a machine,” another downtown visitor told us.
Also, the meters will be color coordinated based on their parking duration options…
- Purple, 2-hour
- Blue, 4-hour
- Green, all-day
They’ll start the replacements on the corner of Spokane Falls Boulevard between Washington and Stevens. Over the following days, they’ll work west to Monroe, south to 1st Ave, and then back to Washington, completing Phase 1.
If you snag a spot in the middle of this transition, enjoy the (temporary!) free parking.
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