Kalamazoo offers new way to pay parking meters: It's mobile

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, April 24, 2014

If you've ever fumbled through your wallet looking for quarters to feed the parking meter only to realize you spent them all at the coffee shop, the latest innovation from Central City Parking and Downtown Kalamazoo Inc. is for you.

Parking meter transactions can now be conducted using a mobile telephone. Those who use downtown Kalamazoo parking meters now have the option of paying for parking through a mobile application that works with the iPhone, Android, Windows, and Blackberry smart phones.

The service is offered by Parkmobile USA, Inc. The company's services are used in more than 500 locations in the U.S.

To use the new Parkmobile system, customers may register for free at www.parkmobile.com or via the downloadable mobile app. Once registered, they can use the mobile app, the Internet, or a toll free number to pay for parking.

A 35 cent Parkmobile transaction fee will be charged at the start of a parking session. This is in addition to the regularly charged parking fees. Parking rates on all downtown meters will remain unchanged and coin payment will continue to be accepted.

After setting up the account, customers can immediately begin to purchase parking via the mobile app by entering the zone number listed on the meter and paying with their credit card, debit card, PayPal or Parkmobile Wallet.

Parking officers will be equipped with a handheld device used to identify Parkmobile payments.

Mobile app users may also choose to receive alerts and reminders 15 minutes prior to expiration of their parking session. Parkmobile will not allow users to purchase more time than allotted by the meters.

Kalamazoo is the ninth city in Michigan to use the Parkmobile payment option for its parking meters. Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Petoskey, Traverse City, Mount Clemens, South Haven, Grosse Pointe, Ferndale and Birmingham also use it. Parkmobile is also available on Western Michigan University's campus.

"I'm excited to see Kalamazoo take this forward thinking stance on parking, making downtown more convenient and accessible, just as other larger cities like Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor have," says Susan Terranella, co-owner of Cakes Boutique and President of the Downtown Kalamazoo Restaurant and Retail Association. "This can only mean positive things for the downtown shopping community."

Source: Denise Negrea, Downtown Kalamazoo Inc.