SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The City of Spokane began installing new parking meters in the downtown paid parking area on Tuesday, May 17. The new single and dual space on-street parking meters will be installed in two phases.
326, older, on-street single space on-street meters will be removed between Tuesday and Thursday.
Parking Services will be installing the new devices in two phases. Phase 1 will begin on May 17 and run through May 20. During this phase, 36 single space and 145 dual space meters will be installed west of Washington to Monroe and south of Spokane Falls Blvd. to First Avenue.
Phase 2 will begin in June and during this phase, meters and kiosk devices will be installed east of Washington to Browne and Spokane Falls Blvd. north to First Avenue. According to the statement, additional phases will be launched over the next two to three years as funding for new devices becomes available.
The goal of the new devices is to enhance the downtown parking experience for visitors and residents. The new meters will provide customers with more features and will be easy to use. The devices will accept credit and debit cards, coins, and mobile and contactless payments for increased flexibility.
Customers will be able to see the time remaining and receipt of any payment on the meter. The meters will also be in different colors depending on the time patrons chose to park. The two-hour meters will be purple, the four-hour meters blue, and the all-day meters will be green. Meter rates will remain the same.
The installation of the new devices is the next step in the on-street parking renovation project that began with the 2019 Downtown Parking Study Plan. The plan provided the city with an assessment of all parking spaces in the downtown area, curb activity, policy review, and recommendations for an upgraded on-street parking system.