Finally, you can pay to park in downtown Fresno with a credit card. Here’s where
There’s a new way to pay to park in downtown Fresno using credit and debit cards.
Eight solar-powered stands allow downtown visitors to pay for a stall by entering their license plate number and the length of time they plan to stay, according to a news release from the city Thursday. The stands also take bills and coins.
The interface takes place on a computer screen. Parking meters that take credit cards are coming too, according to Thomas Gaffery, parking division manager for the city.
“The city is committed to ongoing parking enhancements in downtown Fresno,” he said.
The city of Fresno bought eight machines from Flowbird parking payment technologies for $72,660. The company also worked with cities like Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oceanside and Paso Robles.
The Fresno stations are in some of the city’s larger parking lots:
▪ Promenade Lot, 2650 Tulare Street
▪ City Hall’s north lot, 2600 Fresno Street
▪ Water Tower Lot, 1100 O Street
▪ Fulton/Inyo Lot, 815 Fulton Street
▪ Merced/Van Ness Garage, 2020 Merced Street
▪ The Met Lot, 1605 Van Ness Avenue
Until late last year, Fresno’s parking meters took only change, a frustration for many visitors not used to paying for parking and who rarely carry bills much less coins. Downtown advocates have said anything that makes downtown more appealing will add to its revitalization.
City officials announced in October more than 2,000 spaces were included in the ParkMobile network, a service that allows drivers to pay for their parking stall through a smartphone app.
Smartphone users can set up an account and enter the duration they plan to park in a specifically numbered space, which is marked on the meter by a sticker. The driver can also add time through the app rather than running back to the meter to feed it more change, according to the ParkMobile website.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 10:48 AM.
