CLEVELAND — Tired of digging in your pockets or in your car's console to find coins to feed the parking meters in the city of Cleveland? Those days appear to be coming to a close soon.
On Wednesday, the city announced that it has selected Flowbird and Parkmobile to modernize its on-street parking system. Specifically, Flowbird's smart parking meters will replace the coin-operated meters, while a mobile parking payment service from Parkmobile will allow customers to pay for their parking via an app, text message, or scanning a QR code.
City leaders say the new system of parking "will be a seamless network of single-space and multi-space smart, credit card enabled meters and kiosks."
In all, there will be an estimated 600 multi-space meters and 100 single-space meters installed across downtown and in neighborhoods on both the east and west sides of the city.
“This project will provide more convenient and accessible parking options for all who spend time in Cleveland’s commercial and cultural centers,” said Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb in a statement. “Smart parking is a significant step towards my administration’s vision to modernize operations across the city.”
The total estimated cost of the project will be just over $5 million including the cost of equipment, software, and tools for monitoring.
The next step will be for the Bibb administration to introduce legislation in Cleveland City Council for approval of the contracts with the two vendors. Once passed, the contracts will also require administrative approval from the Consultant Review Committee and the Board of Control.
Once the agreements are signed, the city estimates that the new software and equipment will be ready for public use within six months.