“Thousands of Bostonians have already embraced this new and convenient technology, and expanding this service throughout the city will make the experience of paying for parking easier for each and every user,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement.
More than 15,000 people downloaded the ParkBoston app — available for iPhones and Android devices — since the pilot program launched in January. Officials plan to roll out the app to all the city’s meters in phases, beginning with the rest of the Back Bay and the Fenway/Kenmore area this week, with the goal of having it completed by the end of the summer.
“Certainly the more options you give someone to pay the meter, the more often they will pay the meter,” said Gina Fiandaca, commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department.
The expansion of ParkBoston comes on the heels of Walsh’s announcement last week that the city would replace all parking meters with new smart meters that accept credit cards and will collect data about space usage. That project, estimated at $5 million to $6 million, is scheduled to start by the end of the year.
The smart meters will be able to detect whether a spot is in use.
“(It will) help us strategically manage curbside space by providing information on duration of parking sessions,” Fiandaca said.
That data could also be used for demand-based pricing, she said, including the possibility of extending hours or raising pricing near the TD Garden or Fenway Park.
©2015 the Boston Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
