Downtown Dayton to add phone app option to pay for street parking

Drivers in Dayton soon will be able to pay for downtown street parking with a few clicks on their smartphones.

The city has started installing signs around downtown advertising that drivers can pay for parking digitally using the Passport Parking app, available in the Apple and Android app stores.

Though signs are now going up, formal implementation of the pay-by-app option will likely be in late March, said Fred Stovall, Dayton’s director of public works.

Dayton has 1,245 parking meters. About 557 accept only coins while the rest accept coins and credit cards.

The Passport app will allow motorists to pay to park at all city meters, without requiring any modifications to the devices.

Using the app, people can pay for parking, monitor their sessions and extend time remotely, the company says, and users also can receive alerts to notify them when their time is running out.

Passport is used by more than 800 cities, universities and agencies.

“Cities continue to look to Passport for support in the management of their parking and transportation needs,” said David Evans, Passport CEO, in a recent news release.

The city originally expected the pay-by-app service to launch in early December, but Stovall said the city needs to finalize some details.

Passport is already used by some Oregon District visitors, because people can pay for parking at lots managed by ABM.

“Many Daytonians probably have the app downloaded to their phone from that location or other locations around” Ohio, said Monica Jones, the manager of Dayton’s division of management and budget.

A pay-by-mobile device option was recommended by a consultant who completed an assessment of the city’s parking system a few years ago, Jones said.

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