The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority is exploring mobile-only paid parking along West Main and Cowart streets. PCI Municipal Services presented a project overview to the CARTA board of directors at its Thursday meeting.
Currently, West Main and Cowart streets do not have metered parking. CARTA executive director Lisa Maragnano said business owners there asked the city for metered parking in 2019 to give the limited on-street parking more turnover.
PCI principal Jack Skelton, former senior vice president of Republic Parking System, said that the 247 new paid spaces will net $186,000 annually after labor costs and credit card fees. CARTA’s gross income from meters the first quarter of 2023 is $1,293,818, said Director of Finance Sonja Sparks.
Ms. Maragnano said city code dictates which zones are eligible for metered parking, and West Main and Cowart streets now meet code requirements, even more so since more businesses have opened there since 2019, she said.
Mr. Skelton said merchants can validate parking, probably with a QR code.
He said new paid parking means residential side streets will have to be protected from drivers searching for free space nearby. Neighborhoods can require a resident parking permit, whether day and night or after 6 p.m., for example.
A permit program requires a resident vote with 67 percent in favor, Mr. Skelton said. CARTA’s paid parking plan can’t take effect until neighborhoods hammer out these agreements amongst themselves, Ms. Maragnano said, which may take months or years.
Parkmobile is the only mobile payment provider in town, Mr. Skelton said. Half of Chattanooga’s metered parking payments are made through Parkmobile’s kiosks, app, or QR code, he said.
Drivers would make mobile-only payments using Parkmobile’s app or QR code, or a text messaging feature. Parkmobile checks the parked license plate numbers against its record of paid license plate numbers.
The app requires a $0.45 convenience fee while the QR code requires a $0.35 convenience fee. Customers get a text or notification to add time remotely, up to the city limit of two hours.
The program will be further explored by Chattanooga Parking Authority, River City Company and the city of Chattanooga, it was stated.