Visitors to San Diego County's second-largest city will no longer have to carry around coins to park, as Chula Vista has added 435 smart parking meters, it was announced Tuesday.
While the meters still accept coins, they now accept credit and debit cards, as well as contactless options such as Apple Pay or a new parking app.
The M5 Single-Space Smart Meters are located along many of the streets of the city's Downtown Parking District.
The city hired IPS Group to provide and install the new meters with the goal of creating a more convenient parking experience for residents and visitors and helping manage parking demand.
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"In addition to the additional payment options, the meters will offer an intuitive user interface, and modular components designed to be replaced and repaired easily," city officials said. "The systems use energy-efficient solar power."
Customers can use the new IPS Park Smarter mobile payment application to find available parking spaces. Once a vehicle is parked, the app sends real-time alerts when the meter is due to expire, and customers can add more time directly from their phone. Customers can view, download and print parking receipts, or receive receipts by email via MyParkingReceipt.com.
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The Downtown Parking District is concentrated around Third Avenue, between E Street and H Street. It encompasses a roughly 120-acre area bounded by E Street to the north, Del Mar Avenue to the east, H Street to the south, and Garrett Avenue to the west.
According to the city, businesses along Third Avenue area will receive flyers regarding the new parking meters to give to customers. More information about the program can be found at https://ipsgroupinc.com/chulavista/.
