Several of Salem’s surface parking lots converting to mobile payment system; garages, other city lots and on-street meters remain unchanged
SALEM – To address recent maintenance issues with the City’s surface parking lot kiosks and to reduce ongoing operation and maintenance costs, the City of Salem is converting several of its public surface parking lots into mobile app-only transactions using the Passport parking app.
This change will take place on Saturday, September 13th and will include the Church Street East and West lots, the Crescent Lot, Jerry’s Lot (Crombie Street), the Universal Steel Lot, the Old Salem Jail Lot, and the Salem Green Lot. Locations and rates can be viewed on the Interactive Downtown Parking Map (https://salemma.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6653171bc83544a3a49670ab1cf49ae4).
The decision to move to an app-only payment system was prompted by a rapid decline in the function of several of the existing parking kiosks. After examining the devices, it was determined that they were not operating properly due to the age of the software. This step is being taken to avoid the steep cost of upgrading the kiosks, in addition to the on-going costs associated with maintenance, related equipment upgrades, and transaction and communication fees.
For drivers who do not have access to the Passport mobile app, the City’s parking garages will be unchanged, as will other City lots and all on-street meters, which will continue to accept coins. Signage in the impacted lots will be updated to reflect this change on September 13th. To install the Passport app, please visit the Passport Parking App (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/passport-parking/id501324867) or Passport Parking through Google Pay App (https://www.passportinc.com/blog/passport-parking-now-available-in-new-google-pay-app/).
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