Parking? There’s an App (or Two or Three) for That

by Janine Annett–

Rivertowns — Once upon a time, paying for parking was relatively simple.

You found a parking spot and put some coins in the parking meter. Okay, sometimes you didn’t have coins handy and you had to go ask for change in a store, or buy something and get change. Maybe you couldn’t remember what time of the day parking was free, or if you had to feed the meter on Sunday, or whether it was a meter holiday. Maybe you forgot how much time you had left on the meter (at least you didn’t have to deal with alternate-side parking, a true nightmare).

If you were really lucky, you’d pull into a spot that someone had just left and there was still some time left from when they’d fed the meter, so you could get free parking for 10 or 20 minutes or so.

Now, parking apps have taken over in a lot of places – including the Rivertowns and many other areas in Westchester (and beyond).

The apps are convenient in many ways. You don’t have to keep a bunch of loose change in your car (and risk forgetting to lock your car and having someone take the change!). There’s no going to the bank for rolls of quarters, no scrounging around for change, or trying to buy something that costs $1.25 so you can get 3 quarters. No trying to remember how much time on the meter 75 cents will get you (an hour?! A half-hour?!)

But sometimes, the apps are challenging – even for the technology-savvy.

If you’re in a place without a WiFi connection, the app can take forever to load, or fail to load at all. Of course, now you have no change in your car. Do you risk getting a ticket, or try to pay at a parking kiosk with a credit card? Hopefully, there’s no line, or you’ll be late for your appointment! (I estimate that 20% of my life is me running late to meet someone at the Good Witch in Hastings).