Payment for parking resumes after city installs new smart parking meters

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Oahu drivers, make sure to feed those parking meters.

All 2,200 of the city’s new smart parking meters are now in place, and Honolulu Police Department plans to start enforcement Monday.

This comes after nine months of free parking from Chinatown to Waikiki while the city spent $3.5 million dollars to upgrade the old wireless credit card meters to 4-G.

The city says it missed out on $1.7 million in revenue during the upgrade.

Drivers can still use coins or a credit card like they did before, but a smartphone can also be used to scan a QR code and pay through an app.

The city budgeted $4 million to replace all 4,200 of its street parking meters with upgraded ones that have sensors. They blink red when the time has expired or if the meter hasn’t been paid.

“These are credit card-enabled meters,” said Chris Clark, chief planner with the city’s Department of Transportation Services. “They also accept coins and they have additional functionality with devices like your Apple smart payment or tap cards.”

The new meters are also connected to the Park Smarter app, which shows available spaces and lets people pay for parking remotely.

“I’m a big advocate for technology and convenience, so if there’s a QR code, great,” said Christian Gonzales, who had parked on Nuuanu Avenue.

“Other locations where I’m able to pay via a QR code and do everything via the mobile app, I’m in support of that,” he added.

DTS plans to have all 4,200 meters replaced by this winter.

Copyright 2023 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.