The City of Wilmington is eliminating parking meters and replacing them with kiosks.
Wilmington Deputy Chief of Staff John Rago says the phased rollout begins this week.
“We’ll begin in the Riverfront area and then move up toward Market Street and off the side streets. So anywhere where there is a meter today there will be a kiosk, or in some cases two kiosks, placed on a block. And we’ll ask motorists to use that instead of the meters,” explained Rago.
The first 5 kiosks at the Riverfront will serve as a test run to identify any bugs before more kiosks are placed in 44 locations in the Downtown Business District starting in early January.
Rago says motorists should find the system convenient and easy to use
“Some people who live in Wilmington visit other cities, and other cities already have kiosks in place,” said Rago. “So yes, there’s going to be a change, but the kiosk is primarily a screen. The screen is very easy to understand. It guides you through three steps- really one, two, three. Once you make the payment, you select the amount of time, and then you’re good to go as far as parking.”
The kiosks accept coins, credit cards or payment through the Park Mobile app.
You can also pay by texting a code on the kiosk and following the instructions sent back.
The City is working with the company Flowbird on this initiative, signing a $604,000 contract for the purchase, installation, and ongoing technical support for the kiosks.
A generic instructional video on how to use the new kiosks, provided by Flowbird, can be found here.
