Soon, there will be no more waiting to pay to get out of the parking garages in West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square.
Public works director, John Phillips, said the exit gates will be gone that by June and they will be replaced with kiosks, just like the ones currently being for used for street parking around the ramps.
“It’s a business decision on our part to be as efficient and operate as best we can to keep our rates as low as possible,” Phillips said.
“I imagine it will be more efficient,” Jacqueline Clement, a West Hartford resident, said.
“You’ll enter your license plate number. You’ll choose the amount of time you’ll want to pay to park, press enter, and it will enter your vehicle into the system,” Phillips said, explaining how the system works.
For those who aren’t use to them, there could be a learning curve.
“When they first converted over from the parking meters to the kiosks, that was confusing because you’re used to getting out of the car and just seeing the meter and reminding yourself, ‘Oh, I’ve got to put money in this meter,’ and I actually wound up with a parking ticket because I forgot,” Clement recalled.
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The garages are also going high tech.
People can pay via the Passport Parking mobile app or use it to add extra time in addition to what they’ve already put in at the kiosk.
“The mobile app will probably be more convenient,” said Clement.
While prices are staying the same, some of those who work in Blue Back Square say the old way of paying had an advantage.
“If you get out really late they’ll have the gates up,” said Brendan McCabe, a Hartford resident and bartender at a restaurant in Blue Back Square. “With the new kiosks, I think that no matter what time you get out of work you’re going to get stuck paying for parking.”
