MACON, Ga. — If you have been to downtown Macon recently, you might have noticed recent changes with the parking meters.
Due to issues caused by the shutdown of the 3G network, Park Macon-Bibb has been promoting Passport Parking- an app that allows you to pay for parking online.
The issue has caused the screens on some of these parking meters to appear blank, and some credit card slots are covered up.
“What we have done to combat that is to add the stickers over it, so you can see that you can use the Passport app to pay with credit card,” Ryan Drew, the Senior Operations Manager for Park Macon-Bibb, said. “They’re still on; the screens are just not.”
Drew said the city is working on updating the parking meters but is trying to get something positive out of the meter issues by promoting Passport Parking.
"It's something that most people, even though we've put signs downtown there, they're not aware of," Drew said. "So we've taken this opportunity with the meters having issues to push the app."
Park Bibb Macon controls the meters in downtown Macon, which includes Cherry Street, Poplar Street, Second Street, Mulberry Street, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Five traffic enforcement employees check the meter to see if the fee has been paid. Visitors can pay for three hours of use at a time for $1.25 an hour, a rate that has not changed with the meter issues.
All meters still accept coins for payment, but Drew says the best way to pay is through the app.
“We just want people to comply and pay because our job is not to give citations and issue tickets; it’s to help the downtown be closer,” Drew said. “I think it’s a great thing as long as people follow the rules.”
The parking meters were introduced to downtown Macon in 2018.
Passport Parking Android and iOS apps are available for download.
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