Park Where You Want
Smartphone app should end your Dallas parking woes once and for all
Finding a good parking space in downtown Dallas often can be a challenge, but a new smartphone app should make things a bit easier by telling you exactly where to find an open spot. The City of Dallas joined forces with a new app called ParkMe that helps drivers find, secure and even pay for nearby available parking.
A color-coded map allows you to see the cheapest surface lots and parking garages and limited real-time parking availability. The app also includes direct routing to parking garage entry points, a parking rate calculator and a timer that alerts drivers when it's time to move their vehicles.
Of equal or possibly greater interest is the ability to find the closest available and cheapest metered spot. What’s more, the app links to the PayByPhone service, allowing you to pay for some metered parking without having to dig for change.
In a release, Dallas city manager A.C. Gonzalez called the app “an asset to drivers in Dallas.” Downtown Dallas Inc. president and CEO John Crawford pointed to its being another example of leveraging technology to improve people’s experiences downtown.
“This is a significant advancement for our city, and the ParkMe app is a welcome, innovative and exciting addition to the array of technology options and services available to help visitors easily navigate downtown,” he said.
Although Dallas has officially partnered with ParkMe, the app appears to show parking availability in similarly challenging areas like downtown Fort Worth and the Arlington sports district.
ParkMe is free to download and is available on iOS, Android and Windows phones. It can be found in the various app stores, on the mobile webapp ParkMe.com or by visiting www.ParkMe.com/DallasParking.