Go Montgomery!

In March, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s (MCDOT) Division of Parking began a three-month pilot project in Bethesda to test parking meters that expand payment options for parking customers. Forty-one new meters were installed on Norfolk Avenue between Woodmont and Del Ray avenues that accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discovery credit cards in addition to coins and pay-by-cell phone payments.

 

The meters, which are solar-powered, have real-time communication capabilities that allow web-based identification of broken meters and immediate processing of credit card transactions.

 

The meters are being provided at no charge to the County during the test period. In early June, the new meters will be removed and the original meters will be reinstalled. At that time, MCDOT expects to have enough information on the viability of the system to possibly advertise for a contractor to replace most of the County’s on-street meters with ones that accept credit card payment.

 

For those who have used the new meters, an online survey is available to provide the Division of Parking with feedback. For more information about the parking meters, go to the County’s website.