The final phases of a multi-year effort to revamp downtown on-street parking began this week in the East Village. The metered spaces in the East Village have been converted, and with favorable weather, the installation process for the remaining spaces downtown should be completed by the end of the month.The City of Des Moines activated 2,011 spaces and 240 pay stations in 2022 in the project’s first phase. That left the installation of roughly 1,390 spaces and the activation of 160 pay stations to complete the project.”The City did experience unexpected pay stations software issues during the Phase 1 rollout, which caused frustrations for City staff and users alike,” City Traffic Engineer John Davis said. “We worked with our vendor to solve those issues and have experienced strong reliability since September last year, giving us the confidence to finish the installation.”
Downtown users of the parking system have quickly adopted the mobile app, ParkDSM, to pay for parking on the go. Month over month, the mobile app accounts for 50% – 60% of all parking transactions, and the City anticipates strong use going forward. ParkMobile, the vendor for ParkDSM, says the utilization rate of ParkDSM is the highest they have experienced in the first year in the cities they serve. For those who won’t use the app, the kiosks accept quarters and debit/credit cards. There is also a number on the side of the kiosks to pay by text or phone.
To quickly download the mobile app, ParkDSM, users can scan the QR code on the stall markers to be directed to our website, DSM.city/parking. The website provides links to download the app on iOS and Android devices and information on how to use the parking system.
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