COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Visitors to Downtown Colorado Springs say they are having trouble paying for parking. The City of Colorado Springs says paying it with a mobile app started four years ago.
Some people say paying with the app has been a headache.
"It's annoying," said Elaine Smith, concerned with Downtown parking meters.
Smith tells News5 she spent nearly 20 minutes trying to figure out why the mobile app pay did not sync with the parking meter.
"I missed my breakfast," Smith said.
Richard Mulledy is the city's Public Works Director.
"Not uncommon. It's not every day," Mulledy said.
News5 asked why the public is seeing this problem right now.
"The meter runs by WiFi. Once you pay on the app, that app has to send that signal to show on the meter. Sometimes, there's a delay," Mulledy said.
The question is: how do parking enforcement officers check if payment was made?
Mulledy says officers check the meter first. They check their license plates if they see the red light on the meter.
Mulledy says the officers can check if the payment was made through their enforcement app.
The city says drivers will not get a ticket once they pay on the app, however, drivers need to pick the right license plate on the app before paying.
If you make a mistake, the city says contact the office by calling or emailing it.
The city is working to fix this issue by installing better and more resilient WiFi hubs for meters.
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