No more searching endlessly for a public parking space in Haverford Township.  For downtown public parking, there’s now an app, writes Skip Desca for Government Technology.

The app gives drivers real-time data on available parking spaces. It lists parking prices and even offers an option to reserve a space.

The ParkMobile app replaces 20-year-old parking kiosks.

“Technology is absolutely evolving,” said David Hoyt, chief revenue officer and managing director for North America at ParkMobile.

ParkMobile recently launched the new digital parking payments and management system for Haverford Township.

The township has a downtown with about 420 on-street and off-street spaces. 

Haverford had relied on standard parking meters to collect payments and manage parking enforcement. It transitioned to kiosks and a mobile app system in 2019, but the system wasn’t always reliable.

The ParkMobile app is entirely digital, with no hardware on the street.

“They just struggled,” said Hoyt. “There was consumer outcry to look for another solution.”

The app’s data also helps communities plan parking by showing how robustly parking is used and how it is used.

The overall goal is to ease traffic congestion in urban areas and reduce vehicle miles and greenhouse gases.  

See how the app can ease parking nightmares at Government Technology.