BALTIMORE — You can now reserve parking spots in off-street parking locations like garages in the City of Baltimore through ParkMobile.
Tiffany James, Communications Manager with the Parking Authority of Baltimore City, explained how it works.
"Say you made a dinner reservation for Valentine's Day and you want to reserve your parking as well. You can go online or use the ParkMobile app, put in the destination, and it'll tell you all the parking destinations."
VIDEO: Drivers can reserve parking spots in Baltimore through ParkMobile
Then you can reserve a spot in that parking garage, scan your phone upon entry, and park your car.
One man, who declined to share his name, told WMAR-2 News he uses a parking garage in Fells Point at least three to four times a week.
He pays for it the traditional way by grabbing a ticket and paying at the machine before he returns to his car.
He said he hasn't had the best experience with systems like this in the past.
"I have not used that. One of the other garages I was using, one, they raised their price, but two, even if they hadn't, they were requiring people to use it, and I like to just be able to use my card and get in and out easily."
But he warmed up to the idea after learning you don't have to use ParkMobile if you don't want to.
"That would probably be a little better. It's also one of those things where once you do it once, it's probably not that bad. I've been coming to this area for 10 years, and I'm used to doing things the way I do them."
According to the parking authority, this doesn't extend to on-street parking.
But you can pay for that on-street parking and extend the time on your phone if you need to.
Tiffany told WMAR-2 News why she thinks the partnership was needed.
"When I go to Washington D.C. and I'm not familiar with the parking situation down there, I often go on to one of those apps and see what my options are then I feel a little bit more secure that I've made a good decision."
But what if someone is parked in your reserved spot?
Tiffany said she doubts that would happen.
ParkMobile Vice President David Holler sent a statement saying in part that parking garage staff and enforcement teams will make sure reserved spots go to the right people.
He also assured there will be no surge or congestion pricing in the app.
Another nice feature: you can use the ParkMobile app in more than 700 cities around the country, including Washington, D.C.
