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City staff recommend shift to app‑based parking system, fewer kiosks to cut maintenance
Summary
The city’s parking sergeant recommended transitioning downtown on‑street parking to the Pango app, removing most meters and kiosks to reduce maintenance costs and staff time; councilors raised accessibility and signage concerns.
Sergeant Gilpin presented a review of Auburn’s parking program on April 10 and recommended moving most on‑street parking to an app‑based payment system (Pango), keeping only four kiosks in the larger off‑street lots. The change, the sergeant said, would cut equipment, modem and maintenance costs and free staff time for enforcement.
Why it matters: City staff said 20 of the 26 kiosks are more than 10 years old and increasingly unreliable; meters and kiosk parts are difficult to source and costly to repair. Replacing the 26 kiosks alone was estimated at roughly $8,400 each (hardware only), and the department proposed reducing to four kiosks and using Pango app as the primary payment method.
Details and council concerns - Current state: On‑street parking currently charges 25¢ per 15 minutes (a dollar per hour) with a two‑hour limit; the parking garage has a mixed free/paid structure that now uses Pango for the upper levels. Enforcement is Monday–Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Kiosks accept credit cards and coins; many street meters are coin only. - Equipment condition: The sergeant said 20 of 26 kiosks are older than 10 years and require frequent repairs; many single‑ and double‑head meters are 20+ years old and parts are unavailable. - Cost and savings: Replacing kiosks and meters would cost hundreds of thousands in hardware; switching to app‑first would reduce monthly air‑card modem costs (26 to 4) and reduce collection and cash handling workload for treasury staff. - Accessibility and signage: Councilors voiced concern for visitors or residents without smartphones and for downtown theatergoers who may stay longer than a two‑hour limit. Council suggested keeping clear signage, informational flyers, and the four kiosks in off‑street lots for customers who prefer pay‑by‑machine.
Next steps: Council members asked staff to refine the proposal, including signage and an outreach plan, and to consider reducing the number of courtesy warnings from four per year to one. The parking sergeant recommended one courtesy warning annually.
