Christina Estes/KJZZ

A standard parking meter in downtown Phoenix.

Complaints from residents and City Council members prompted Phoenix to fix some parking meters. 

Many complaints were about not being able to read the screens on the so-called "smart" parking meters, the ones that take credit cards and payments by phone. 

Assistant Director for Streets Briiana Velez told the city’s transportation subcommittee they’re working with the vendor to replace screens: “Since October 2020, we have refurbished 540 parking meters and serviced 120 meters with new screens. We also have another 220 meters that are getting refurbished as we speak, and once deployed, this will address screen concerns in more than half of the current inventory.” 

Another common complaint was not being able to tell if meters were working and whether payments actually went through. Velez said they’ve improved battery maintenance, which should help. 

Over the next year, Phoenix expects downtown parking meter revenue to be roughly half what it was before the pandemic. For fiscal year 2018-19, Phoenix collected $3,878,970 in revenue from 2,240 meters. For fiscal year 2021-22, the city projects it will collect $2,082,133.

In April 2020, Velez said revenue was down 86% compared to the year before: “While revenues have begun to increase, February 2021 revenues were still down 41% from February 2020.”