Students and commuters in downtown Syracuse can use a new mobile app to pay for 280 parking stations.

Mobile users can access the new app Whoosh! which allows people to remotely manage and pay for parking on their smartphones.

Whoosh! is available for free download on any iOS or Android device. Users make a free account, sign in and use their camera to identify vehicles and spots. Motorists can use credit cards to remotely pay for their parking, and in addition, the app will notify them when their time on the meter is running out and allow them to pay for extended parking.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner addressed reporters on Aug. 19 to discuss the 90 parking stations currently online in downtown Syracuse. The parking stations are located from S. Salina Street to Armory Square, and from Armory Square to Willow Street. Hundreds more will soon follow.

Alex Marion, the mayor’s press secretary, said in an email that the mayor’s office anticipates rolling out the parking app to all pay stations citywide in the future.

“So far the process has gone smoothly and we expect it to continue.” Marion said.

Marion added that the Whoosh! system in the city’s streets opens up new possibilities in terms of urban parking.

“The goal of this is really to make the parking payment process simpler and more convenient for those traveling to Syracuse’s business districts and we look forward to the opportunity to expand convenient options for drivers to enjoy downtown,” he said.

Jeffrey Kurkjian, a senior broadcast digital journalism and political science dual major, said he was impressed with the convenience of the parking app.

“It’s a cool app. I used it recently to extend my time at a meter and it was pretty easy,” he said.

Syracuse is not the only city using apps to make parking more convenient though.

The Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) announced on Aug. 4 that the downtown area of the Fort Myers River District in Florida would be using the PassportParking Mobile Payment app. This app functions nearly identically to Whoosh!, allowing users to pay for their parking online in certain areas, according to an article from ABC-7 news.

Chicago is also using an app similar to Whoosh!. The city began implementing its pay-for-parking app, ParkChicago on April 15 and continued the full rollout to all 36,000 parking spots over the summer, according to an article from the Chicago Tribune.

Kurkjian said that Whoosh! is also being used in some notoriously automobile-congested areas such as Washington D.C., where Kurkjian is originally from.

“Honestly, I think it’s exciting that stuff like this is spreading and being used in more places,” he said. “Everyone is walking around with smartphones in their pockets, so why not make more things accessible to them? It’s an exciting time in regards to the intersection of new technology and society.”

Published on August 27, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Thomas: tjbeckle@syr.edu