The Reading Parking Authority announced Wednesday that it is launching phase 2 of its gateless entrance/exit system, which includes the Chiarelli, Poplar & Walnut, Front & Washington, 2nd & Washington garages.
At the conclusion of phase 2, all eight of the Authority’s garages will be utilizing the gateless technology. The 4th & Cherry Garage served as the beta site for the project. The Convention Center, Reed & Court, and South Penn garages were converted during phase 1 of the project.
Drivers may make payment anytime between entering and exiting the garage. This reflects a major change since the implementation of phase one, which required drivers to make payment within 15 minutes of entering the garage.
“The software that operates the gateless system originally required payment to be made within 15-minutes of entering the garage,” said Nathan Matz, Executive Director at the Reading Parking Authority. “We worked extensively with the software developers to modify the system so parkers would have the flexibility to pay at the beginning or the end of their parking session.”
Payment may be made via mobile app, text, online, or at a walkup pay station. To make the new process even faster, visitors are encouraged to set up a digital account with the ParkMobile or Text2Park payment platforms in advance of their visit.
Entry and exit times have decreased at the sites already using the new system, which removes the steps in the parking process that typically delay patrons—pulling a ticket, making a payment, and waiting for the gates to open and close.
Cameras outfitted with license plate readers now snap a picture of every vehicle’s license plate as it enters and exits the garage then compares how much time the driver paid for and how long they actually parked. While the system employs technology similar to that used by many state turnpike systems, drivers who do not make a payment will receive a violation in the mail at the address of the registered owner of the vehicle.
More information about the gateless parking process and how to pay for parking are available at the Reading Parking Authority website at ReadingParking.com. To request assistance from inside a garage, parking customers may call the RPA 24/7 Call Center at 484-339-4979.
