Mobile app helps SLO residents pay for downtown parking

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Paying for street parking in downtown San Luis Obispo will soon be much easier thanks to the city's partnership with a mobile app called HONK.

Starting Friday, HONK will allow visitors to pay for street parking online instead of using the city's pay stations, which are located on every block downtown.

“Paying for street parking is now more convenient than ever before. Visitors to downtown San Luis Obispo can pay for parking using a mobile app they may already have installed,” said City Parking Programs Manager Gaven Hussey. “If you don’t want to download an app, don’t worry. You can still pay for street parking via our pay stations located on every block downtown.”

HONK can be downloaded from both the Apple AppStore and the Google Play Store.

The city said street parking is enforced Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., including holidays.

Drivers may pay from $1.25 per hour to $2 per hour depending on where they park.

City officials said they also plan to offer three other mobile apps for downtown street parking in the near future, including:

• Park Smarter - will be available in downtown SLO as soon as next week and is already in use in Pismo Beach.
• ParkMobile - will be available in downtown SLO soon and is already used on Cal Poly's campus.
• PayByPhone - the largest parking mobile app and payment solution in California will be available soon in downtown SLO.

“To eliminate the hassle of having to download yet another parking payment app, we are partnering with four apps that are already used by many local community members and visitors to downtown,” Hussey said. “However, if you plan to stay downtown for more than 5 hours, your best option is to park in one of our three parking structures, where the first hour is free, convenient pay stations are also available, and you’ll only pay $6, maximum, if parking all day.”

For more information, visit www.slocity.org/parkingguide.

To learn more about HONK, visit www.honkmobile.com.