New CSU parking app aims to eliminate hassle of meter parking

Savannah Hoag

April 5, 2016

Parking and Transportation Services at Colorado State University are hoping to eliminate parking lot wait times with a new phone app that allows students to pay for daily parking permits from their cell phone.

The app, Way to Park, is designed to alleviate the hassle of going to pay stations to pay for a parking spot. Students and visitors of CSU’s campus can put in their license plate and credit card number to pay for a spot in one of the designated pay-to-park parking lots.

“I like the interface being right there on my phone instead of me having to run to a kiosk to park,” said James Wyatt, a sophomore journalism and media communications major.

CALE, a Swedish parking organization, is the vendor that supplies both the app and parking meters on campus. Way to Park is not limited in use only to Colorado State University, it is also used worldwide.

Biochemistry major, Mariquita Harris, 19, pays for parking at Lake Street Parking Garage. Photo by: Bianca Torrez — Biochemistry major, Mariquita Harris, 19, pays for parking at Lake Street Parking Garage. (Photo by: Bianca Torrez.)

The app was in its testing phase the fall 2015 semester before launching in January. Doug Mayhew, the Associate Director of Parking and Transportation Services, has seen the app to be largely beneficial after only its second month.

“Parking services wants to have all the technology we can possibly have to make it easier for everybody, and this is one of those options that can be beneficial to those who chose to park on campus,” Mayhew said.

Each pay to park lot on campus is designated a zone number that can be found on the application. This makes it easy for students to conveniently navigate regardless of their location on campus. Parking by the hour on campus costs $1.50 per hour, but there is an additional 35 cent fee with the app.

Meter or pay to park parking lots are located all around campus, some lots including: the Lake Street Garage, Morgan Library, Lory Student Center and the Hartshorn Health Center.

“The app is very convenient when I’m running late and don’t have time to stop at the pay meters,” said Rachel Catlett, a freshman human development and family studies major. “It also eliminates a line.”

Collegian reporter Savannah Hoag can be reached at news@collegian.com or via Twitter @sav_hoag.

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