Not so long ago, parking at the curb in Southern California was relatively simple: It was either free to park, or you had to feed change into a meter. Boy, times have changed! Now, any given meter might require quarters, a credit card, an app, your license plate number or any combination of the above.
As the experience of paying for parking in Southern California grows more complex and confusing, I want to hear your stories about paying for public parking — the good, the bad and the ugly.
Maybe you’ve come to love parking apps like Park Smarter or ParkMobile that alert you when a parking session is about to expire and allow you to add more time remotely. Or maybe it’s taken so long to download a needed app and type in your credit card information that you missed an appointment or were late to a meeting.
I’d also love to hear about any strategies you’ve devised to make the experience of parking more streamlined. Do you keep rolls of quarters in your car or a folder of parking apps on your phone? Have you given up entirely and started taking the bus?
Share your story in the form below, and I might follow up with you to include your tale in a coming story.
