By Carol P. Bartold

Aug. 19, 2015:  Bronxville residents and visitors to the downtown business district can expect to see the transformation in parking regulations and options begun in August to continue this fall with a new payment option.

The village will begin enforcing on-street parking meters from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm, Monday through Saturday, after Labor Day. Currently, parking officials are noticing people about the change. In addition, all on-street meters are now programmed to accept payment for up to three hours of parking.

Enforcement of parking in all lots will remain in effect from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Saturday. During meter enforcement hours, three-hour parking is available in the Cedar Street, Garden Avenue, and Kraft Avenue lots. The Garden Avenue lot also offers four-hour parking spaces.

In the fall, the village plans to offer the Pango Mobile Parking payment system. "This is in addition to the meters, not instead of," said Peggy Conway, deputy treasurer. "The pay-by-phone app works with Pango and Pango works with our handheld enforcement system."

Conway stated that although the village hoped to have the Pango system operative by late September, the rollout will probably happen in October to ensure proper interface between the system and the handheld computers used by parking enforcement officers.

Conway emphasized that people parking in the village will still have the option of using quarters to pay for parking. "The meters will remain exactly the same," she said. "Pango will simply offer another payment option independent of the meter." She feels the pay-by-phone option will appeal to people who use pay-as-you-go services such and PayPal® and E-ZPass®.

Conway explained that village patrons who choose to use Pango will download the app to their mobile phones, set up an account with a credit card, and then have the option to pay for parking remotely using their phones. Pango will charge a convenience fee each time users pay for parking. "This is for anyone who doesn't want to carry around quarters or who does not want to have to go to the meter to put more money in," she said.

According to Conway, Pango representatives will be onsite for the rollout of the app. They plan to meet with the Bronxville Chamber of Commerce and speak to the merchants about the payment system. "They will have customer support available by telephone and on their website," she noted.

Although the village plans to do a test of the system before rollout, when the Pango system goes live it will be available village-wide.

With no infrastructure purchase required, the village will be able to offer Pango at no cost to taxpayers. "We did a lot of homework," Conway stated. "We wanted to go with a vendor who offers impeccable service, a great product, and a low cost to the user."

Pictured here:  The Pango app on a cell phone.

Photo by N. Bower