City upgrading Downtown parking meters

The City of El Paso is upgrading parking meters in Downtown with high-tech, single-space parking meters intended to make paying for on-street parking more convenient, the International Bridges Department announced on Tuesday.

The parking meters are solar powered and accept coins, dollar bills, debit or credit cards.

Installation of the new parking meters began this week. The City of El Paso has an inventory of about 1,800 parking meters, most of them located in Downtown. Nearly 90 percent of parking meters in Downtown will be upgraded.

The $1 million project is expected to be completed by mid-October 2013 and was funded through the City’s general fund.

The parking fee at a meter costs 25 cents for every 20 minutes. Free parking is provided on Saturdays, Sundays and city-recognized holidays