The City of Easton has begun phasing in a new payment app for metered parking spots. The app, Park Smarter, is available for download on any iOS or Android mobile device and allows users to find and pay for parking spots entirely from their phone.
“We made the change to Park Smarter based off the fact that parking meters that we use are the same as the mobile application, making everything streamlined into one system,” Easton’s Parking Operations Manager Marcus Gilbert wrote in an email.
Visitors will have the option to pay through a downloaded app or you can text a phone number to pay with no download required, according to an announcement on the official Easton website.
“With the new application there are added features that you can use to find open spaces,” Gilbert said.
Easton City Council approved the application change at their Sept. 25 meeting. New Park Smarter stickers containing QR codes to download the app and phone numbers for Text-to-Pay were added to parking meters throughout downtown Easton the week of March 24, according to the announcement.
Park Smarter will not fully replace the current ParkMobile app until June 1, according to Gilbert. Currently, visitors can use either app to pay.
In comparison to the old application, Park Smarter lets users extend their parking session through the app and receive reminders on their devices about parking expiration. Several vehicles can be added to one account. Multiple forms of payment are accepted by the app, including all major credit cards, Apple and Google Pay, MasterPass and Visa Click to Pay.
This transition will impact many Easton visitors, with roughly half of metered payments being made via app as opposed to other payment methods, according to Gilbert.
Lafayette students with cars on campus will also adjust the app change.
Analise Draghi ’25 said that, while she does not often drive downtown, she uses the ParkMobile app to pay for her parking when she does.
“I never have loose change on me, and it’s just easier,” Draghi said. “It just feels more convenient to go online and choose the meter I’m at.”
Draghi said that, while she could see how Park Smarter’s parking spot-finding feature could be useful, she didn’t foresee herself using it.
“I probably wouldn’t check it beforehand,” she said. “So it really only be useful if I was already down there and couldn’t find a spot.”
Aidan Smith ’25 said he drives downtown about once a month. He typically pays for his spot using the ParkMobile app.
Smith said that the ability to see open parking spots could be “cool to see” before making the trip down the hill.
Makenna McCall ’27 contributed reporting.