Join the DID and the city of Providence for a press conference on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at 11am at Grants Block (on the corner of Westminster & Union Streets). Mayor Angel Taveras; Leo Perrotta, City Parking Administrator; Frank LaTorre, DID Director of Public Space; and business owner Lisa Newman Paratore will announce the coordinated effort of Park Downtown Providence.

Park Downtown Providence is a customer-oriented initiative that promotes convenient and affordable parking in the downtown district.  To assist drivers with finding parking alternatives, the city has made recent improvements such as the installation of signs directing drivers to parking lots, the replacement of on-street meters, and the identification of additional low-cost on-street parking spaces. For the past few years pre-paid ProvPass cards have been accepted in parking meters in addition to coins. Soon, they will be replaced by new IPS meters that accept credit cards.

Last month, the DID launched a related website, parkdowntownprovidence.com, to help communicate about parking rates and locations. The site has an interactive parking map that allows people to select destinations and find parking nearby, or choose important criteria such as ‘credit cards’ or ‘monthly parking.’ It also highlights parking specials.