July 15, 2026 5p
(WGTD)---In the City of Racine, parking meters will soon become a thing of the past.
A city council committee recommended this week that the meters be replaced with an app. The panel unanimously recommended approval of a contract with Passport Labs, Inc., the company that already enables drivers in Racine to pay for some spaces through a QR code and its app.
The first year’s cost under the expanded program is just under $25,000. After that, there’s a $1,000 monthly subscription fee.
It’s expected that a couple of kiosks will be set up in the downtown area, allowing drivers to bypass the app and pay for parking by inserting either a credit or debit card into a machine. That was good news for Alder Jens Jorgensen: "Paying for parking is a hot button issue. I feel a lot better now that we know there is going to be kiosks. I was very nervous around the idea of having it only through the app."
City officials say parking meters have become obsolete and are hard to repair. They also say it’s a time consuming and expensive process for the city to collect the coins from the machines.
At Monday night’s Finance and Personnel Committee meeting, one citizen spoke and opposed the Passport Labs contract, saying perhaps the city should consider free street parking as is the case in Kenosha.
The city council is expected to consider the recommendation next week.
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