Busy commuters parking at the West Hinsdale BNSF train station will soon be able to hop aboard and pay for parking from their cell phone.
Hinsdale is planning to install the new West Hinsdale parking pay box on Wednesday, the fourth in the area following the Chestnut Street and Hillgrove commuter lots and the Washington Square shopping center lot.
The box is solar powered and only takes debit or credit cards, Deputy Police Chief Kevin Simpson said.
“We implemented the first parking pay box about four years ago on a trial basis,” Simpson said. “Since it was so successful, it’s been a natural progression to add these boxes to make parking more efficient around the village.”
The four parking boxes, manufactured by Downers Grove-based Total Parking Solutions, also provide drivers the opportunity to pay for parking via cell phone. After downloading an application onto a cell phone and registering for free, users can pay for their hourly parking remotely through Parkmobile Inc.
Simpson said the village doesn’t plan on implementing a parking pay box at the main Hinsdale BNSF train station because the area shares parking with the downtown business district. Users of this train station often use the Chestnut Street lot, he said.
“The main train station intertwines parking for merchants, customers and commuters,” Simpson said. “We want to use our downtown spaces efficiently to create turnover for customers in the business district.
To pay for parking via phone or the Internet through Parkmobile Inc., users need the start date and time of the payment, the expiration date and time of the payment, the space number and the parking lot identification number. Simpson said Hinsdale’s two train parking lots will have different four-digit identification numbers.
Once the box is up and ready to go on Wednesday, users will immediately be able to use the Park Mobile phone app to pay, Simpson said.
Following Barrington and Crystal Lake, Hinsdale was the third municipality in Illinois to take advantage of the parking application. Downers Grove, Forest Park and Orland Park also joined the mobile parking movement in the past few months.
For more information or to register with Parkmobile, go to parkmobile.com.
Questions about the Hinsdale parking pay boxes can be directed to Deputy Police Chief Kevin Simpson at 630-789-7089.
bdoyle@tribune.com
