Parking at Reston Town Center: Here's How Much It's Gonna Cost You

RESTON, VA — The days of free parking at Reston Town Center are going to be over soon, and residents are not happy about it. But just exactly what will it mean for you in terms of your wallet?

Parking at Reston Town Center won't always cost money -- it'll just be rare for you to get free parking. You can park for free in the garages on the weekends and during concerts and major holidays. Street parking, however, is not free on Saturdays.

Any other time, it'll cost you. Parking rates are below:

Garage:
0-1 hour - $2
1-2 hours - $4
2-3 hours - $5
3-4 hours - $6
4-6 hours - $8
6-10 hours - $10
10-12 hours - $14
12-24 hours - $24

Street (2 hour max):
0-1 hour - $3
1-2 hours - $6

What that means is if you're staying at Reston Town Center overnight and want to park in a local garage, it's going to cost you a hefty $24 for the privilege, when it cost nothing before. And if you're used to commuting to Reston for work and parking in the garage all day, instead of that being free, it will now cost you a whopping $200+ per month. Hopefully, your hotel or workplace will have a free alternative for you, but if not it will get very expensive very fast.

You'll also need to download the ParkRTC app, which starts by asking to access your location at all times, to "allow you to park faster, avoid tickets and get free parking!" After allowing this, ParkRTC then asks to access your location even when you're not using the app to "better help you find parking."

The app then requires you to choose either email or phone to login. If you choose phone, you must enter your phone number to receive a text or call with a 3-digit code. After entering this, you're asked to create a pin, and then you're logged in.

Once logged in, you can enter a zone based on the number you see on the "pay to park" sign.

A settings list allows you to enter credit card information, create a list of authorized vehicles including license plate numbers and even view your parking history.

Image via Wikimedia