Reston Town Center Announces Huge Change to Parking in the Area

RESTON, VA — Reston Town Center announced Tuesday that officials will be implementing two state-of-the-art technologies accessible via apps to improve parking and safety in the area — and it means the end of free parking at the RTC.

Beginning Sept. 12, patrons of Reston Town Center will be able to access two free downloadable apps to "enhance their living, working and shopping experiences," the RTC statement reads.

The first is mobile pay parking via the ParkRTC app, which is now available for download on the iPhone App Store or Google Play. The app is aimed at making it easier for customers to find and pay for parking.

"Consistent with Reston Town Center's (RTC) original long-term plan for the community, RTC will transition from free to paid parking on September 12," the statement reads. "Supported by Passport (passportinc.com), the largest provider of mobile payment software for the parking and transit industries in North America, customers will be able to download the ParkRTC parking app and pay for street or garage parking using their mobile devices."

The app will allow patrons to find parking using "enhanced wayfinding and parking guidance systems" and then pay for parking on their phone. They will also be able to extend parking time remotely.

The second feature will be mobile safety communications. A new mobile app supported by LiveSafe allows RTC patrons to send and receive real-time safety and security information.

"Patrons will benefit by now being able to: Receive messages about emergent situations such as severe weather warnings; receive directions on how to react upon notification of an emergent circumstance; report quality of life tips to RTC (parking complaints, light outage, clean-up situation); report suspicious activity to RTC safety and security teams in real time; seek real-time help in an emergent circumstance (lost child, health emergency); request an escort service to walk to a vehicle, in-person or virtually; receive location-specific messages using the software's geofence capabilities," the statement reads.

Image via Wikimedia