The new year brought new parking meters that accept credit cards to certain areas in Sacramento

The new meters will bring attention to developing apps that will be available to help drivers find parking without having to drive around, helplessly looking for a spot.

Meter apps will show which streets have parking available, relaying the information to any device on a network.

“I think they are more convenient as you don’t have to go to a machine, get a pass and bring it back to your car,” said Heather Davidson, manager of Starbucks on 9th and I street. “I also like that there isn’t a waste of paper with the new meters.”

However, there are some downsides to frequent usage of the new parking meters. If payment is required at every stop, then sticker payments do not allow patrons to bounce between multiple stops in two hours.

Parking technology and infrastructure manager Mike King said, “parking meters are in Old Sacramento and in a couple of weeks new meters will be deployed on L street near 15th, 16th and 17th street.”

The maintenance of the old meters require “meter maids” to collect the quarters from receptacles, and the sticker machines require frequent refills. Smart meters are also solar powered, which cuts down on the carbon footprint of the city.

The upkeep is now minimized by the addition of the new meters and technology will help in the ease of parking.

“[New meters are] more user-friendly and better accessible to real time information and also they are easier to install and maintain,” former Downtown Sacramento Partnership employee Kevin Greene said

No one wants to pay for parking, but when required these new meters make parking exponentially easier.