Town says July 19 meter vendor reports Pay by Phone app is fully functional, but work coninues on 15-minute-free feature. 

New-style double-space meter

UPDATED July 19: All single-space parking meters in Arlington Center have been replaced, and enforcement of payment has returned.

The new meters are configured to add an extra 15 minutes when a driver pays for the first hour. However, the intended use was to provide the first 15 minutes free without payment, the town said in a July 5 announcement.

The announcement says that the town is working with the vendor to reconfigure the meters to meet to the 15-minute-free feature, similar to the previous meters.

The new meters accept payment by coins, credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and Discover) and the PayByPhone app.

For additional information about parking in Arlington, visit arlingtonma.gov/parking. 

The updated date for replacement of these meters, with no payment required until then, originally had been April 15, but that date was extended a number of times, most recently to July 5, a June 29 town news release says.

In early February, Town Manager Sandy Pooler wrote that all 143 meters in the center were to be replaced;  that breaks down to 80 dual meters and 43 single meters.

Affected are meters on Mass. Ave. between Franklin and Jason/Mill streets; Broadway between Franklin and Webster streets; Broadway Plaza at Alton Street between Broadway and Belton; Medford Street; Court Street; and Peg Spengler Way near the First Parish Unitarian Church.

The four-hour time limit in each zone as well as the posted hours for the commercial vehicle loading zone on Alton Street will continue to be enforced, officials say. 

This policy did not apply to the municipal lots -- Russell Common, Railroad Avenue and Library Lot -- where vouchers are purchased from a multispace kiosk and displayed on a driver’s dashboard. 

Feb. 3, 2023: Street parking meters in Center free during replacement through March

This news announcement was published Thursday, March 30, 2023, based on information from the Town of Arlington and from YourArlington's archives. It was updated April 7, 2023, to add an ACMi video; May 15, 2023, to add the new date for free parking at many places in town; July 5, 2023, to state that the town is in the process of reconfiguring the meters; July 14, 2023, to add a photograph of a new meter; and July 19, to update progress.