Sausalito is modernizing its technology for residents enrolled in its downtown parking program.
The program allows residents to park for up to three hours between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. in several downtown lots.
“The current system uses a parking card,” Wayne Kwan, police program manager, told the City Council on Tuesday. “Instead of using their card to start the parking session, they would verify they’re a resident via a six-digit PIN. So we’re reducing the need to purchase more cards.”
As an alternative to entering a personal identification number at a pay station, the city will offer a ParkMobile cellphone app. The app vendor will charge a 45-cent transaction fee.
“All they have to do is sign up for ParkMobile with the same email address that they sign up for the residential benefit program,” Kwan said.
Last November, the council approved replacing the outdated parking system of meters and pay stations. The new technology is an interim stage before another upgrade that includes license plate readers, a staff report said.
Sausalito collects $2.5 million a year from parking fees. The resident program barely dents that revenue stream, Kwan said, and it has a $25 application fee.
“The estimated value of parking provided through the program during this period was approximately $179,927.65,” the staff report said, referring to last year. “Each resident parking session had an estimated value of approximately $9.60, which corresponds to an average parking duration of approximately two hours.”
“That tells us that the majority of Sausalito residents are honest and stay with the benefit within the rules as intended,” Kwan said.
A pay station stands in a city parking lot off Bridgeway in Sausalito, Calif., on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
The City Council was presented with several options to change the program fees but declined to.
Councilmember Ian Sobieski asked if someone could reuse personal identification numbers to game the app. Kwan said the system would detect and block such abuse.
Councilmember Joan Cox asked if the city could email personal identification numbers to all participants rather than having them call the police department to obtain the log-in, as Kwan suggested.
“I’ll discuss that with my team,” he said.
Public commenters praised the upgrades, although some said seniors might need help learning to use the phone app.
“The residential parking program is great for our merchants because it encourages people to come downtown,” said Adrian Brinton.
“It’s fantastic for me and a lot of my friends that like to go downtown,” said Andrew Dennison. “The ParkMobile app is actually very cool and I think it would be an excellent addition.”
“I’ve used it in a lot of different towns and it is awesome,” Sharna Brockett said. “You can be in a restaurant and realize you’re going over and could just put some more time on it.”
Carolyn Revelle said one restaurateur offered to hold a coffee where Kwan could “demystify” the app for residents with questions.