{"id":352846,"date":"2026-07-26T11:23:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T11:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352846\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T11:23:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T11:23:14","slug":"orlando-pulling-coin-parking-meters-hiking-rates-in-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352846\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando pulling coin parking meters, hiking rates in October"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deon Rhoden has dropped coins into downtown Orlando\u2019s parking meters for most of the 60 years he\u2019s lived here. By fall, he\u2019ll need to keep his change and use his phone.<\/p>\n

Orlando began removing its about 1,000 coin-operated parking meters this summer, retiring a fixture of downtown curbs in favor of an all-digital system. By Oct. 1, when the city aims to have the last meters out, parking downtown will also cost more, run later into the evening and carry steeper fines for violations.<\/p>\n

Asked how he\u2019d pay once the meters are gone, the 74-year-old Rhoden said he\u2019d probably ride his bicycle instead of drive. He isn\u2019t good with apps and doesn\u2019t like relying on his phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your phone doesn\u2019t work, you\u2019re going to end up paying the bill,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

City officials decided to remove the meters \u2014 which were first tried in downtown in 1939 \u2014 because the parking system is self-funded, running on the money it collects rather than tax dollars, and needs more to cover rising costs. A recent city study compared Orlando\u2019s parking rates and fines with peer cities and found its prices significantly below market.<\/p>\n

Officials projected the change will mean about $5.5 million a year in new revenue and said going digital will cut operating costs about $500,000 annually by ending meter maintenance, biweekly coin collection and cash handling.<\/p>\n

The city has had coin-free options available through the ParkMobile company since 2015. But now all payments will be cashless, requiring drivers to use a phone to access the company\u2019s app, call or text to get a secure link to pay online. Signs near parking spots will offer instructions.<\/p>\n

\"SignSign alerts drivers to pay for parking with ParkMobile on West Copeland Drive in Orlando, FL, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Barrett Walsh\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Parking rates have not increased since 2009, but starting in October they will at least double.<\/p>\n

Currently, each hour on a downtown street costs $1, with the maximum time allowed in a spot varying by location. But soon, it will cost $2 to park for each of the first two hours, then $3 for the third and $4 for the fourth, rising to $6 by the sixth hour.<\/p>\n

Parking now is free after 6 p.m., but drivers will soon have to pay until 8 p.m. Sundays and city holidays will remain free.<\/p>\n

Orlando residents objected to the city\u2019s first parking meters in 1939 \u2014 the nickel-per-hour coin slots were stuffed with chewing gum in protest \u2014 and those meters didn\u2019t last a year. But parking meters were back by the 1950s and have remained ever since.<\/p>\n

Though no one\u2019s threatening \u201cgum raids\u201d now, plenty of residents and downtown visitors, interviewed on a recent afternoon said they were unhappy with higher costs, a reliance on cell phones or both.<\/p>\n

\"ParkingParking meters in downtown Orlando, FL, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Barrett Walsh\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Tiffany Rivera, 25, of Altamonte Springs, slipped her card into a meter on East Central Boulevard. She hasn\u2019t used coins at a city meter since high school, so a digital system doesn\u2019t bug her, but the extended hours for payment do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not very much of a nightlife person, so 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., that\u2019s when I\u2019m coming out,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cThat does really suck, that it\u2019s not going to be as free or accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angela Cruz, 41, visiting from San Francisco, called the new rates cheap compared to the $7 to $9 an hour she pays at home. But she said she has grown wary of using technology, especially scanning QR codes, to pay.<\/p>\n

So has Kristina Carmichael, 67, who has lived in Orlando for 24 years, and was pushing her 1-year-old grandson in a stroller around Lake Eola. She prefers a coin meter over an app.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already had my information stolen, and I\u2019m a big fan of cash,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In a scam known as \u201cquishing\u201d that hit Orlando last year, criminals place fake QR stickers over legitimate signage, redirecting drivers to copycat sites that mimic parking platforms, including ParkMobile. Orlando police issued a warning about the scam in June 2025, stating roughly 200 fake stickers had been recovered from downtown meters.<\/p>\n

But the city said its new parking signs will not include QR codes.<\/p>\n

\"OrlandoOrlando Health visitor uses ParkMobile system to pay for parking on West Copeland Drive in Orlando, FL, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Barrett Walsh\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Carmichael said she also worried the higher rates will hurt people already stretched thin and looking to enjoy downtown without spending much.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where people come that can\u2019t afford to go to restaurants. They\u2019ll have picnics with their families. Things are very tough right now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Drivers who overstay their allotted time will also face steeper penalties, with the cost of meter violations going from $20 to $25.<\/p>\n

After feeding coins into a meter, Darien Wharton, 21, of west Orlando, jogged across West Robinson Street to drop something at a friend\u2019s apartment. He said digital meters would probably be easier but doesn\u2019t like the planned price hikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a dollar an hour and now it\u2019s two dollars?\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meter removal will be completed in phases. The first phase is underway in the SoDo neighborhood just south of downtown, and then meters will be pulled from other downtown areas.<\/p>\n

During the first three weeks of October, the city plans to warn residents about the new parking rules and costs but won\u2019t issue any fines. It will also leave pamphlets on cars explaining how ParkMobile works.<\/p>\n

\"DowntownDowntown visitor pays with coins using parking meter in downtown Orlando, FL, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Barrett Walsh\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

The new parking revenue will pay for work on aging parking garages, technology upgrades and rising labor costs, the city said.<\/p>\n

Downtown Orlando\u2019s original parking meters, called the \u201cPark-O-Meter\u201d system, were installed for a six-month trial period along Orange Avenue nearly 90 years ago, according to Orlando Sentinel articles published at the time.<\/p>\n

Business owners and residents objected to \u201cpaying for the privilege to park,\u201d according to a March 1939 story. By that October, the meters were gone.<\/p>\n

They returned in the 1950s, as coin-operated meters became popular in cities across the country, and later upgraded to allow payment by cards and digital options.<\/p>\n

Now the city aims to win over residents to its newest system. \u201cThank you for your patience and cooperation as we modernize parking operations throughout Orlando,\u201d its website says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deon Rhoden has dropped coins into downtown Orlando\u2019s parking meters for most of the 60 years he\u2019s lived…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[28,266,1335,139,141,140],"class_list":["post-352846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-florida","tag-local-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}