Charleston is moving peninsula street parking to ParkMobile and removing meters, starting on the east side. Pay by app, online or by phone; meters work until removed.

Street parking on the Charleston peninsula is moving to the ParkMobile app, and the city’s parking meters are on their way out. The switch to ParkMobile happens over the next several weeks, the City of Charleston said Thursday.

The meters themselves will be phased out over the next several months. The city expects most of that work to be finished by the second quarter of 2027.

Meter removal starts on the eastern side of the peninsula. Every other meter keeps taking payment until it is taken out of service.

How paying will work

New ParkMobile signs are going up in the coming weeks. They explain the three ways to pay:

  • through the ParkMobile app
  • online
  • by phone, which needs no smartphone or app

The peninsula is split into numbered ParkMobile zones. Each zone number is posted on nearby signs and shown in the app. The city described the steps this way:

  1. Park and find the zone number on the nearest sign.
  2. Enter the zone, how long you will stay, your license plate and a payment method.
  3. Tap “Start.”

The session is tied to your license plate, so there is no receipt to leave on the dashboard. The app sends a reminder before time runs out. Drivers can add time from their phone, up to the posted limit, without walking back to the car. Anyone who already has a ParkMobile account can keep using it.

Why the city is doing it

The city called the change one of the first concrete steps under its new tourism management plan. It said older meter equipment lets cars sit in spaces for hours or days. A single system should make posted time limits work as intended, so spaces turn over and more drivers find a spot.

“We heard residents loud and clear: parking on the peninsula needs to work better,” Mayor William Cogswell said. “Moving to one modern, streamlined system makes parking simple and consistent, and helps keep spaces turning over for the people who live, work, eat and shop downtown.”

The release did not give a list of which streets lose their meters first or a date for each zone. It also did not say whether ParkMobile will add a fee on top of the hourly rate. We will update this story when the city publishes those details.

What it means for you

  • If you park downtown often, download ParkMobile now and add your plate and card, so the first time you meet a sign without a meter is not the first time you open the app.
  • No smartphone? The pay-by-phone option works from any phone.
  • On the east side of the peninsula, expect meters to start disappearing first.
  • Until a meter is removed, you can keep paying at it as before.
  • The release covers on-street parking only. City garage locations and the current meter hours are in our guide to getting around Charleston.

Questions about a broken meter or a parking ticket go to the city’s Revenue Collections Parking Division at 843-724-7375.