I Got a Parking Ticket in Downtown Boise Even Though I Paid

Have you parked in downtown Boise and used the meters? Here are a few things you should know. Round up your kids piggy banks, get your pockets or change purse nice and plump before into downtown to park. If you use a parking garage, you should be just fine with using a card or even cash to pay but not at the meters. If you use a meter, coins seems to be the way to go. Of course the more convenient way is to use the parking app.

While I work in downtown Boise and am driving and parking in it every day, I park in a lot at work and don't have to worry about meter feeding. About a week ago we had a work event at Amsterdam downtown. Since I don't usually have change and didn't clear out my little guys piggy bank I was stuck using the 'handy dandy' parking app.

Park Mobile app allows you to enter your parking zone, put in your planned parking time and the $ amount comes through apple pay or you can link it to a debit or credit card, or even your phone bill.

The app will even alert you when you are running low on time so you can re-feed the meter even from far away. You don't have to run back to your car to do so, you can do it right from the app.

This all seems good right? It is most of the time but I still ended up with a ticket even though I paid. Here's what happened to me and what you should know.

I put in my zone and maxed the time I could pay. I even snapped a pic of my meter with the zone number. I confidently walked in to the work function feeling like everything was good to go, and it should have been. Until I walked back out to my car about an hour and a half later and there was a parking ticket under my windshield wiper blade. Grrrr.

I paid! What the heck Boise parking?! Or at least that is how I felt until I realized one little detail. It was user error. I didn't have my license plate number updated on the app. So while I had paid in the correct zone at the correct time, the parking meter ticket giver didn't know which car in the zone was mine and therefore gave me a parking ticket. I was pretty frustrated because it wasn't until a few days later when I dove into the app to see what the problem was.

At this point I have called and left a message with the parking authorities to see what the next step is. I have enough screen shots, photos and details that I am hoping I will be able to get out of the ticket. If not, then I cant blame the city, it was my bad. So my tip is BEFORE you go into downtown to park, either 1. make sure you have lots of change with your or 2. download the app and put all of your information in before you even leave the house so that when you get downtown to park you have the correct info and have no problems like I did.