Virginia Beach, Va. (WTKR) - The Labor Day holiday was a busy one at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront as thousands packed the Resort Area to soak up the last rays of summer.
For those paying for parking at metered spots, few NewsChannel 3 spoke to were taking advantage of new parking apps Virginia Beach rolled out earlier this year.
ParkMe and ParkMobile are two free apps to help folks find and pay for parking at the Oceanfront.
ParkMe displays maps of parking lots and garages at the resort.
Parkmobile allows drivers to pay for parking with the app and also get alerts when the time on their meters is about to run out. They can add additional time right from their smart phone without having to return to the meter.
Read more about NewsChannel 3's test of the apps in June here.
On Labor Day, most folks NewsChannel 3 spoke to simply hadn't heard of the new apps, but seemed willing to try them out.
"I would check it out and see," explained Debbie Gentry who was visiting from Richmond. "I mean, I didn’t even know you could do it with your phone, so I just pulled up and came over here to see what you had to do."
The Dixon family was visiting their daughter Dree who is stationed in Norfolk from St. Louis.
Father Terry didn't think he'd use the app to pay for parking.
"Maybe my daughters would, but I wouldn’t," Terry Dixon explained. "I’m just an older age and I just like things simple. I like to pull into my parking spot, get out and go do what I want to do."
Daughter Shayna, who is in college, admits she already uses her iPhone for so many tasks and saw the convenience factor that could come with the app.
"I’m really indecisive, so if something catches my eye when I’m gone I don’t want to have to come back and put more money in it," Shayna Dixon commented. "It’s something where I can do it right then and there."
Dree Dixon has been to the Oceanfront several times this summer, but never knew about the app options.
"I'm familiar with the parking meters," Dree Dixon explained "[but] this is the first I’ve heard about the apps for parking meters."
The Oceanfront parking meters still accept coins, as well as credit cards in addition to the new app payment option.
