Pay by Cell for Parking in Silver Spring

This new program gives a whole new meaning to phoning it in. You can now use your cell phone to pay for parking at 4,500 County parking meters in Silver Spring. By summer, the program will be expanded to include meters in Wheaton, Montgomery Hills and North Bethesda. Bethesda's 5,000 parking meters were converted in March. Register for the program once by going online to www.mc.goparknow.com or calling 301-830-7074.

The new parking system provides many conveniences. If you pay by cell, you will get a text message reminder that your parking time is about to expire. You can extend parking time remotely and view transactions online. You can stop your parking session upon returning to your vehicle, so you only pay for the parking time you have used.