BATON ROUGE - People will soon notice solar-powered parking kiosks throughout the downtown area, replacing the old coin-operated meters.

Officials with the Downtown Development District said Wednesday that about 100 of the Flowbird kiosks will start going up in phases throughout September. Most of the new meters will be focused in Baton Rouge's central business district. 

The kiosks will allow you to pay via card, coin or the Flowbird app. The app allows you to reserve parking, finding a parking spot and will alert you when your time is expiring. Parking will be tracked by your license plate.

"You will need to enter your license plate number through the app or through the machine and it will know you have paid based on that license plate number," said DDD Executive Director Whitney Hoffman Sayal.

BATON ROUGE: A look at the brand new parking kiosks! You can pay with coins or cash OR you can download the Flowbird app to pay from your phone.
They should be rolling out in September.
More details on @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/Y0ehlH8R3A

— Taylor Marie Rubach (@rubachtaylortv) August 17, 2022

According to officials, the 421 old meters covered 75 loading spaces, 50 handicap spaces, and 100 parking spots used for businesses. The new kiosks will cover roughly 850 parking spaces and are reportedly graffiti- and corrosion-proof. 

Half of the kiosks have been delivered and the rest will be arriving soon. The City-Parish says the goal is to have them all installed by October 1.