A new city parking campaign is intended to make it easier for visitors to park and pay in downtown Colorado Springs and Old Colorado City, officials said.

The Colorado Springs Parking Enterprise on Tuesday officially launched its “Now You Know” promotion, highlighting additional and simpler payment options, low parking rates and how parking revenue supports vibrant business districts.

Including metered spaces and parking garages, Colorado Springs has about 2,800 paid parking spaces, officials said.

“Parking should be simple, and we want to keep working toward making it as simple as possible for residents … and businesses in Colorado Springs. Whether you’re coming downtown for lunch, going to OCC for shopping, parking should be the last thing on your mind and the easiest thing you do while you’re there,” Parking Enterprise Manager Alyssa Alt told reporters Tuesday morning.

The city recently made improvements to make parking more convenient.

Parking meters were at the end of their life and have all been upgraded, now with bigger and brighter screens, more visible parking rates and expanded payment options.

The upgrade cost “a couple million dollars,” Alt said, and was funded through the self-sustaining parking enterprise.

People can continue paying for parking with coins, credit cards and through the ParkMobile app. New choices include tap-to-pay and text-to-pay options for added convenience. Those who use the ParkMobile app or text-to-pay can extend their parking sessions remotely, without needing to return to the meter, Alt said.

Along the primary business corridors of Colorado Avenue in Old Colorado City and Tejon Street downtown, the city has replaced parking meters with kiosks.

This creates cleaner-looking sidewalks with more space for business activities, pedestrians, and streetscapes like trees, benches, outdoor amenities and more that enhance the resident and visitor experience, Alt said.

The “Now You Know” campaign also highlights the Springs’ low-cost parking options.

At three city-owned parking garages and six public surface lots, parking is $1 per hour with a maximum daily rate of $12, or $6 if entering after 4 p.m. Parking is free on Sundays.

Parking meters operate 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and on Sunday from 1-8 p.m. Parking starts at $1.50 per hour at meters closest to the city center and increases the longer a person stays. Rates decrease to $1.25 an hour and $1 per hour further out. Rates are free during certain holidays.

Revenue generated by the Parking Enterprise is reinvested into parking, mobility and safety improvements, officials said. Improvements include replacing parking meters, maintaining garages and surface lots, expanding loading zones, adding electric vehicle charging stations in city parking garages, improving accessibility and public safety, making streetscape enhancements and maintaining landscaping.

Among other efforts, for example, the city in December completed its Tejon Street Revitalization project that enhanced two blocks of Tejon, between Colorado Avenue and Kiowa Street. It added wider and more accessible multimodal walkways, moved loading zones, expanded outdoor dining space for restaurants, added more trees and benches and replaced parking meters with kiosks. The $8.6 million project was partially funded by the city parking enterprise.

“All of this is why paid parking helps businesses succeed,” Alt said.

Paid parking also helps with turnover, allowing more foot traffic at area businesses and restaurants, said Alt and Pat Rigdon, who formerly operated Mary’s Mountain Cookies on Tejon and is the Downtown Partnership merchant group’s director of downtown environment.

“I appreciated that a great deal as a business owner, because it creates more customers for businesses and keeps people from dominating parking spots all day,” Rigdon said.

In the coming months, the “Now You Know” campaign’s new branding will appear on parking signs, meters, digital communications and social media, the city said in a Tuesday news release. It will feature quick facts to help people better understand their parking and payment options and the city’s investments.

For more information on parking locations, rates, payment options and more, visit coloradosprings.gov/parking.