VDOT tests out parking app in Northern Virginia

VIRGINIA, USA — If you live in Northern Virginia as of Wednesday you can test a new parking app system that the commonwealth said would help make finding parking easier for Virginians. 

The ParkZen app has features that tell users how many parking spots are available in certain lots and structures. As of Wednesday, the app would give information for users in Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford counties, inside six parking lots. 

The app will gauge how full or empty these Northern Virginia lots are at any given time, giving users the luxury of knowing their chances of getting a parking spot before pulling up to a lot. 

"The ParkZen app helps commuters check for navigate to unoccupied parking spaces," VDOT said on Wednesday. "During the evaluation period, availability data will be reported for VDOT's Saratoga Park and Ride lot in Springfield, Stringfellow Road Park and Ride lot in Centreville and the Horner Road Commuter Lot in Woodbridge, as well as the three Virginia Railway Express (VRE) station parking lots at Backlick Road in Springfield, Brooke Road in Stafford and Leeland Road in Falmouth." 

If the parking program is successful, VDOT said they would expand the ParkZen app's range to other lots in Northern Virginia and the Fredericksburg are in Spring 2025.