Duluth to Remove 1,500 Coin Parking Meters for App, QR Payments

The City of Duluth is phasing out approximately 1,500 coin-operated, single-stall parking meters in a shift to digital payments using the Park Duluth app and QR-code payments, city parking officials and the Duluth City Council/Parking Commission announced on Feb. 26, 2026. The move affects meters managed by City of Duluth Parking Services across Duluth in St. Louis County.

Duluth Parking Services and the Duluth City Council/Parking Commission jointly presented the plan on Feb. 26, 2026, directing removal of the single-stall coin meters and installation of digital payment infrastructure tied to the Park Duluth app and QR codes. The paired action places operational authority with Parking Services and policy oversight with the City Council and Parking Commission.

About 1,500 single-stall meters are slated for removal under the phase-out approved Feb. 26, 2026. The replacement payments will rely on the Park Duluth smartphone app and on-site QR-code readers at former meter locations, according to the plan presented to the council and Parking Commission. The change is described as a systematic replacement of coin meters with digital payment options across the city.

Local motorists, downtown merchants, and visitors are the groups identified as directly affected by the removal of coin meters on Feb. 26, 2026. City of Duluth Parking Services will manage the technical transition to the Park Duluth app and QR-code payments, while the Duluth City Council and Parking Commission retain oversight of enforcement policies tied to the new payment systems.

The phase-out of the 1,500 coin meters will alter how parking revenue is collected and how drivers pay at single-stall locations, city officials said during the Feb. 26, 2026 review. Because the decision was coordinated between Parking Services and the Duluth City Council/Parking Commission, operational timelines and enforcement details will be carried out through those offices in the weeks following the announcement.

As Duluth implements the Park Duluth app and QR-code payments, City of Duluth Parking Services will administer the removals under the authority of the Duluth City Council and Parking Commission. Residents, downtown business owners, and visitors should expect the city to replace the roughly 1,500 single-stall coin meters with digital-pay options as part of the citywide parking modernization plan announced Feb. 26, 2026.