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Some people who visit downtown Des Moines or call it home are confused about the parking meters. The city first announced the new digital system back in January. Then late last month, KCCI spotted city crews installing the new meters but they only work in certain areas.

There are about 3,400 metered stalls city crews have to get through. The big hope is the changes will make it easier for people to park and pay.

"You have a lot of different opportunities to pay for parking. The biggest message would be you don't have to pay at the pay station that's on the block," John Davis, Des Moines city traffic engineer, said.

The upgrades are split up into three phases and the city is still working on Phase 1. Most stalls are in this phase with more than 2,000 spots in Downtown streets and the entertainment district.

There's still about 600 stalls left to convert in this area but work can only be done if there's no thunderstorms.

The new stalls are just placards with numbers. How it works is people can pay for each stall at a digital kiosk. If the closest machine is not working, the stall can be paid for at any other machine. Once everything is up and running, the kiosk can take many types of payment: cash, card, coins, even over the phone for people without a smartphone.

"If you still see a meter head where you in the past put a coin in or a credit card in, still do that until it's converted. If you try to enter in that number, you're not going to pay for the space you think you're paying for," Davis said.

The city hopes to have every meter converted by August.

For people with the pre-paid parking cards, the remaining balance should be used soon because once the last meter is gone, there will be no refunds.

You can track the progress here.

People can also sign up to pay via the ParkDSM app.

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