Calgary heralded a new era in downtown parking Thursday, implementing a solar-powered system that will replace 2,000 coin-operated meters.

Mayor Dave Bronconnier called the high-tech pay stations a "revolution in parking" as he demonstrated their benefits for reporters. The new system accepts cash, credit-card or cellphone payments.

Calgary has patented its new computerized parking system.

Each street is split up into zones, with one or two machines on each street, which seems to be confusing for first-time users.

"I couldn't find any parking meters on the street so I was a little confused," said Marlene Nelson. "It took me a while to check and recheck the signs to make sure that I wasn't going to be towed."

A driver must punch in the zone where the vehicle's parked, the vehicle's licence plate number, the time and the method of payment.

"It's a little confusing because I have actually purchased something I don't know what I have purchased. I don't have a receipt. And, actually, I have no idea what I have just done," admitted commuter Kaari Autry.

A number of staff will be roaming downtown to help drivers with the system. Dale Fraser, the head of Calgary's Parking Authority, said he's confident problems will work themselves out.

"Feedback from talking to Calgarians on the street is that once they have used it once or twice, there's no problem," Fraser said.

Parking discounts for smaller vehicles

The city is also eliminating painted lines that mark each parking space. Instead, people can park any place a vehicle fits in a parking zone, which opens up 200 more parking spaces in the core.

People who drive vehicles shorter than 3.8 metres, such as motorcycles or Smart cars, will get a 25 per cent discount.

Those who want to pay by cellphone need to first set up an account on the ParkPlus website.

The City of Calgary has patented the technology behind the solar-powered stations, and officials said they're already receiving calls from other cities interested in the system.

The city plans to remove all the traditional meters from the downtown core by the end of the year. The switch is expected to cost the city $6 million.