FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – There’s a secret to making the most of the newly installed parking meters at Fresno’s Woodward Park and Roeding Park.

The parking meters were officially unveiled by the city of Fresno on Monday and will mean there is no need to wait in a long line at the entrance to the park to pay an attendant (in fact, the parking attendants will not be present at the entrances anymore.) Drivers wanting to park up will simply drive in and pay at the machine (either by cash or credit card) and enter their license plate information to be able to leave their vehicle at Woodward Park or Roeding Park.

As well as credit cards, the new parking machines also accept Apple Pay and Google Pay.

The cost of a single-day parking ticket is $5 – but you can also buy an annual parking pass at the machines for $50. That annual pass is available at the same parking kiosks – many say a systemic improvement from before when purchasing an annual parking pass required getting one at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo ticket kiosk or going to the Ace Parking office in Downtown Fresno.

The money-saving trick is in the annual pass. Anyone who parks in either Woodward or Roeding parks more than 10 times over the course of a year will have the pass paying for itself. Parking at either location once a month over the course of 12 months effectively means two months of free parking.

While the annual pass is linked to a vehicle’s license plate, that can be changed by calling parking management company Ace Parking on 559-264-2425.

Both annual passes and daily passes can be purchased at the kiosks in place at both Woodward Park and Roeding Park.