UTICA — The City of Utica has installed automated pay stations at the entrances at four of its downtown parking areas. The stations will be installed at the Washington Street Garage, the Utica Place Garage, the Union Street parking lot and the lot adjacent to the Stanley Theater in downtown, the city announced late Thursday.

Starting on Monday, Nov. 14, customers will pay for parking at the pay stations directly.

The parking rate is $2 per hour with a daily maximum of $18.

A proposal to raise the monthly rate from $40 to $50 will be presented to the Common Council; the downtown living rate will stay at its current rate of $25 per year, the announcement added.

The city of Utica used to employ staff to collect parking rates at these locations but made a decision to install pay stations to make the collection process more efficient and effective, according to the announcement.

Fees collected will be used to pay for maintenance, making the parking infrastructure downtown more sustainable and safer.

The new automated pay stations were made possible by a grant from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and are designed to upgrade and modernize parking infrastructure for downtown, officials said.