UPDATE: SOLD OUT Santa Cruz to Offer Groupon Deal for Parking Friday

The city of Santa Cruz will be the first in the nation to use the coupon service Groupon to publicize a half-price parking deal in its struggling downtown.

Friday, Groupon will offer its members a chance to buy parking passes for $9 instead of the regular $18. The city hopes it will not only bring people to the downtown, but will encourage them to use a new card that works like a debit card and lets them pay for only the time they are actually parked at meters, garages and at the beach.

Groupon has never been used for municipal parking before.

"We didn't know how to get the information out about the innovative things we are doing with parking," said City Councilmember Hilary Bryant. "We thought of utility bills, but then we realized Groupon could be a way to make something widely available to the community and get some attention."

Santa Cruz will give 500 people a chance to save half the cost of an $18 parking pass until July 4, unless the coupons sell out earlier.

The discount includes $15 worth of parking and $3 for the reusable card.

"The ParkCard and Groupon partnership is another example of the city's innovative approach to delivering services via new technology," said Bryant, in a press release. "This partnership demonstrates the city's continued effort to improve the downtown experience and make interactions with the city as convenient as possible."

In an interview, Bryant added that the idea came about in talks she had with Mayor Ryan Coonerty, trying to figure out ways to promote the fact that the city has reusable parking cards that make paying for parking more convenient than using piles of coins.

Bryant wanted to use the service for the Animal Hospital she and her husband own, but Groupon doesnt' advertise for veterinarians yet.  Coonerty has used the Chicago-based coupon producer for one of his businesses, the office sharing service, NextSpace, which lets people rent offices and share space by the month, like a gym.

Parking downtown has been criticized since the city began charging 50 cents an hour for two formerly free lots. At least one merchant, the owner of said she was leaving town for Brown Ranch Market in  Capitola, which has free parking.

The Santa Cruz Council has to discuss ways to make parking more affordable for businesses, which now are taxed because they can't provide enough spaces in area.

Groupon will email members Friday with the offer. To sign up to be a member click here.

This is the first time Groupon has been used by a city, according to Groupon spokeswoman Kelsey O'Neill.

"Yes, this is the first municipal parking deal though not the first 'parking' deal run on Groupon," she said. Private lots have used the service.

The ParkCard works like a debit card at all downtown parking meters, garages and lots, as well as on the Municipal Wharf. It  allows users to pay only for the time they were actually parked by sliding the card over the meter. They can refill the cards at vending machines at city garages or at the parking window at 124 Locust Street.

For a list of places to park in Santa Cruz this holiday weekend, click here.