The days of free parking at Reston Town Center parking garages will soon be a thing of the past.

A move to a paid parking garage system has been discussed and expected for several years, and with a new Reston Town Center Metro station on tap for 2020, the RTC needs to get a handle on parking at the seven garages on-site. Later this year, the garages will begin using an app-based system called Park RTC to charge for parking, RestonNow reports.

The app will be downloaded and connected to a card of choice, and will work in similarly to the EZPass toll system, with cameras in the garages set to scan plates and charge cards. There will also be kiosks installed to accommodate drivers without the app, and there should be some validation opportunities from enterprising stores and restaurants.

Parking will come in at a price tag of $2 per hour, but will be free on weekends, holidays and special events. The move to charge for parking should help stem the tide of motorists who park at the garages for hours or even overnight, and help open things up for office employees and store customers.

Speaking of employees at the RTC, they will also be feeling the squeeze from the new rules and can expect to pay a monthly fee. As with any change, the move to charge for parking has prompted a wave of petitions to convince decisionmakers to reverse course.

Boston Properties owns every piece of the 2.1M SF of offices and 360k SF of retail at the massive center, following last December’s buyout of Beacon Capital Partners’ share of Fountain Square. RTC is noted for being one of the most desirable pieces of real estate in the region, with essentially no vacancies in the offices on-site.

With Phase 2 of the Silver Line set to bring a metro station within walking distance, we can expect the massive center to remain at the top of the charts for some time. But its days as the last bastion of free parking in a high-density, mixed-use center are numbered. [RN]