NORTHAMPTON — Visitors to Northampton will soon be able to pay for their parking spaces in city lots with smartphones, one of several improvements to the parking kiosk technology underway this week.

Beginning Tuesday, the city is upgrading the 25 downtown parking kiosks to a “pay-by-plate” system that will accept coins and credit cards. The machines will print a receipt to keep rather than a ticket to be displayed on the dashboard.

Mayor David Narkewicz said the solar-powered green kiosks will remain, but the computers within them are getting the upgrade. Those parking in Northampton will notice a new screen and keypad with the added function of using credit cards to pay by plate.

“Unlike the previous system, this one actually walks you through the process,” Narkewicz said, adding parking enforcement officers will be doubling as “parking education officers” over the next few weeks as residents and visitors learn to operate the new computers.

Those wishing to pay with change will still be able to do so, he said.

“Barring some big change in the weather, they feel pretty confident they can get the 25 units done by the end of the week,” he said.

The work is scheduled to be complete by Thursday afternoon, with the upgrades starting in the West Street Lot, continuing in the Gothic Street garage and James House lot, and concluding with the three kiosks in the Armory Street lot and the seven on Main Street.

The kiosk improvements, at a cost of $90,855, are part of Narkewicz’s 2015-2019 capital improvement plan, with the “pay-by-plate” system a recommendation from a 2015 downtown parking study from Walker Parking Associates of Boston. The retrofits to the kiosks are being handled by Wescor Parking Controls, Inc. of Auburn.

An instructional video about the improved kiosks can be accessed at www.northamptonma,gov.paybyplate.

Downtown businesses will also have informational posters displayed.

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