diff --git a/src/urlMatcherFactory.js b/src/urlMatcherFactory.js
index bf116f027..67ffb357b 100644
--- a/src/urlMatcherFactory.js
+++ b/src/urlMatcherFactory.js
@@ -568,8 +568,9 @@ function $UrlMatcherFactory() {
   $$UMFP = this;
 
   var isCaseInsensitive = false, isStrictMode = true, defaultSquashPolicy = false;
+  var slashReplacement = "%2F";
 
-  function valToString(val) { return val != null ? val.toString().replace(/\//g, "%2F") : val; }
+  function valToString(val) { return val != null ? val.toString().replace(/\//g, slashReplacement) : val; }
   function valFromString(val) { return val != null ? val.toString().replace(/%2F/g, "/") : val; }
 
   var $types = {}, enqueue = true, typeQueue = [], injector, defaultTypes = {
@@ -578,7 +579,7 @@ function $UrlMatcherFactory() {
       decode: valFromString,
       // TODO: in 1.0, make string .is() return false if value is undefined/null by default.
       // In 0.2.x, string params are optional by default for backwards compat
-      is: function(val) { return val == null || !isDefined(val) || typeof val === "string"; },
+      is: function(val) { return val == null || !isDefined(val) || (isString(val) && val.indexOf(slashReplacement) === -1); },
       pattern: /[^/]*/
     },
     int: {
diff --git a/test/urlMatcherFactorySpec.js b/test/urlMatcherFactorySpec.js
index 8b0c1b678..aa51456a9 100755
--- a/test/urlMatcherFactorySpec.js
+++ b/test/urlMatcherFactorySpec.js
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ describe("UrlMatcher", function () {
     var matcher = new UrlMatcher('/:foo');
     expect(matcher.format({ foo: "/" })).toBe('/%252F');
     expect(matcher.format({ foo: "//" })).toBe('/%252F%252F');
+    expect(matcher.exec('/hello%2Fworld')).toEqual({ foo: 'hello/world' });
   });
 
   describe("snake-case parameters", function() {