Related Story: New parking chief says technology will lead to improvements
By Jane Smith
Smart parking meters that accept various forms of payment are coming to the barrier island and two city garages in the spring.
The Delray Beach City Commission unanimously approved the purchase of 58 multispace meter kiosks that will cost the city $600,000 for two years, with communication fees included.
“It’s the best value for the city,” Theresa Webb, the city’s procurement manager, said when presenting the T2 Systems contract on Dec. 6. The current meters also were made by T2, based in Canada with U.S. offices in Indiana.
Jorge Alarcon, the city’s new parking facilities manager, told the commission the smart meters are exactly what the city needs to make it easy for residents and visitors to pay for parking.
The city has about 1,250 paid parking spaces that translate into annual revenue of approximately $1.8 million, Alarcon said. “Industry standards predict an increase of revenue between 12 and 15 percent,” he said.
To help pay for the meters, the city is considering dipping into its in-lieu parking fee accounts, which hold approximately $1.7 million. The city created the accounts decades ago for restaurant owners who wanted to open in the downtown but didn’t have enough parking for their diners. The restaurateurs could pay into the account instead of providing parking.
Commissioner Shelly Petrolia questioned the cost of the new metering system and why the old meters were no longer usable.
The existing meters are corroded by years of sitting near the ocean and parts are no longer available for them, according to John Morgan, environmental services director. The meters take quarters only.
The smart meters will be installed on East Atlantic Avenue, on A1A and in the parking lots on the barrier island. They also will go into the two city-owned garages west of the Intracoastal Waterway to eliminate the need for humans selling tickets on evenings and weekends and during special events, Morgan told commissioners.
“The beauty of the meters is they allow us to collect data,” he said. That information includes parking space turnover and locations and hours of high demand.
The city will save money because it now hires Ameristar Parking Solutions to staff the garages, which take only cash. The city pays about $240,000 a year for this service, according to a recent contract extension that runs to the end of February.
Downtown meters
on agenda for spring
In late spring, the commission will decide the controversial issue of downtown parking meters west of the waterway. Mayor Cary Glickstein called that parking meter income “low-hanging fruit” during last year’s city budget discussions.
“There is a lot of opposition to paid parking. But when people see how the parking demand can be adjusted, they will be for it,” Vice Mayor Jordana Jarjura said at the Dec. 6 meeting.
At that meeting, Lanier Parking Solutions of Atlanta was selected as the vendor to oversee the entire parking system in the city. Webb and others are negotiating with Lanier to get the best price for the city.
Parking meter enforcement will be done by Lanier’s so-called ambassadors, instead of the volunteers who do it currently. The ambassadors will assist drivers in finding suitable parking spaces, and the company will be in charge of the garages.
Petrolia wants to see a cost breakdown of the new meters and software, along with the parking management contract. She wants to see the amounts compared with “how things are today when the city has volunteers who enforce the meters and keep all the money and fines.”
Employee parking
slow to catch on
The city’s Downtown Development Authority is working closely with city staff and its business partners to come up with an employee parking program that works for all. The first version was set up in the County Courthouse garage in the fall.
The program relied on restaurant owners paying a monthly fee of $20 per employee. The restaurant operators have been hesitant to sign up because of the monthly cost, according to DDA Executive Director Laura Simon.
When the iPic owners finally begin construction in the downtown for the luxury movie theater, the city will lose about 90 free parking spaces. The DDA is working with the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency staff to find suitable nearby parking for downtown customers and employees.
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