TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Works Director
Nicky Petroff, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Plan to Transition Parking Payment Infrastructure to Payment Kiosks and Mobile Pay Options (Unbudgeted) (Public Works Director Lee).
(Estimated Time: 30 Mins.)
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and provide direction on a plan to transition parking payment infrastructure to payment kiosks and mobile pay options.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The proposed plan is estimated to cost approximately $3.09 million for implementation, which includes the purchase and installation of pay stations, signage, digital displays, and upgrades to the License Plate Recognition (LPR) system. Ongoing annual costs are estimated at $475,300, which includes software licensing, transaction fees, and warranty coverage.
Currently, the City is responsible for all out-of-pocket expenses related to parts and equipment replacements and transaction fees associated with parking meter credit card payments. The proposed plan includes warranty coverage for both the LPR system and pay stations, enabling the City to plan and manage future budgets more effectively. Additionally, the updated system offers opportunities to streamline transaction processing, potentially reducing per-transaction fees through more efficient payment methods. If directed by the City Council to proceed, a budget to support this plan will be included as part of the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget process.
BACKGROUND:
On March 14, 2023, the City Council directed staff to place “Parking Meter and Kiosk Exploration” on the City Council Work Plan. This project involves updating the City’s parking payment infrastructure and moving away from single-space meters in appropriate parking areas.
The City currently operates 1,275 single-space meters and 12 pay stations. These systems have nearly reached the end of their useful life, are costly to maintain, and are prone to technical issues. To address these challenges, the City contracted with Dixon Resources Unlimited to develop a Parking Technology Roadmap (Roadmap) that identifies strategies to improve parking payment infrastructure and implement modernized systems. The Roadmap is included as an attachment to this report.
DISCUSSION:
Transitioning from single-space parking meters to centralized kiosks and mobile payment systems, as described in the Roadmap, offers several overarching benefits to the community by modernizing technology and streamlining parking operations. This shift will provide for better integration of parking systems, allowing for more efficient management of resources, improved data collection, and enhanced enforcement capabilities. By consolidating maintenance needs from nearly 1,300 individual meters to approximately 140 pay stations, the City will be able to allocate resources more effectively and reduce equipment downtime, creating a more reliable parking experience.
Additionally, the implementation of kiosks and mobile payment options will provide users with increased flexibility and convenience in completing parking transactions. These systems will reduce reliance on physical currency, streamline the payment process, and offer real-time information on parking availability, assisting drivers in locating open spaces more efficiently.
To support user security, the City will not utilize QR codes as part of the payment process. Although QR codes are widely used in many digital transactions, the City does not currently use them and will not incorporate them into this new parking payment system. This approach is intended to minimize potential security concerns while supporting a reliable, accessible, and efficient parking experience for all users.
Key strategies from the Roadmap to improve parking payment infrastructure and implement modernized systems are described below.
Core Technology Update
All single-space meters would be replaced with approximately 140 new pay stations. These pay stations will include a combination of card-only and card-plus-coin models to maximize payment infrastructure accessibility. Additionally, app-based and text-to-pay solutions will be introduced to complement the pay stations, providing users with multiple payment options. The payment infrastructure simplifies maintenance and operational oversight, shifting from managing 1,300 individual meters to just 140 centralized pay stations. This reduces maintenance demands, improves equipment reliability, and lowers long-term operational costs. The integration of multiple payment platforms also supports more efficient revenue collection and enhanced enforcement capabilities through real-time data, ultimately maximizing parking availability and turnover.
Enhancements to Parking Enforcement
LPR technology would be expanded and integrated to enhance enforcement and data collection. Parking enforcement vehicles will be equipped with cameras capable of automatically scanning and reading license plates as they drive through parking areas. This system allows for real-time verification of parking sessions, whether paid via pay stations or mobile apps, by matching license plate numbers to active parking transactions in the database. The technology significantly enhances enforcement capabilities by allowing officers to cover more ground efficiently and accurately, reducing the need for manual checks and minimizing human error. Additionally, the data collected through LPR helps the City analyze parking patterns, identify high-demand areas, and optimize enforcement schedules. By improving turnover and compliance through efficient enforcement, LPR contributes to maximizing parking availability, ensuring that more spaces are used effectively and equitably throughout the day.
Improved Signage
The City would also standardize regulatory and informational signage with unified branding to improve clarity and usability. This effort would benefit both users and the City by creating a more consistent and intuitive parking environment. For users, consistent signage reduces confusion about parking rules, payment methods, and time limits, making it easier to understand where and how to park legally. Improved clarity enhances the overall user experience, minimizes accidental violations, and supports smoother navigation throughout the parking system.
Furthermore, digital parking occupancy signs would be installed in appropriate parking lots to provide real-time information on garage and lot availability, enhancing both wayfinding and overall parking efficiency. For users, access to accurate, up-to-date occupancy data helps streamline the parking experience by reducing the time spent searching for available spaces, particularly in busy areas. This improves convenience, supports a more efficient arrival process, and can help alleviate traffic congestion caused by vehicles circulating in search of parking. For the City, these signs contribute to more effective management of parking resources and promote better distribution of demand across facilities.
Integrated Parking Management
Data collection and analysis would be enhanced using integrated tools for real-time insights into parking trends and operations. Operational processes will be updated to align with the shift from extensive physical hardware to more streamlined, technology-driven systems. With fewer devices to maintain and greater reliance on digital tools such as mobile payments and real-time data, the City would adjust its resource allocation and management approach to support efficient operation and maintenance of the modernized parking infrastructure.
Updates to Business Processes
The transition would also necessitate updates to maintenance and collection procedures, as well as an evaluation of staffing needs, including full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) and job duties for Meter Repair Workers.
Parking Management Study
In 2024, City staff contracted with Walker Consultants to conduct a comprehensive Citywide Parking Management Study focused on on-street and off-street public parking within its commercial areas, including Downtown, the North End Business District, and other commercial zones. The study assesses existing parking supply and demand, evaluates current and anticipated parking needs, and analyzes potential parking and curbside management strategies. The goal is to develop a practical and actionable set of recommendations to support the efficient management of parking resources and multi-modal transportation access.
The transition of the City’s parking payment infrastructure to payment kiosks and mobile pay options as recommended in this report would enable the City to quickly deploy the parking strategies being developed in the current City Parking Management Study. Many of the anticipated parking strategies will require a smart parking meter system capable of mobile payments, flexible parking rate data analytics, and real-time monitoring and enforcement to better manage our parking supply. This smart system would be able to optimize parking operations and proactively respond to evolving parking needs, which would result in an improved overall user experience and more sustainable urban environment.
Next Steps
Staff recommends that the City move forward transitioning its parking payment infrastructure to payment kiosks and mobile pay options through a competitive RFP process. This process would ensure that the City evaluates multiple qualified vendors, identifies cost-effective and practical solutions, and selects technology that best meets the needs of the community. It would also include vendor demonstrations to assess system functionality, user interface design, and integration capabilities with existing and planned enforcement and data systems. Additionally, these demonstrations would allow the City to evaluate how the proposed equipment performs under local coastal conditions to ensure durability and reliability. If directed to proceed, a Coastal Development Permit must be approved prior to the award of any contract. Staff anticipates that the new payment infrastructure could be installed by the end of Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
Estimated Procurement and Implementation Process Schedule (Parking Technology Roadmap, Table 3. Page 16)
|
Task |
Estimated Timeframe |
|
Specification Development |
May 2025 |
|
RFP Release |
June 2025 |
|
RFP Review |
July 2025 |
|
Vendor Interviews & Demo |
August 2025 |
|
Contract Award & Contracting |
September 2025 |
|
Standard Operating Procedure Review |
September 2025 - March 2026 |
|
Manufacturing and Configuration |
September 2025 - March 2026 |
|
Implementation Planning |
January 2026 - March 2028 |
|
Implementation Period |
April - May 2026 |
|
Final Acceptance |
June 2026 |
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue. However, prior to full implementation, the City will provide opportunities for stakeholders to review the selected equipment, participate in demonstrations, and offer feedback on the user experience. This effort will ensure that the community is informed about the new parking payment technologies and can provide input on the transition, ultimately enhancing public trust and ensuring the smooth adoption of the new system.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the discussion and direction from City Council is not a “Project” as defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA and no further environmental review is necessary. However, any plan to ultimately transition parking payment infrastructure to parking kiosks and mobile pay options may be subject to CEQA and will be analyzed prior to said activities being brought back to City Council for consideration.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Parking Technology Roadmap
2. PowerPoint Presentation