The plan to install paid parking meters in Uptown is moving forward but those visiting that area will still be able to do so for free for the next seven months.
The Sedona City Council approved a contract on Tuesday, Oct. 25, with British Columbia-based T2 Systems for the purchase of up to 12 solar-powered parking meters. Its Luke II model pay station was selected at a cost of $175,164 — nearly $100,000 under budget.
The paid parking will be limited to the 101 spaces in Uptown along State Route 89A. The 415 off-street parking spaces in the area will remain free and will be promoted even more through additional signage.
Assistant City Manager Karen Osburn said that meters from T2 Systems are currently being used by the city of Tempe, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, all of whom gave rave reviews of the product when contacted by the city.
“The reason we selected this system ultimately is because it was the best combination of the preferred esthetics, ease of use for the customer and the service and support that comes with it,” Osburn said.
A request for proposals for a turn-key paid parking system was issued in July. The city requested proposals for three main components including the pay stations themselves, an enforcement/citation issuance system and an integrated pay-by-cell phone app. Proposals were received from eight vendors, a city report states.
None of the eight proposals they received provided a turn-key solution with all three elements meeting the needs of the city as a complete package, Osburn said. As a result, the Uptown Parking Advisory Committee decided to unbundle the three pieces and each was evaluated independently. The final selection of the enforcement system and a pay-by-phone app will occur later.
During this process, city staff worked with the UPAC to involve the merchants in evaluating and selecting the pay stations. This project had originally received its fair share of push back from the merchants because they felt if visitors had to pay to park they would go elsewhere.
Features of the Luke II pay stations include:
- Custom color to fit in to the Uptown aesthetic.
- Graphic color screen with easy to use buttons and instruction and ability to provide city-specific messaging, local maps, event information, etc.
- Ability to accept credit cards, bills, coins, validation coupons and pay-by-cell phone app.
- Multi-user, cloud-based analysis and management back office system to manage parking operations in real-time from any internet-enabled computer.
- Back office provides 90 metrics and over 6,000 widget configurations from simple reporting to advanced analytics.
- Options for five languages.
- Solar powered.
- Retro design with a rounded top and slim line body.
Other aspects of the metering program brought up was that fees could be slightly changed based on peak times of the day and year. The likely hours for paid parking will be 10 a.m. to no later than 8 p.m. and, the city is considering expanding the maximum time in a space from three to four hours.
The city will be looking at June of next year as an implementation date, following the peak spring tourist season. Until then, city staff will continue to work with the committee to cooperatively set parking pricing, develop marketing and communication strategies and determine signage design and placement, Osburn said. In addition they will develop a validation program for merchants and educate local businesses, residents, and visitors on new parking policies and programs and how those policies are meant to improve parking in Uptown.
During this time, staff will also be reviewing the process for citation issuance and enforcement as well as how to report any malfunctions or maintenance needed for the meters.
