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SDOT Tests New CityPal Pay Stations
SDOT crews install new CityPal pay stations (click for larger image)
More than 2,200 pay stations line our city streets in neighborhood business districts and the downtown core making it easier for people to pay for parking. Most people have become accustomed to using these high tech parking tools that enable parkers to use cash or credit to pay for on street parking. These “smart” meters have enabled the city to allow pre-purchased parking and implement multiple parking rates throughout the city.
On Tuesday, June 21, SDOT installed two new “CityPal” pay stations on Western Avenue, just north of the Pike Place Market. The CityPal is the newest version of the pay station and these are the first two CityPals installed in the United States.
The new units feature a 7-inch color touch screen that has been called an “iPad for the street,” capable of displaying not just parking pricing information, but also maps, wayfinding, and customer service messaging. The CityPals also feature improved web-based maintenance and programming capabilities that can better handle multiple rates of parking pricing. Despite the energy demanding features that CityPals provide, these units are fully powered by the sun through a top-mounted solar panel. The international standard symbol for parking, an upper case “P”, is mounted high on the unit for visibility and the side panels are customized for Seattle with an image of the Space Needle.
The CityPal screen (click for larger image)
SDOT is renting and installing ten total CityPals to try them out during the next year. Staff will test the functions and capabilities of this new generation of parking equipment and determine whether these units are a good fit for the city.
Posted: July 22nd, 2011 under General, Parking.
Which streets are these being tested on?
We’ve installed four so far: two on Western Avenue just north of Peter Steinbrueck Park at Pike Place Market, and two on 6th Avenue between Pike and Pine Streets. We’ll be installing six more in the coming month: two down on the waterfront, two on First Avenue south of Pike Street, and two in Pioneer Square.
What functionality are these test units outfitted with? These could serve as the foundation for citywide information sharing as Helsinki is investigating: http://helsinki.urbanflow.io/
As described, because they have a digital touch display screen similar to what you might find at many bank ATM’s, these parking pay stations offer the ability to communicate much more information to the public. At this time, we are only using them to convey paid parking information specific to the blocks on which they are located. While this only taps a small portion of their overall potential functionality, it is obviously our highest priority, and anecdotally we hear that their ability to provide much more clear instructions and information on the display screen has been well received by the parking public. Once we are confident they are performing well at their primary function, we’ll explore the introduction of other information that might be useful to the public, such as maps, wayfinding, and other area information. We’ll add the Helsinki information you shared to our list to consider as examples of potential future uses.