Dubuque to try New “Smart Parking Meters” Downtown

The City of Dubuque will pilot new parking metering technology for three months across three downtown areas. The new technology, which will be installed by Feb. 1, is designed to provide additional conveniences for customers and will feature more payment options, license plate recognition, and the ability to select more precise time intervals.

Eleven single-space smart meters will be temporarily installed on the 700 block of Main St. and six pay station spaces will be managed by a kiosk and three single-space meters on the 800 block of Main St.  Multi-space smart kiosks (pay stations which manage multiple nearby spaces) will be temporarily installed in the City-owned lot located at Third St. and Main St. (one kiosk will cover 16 parking spaces), and the City-owned lot located at 11th St. & Elm St. (one kiosk will cover 71 parking spaces).

The pilot is being conducted at no cost to the City and will provide valuable data for evaluating wider use of deployment of a smart parking platform in Dubuque’s metered districts. The “smart” meters and kiosks will display parking rates, hours, time limits, and other important information. The meters are easy to use, safe, secure, and reliable, with a large screen that makes it easy to see all information, such as remaining time and time limits. The new meters have more payment options and accept coins, VISA and MasterCard credit and debit cards.  (The Passport parking app currently used by the City on existing meters will not work on the pilot meters and kiosks.)

The 90-day pilot will run through April and will include full parking enforcement and utilization of data-gathering capabilities.  All meter and ticket revenue collected during the pilot will belong to the City, not the technology vendor.

City staff hope these meters improve customer experience, while maintaining efficient on-street and off-street parking. The public can provide input on their experiences with the pilot meters by contacting the City of Dubuque Transportation Services Department at parking@cityofdubuque.org or 563-589-4266.