Background
In 2004,
the City of Cocoa Beach, Florida purchased a wireless network
providing police officers with Internet connection for in-vehicle
laptops. The City expanded the network to provide officers with the
ability to write and check reports in their cruisers. The network
also facilitates code enforcement officers to access reports and
records in the field, and made it possible for other City officials
to remotely perform tasks like turning on lights at the city skate
park or turning off the irrigation system.
Wireless Parking Meters & Vehicle Detection
Integrated Parking Solutions began an innovative technology trial with the City in 2005, adding wireless vehicle sensing technology to a number of new POM APM-E Series II parking meters in a City -owned parking lot near the Pier at Cocoa Beach. The goal of the trial was to demonstrate the ability of the POM meters, equipped with wireless radios and vehicle sensing technology, to notify enforcement personnel in the field of the location of vehicles parked at expired meters via the City’s wireless network.
Real-time Parking Enforcement & Meter Auditing
In addition to the vehicle detection notifications, Integrated Parking Solutions has been able to wirelessly send and receive data to and from the new POM meters. The upgraded meters can send audit details, including coin count, fault and jam detection notifications to the back office system or to personnel in the field. Enforcement officers in Cocoa Beach are equipped with the companies wireless ticket writers and will soon be able to receive real-time parking violation notification.
Integrated Parking Solutions’ technology also makes it possible to remotely send rate changes and receive and display time purchased on the parking meters via the company’s wireless payment system, ParkPal.
IPS technology also makes it possible to remotely send rate changes and receive and display time purchased on the parking meters via the company’s wireless payment system, ParkPal.
First of Its Kind – Add Time to Meters via PDA
The Cocoa Beach project was the first installation of a wireless parking meter system. The system boasts vehicle detection capabilities and delivers in-field notification of parking infractions and remote meter interaction for coin auditing and servicing. The system is also the first of its kind capable of accepting debit cards and payments via a PDA or other wireless devices and displaying the purchased time on the meter.
Recently, the City purchased 650 POM APM-E Series II meters that are Integrated Parking Solutions ready in anticipation of adding wireless and vehicle sensing throughout the City. The wireless data communication will work with the City’s current wireless network.
