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Council weighs parking technology pilot, smart‑city infrastructure and CIP priorities
Summary
Staff told council a parking sensor pilot and a coordinated parking app could reduce downtown congestion; members also discussed leveraging streetlight upgrades and broadband as part of a smart‑city infrastructure plan tied to several CIP projects and ARPA set‑asides.
City parking and planning staff briefed council on a multi‑part approach to downtown mobility and data collection, describing options that include a sensor‑based parking pilot, enhanced mobile‑payment integration with William & Mary and Colonial Williamsburg, and gateway/wayfinding upgrades.
An unnamed parking presenter summarized past work from the 2016 parking study and said staff tested a sensor demo with a vendor, referred to in the transcript as “Fiber.” The presenter told council a vendor contract and installation would likely take six to eight months from procurement to basic data collection. Passport and ParkMobile were discussed as dominant market players and staff warned the city faces a technology sunset for its current system that requires action.
Councilors also explored the idea of a valet/’ballet’ shuttle pilot to move visitors from peripheral lots to downtown using small electric vehicles, and several members asked whether the city could coordinate a single parking technology across campus, city and Colonial lots to give visitors a seamless experience.
The workshop broadened into a discussion of smart‑city infrastructure: staff described how streetlight‑mounted sensors and Wi‑Fi can be a platform for parking, public‑safety monitoring, environmental sensors and data governance. Staff noted Dominion and other utilities have programs (green‑power procurement and bundled hardware) that can be part of carbon‑reduction strategies.
CIP and ARPA context: staff reminded council of approximately $12 million in unspent ARPA set‑asides allocated to multi‑year projects (Research Village, Black Performance Venue, Triangle Building). Several councilors said they wanted parking pilots and smart‑city demonstrations to be explicit near‑term GIO priorities so staff can pursue grant funding and pilot vendors.
What’s next: staff will return with a costed parking‑technology pilot plan, a short list of procurement options and a timeline that accounts for the software sunset and partner buy‑in.
