Dubuque council reviews hybrid smart-parking plan, staff recommends mobile app, kiosks and LPR enforcement

On May 4, 2026, the Dubuque City Council held a special work session to review a smart parking and mobility master plan and heard staff recommend a hybrid system combining mobile-pay apps, on-street kiosks and mobile license-plate-recognition (LPR) enforcement.

The recommendation came from Ryan Nucke, director of transportation services, who told the council that controlled parking would encourage turnover near schools and storefronts, improve safety at drop-off and pick-up times, reduce long-term curb storage of vehicles and provide data to guide pricing. "We have 0 data" on current curb use, Nucke said, arguing that a modern system would let the city match prices to demand and free prime curb space for short visits.

Why it matters: downtown parking generates material revenue and affects local businesses and residents. Nucke said the city’s on-street meter districts produce roughly $600,000–$640,000 a year and downtown parking lots about $175,000–$225,000; staff said better turnover and data could support storefront access and long-term planning.

What staff proposed and why: based on RFP responses and peer-city comparisons, staff recommended: - A mobile parking app as the primary payment channel, to allow remote time extensions, digital receipts and lower hardware costs; Nucke said many visitors already use regional apps. - A reduced network of on-street kiosks to preserve cash and low‑tech payment options and support visitors who prefer receipts. - A mobile LPR enforcement system to make enforcement more efficient, enable pay‑by‑plate operations and deliver occupancy and usage data for planners.

Costs and vendor responses: RFP results showed broad vendor ranges. For kiosks, hardware bids ranged from about $1,500 to $7,000 per unit and annual per-unit software/maintenance fees from about $300 to $1,500; staff initially modeled 263 kiosks for full coverage, producing estimated software/maintenance totals of roughly $78,000–$410,000 annually depending on vendor choices. For mobile apps, setup costs were often $0 with convenience fees of about $0.10–$0.45 per transaction and credit-card processing of about 2–4 percent. For LPR, staff reported software maintenance of about $20,000–$35,000 per year, equipment/startup costs of roughly $75,000–$200,000 and an estimated vehicle operating cost (fuel/maintenance) of about $7,800 per vehicle per year. Nucke stressed these were RFP ranges and "we have not signed any contracts." (Quotes and numbers are staff estimates presented during the session.)

Council questions and concerns: council members pressed on several practical issues. Council member Resnick asked whether apps carry advertising (staff: vendors typically rely on convenience fees, not ads) and emphasized convenience for downtown visitors. Council member Russell asked how pay‑by‑plate differs from pay‑by‑space; Nucke explained users register their license plate in the app or kiosk and LPR reads plates across geo‑grids, allowing users to move within a zone without re‑paying. Consultant Brian McGahn said a common kiosk deployment is one kiosk per block face where pay parking exists but that staff could scale the number of kiosks down from the 263 initially specified.

Equity and access: multiple council members insisted a cash option must remain available. Nucke said the city’s new ramp pay-on-foot stations include cash options but that ramp users have mostly used QR codes and cards; staff recommended keeping kiosks in some locations to ensure access for users without smartphones.

Next steps: staff said they will refine cost estimates, vendor specifications and coverage options and return to council with more detailed recommendations and references; the mayor requested comparisons of net fiscal impacts and enforcement costs before any commitment. The Mayor adjourned the work session to reconvene at 6:30 p.m.