Kingston City Council approves changes to parking infrastructure
On Tuesday night, members of Kingston City Council approved a pair of changes to the City’s ‘Pay and Display’ parking meters. For one, Councillors voted in favour of a plan to replace some of the existing parking infrastructure throughout the downtown core with new top-of-the-line equipment. The City will now enter into a contract with Precise Parklink Inc. in a deal that is expected to cost the City $239,516.
The Contract with Precise Parklink will see the company install up to 50 new units over the next two years with the latest technology in parking machinery. Currently, the City is home to 208 Pay and Display meters, the majority of which are located in the downtown core. The first order the City will place through the company will be for a minimum of 28 machines, with each new unit replacing an existing parking meter. A staff report that was presented to councillors ahead of last night’s meeting noted that some of the current devices have “reach[ed] their life expectancy and [require] replacement.”
According to the report, the City’s request for proposals (RFP) received just two bids, with Precise Parklink outbidding JJ Mackay Canada Ltd. to emerge as the preferred provider. While Precise Parklink’s bid of $239,516 exceeded their opponent’s by over $30,000, the report indicated that the overall cost is still less than the City’s projected budget of $252,000 for the project.
Councillors also approved a plan to retrofit 180 of the existing Pay and Display units to add contactless payment options to the devices, such as Interac Flash. The move means that those looking for on-street parking will soon have additional payment options, with the retrofitted devices capable of handling a wide range of contactless options, including Apple and Google Pay.
As per the staff report, the decision to add contactless payment will ensure the City’s existing Pay and Display machines are consistent with industry standards. It reads, “all unattended cardholder-activated terminals (UCAT), such as our parking terminals, must be Europay, Mastercard, and Visa-enabled (EMV) by October 2022… EMV is a payment method based on a technical standard for smart payment cards and for payment terminals and automated teller machines which can accept them.”
The two items were presented to Councillors, with members approving the staff recommendations unanimously and without debate. No timelines have been provided as to when the two projects are expected to be completed.