In Madeira Beach, FL, as in many Florida Gulf Coast communities, parking revenue from visitors are crucial to pay for construction and operating expenses such as enforcement, security, and maintenance of parking lots and lighting.
The visitor parking dollars have really added up recently in Madeira Beach, where significant gains in parking revenue have also helped to pay for a new City Hall, recreation center, fire station and baseball fields.
“The parking lot revenue in Madeira Beach have reached record levels for the city,” said Vincent Tenaglia, Finance Director. “Customers are able to pay for more time since we added the option of accepting credit cards at the new parking terminals. The previous coin-only operation really limited visitors’ ability to pay for the amount of time they needed.”
The stations, from Cale America, operate in pay-and-display mode, so every customer gets a receipt and proof of payment. Also, the city can monitor the system remotely, which greatly improves the efficiency of the maintenance and collection staff, he said.
City Manager Shane Crawford said visitors don’t mind paying for parking, and they appreciate having multiple payment options and a receipt.
“More than half of the parking transactions are paid by credit card,” Crawford said. “Customers choosing to pay by credit card typically buy twice as much time as customers paying with coins. It is important for our visitors to have choices, and this system gives them the flexibility they need.”
The city is considering adding mobile payment options for smartphones, which is becoming increasingly popular with other Florida beach communities. With mobile payments, a parking session is linked to a space number or vehicle license plate number, and can be started or extended from any location, even while sitting at the beach or in a restaurant.
[Sources: City of Madeira Beach, FL, and Cale America ]