Smart Parking City Offer Free Drive-Up Wi-Fi Services

SMART PARKING

MAKES FINDING PARKING UPTOWN EASIER

One of many City projects that pushed forward during the pandemic was the effort to simplify and improve the process of finding available parking in Uptown.

A team from the company Fyber installed small sensors the size of hockey pucks in the asphalt of 350 off-street parking spots located in lots A,B,C and D this spring. Those sensors send realtime occupancy information to the Parking Genius application (available for free download in mobile application stores). Users of the application will have access to turn-by-turn directions to available parking.

“We’re excited to bring this technology to visitors and residents wishing to spend time in Uptown. Now more than ever it’s crucial that we do what we can as a local government to support this historic area in the season,” said Scott Tourville, City Engineer.

Another bonus to the program is the collection of data about how frequently these parking spaces are used on a given day.

“Uptown is a popular destination year round. In the past, residents have brought up questions about adding surface parking spaces or even a parking garage to the area. But these are very expensive options and decisions would need to be data-driven,” Tourville said.

According to Tourville, a single surface space can cost upwards of $10,000 and spaces in a parking structure reach as much as $25,000 each. Inspired by a desire to create broader access to free internet connection during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City has introduced a number of free access points and drive-up Wi-Fi zones. These zones are powered by the WeConnect Data Center and Fiber Network’s more than 45 miles of high-speed fiber. “Each location is served with 1 Gig of bandwidth, meaning students and anyone else can have access to high-speed internet from these locations,” said Todd Jackson, Chief Information Officer for the City of Westerville. “We have a great responsibility to maximize how we spend public dollars. Having this data will truly illuminate the parking needs in Uptown,” he said.

In all, the program will cost less than $50,000 and will give the City important data about the usage of the 350 parking spaces monitored in Uptown. The City budgeted for this program with unused and saved funds from other projects.

Learn more about smart parking in Westerville at

City Offers Free

DRIVE-UP Wi-Fi SERVICES

www.westerville.org/smartparking.

Currently, the City offers eight locations in the Uptown Westerville area seven days a week, from 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.

City building parking lot at 64 E. Walnut St. Westerville Public Library Parking Lot (126 S. State St.) Intersection of South State and West Park Streets Westerville City Hall (21 S. State St.) Intersection of North State Street and West College Avenue Intersection of North State and West Main Streets

Once at an access point or drive-up Wi-Fi zone, connect your mobile device to the network (SSID) called “WeConnect.”

In addition to the new drive-up locations, access to free Wi-Fi is provided at every City facility, including the Westerville Community Center, Highland Park Aquatic Center, City Hall and the City building at 64 E. Walnut St.

Businesses interested in establishing or sponsoring WeConnect Wi-Fi access can email WiFi@weconnectdatacenter.com or call (614) 901-6829 to get started.