Parking Network Recognizes Oxford For Doing More With Less

Screenshot by Callie Daniels Bryant

Oxford, Mississippi is a charming southern college town in the midst of transformation.

The booming downtown area has over 300 premium parking spaces that surround restaurants, shops, businesses, and government offices. In 2012, population growth from the nearby University of Mississippi, increased tourism, and strains on infrastructure demanded a smarter parking solution.

With only a three-person parking department, the City sought an efficient system to manage and enforce high-traffic regions. To solve the problem, the City considered introducing a pay-to-park system in the previously free parking area. After a several-year study, the City and the Downtown Parking Advisory Commission (DPAC) decided to implement a paid parking system using single-space parking meters. The City subsequently issued a Request for Proposals and after a thorough evaluation process, the City awarded the contract to IPS Group, Inc.

Through IPS, the City of Oxford exceeded its goals of increasing turnover and creating a budget surplus to improve parking infrastructure. Before installing IPS meters, parking operations lost an average of $20,000 per month. Within eight short months after installing IPS meters, the new meters generated over $500,000 in additional revenue—the dollar amount originally estimated to be the upper limit of year one potential earnings.

With a steady source of income, the City is now developing plans to improve parking infrastructure and accommodate future growth. With IPS smart meters, enforcement operations have improved dramatically. “IPS meters are without a doubt the best thing that we’ve done for parking in the past 20 years,” states Joey East, Chief of Police of the Oxford Police Department.

Article courtesy of Parking Network