New Pay Stations and Mobile App Offer Modernized Fee Collection System for Parks
Moorestown, NJ — Flowbird Group, a global leader in unattended payment technology and mobile payment applications, has announced the deployment of an integrated fee collection system for Palisades Interstate Park Commission, in partnership with local distributor, Devo & Associates. The solution expands on the success of the Flowbird system deployed in 2015 at the Commission’s popular Fort Lee Historic Park.
The Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey covers 2,500 acres of wild Hudson River shorefront, uplands, and cliffs, and is just minutes from midtown Manhattan. Visitors enjoy many outdoor activities at the various park locations including hiking, biking, boating, and picnicking, while taking in breathtaking riverfront views.
For decades, the Commission has collected parking fees at the busiest park areas to generate revenue to help maintain the park and to help manage the number of cars. Park employees stationed at the entrance to each lot collected these fees from drivers. Rates were often increased on weekends and holidays to help regulate the limited spaces available during these times of peak park use.
The new automated and cashless parking system recently deployed by Flowbird and its local distribution partner, DEVO & Associates, will allow park employees to put their time toward providing visitor services and information, maintaining facilities, and caring for the park landscape instead of physically collecting parking fees. The system has been live since the beginning of the Spring at Fort Lee Historic Park, Ross Dock Picnic Area, Englewood Picnic Area (south lot), Alpine Picnic Area, and Hazard’s Ramp – a boat launching ramp for registered, trailer-towed boats under 24 feet in length and jet skis.
Visitors to Palisades Interstate Park now have the option to pay for parking at any one of the new solar-powered Flowbird pay stations or on the Flowbird Mobile App. The system is set-up for pay-by-plate parking where parking enforcement is managed by the visitor’s license plate number. With the Flowbird app, users can choose to receive a reminder notification when their time is about to expire and then extend their time right from their mobile device. From anywhere in the park, visitors are able to extend their parking session, allowing them to focus on their hike, picnic, or kayak adventure, without worrying about their parking time running out.
Flowbird has also deployed a digital permitting system for the Commission to accommodate New Jersey residents 62 years or older, as they are exempt from metered parking at the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey. The Flowbird Permit system also accommodates Boat Basin tenants who rent a slip for the season at Alpine or Englewood Boat Basin.
Transaction details and relevant permit information are shared in real-time with the Commission’s license plate recognition system provided by Leonardo to ensure compliance with parking regulations.
Beyond providing a faster and more convenient way for visitors to park and get started on their recreational activities, Flowbird’s smart parking system will also provide a safer and more productive work environment for park staff. Their team has 24/7/365 access to Flowbird’s back-office system, providing real-time visibility on parking sales, with the capability to view the activity at each of the Palisades Interstate Park locations. Flowbird hosts all of the data, and provides Park staff with web-based access to run custom reports and monitor the status of each pay station.
“We are very pleased to work with both the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and Devo & Associates to deploy this customer-friendly solution,” said Benoit Reliquet, President of Flowbird North America. “We see that more and more people are visiting parks across the country and our technology is a natural fit to provide park goers with a great experience while reducing the amount of time agency staff need to spend collecting parking and boat launch fees.”
The Palisades Interstate Park Commission joins several other park & recreation agencies that have deployed Flowbird solutions including Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Delaware State Parks, New Hampshire State Parks, South Dakota Parks, and Washington State Parks.