Amano McGann provides new addition to city of Lowells parking revolution

Amano McGann has been the vendor of choice for parking solutions since Chuck Carney began to implement his vision for an integrated city-wide parking system in 2005. Originally, Lowell suffered from the decay of old garages and lots outfitted with manual parking and payment services and little oversight. Security, on-going maintenance, and cash flow were all major issues. In addition the city was not reaching its income targets and was losing in excess of $500,000 per year. Recognizing an opportunity for change, including increased revenue, Lowell took back the management of all parking facilities and created the citys Parking Operations division to oversee all aspects of parking operations.

The city named Chuck Carney Parking Director, and created the Lowell Parking Enterprise Fund to take parking revenue and put it back into keeping the infrastructure well maintained and profitable. It also created a revenue stream to allow for building any new parking facilities. The recently completed Edward Early parking facility with 900 additional parking spaces for the city is an example of this change of direction. The Parking Team, consisting of the City of Lowell and Central Parking Systems, worked with Amano McGann to update, automate and integrate the citys on- and offstreet parking. The Jeanne DArc Credit Union Lot is the latest testament to the Parking operations mission. The lot is also another example of the partnership Amano McGann has built with Carney and the city in supplying upgrades and updates to the citys parking facilities.

The newly automated lot provides parking services to private business as well as the general public. The lot itself is directly connected to the Jeanne DArc Credit Union, whose employees use proximity cards to interface with the Amano McGann parking software and hardware system. This facility is also equipped with card readers, ticket dispenser and lag-time reader so the citys residents and visitors who use the lot and its accompanying garage can have their ticket validated. All of this equipment is connected to the adjacent Ayotte parking facility utilizing the citys impressive wireless network. The fully automated Ayotte facility is equipped with Amano McGann lane devices and Pay on Foot stations that make parking at the University of Lowell Tsongas Arena a breeze. On any given night the Tsongas Arena is host to local and national music, sports, and trade events that bring all-important commerce to area businesses, while providing an outlet for community participation.

With the Amano McGann parking system in place at the Jeanne DArc Credit Union lot the city is able to easily audit, track and report parking activity in real time, and at a significant cost savings over the unreliable and outdated manual processes. The city has seen improved revenue and lower operational costs, as well as better control over audit procedures, notes Carney. Plus, our customers constantly compliment our operations. When you make a big decision like this we felt it was very important that the vendor become a business partner. Carney said. Amano McGann was a partner through our planning and evaluation processes and provided timely installation and software support. What Amano McGann provides is top quality, with their automated parking processes and updated technology.