Introduction
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a 400‑year‑old New England seacoast city, welcomes 60,000 visitors every summer weekend—an increase of nearly 3× its 23,000‑resident population. With a busy downtown, centuries‑old street grid, and limited space to build new facilities, parking is every visitor’s first and last impression of the City. The municipality’s parking team set an ambitious goal: deliver a smooth, tech‑enabled parking experience that boosts revenue without burdening residents.
Background
Parking Ecosystem Snapshot
- Inventory: 2 city‑owned garages (1,500 spaces) + 671 curbside & surface lot spaces
- Payment Channels: ParkMobile® (71 % of all sessions), Flowbird & legacy IPS meters, TIBA garage PARCS
- Data & Analytics: Smarking dashboard tracks occupancy, pricing zones & seasonal trends
- Integrations: Cashiering, mail-in lockbox, DMV integrations, and pay-by-phone connections to enforcement handhelds all combine to create a simplified parking lifecycle.
“Sixty‑three percent of our parking revenue flows straight back into City services—from snow removal to school crossing guards. With 95 % of parking revenue from visitors, optimizing collections directly reduces local property taxes.”
The Challenge
| Pain Point | Impact |
| Legacy software didn’t link citations by license plate | Without this feature, and with less support after the acquisition of the legacy system, enforcement was harder |
| Repeat offenders gaming the system | Multiple vehicles per household hid under separate license plates, skirting escalating fines |
| Data silos & manual workarounds | Staff manually merged owner accounts and chased outstanding balances |
| Need for a dependable partner | City required stable finances, open communication & hardware flexibility |
“Lots of companies can make a great product, but if you can’t reach them, it’s useless.”
The Solution
Selecting Cardinal Tracking® TickeTrak
- The comprehensive RFP scored four vendors on plate‑based enforcement, open hardware, reporting depth, and vendor relationship quality.
- Cardinal’s team—from sales to CEO—remained accessible throughout, influencing the decision.
Seamless Implementation & Training
- Collaborative Kick‑off: Weekly transition calls with City clerks, PEOs, finance & Cardinal PM.
- Data Migration: Six years of citation history were imported and sandbox validated before go‑live.
- Hands‑On Training: Role‑based sessions for enforcement officers & back‑office staff; feedback loop fed directly into Cardinal R&D
- Payment Portal Launch: Online pay/appeal integrated with ACH deposit to the City
Technology Highlights
- Plate‑Based Account Linking automatically groups all vehicles to a single owner, activating escalating fine logic (>10 tickets / >$250 balance)
- Off‑the‑Shelf Hardware Option: Android phones & Zebra® printers reduce replacement cost & downtime
- Real‑Time Data Feeds to SmartIn dashboard for occupancy, demand & pricing analytics
Results & Impact
| KPI | After TickeTrak (Year 3) |
| Citation collection rate | 15% increase in issuance, and a 20% increase in collections |
| Online payments increase | 3,000+ transactions/week with reduced call volume |
| ParkMobile adoption | 71% of all parking sessions (up from 55%) |
| Repeat‑offender accounts consolidated | Hundreds of multi‑plate owners auto‑merged |
“The ability to tie plates together meant a lot in terms of collectability—we’re finally reaching people who thought old fines would disappear.”
Qualitative Benefits
- Staff Efficiency – Clerks spend far less time merging accounts & mailing reminders.
- PEO (Parking Enforcement Officer) Productivity – Handhelds issue tickets faster; future roadmap includes live PEO heat‑map.
- Resident Goodwill – Visitor‑funded parking revenue offsets ~$500 in annual property tax for the median household, while delivering substantive program and asset support.
- Vendor Partnership – Interaction with Cardinal leadership and team ensures rapid response & roadmap influence.
Recommendations:
Looking for a new system can be daunting. Here are some recommendations for those considering this option.
- Prioritize People as Highly as Features – A responsive vendor relationship is as critical as software specs.
- Involve End Users Early – Enforcement officers & clerks shaped the RFP and training, driving adoption.
- Leverage Hardware Options – Commodity devices slash lifecycle costs and avoid vendor lock‑in.
- Stay Flexible on Business Terms—Working with the vendor on payment options helps keep the SaaS license within budget.
Looking Ahead
The City is working to layer predictive wayfinding and real‑time garage counts into ParkMobile, turning data into visitor delight. Ongoing input with Cardinal’s product team keeps enhancements on track.
At‑a‑Glance
- Industry: Municipal Parking & Mobility
- Location: New England seacoast city
- Solution Deployed: TickeTrak® Enforcement & Citation Management
- Go‑Live: November 2022
- Key Integrations: ParkMobile, Flowbird, TIBA PARCS, Smarking analytics, DMV & municipal ACH
