Current Issues and Pending Projects
March 25, 2015
To: Customers of Springfield Parking Authority
From: Mary E. McNally, Executive Director, Springfield Parking Authority
Current Issues and Pending Projects
Credit cards are accepted at our facilities. Please use this payment method when you can.
The contractor for the viaduct project will be selected this month. The I-91 parking capacity continues to be sufficient for our current parking demand. We continue to expect that construction, when it begins, will not adversely affect this situation. As stated previously, the Authority will send email notifications to existing customers and post updates on our website as we receive them. The information we will share will be based on communications with the DOT and the contractor selected for this project. The situation is being monitored regularly and additional contingency planning continues.
As requested previously, if you are a monthly parker, please make sure that the information you provide us regarding your vehicles is updated as changes occur. Our security contractor, M.J. Norton Co., issues tickets on vehicles left in our garages and lots after closing. Many of these tickets prove unnecessary and are voided due to inaccurate information on file. Please let us know if you have changed vehicles or need to add a second vehicle to the information on file here. It is also helpful if we have your updated contact information including an email address and daytime telephone number.
We continue to struggle with the problem of lost chip coins at many of our facilities. If you have taken a coin upon entering a facility and for some reason did not use it to exit, please return it by dropping it in the receptacles at the garage exits or at our office at 150 Bridge Street, Springfield, Ma.
Three new Smart cars have been delivered to the Authority and have replaced the Go-4 Interceptor vehicles used for parking enforcement. Two of these vehicles are fully electric and the purchase is partially funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. You may have seen these cars already patrolling City streets. Electric vehicle charging machines have been installed in the I-91 North garage and in the Columbus Center garage. These chargers are also funded in part by a grant from the Mass. DEP and are free to the public.
Recent facility upgrades include the following: 1) masonry and signage on the façade of Taylor garage; 2) a black wrought iron fence installation around the perimeter of the Dwight Street lot; 3) new lighting on the first floor of the I-91 North garage. In the spring, plans are in place to re-stripe the meter spaces and install new signage and other lighting upgrades at Dwight Street lot and Columbus Center facilities.
Our major facilities capital needs assessment is now complete. The recommendations have been evaluated and projects will be scheduled by priority within the coming months, beginning at the Civic Center facility. We are also investigating acquisition of a pay by phone mobile application for customer use for meter parking fees.
Re: Community Contributions
The Springfield Parking Authority has recently sponsored the Department of Children and Families National Adoption Day and has allowed use of its facilities at reduced or no cost, to support community affairs and charitable activities, such as the Balloon Parade volunteers, the Springfield Business Improvement District Valet Parking Program the Grinspoon Foundation, the American Red Cross Blood Drive and the Mass Mutual Financial Literacy for Schools program. We will continue to support economic development activities in the City whenever possible as our resources allow.
We welcome your suggestions and comments as we move forward with our mission of service to the Springfield community.