City Rolls Out EasyPark Technology

Tom Cocchiaro thinks Portsmouth residents are going to love the new way they can park downtown now that they can register for new EasyPark accounts.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Portsmouth parking supervisor demonstrated how a city resident can now pull into a parking space, press a button on the EasyPark device and automatically pay for the actual time they choose to stay there.

"You only pay for the parking that you use," he said.

Cocchiaro announced that registrations for the new EasyPark accounts are now being accepted. The city's iPark account holders can transfer to the new EasyPark system free of charge and new EasyPark users can sign up for a $1 per month membership fee.

In both cases, EasyPark users just need to use a credit card to establish a source of funds that the device can draw from. Unlike iPark, which allowed users to park just in the city, Cocchiaro said the new EasyPark device allows them to park in Dover as well as Portsmouth. In the months ahead, they should be able to park in other communities that have the same technology, such as Durham, Concord, Hampton, Portland, Maine and Boston.

Cocchiaro said the EasyPark device can be placed on the driver's side window or on the dashboard and it is slightly smaller than an EZPass. The device automatically identifies one of the city's new parking zones and charges them accordingly, he said.

Soon the days of someone having to leave their car and stand outside in the snow and the rain to get a parking receipt from one of the city's parking machines will be a thing of the past for EasyPark users, Cocchiaro said.

"It's largely a convenience item," he added.

EasyPark is produced by On Track Innovation of New Jersey and Cocchiaro said it is just starting to make its way into the U.S. market. He said Dover, Portsmouth and Austin, Texas are three cities where it is currently being used.

Down the road, Cocchiaro said EasyPark users may also be able to use the device to prepay for parking in the High-Hanover Parking Garage. He said it also has a GPS function that allows user to drive into a city and identify where all of the respecting parking zones and rates are located.

Cocchiaro said iPark owners can exchange their units for the EasyPark devices at the Portsmouth Department of Public Works through Friday. He said those customers were notified by email last week.

He said iPark users who do not exchange their units by the end of this week will have to exchange them at the parking clerk's office at City Hall. Details related to the exchange process, and downloadable exchange forms, are available online on the city's website. 

Cocchiaro said that iPark units will no longer be honored beginning on Feb. 1. He said only four of the city's current 600 iPark users have requested refunds from the balances recorded on their devices instead of switching over the EasyPark device.

City residents who want to open a new EasyPark account can also do it online on the city's website, he said. He said the EasyPark devices cost $19.95 each plus shipping.