Wilmington Launches Parkmobile Parking Payment System at 1,000 Parking Meters in the Downtown District

Post provided by The City of Wilmington

Beginning today, citizens can pay for parking with their mobile devices and receive a warning when the time on their meter is about to expire

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki today launched the Parkmobile payment option for metered parking in Downtown Wilmington. Beginning today, citizens can pay for parking through the Parkmobile phone app at approximately 1,000 metered spaces in the downtown district.

Finance Director Patrick Carter, Council President Hanifa Shabazz and 4th District Council Member Michele Harlee joined the Mayor for the announcement in Spencer Plaza. Also in Wilmington for today’s announcement was Brett Peze representing the City’s partners on the project—Parkmobile and Conduent.

“Parkmobile offers a convenient payment option that will improve the parking experience in downtown Wilmington,” said Mayor Purzycki. “This is an important step in modernizing our City’s on-street parking systems, which will in turn help attract customers to our shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and other businesses in and around the downtown corridor.”

Wilmington has entered into a partnership with Conduent and Parkmobile, LLC to make the Parkmobile app available to everyone at no cost to the City. In addition to paying for metered parking with their mobile phone, citizens can receive a reminder before their meter expires so they can extend their time with a few taps in the app instead of walking back to the meter. Two-hour time limits still apply, and the app will not allow customers to extend time beyond those limits.

There is a 30 cent transaction fee charged by Parkmobile for the use of its technology. However, should you decide to add money to a meter which has not already reached the two-hour limit, you will NOT be charged another transaction fee. The new service also tracks the time you arrive at a parking space and how long you’ve paid to park, which will help settle disputes from citizens who say they were ticketed with time and money remaining in their meter. Parking enforcement officers will use their handheld devices to confirm whether a customer has paid with Parkmobile.

All of the City’s downtown meters will also allow citizens to continue to pay for parking with coins or a credit card if they choose not to download the Parkmobile app. Parkmobile signage that displays zone information and additional details has been added to all parking meters.

To set up an account, you can register free on the Parkmobile app or at www.parkmobile.com. Once registered, you can immediately begin paying with Parkmobile either by using the app for iPhone, Android, or Windows 7 phones or by calling a toll-free number. Customers simply select their parking zone (which is actually a city block), license plate, card information, and length of stay, and off they go.

“This upgrade allows Wilmington residents, workers, and visitors to enjoy the same level of convenience they may have experienced at the Delaware beaches and in other cities,” continued Mayor Purzycki. “Customers will no longer need to worry about keeping coins on hand or running into stores to request change for the meters. On-street parking is one of the more common interactions that people have with the City of Wilmington, and we want to improve that experience.”

With more than 7 million customers and over 45 million transactions annually, Parkmobile is the most widely used mobile parking solution in the country and is available at nearby locations including Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach, and Lewes Beach as well as in New York City, Washington, D.C., and – soon – Philadelphia.

“Parkmobile is delighted to be partnering with the City of Wilmington to offer an innovative, hassle-free parking solution,” Jon Ziglar, Parkmobile CEO expressed. “Our Parkmobile service uses cutting-edge technology to enhance the parking experience for users. We are thrilled to now offer this service in Wilmington. We eliminate the taxing process of swiping cards or feeding coins to a meter by offering a user-friendly, mobile solution.”

Download the Parkmobile App here. 

Improving Market Street One Facade at a Time! The Effort Continues!

Chicky’s Pizza Pub, 201 N. Market Street

Through grants, Downtown Visions’ Main Street Wilmington façade improvement program not only provides funding to remove security gates but also provides grants for new signage! This most recently occurred at Wilmington Optical, 719 N. Market Street, Greenhill Pharmacy, 824 N. Market Street and Chicky’s Pizza Pub, 201 N. Market Street.

Interested in all of the Downtown Visions business assistance programs? Click here to learn more. 

Greenhill Pharmacy, 824 N. Market Street

Wilmington Optical, 719 N. Market Street

Post by Julia Mason of Enthusiasm Lab

Working Out Just Became a Whole Lot More Fun on Market Street!

Join us in welcoming Fitbody Personal Training to the Market Street family of businesses! Offering a variety of services, including a 21 day transformation program, Fitbody has something for everyone!  On October 21st, they celebrated their grand re-opening, complete with a DJ, food and drinks as well as a sampling of the incredible work-outs and friendly coaches at your service! 

No matter where you are at in your fitness journey, head over to 727 N Market Street to not only get fit and have a great time while doing it, but to be the best version of YOU! Call 302.689.3882 for more details.

As a dedicated client, Ruth explained, "I consider myself an avid gym goer. I rarely missed a day, but I was not getting the kind of results I wanted. I decided to hire Fitbody trainer Osi and I have got to say he worked out muscles that I didn't know I had! Osi's program is just what I needed to get past that plateau."

Post by Julia Mason of Enthusiasm Lab

Mayor Purzycki Announces a Beautiful City Initiative to Produce a Cleaner Wilmington

 Press release provided by The City of Wilmington, DE.

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki said today that a clean City, one in which its main travel thoroughfares as well as its neighborhoods are free of trash and debris, is a City that cares about its image and its future. With that thought in mind, the Mayor today announced Wilmington’s new Beautiful City Initiative (BCI), which is a consistent, sustained effort by City government and the community to clean the City.
 
Mayor Purzycki said the City government will lead the way on this new mission by instituting, with the support and leadership of the employees of the Public Works Department, a beautification program that has not been attempted before in Wilmington. Purzycki said it’s important to create an aesthetically attractive City for citizens and visitors alike. The Mayor said a clean City means we respect our City. Mayor Purzycki offered his thanks today to AFSCME Local 320, the union to which most of the City Public Works employees belong, for their support of the Beautiful City Initiative.
 
“We are rolling out the Beautiful City Initiative in phases beginning now, and we’ll do more next spring after the weather warms,” said Mayor Purzycki. “Once we get into the groove of the government and community working together to keep Wilmington clean, I know this effort will become part of the norm as opposed to being something special. We all need to take pride in our homes, our blocks and our neighborhoods, because everyone appreciates a beautiful City.”
 
The elements of the Beautiful City Initiative include: 
Cleaning the City’s highly visible areas and well-traveled corridors or gateways. On many mornings, Public Works street cleaning staff are cleaning—by hand and machine—the City’s gateways in the early morning hours prior to the morning rush hour. The gateways that are being cleaned before sunrise are Lancaster Avenue, 4th Street, Maryland Avenue, Northeast Boulevard, Church Street, Vandever Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Concord Avenue and MLK Boulevard.

Deploying more hand cleaning crews on neighborhood streets as well as using the city’s water flusher trucks more often. Clean street crews are paying greater attention to areas needing work such as sidewalks, grass, trees and utilities.

Distributing new and free trash bins to approximately 19,500 residential properties throughout the City next spring and requiring that citizens use the new bins instead of placing trash in bags on the sidewalk. The Mayor said the new trash bins, which will be the same size as the City’s recycle bins, can be lifted and emptied mechanically into a trash truck as the recycle bins currently are, improving worker safety for City employees  and adding greater efficiency to the collection process.
 
Offering an education program to help citizens understand the proper disposal methods for trash and recycling. The education effort will also help citizens control the amount of trash they throw away versus the amount of material they recycle. Mayor Purzycki said we have to do a better job of recycling than we do today because it’s less costly and is better for the environment. Wilmington’s current curbside recycling rate is approximately 20% and the Mayor said he wants to raise it to at least 30%.
 
Improved landscaping design and maintenance for public areas such as MLK Boulevard, Northeast Boulevard at 12th Street, 11th Street between Spruce and Church Streets, Concord Avenue and Broom Street, South Market from A Street to Howard Street, D Street at Heald Street and the Delaware Avenue Streetscape.
 
Improving the process for removing dead or injured trees from public rights of way and in parks.
 
Replacing missing or worn street signage through a citywide visual inventory.
 
Repainting crosswalks and stop bars, as well as repainting fire hydrants.
 
Reviving Wilmington’s Adopt-A-Block program, which asks neighborhoods, businesses, organizations and individuals to adopt an area and then agree to clean debris from a block or series of blocks at least every month, weather permitting.
 
Reform the City’s current street sweeping program by exploring the idea of deploying street cleaning trucks in neighborhoods that are in regular need of cleaning versus cleaning only those areas where citizens have requested street cleaning, which is the City’s current practice. Purzycki said it makes more sense for Public Works to use its judgement to clean streets that need more frequent cleaning.
 
Reform the City’s current practice of providing three, free special trash pick-ups to residential properties annually and then charging just $25 for subsequent pick-ups. Mayor Purzycki said the current system is being abused by irresponsible property owners or tenants who dump large volumes of materials on a City street.  Wilmington averages around 9,000 special pick-ups a year, which drains the Public Works budget and pulls the City’s street cleaning crews away from their mission of keeping streets clean. Instead, The Mayor said he will announce a special pick-up reform plan in the near future so Public Works can concentrate on cleaning the City more efficiently.
 
The Mayor said the City will also continue to crack down on those who illegally dump materials on City streets and open areas by working closely with the Wilmington Police Department to identify and arrest perpetrators. 

Mayor Purzycki and Acting Public Works Commissioner Williams said the new Beautiful City Initiative is being implemented within current budget constraints through improved management of people and resources, more strategic deployment of staff, increased communication, sharing of equipment among divisions,  the use of overtime assignments for existing employees and the hiring a limited number of temporary employees.

City of Wilmington, Delaware State University and the University of Delaware Enter into a Public Policy Partnership

The pact pledges mutual assistance and cooperation on projects that will benefit Wilmington and its citizens as well as the universities. 

The City of Wilmington, Delaware State University and the University of Delaware today signed an unprecedented pact that pledges mutual cooperation and assistance on various projects to benefit Wilmington and the residents and businesses which inhabit Delaware’s largest City. The agreement will also provide university students and faculty with new opportunities to participate in applied and practical research and service leading to immediate improvements in the operations of City government.
 
The mutual support agreement was signed today in the Mayor’s office in Wilmington by Mayor Mike Purzycki, City Council President Hanifa Shabazz, Delaware State University President Harry Lee Williams and University of Delaware President Dennis Assanis.
 
The agreement includes a number of ways the City and the two universities can work together, including:

• Partnering on projects such as fellowships, internships, research projects, studies, and grant applications
• Assisting the City with data collection and analysis to improve government efficiency and service delivery
• Utilizing the wide variety of experts from numerous fields that are available at each university to work with the City on a specific project 
• Expanding the assignment of students as university fellows to the City for specific government projects which allow the students to gain real world government experience
• Establishing student internship opportunities which will teach young people about Wilmington’s government and foster affection and appreciation for Wilmington among those who will become the leaders of tomorrow.

“We began talking about the potential of this collaborative arrangement earlier this year and it just made sense to many of us that we should harness the talent and resources of these two wonderful universities to work hand-in-hand with the City,” said Mayor Purzycki. “We need to bring about greater government efficiencies and to improve Wilmington’s service delivery to citizens. We have to be more creative and open to new ways of conducting the business of government, and to learn how to operate the government with fewer dollars. The University of Delaware and Delaware State University will help us achieve many of our goals and well as theirs, which includes expanding the educational opportunities available to students.”
 
City Council President Hanifa Shabazz expressed support for the partnership by noting that City Council hosted one of the first Urban Policy Fellows from the University of Delaware, and has continued to work closely with graduate students over the past five years, engaging them in various legislative and policy projects. “If our past collaborations with the University of Delaware and Delaware State University are any indication, I am confident this partnership will bring tremendous value to Wilmington and its residents, businesses and visitors. Delaware is too small for its largest city not to collaborate with its two premier public research universities. I look forward to exploring the many ways we can work with these institutions and others in the future.”
 
UD President Dennis Assanis said the University is committed to partnering with the City and Delaware State University to help address Wilmington’s challenges and expand its opportunities. “The University of Delaware has a long and rich history of applying its knowledge and creativity to local communities across the state,” he said. “This expanded collaboration with Wilmington will bring together talented and dedicated people to develop and implement innovative ways to enhance the physical, social, economic and cultural vitality of the city and its neighborhoods.” Assanis said he is particularly pleased that this partnership will involve students from both universities who will work in the Wilmington city government under the guidance of city officials and university faculty and staff. “The students will add capacity to Wilmington city government and acquire the knowledge and practical experience needed to become future community leaders,” he said.
 
"I'm delighted that two natural partners like Delaware State University and University of Delaware will be working together on a continuous basis to tackle the economic and social challenges of Delaware's largest city,” said Delaware State University President Williams. “The strengths that each partner brings to the table are both complementary and necessary and we expect will be of significant value to the City of Wilmington as well as staff, faculty and students at both institutions."
 
Mayor Purzycki said while there will be a cost to the City for some of the collaborative efforts among the three entities, the agreement will save the City money in the long run. The Mayor said university resources will be available at less expense than what the City pays for contracting with private firms. He said the agreement has the potential to benefit the City and universities well into the future.