Gokis Kiosk Self-Service

Parking Kiosks

Cherry Creek parking kiosks delayed

Denver Post article on Parking Kiosks

Cherry Creek parking kiosks delayed
Machines fail final tests; shoppers to be given free parking through Christmas

By Karen E. Crummy
Denver Post Staff Writer
Cherry Creek shoppers are getting an early Christmas gift.

Parking kiosks that were supposed to be installed this month - and last month and the month before - failed their final operational test.

That means shoppers can continue parking for free through the Christmas season.

But while store patrons are celebrating the holiday windfall, the city of Denver is left holding a lump of coal.

City officials asked the company from which they're leasing the kiosks, Denver Capital Leasing Corp., to terminate the contract with TCS, the supplier of the kiosks.

Now officials are back to square one, facing the distinct possibility that they have to start the entire process again.

"We're working with all the relevant parties to see what alternatives there are," said Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, spokeswoman for Mayor John Hickenlooper. "We have a lot of decisions to make."

The city has not yet paid for the machines.

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The kiosks were supposed to be in place Aug. 1 under terms of the contract. But the machines continued to fail operational tests, with the final one last Friday.

Getting the kiosks into place by early next year, however, is critical for the city, said assistant city attorney David Broadwell.

Two hundred parking spots in a Cherry Creek lot, costing $4.7 million, are under the same financing agreement as the kiosks.

The parking spaces will be offered on a monthly basis to employees of Cherry Creek North merchants.

The 77 kiosks are supposed to generate enough money to cover the lease-purchase payments of the spaces in the lot. The payments start Nov. 4, 2004, and continue for 15 years.

"It is incumbent, economically, that we generate (kiosk) revenue as soon as possible," Broadwell said.

Although the pay-to-park stations are intended to create more turnover in the shopping district, there was concern that installing them in late October before the holiday shopping season might hurt retailers.

As a result, the Cherry Creek North Improvement District, which has been working with the city on the parking issue, was not upset by the delay.

"I think from our perspective, we're glad they aren't going in at this time of year. The timing wasn't what it was originally planned to be," said marketing director Christina Brickley.

Posted by Craig at October 24, 2003 02:33 PM