On the Beat with Allentown Parking Authority Officers and the UPsafety Permits & Enforcement Solution
Nestled within the heart of the City of Allentown, Pennsylvania, lies an awe-inspiring, independently ruled domain known by some as The Oz Mahal. “It’s one of the seven wonders of the parking world,” Enforcement Manager Oswaldo “Ozzy” Tosado, CAPP, said. Here, under the reign of The Allentown Parking Authority (APA), Tosado leads a team of parking guardians devoted to bringing harmony across the bustling urban landscape. “The public relies on us to help fix parking problems on their blocks. If you’re not doing that, it’s a disservice to the people who really care about our great community.”
Outfitted with all-in-one, XF handheld devices wielding the mightiest of parking enforcement software, the APA team keeps watch over about 5,000 spaces across six garages, 22 lots, and the City’s streets. All the features and functionality of the UPsafety Permits and Enforcement (PE) Solution allow them to be more efficient, effective, and protected on their crusades. “It’s way more powerful than anything we’ve used in the past,” Tosado said. “With UPsafety PE, there’s one system for everything we need.”
Since APA declared UPsafety PE as the parking management solution of its land, Tosado has seen some great victories – not only in the field and for the operation, but from his team. Officers, he says, have felt more supported and successful in their work with this solution, which has led to greater job satisfaction and pride among them. It’s the most important thing for Tosado to see. “It’s made our officers’ jobs a lot easier and has helped tremendously with morale and productivity.”
Tosado proudly takes us through a typical day in the lives of Allentown Parking Authority’s enforcement officers, showcasing a dedication to community and how the powers of the UPsafety PE Solution are harnessed at every turn.
7:30 am – Assembly at The Mahal
The shift begins routinely with a briefing and inspection of enforcement vehicles. Enthusiasm and camaraderie fill the air. Officers are eager to experience new and exciting tales to tell and feel safe and supported no matter what situations they may face in the day.
8:00 am – 12:00 pm – Well-Oiled Enforcement
As the hustle and bustle of the city begins to wake, officers get their start on enforcing time-limited parking to keep traffic flowing. They’re chalking tires electronically, capturing several vehicles at once, without leaving their vehicles or having lengthy stops on foot with UPsafety PE’s built-in chalking functionality. Other officers on today’s beat have a record of each other’s chalks and are already receiving alerts that vehicles are over time.
While some officers continue to chalk and monitor stays, others are confirming city patrons have paid for parking by kiosk or through the Authority’s pay-by-plate application. With pay stations and mobile payment applications integrated, the UPsafety PE solution provides real-time views of spaces paid for, spaces soon-to-expire, and spaces expired, all in the palm of officers’ hands. In the process, officers are seamlessly validating permit parking by plate. To Tosado’s delight, they’re covering a lot of ground in a short amount of time.
“In the UPsafety PE software, there’s one spot to check everything,” he said. “Vehicle stays. Parking payment status. Valid permits, and more – in real-time, with a single shot of a license plate that also auto-populates ticketing fields with owner data.” It’s only taking the team 20 seconds or less to issue tickets for violations directly from their handhelds. “It’s been a game changer for us.”
“Our officers are using UPsafety PE to the max. Daily tasks weren’t as efficient or safe before we began enforcing with UPsafety.”
Oswaldo Tosado, CAPP
Allentown Parking Authority
12:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Slick Moves to Safety
In the process of sweeping the city’s side streets, an officer’s mounted LPR captures the plate of a scofflaw offender. APA’s protocol for cases as extreme as this one requires booting the vehicle quickly and safely with the Barnacle® immobilization device. The deployment was fortunately effortless and went without incident with the help of UPsafety PE Solution’s built-in integration of Barnacle’s management system. “Our officers are using UPsafety PE to the max,” Tosado explained. “Daily tasks weren’t as efficient or safe before we began enforcing with UPsafety.”
With reliable equipment and all the resources they need in one parking enforcement software system, officers complete their workdays feeling accomplished and happy to have made a difference in their community.
A World of Difference
Before UPsafety PE, parking enforcement was less magical for APA and its team. Officers once toggled between several unstable and unreliable apps on their devices for each task, often leaving them no choice but to perform manual tasks such as writing paper tickets. “The devices would often lose connection to the app or Bluetooth printer, or the app would crash mid-ticket,” Tosado said. “It was really getting frustrating to the point that we did lose some staff who felt like they couldn’t do their jobs properly.”
The ticket issuing process became just as frustrating to Allentown’s patrons. Due to the platform’s issues, there was a delay in syncing violation data from officer devices to the backend system as well as when manual entry was necessary. Patrons had to wait a day or longer to pay tickets before the system was populated with information. “People were wasting their time coming into our office trying to take care of their tickets right away, which often spurred complaints against us,” Tosado stated. The Authority had struggled to provide the level of customer experience they pledged to offer their community.
APA is now able to better serve its community through the reliability of the UPsafety PE platform, along with a real-time citation and permit payment portal for patrons. Tosado credits T2 with transforming the Authority’s enforcement operation from where it once was.
A Bright Future
Today, The Allentown Parking Authority is recognized as an efficient and effective operation, with increased compliance and significant revenue generation. Its gains have been used to reinvest into their operation by increasing staff, expanding city coverage, and modernizing parking equipment. Tosado plans to add defensive driving training for officers and de-escalation training for customer service staff. “With the success we’ve had, it gives us the ability to reinvest in the organization to get better. We’re investing more in the staff and giving them the tools they need regardless of the area they’re in, so that overall the department is very well-rounded.”
“Allentown is home,” he said. “It’s consistently evolving. It’s always been able to adapt to the times we’re in.” Tosado is confident that his team will continue to meet the complex needs of the growing city with the help of UPsafety PE.
Contact us if you’re interested in talking about how UPsafety PE can transform your operation!
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