The City of Santa Monica won a technology solutions award and received three honorable mentions from the Public Technology Institute (PTI) for four new and innovative technology projects, once again leading the way for sustainable, clean, and efficient public works. Based in Washington, DC, PTI is a national non-profit technology research and development organization, representing local governments. The PTI Technology Solutions Awards is a national program recognizing local governments that use technology to increase revenues, improve service to their community, save tax dollars, and/or improve management.
The SantaMoniCard parking meter debit card program won a PTI technology solutions award. This highly competitive award is presented to local governments who have demonstrated innovative technology solutions to improve service delivery, lower operating costs, and create new revenue opportunities.
The SantaMoniCard resembles a standard credit card and is used in conjunction with the new parking meters to be found throughout the City. The SantaMoniCard may be purchased at the Parking Office at 429 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 350 or at the Treasury Office in City Hall at 1685 Main Street.
The other Santa Monica technology programs that were recognized with honorable mentions were:
The Advanced Traffic Management System addresses traffic congestion issues and includes an improved parking information and advisory infrastructure, improved public transportation resources, and improvements to streets, intersections, signage, and signaling. Traffic signals can now be remotely monitored, managed, and controlled in real-time. Infrastructure improvements include upgrades to traffic signals and existing signal control electronics and construction of a dedicated fiber optic network. Traffic signal timing can now be adjusted on-the-fly from a central location in order to accommodate peak travel times, special events, holidays, and traffic accidents. The system will also be used to synchronize traffic signals in order to improve flow along major corridors.
A Mobile Work Management System is now available on office desktop computers and from Internet-enabled laptop computers carried by Water Resource Division work crews. Field crews can now update and view work order information on-site, making them more efficient and ensuring that work order information is always up-to-date.
CityNet is a collaboration of City and third-party fiber suppliers that provide the business community with high bandwidth communications services, enabling local government agencies to construct and expand community fiber optic assets. Participating local businesses are experiencing considerable savings for their communications networks while contributing funds for expanding the community fiber optic network. The City uses the additional revenue to fund expansion of fiber optic and wireless networks, and to implement new technologies that provide improved service, mobility, and livability for the community.
