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Issue 30 · July 2026
Canadian cities are running smart parking pilots. Here is what that means for operators.
From Robin Mulloy · OperationsCommander
This week a few stories landed that feel connected. A city in Ontario just rolled out a smart parking pilot combining LPR-enabled kiosks, digital permits, and contactless payments. Separately, a wave of touchless payment deployments is spreading across North American cities. Neither story is just about technology. Both are about what operators are increasingly expected to deliver, and how the systems behind them need to hold together.
LPR & Enforcement
A Canadian City Just Ran Its First LPR-Enabled Smart Parking Pilot
Waterloo, Ontario recently launched a smart parking pilot deploying license plate recognition kiosks alongside digital permit management and contactless payments. The goal was to reduce friction for drivers while giving the parking authority better real-time visibility into occupancy and compliance. Early results pointed to fewer overstay violations and faster enforcement response times once the LPR data started feeding into the back end.
“Integrating LPR with digital permit records gives cities a more complete operational view, from kiosk to enforcement officer to back office.”
How OPSCOM connects LPR to permit and enforcement workflows →
Source:Flowbird Group: Flowbird Launches Smart Parking Pilot in Waterloo, Ontario (2026)
Digital Payments & Curb Management
Open Payment Parking Is Spreading Across North American Cities
A wave of touchless, open payment deployments has reached major cities across North America, with drivers tapping credit cards, debit cards, and mobile wallets directly at kiosks. No app download required, no coins. What is interesting from an operations perspective is not the payment hardware itself. It is the expectation it creates. Once a city moves to open payment infrastructure, drivers expect consistent receipts, consistent data, and consistent enforcement across the whole network.
“The shift to open payment is not just about hardware. It raises the bar for what the software layer needs to do behind the scenes.”
How OPSCOM handles parking management across payment types and permit systems →
From the OPSCOM Community
Automatic email notifications when a refund goes through
A feature request posted this week is worth a look: automatic email notifications to permit holders whenever a refund is issued on their account. It is a small thing on the surface, but it speaks to a familiar gap. When a refund goes through without a notification, permit holders call to ask if it worked. Worth flagging if refund workflows are part of your day-to-day.
What Makes LPR Actually Useful in Enforcement
A license plate camera that is not connected to your permit records is just a camera. The operational value comes from closing the loop: plate reads that check against live permit lists, trigger officer alerts for violations, and feed directly into the citation workflow. When those connections work, enforcement gets faster and more consistent.
On the Radar
IPMI Webinar: Stronger Together — Building High-Performance Teams
August 12, 2026 · 2:00–3:00 PM EDT · Online (free)
A free one-hour session from the International Parking and Mobility Institute on team culture and performance under pressure. Practical for frontline supervisors and parking managers navigating staff challenges in high-caseload enforcement environments.
IPMI 2027 Call for Presentations
Opens August 17 · Deadline September 10, 2026
IPMI is accepting submissions for next year’s conference program. If your team has a workflow, case study, or hard-won lesson from the past year, this is a good opportunity for operators doing interesting work with enforcement technology, digital permits, or LPR integration.
GSX 2026 — Global Security Exchange
September 14–16, 2026 · Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta
ASIS International’s annual gathering for security professionals, covering access control, physical security, and enterprise operations. For teams where parking, enforcement, and campus or facility security overlap, GSX is a useful place to track where the broader security profession is heading.
If you are watching the open payment rollout in your region and have thoughts on what the back end needs to actually support it, I would love to hear what you are running into. Send it along.
Have a good week,
Robin& the OPSCOM Team ·LinkedIn
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OperationsCommander (OPSCOM) is a cloud-native platform for parking management, enforcement, and security operations. Learn more →
