By Associated Press - Wednesday, April 17, 2019

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Lincoln is eliminating humans from city parking garages, other than people leaving their cars, vans and pickup trucks.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that a new, bigger command center and office are being created at a former day care center at the Center Park Garage downtown, replacing an office in the Haymarket Garage and the current command center in the Larson Building.

The small current center, built into an electrical room, was the city’s first attempt at putting a command center into operation, “and we didn’t know how it was going to work,” said the city parking manager, Wayne Mixdorf.

The extra space and new equipment being ordered are aimed at helping the parking public.

The parking staffers can monitor the garages and assist customers having trouble paying or getting in or out. Garage cameras let the staffers see whether people are putting their tickets in upside-down or using credit cards improperly. The staffers can talk drivers through the processes or dispatch someone to assist them, Mixdorf said.

If a driver doesn’t have a way to pay, Mixdorf said, a staffer can record the vehicle license plate number, take down contact information and then let the vehicle out of the garage gate.

The city has signed a $250,000 contract to upgrade to its camera system, replacing analog garage cameras with digital cameras and installing more cameras in new locations.

The drive of technology and payments methods allows the elimination of gate jobs, he said, also mentioning that many drivers already pay using smartphone apps.

“So every month it seems like there is less need for that live cashier’s presence,” Mixdorf said.

The new command center and office are expected to open before the first Husker football game, Aug. 31.

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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com

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