Ocean City, New Jersey Wants To Help Visitors Find Parking

Parking at the Jersey Shore is always a challenge during the summer months. Whether you are a local Shore Town resident or coming from the mainland, you already know the challenges of visiting the boardwalk or the beach from June to August each year.

One South Jersey town will use a new program this summer to help locals and vacations find open parking spaces. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence technology, the goal is to give drivers real-time updates on what park areas are open around the Coastal Community instead of wasting time driving around hoping to find an open spot.

What South Jersey Town Is Using AI To Help With Parking

In Ocean City, their City Council has authorized a new contract with Duncan Parking Technologies Inc. for the implementation of the new parking system. The plan is to install new parking sensors and related infrastructure that supply real-time data to their platform.

The Duncan Solutions Parking Program called “Always a Spot" informs where they can park and how many spaces are available around town. Similar to how parking systems work at Commercial Parking Decks and Airport Parking Lots, the new system coming to Ocean City will use AI to inform guests of where to go for parking instead of driving around hoping to find an opening.

What You Need To Know About Parking In Ocean City

Even though Ocean City Officials are unsure exactly when the system will be in place, the "Always a Spot" program will be separate from the Virtual Paid Parking via the ParkMobile App. You will still need to pay for parking with a separate application from the system that tells you where you can park around town.

Duncan Solutions has been the operator of the Philadelphia Parking Authority since 2019. Their technology handles paid parking, meters, and traffic citations in the city. No word from Ocean City if they would consider switching from ParkMobile to Duncan Solutions if the "Always a Spot" is a successful venture.

Photo by Jill Marv on Unsplash

Parking at the Jersey Shore is unnecessarily complicated because the costs and metered areas vary from town to town. So here is what you need to know if you plan to pay for parking in the Cape May County Shore Towns:

The Cost Of Seasonal Parking Permits In Cape May County, NJ Shore Towns

Every Jersey Shore Town located in Cape May County now uses the ParkMobile App for parking, as every town has made the transition to Virtual Parking Meters. Some people do not want the hassle of using a Virtual App or paying for Meters. These people typically obtain Seasonal Parking Passes in order to park in the Coastal Communities from May through September.

Here is a breakdown of how much those Parking Permits are reported to cost in each Cape May County Shore Town. Small Municipalities such as West Wildwood and West Cape May do not have their own parking meters or Seasonal Parking Permits, so they are not listed below.

Gallery Credit: Josh Hennig/Townsquare Media