Latest news with #HotSpot
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Woman shot after chasing down her stolen car in Spartanburg: Police
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) — Police are investigating a shooting that occurred after a woman was tracking down her stolen car in Spartanburg Wednesday night. According to the Spartanburg Police Department, the shooting occurred around 9:45 p.m. at the intersection of Collins Ave. and Georgia Street. The woman told police she arrived early to her job at the HotSpot on East Henry Street and went inside to get a coffee to drink while she waited in her car before her shift. She told police that she had left the keys in the car when she went inside the store. When walking back to her car, she saw a man get into her car and drive away. The victim was able to wave down a friend she recognized to follow her car. The pair followed the car down Union Street then onto Duncan Park Drive, where the car swerved and hit the victim's friends car. The pursuit continued back on to Collins Ave., when the suspect slowed down next to the victim's friend's car. The suspect, police said, then fired two shots. One hit the door of the car, while the other hit the woman in the thigh. Despite being shot at, the two continued to follow the car to the intersection of Collins Ave. and Georgia Street, but were unable to block in the car. The suspect then got around the victim's friend's car and sped away toward a corner store. The woman was then taken home and called police, and she was taken to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center for her injury. Police said the suspect is a Black man, standing at 6'1″ and weighing 210 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt with his hood up. The suspect was driving the victim's 2011 silver Honda Pilot at the time of the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to all the Spartanburg Police Department at (864) 596-2035. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Edmonton Journal
25-04-2025
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Protests mount against Edmonton's move to mobile-only parking payments
Cheryll Watson, chairwoman of the Downtown Revitalization Coalition, poses for a photo beside an EPark machine, in downtown Edmonton on Thursday, April 24, 2025. The city has started removing all physical EPark machines and is moving to a mobile app payment system. Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia Come July 31, parking in public parking spaces will mean using your smartphone. Period. Instead of spending millions in city capital to update obsolete machine technology that has moved from 3G networks to the language of 5G networks, the City of Edmonton has outsourced all parking measures with Hot Spot, already in use around the city and working for thousands of motorists eager to hop out of their cars. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Now it's time to pay that piper and, come July 31, the machines won't work at all, city council heard Wednesday. Those who don't yet have a smartphone may be in for sticker shock. Excluding the cost of the phone itself, which can easily go beyond $1,000, an extra monthly fee can easily go above $50. According to Albertans over 15 are the most likely in Canada to have a smartphone — that's more than 93 per cent. Millenials are the most likely to have a phone, and usage among seniors is still on the rise, but not expected to get to fully 100 per cent adoption. As the City of Edmonton moves to eliminate cash and credit card parking machines, irate Edmontonians — and business groups — are digging in their heels. Cheryll Watson suspects there will be those who come Downtown, check out a new restaurant or bop into a favourite shoe store, come back to a ticket on their car — and vow to avoid Downtown altogether. Access continues to be a problem for Downtown businesses, the chairwoman of the Downtown Revitalization Coalition said. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'City infrastructure services group has basically shut down the majority of the major routes to Downtown. If you're coming from the west end, it's nearly impossible for you to get to Downtown,' Watson said. 'We've got small business owners, restaurants, retailers that are barely come out of COVID, but yet still are committed to having their business located Downtown, because they see the value of it — but no one can get to them,' she said. The coalition has been calling on employers to bring employees back to work Downtown. 'We need the vibrancy. We need the foot traffic,' she said, citing an administration disconnected from the day-to-day citizen experience and the day-to-day business experience. 'If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would say there's a bit of a war on Downtown from city administration. It's like they want Downtown to fail,' she said. The 124 Street and Area Business Association announced Thursday it stands in full support of the coalition's bid for a better strategy, and free off-hours parking, said executive director Luwam Kiflemariam in a news release. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We work hard to attract visitors, support entrepreneurs, and create a welcoming, walkable environment. Replacing parking meters with a mobile-only system creates unnecessary friction, especially for seniors, tourists, and anyone without a smartphone or data plan.' Coun. Aaron Paquette brought a motion for more due process to city council Wednesday. 'This motion comes from hearing from folks in my ward who are little bit worried, mostly seniors, about what this changeover would mean for them, for ease of parking. Many of them just pay cash. Many of them don't have smartphones. And so the current transition leaves them in a little bit of a limbo as far as how they're going to proceed,' Paquette said. The council was told cash transactions represent the smallest portion of revenue, with the majority of parking purchases now made by credit card. Coun. Sarah Hamilton envisioned a trip to the Citadel or the Winspear on 'one of those spectacular -30 C days.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'For a lot of seniors (without using a smartphone), this is a realistic issue. Where is the closest private parking place where there's a machine to be used?' she asked. Edmonton will be one of the largest Canadian cities to move to a mobile-only parking system, but similar systems already exist in smaller municipalities such as Prince George and Jasper. Some private parking providers in Edmonton have already adopted mobile-only payments. Jenny Albers, planning and permitting, traffic operations at the City of Edmonton, said currently 60 per cent of parking transactions take place at EPark machines. Of those, 90 per cent use credit cards and 10 per cent use coins. Drivers can pay using a new app for iOS or Android and manage monthly passes for city parkades. People can pay hourly, for monthly passes, and track how much time is left with 24-7 customer support. In a few months, residential parking permits will be managed through HotSpot as well. Edmonton signed a four-year potentially extendable contract with HotSpot for $2.52 million, according to the city's public bid website. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Some may be wistful for almost 4,000 parking meters the city once boasted. In the heyday of paid parking in Edmonton, in 1948, a penny got you 12 minutes, a nickel fetched an hour. Fines were a buck. These days, there are how-to videos on line, targeted to those who have the most trouble with new 'smart' technology. Among the city's concessions for those with a disability, Edmontonians with accessible placards receive two hours parking at no charge in EPark zones when accessible parking zones are unavailable. Those without smart phones will have some more steps to go through each time they park. Customers who have a basic mobile phone could set up a HotSpot Account using the HotSpot website. Account holders can call customer support to have an agent set up payment on their behalf. Callers must have an account with credit card information on file because agents cannot accept payment over the phone. Customers who do not have a mobile phone but have a credit card can set-up a HotSpot Account using the HotSpot website. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. To pay by phone, call HotSpot (1-855-712-5888) from a landline prior to leaving your home, let them know the area you will be parking in and have them set up your parking session. Customers without a phone, credit card or debit card to pay will need to ask a trusted friend or family member to manage their parking account through the HotSpot Parking app or website. jcarmichael@ Read More Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun Sports Sports Local News News Edmonton Oilers
CBC
29-03-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Edmonton moving to mobile-only paid parking this spring
Social Sharing The City of Edmonton is phasing out all EPark machines, the system used to pay for street parking and at city parkades and one seniors advocate is worried the change will be difficult for those who don't have access to a phone. Machines will be phased out starting next month and drivers will now have to use the HotSpot app or website to pay. Cathy McLean, who worked for 18 years at the Scona Seniors' Centre and is now a senior herself said the decision isn't age-friendly. "I'm horrified," McLean said. "Many seniors are still driving but they don't have a cellphone, or computer, and aren't happy about needing to use technology in any way shape or form. So it's really going to be a problem for them in finding adequate parking." Jenny Albers, general supervisor of planning and permitting with the City of Edmonton said that a phased approach is being taken, starting with the machines with the lowest usage. Between April 14 and May 31, machines will be removed at North Edge, Alberta Avenue, Kingsway, Stony Plain, 124th Street and Old Strathcona. Then from May 15 to July 31, they will be removed from downtown, including zones near Rogers Place and parkades at city hall, the Stanley A. Milner library and Canada Place. Albers said that for those who don't have data or a smartphone, they can pay through a phone call. But there's a catch: you must have an existing account because the company will not accept credit card information over the phone. New users can create an account online before leaving home, then call HotSpot to tell them the zone they are parked in and the duration they'll be parked for. If you don't have a phone or left it at home? You're out of luck. "We have other parking on the street — whether it's open free parking, time-restricted parking, or if there's really no other option to be going to private parking options," Albers said. "We do know it's a bit of a transition for folks." The machines were due for replacement because the city contract with the vendor was ending this year, and the technology was not compliant with payment standards, Albers said. They only accept magnetic stripe credit cards, not the chip and pin style that is becoming more commonplace. When the city ran the numbers on the cost of replacing outdated public parking machines, it found the $2.8 million dollar price tag was just too high. Because of these factors and the cost of replacement, city council decided in the fall 2024 budget process to discontinue them. McLean said she worked well past the typical retirement age, which kept her up to date with technology. But working with seniors, she's seen firsthand what impact a change like this will have. "I know lots of people have phones right now, but what if they don't have the money to buy one? What if it's a senior who's scared to death of technology and just avoids it like the plague?" She said when confronted with a sign telling them to download an app, some people might just turn around and go home. "I don't know how they would make that work for everyone."
