Terrebonne Street Parking App
Turning the City’s Snow Removal Data Into a Clear Parking Status for Every Street
Categories
Smart City & GIS
Technologies used
iOS | Android | Web | .NET on Azure | Twilio | City API Integration
About The Client
The City of Terrebonne is a municipality in Quebec, Canada. Every year, from November 15 to April 15, winter parking rules apply across its territory so its teams can clear the snow. To help residents follow these rules, the City offers Terrebonne Parking, a free street parking app for iOS and Android.
Project Overview
The Project
Sidekick Interactive partnered with the City of Terrebonne to develop a parking management solution that gives residents several ways to stay informed. The project includes native iOS and Android apps, a website, a phone line with voice recognition, and notifications by push, text message and email. All of them tell residents whether they can park on their street and whether a snow removal operation is planned or under way.
The Context
Winter parking in Terrebonne follows several specific rules. At night, the side of the street where parking is allowed depends on whether the civic number is even or odd, and it switches from one year to the next. Some neighbourhoods use alternate parking, where the side changes every day. The territory is divided into eight zones, each with its own rules. Parking lots across the territory close during snowstorms, and street parking is prohibited wherever snow is being loaded.
To find out where they could park, residents had to check the City’s website, call the City or ask a neighbour. Many complaints were linked to parking tickets, and police officers struggled to enforce the rules, as residents often contested their tickets. Vehicles left on the street also made the work of snow removal crews harder. The City needed a street parking app that residents could easily check and understand.
Challenges and Technical Constraints for a Street Parking App
The Challenge
The service had to give every resident a clear answer for their own street, and stay reliable at the exact moment they need it. Snow removal doesn’t follow a fixed calendar. A storm can arrive at night, on a weekend or over the holidays, and an operation only lasts a short time. A problem that takes two days to fix can affect a large part of an operation.
Constraints
Connecting to the City’s systems through a mechanism that stays the same when its rules change
Keeping iOS, Android, web, phone, push, SMS and email consistent, while each technology evolves at its own pace
Sending notifications at the right time, since a late alert quickly loses its value
Handling usage that stays low for days, then jumps within minutes when an operation starts
Our Approach and Solution for Parking App Development
A Simple API Connection to the City's Data
The City manages operation planning, street geomatics and parking rules on its side. For each street segment, it shares a status through an API with six fields, which our systems query every five minutes. The mechanism stays simple, because the requests remain the same whatever changes the City makes to its rules. Sidekick Interactive takes care of everything residents see, from the apps and the website to the phone line, notifications, favourites and the infrastructure behind them. This API integration keeps the City in control of its data and operations.
A Street-by-Street Map Residents Understand in Seconds
The app opens directly on the map and zooms in around the user. A colour code shows, for each street segment, whether parking is allowed, allowed except at night, subject to a planned ban or prohibited. Residents can also see whether an operation or snow loading is planned, in progress or completed. The map covers all eight zones, identifies special rules on certain street sections and shows free parking locations.
Our UX/UI design work started from the resident’s point of view. They don’t need to understand how snow removal works, only what is happening on their street. Favourites and notifications let them follow the streets that matter to them.
One Parking Status on Every Channel
Residents who prefer their browser can check the same information on the website. Notifications go out by push, text message and email for the streets they have saved. A single piece of operational information is translated and sent across every channel, so the map, the apps and the messages always show the same status.
A Voice Recognition Phone Line for Residents Without the App
Even without the app, residents can simply call. They say their address, and the voice recognition system matches it to the right street segment. The status comes back right away, with no operator involved, and it is the same one shown on the web and in the app.
Infrastructure Ready for Snowstorm Peaks
Usage can stay low for days, then rise sharply when an operation starts and notifications go out. The infrastructure has to scale quickly, keep the experience stable and give every resident the same information.
Results and Benefits for Terrebonne's Street Parking App
Results
Terrebonne residents now have a street parking app, a website and a phone line that tell them where they can park on their street all winter. Snow removal operations are carried out properly, streets are cleared, and residents across the territory are informed and satisfied. The app has passed 10,000 mobile downloads.
Why the City of Terrebonne Chose Sidekick Interactive for Its Street Parking App
The work is split between the two sides. The City keeps its data, its rules and its operations. Sidekick Interactive handles how that information reaches residents, on every platform and every channel, including when demand spikes at the start of an operation.
The City worked with a team that knows municipal snow removal and parking apps. Sidekick Interactive has also built apps of this kind for Montréal, Laval and Westmount.
“The Terrebonne Parking App has significantly improved the way citizens interact with city parking regulations. By providing clear, real-time information and multiple channels of communication, Sidekick Interactive has helped reduce confusion, enhance convenience, and minimize parking violations.”
Alexandre Boyer-Laporte, Co-Founder, Sidekick Interactive
Sidekick Interactive's Expertise in Smart City Parking and GIS Apps
Our parking app development work, from a smart parking app to a phone line, connects city data to the people who need it. For a municipality, that means a city parking app, a website, a phone line and notifications that stay reliable when demand peaks. Our experience in GIS app development helps us display street segments and their status on maps residents can read at a glance.
