New tool to provide millions in revenue and much-needed services to visitors, residents and businesses
SAN DIEGO – The future is now for the City of San Diego. On Tuesday, June 6, the City Council approved plans to install in Downtown at least 50 interactive kiosks designed to help visitors and residents navigate the city.
The new partnership with IKE (Interactive Kiosk Experience) Smart City and the Downtown San Diego Partnership aims to bring state-of-the-art wayfinding technology to commercial, pedestrian-oriented areas at no cost to the City or its constituents.
In fact, the project is expected to produce nearly $15 million for the City of San Diego and another $7 million for the Downtown San Diego Partnership. IKE Smart City works collaboratively with the city and the Partnership on location selection, kiosk branding, on-screen content, and community engagement.
“This partnership advances Downtown San Diego’s strengths and puts wayfinding information into the public’s hands,” said Economic Development Department Director Christina Bibler. “These interactive kiosks are the future of interconnected technology for cities. They create access to public Wi-Fi and serve as an important public tool to help connect residents and visitors alike to the many modes of transportation, thriving local businesses, and services San Diego offers.”
Each kiosk serves as a free Wi-Fi hotspot and is geo-located, displaying informational listings based on what’s in immediate proximity to the kiosk. The kiosks have dual-sided digital touchscreens and are fully ADA-compliant, complete with interactive applications that drive the discovery of local businesses, promote diverse mobility solutions, and improve equity with 24/7 access to resources. The next steps will be for the new locations to be submitted to the city for review and approval by the Economic Development Department (EDD) and Development Services Department (DSD) as outlined in the agreement. They then have three years to identify and set up the 50 locations per the agreement.
“As an organization committed to advancing the economic prosperity and cultural vitality of our urban neighborhoods, we are excited to see Downtown San Diego join other major downtown areas in the United States who benefit from IKE Smart City’s interactive digital kiosks,” said Betsy Brennan, President & CEO of the Downtown San Diego Partnership. “We can’t wait to see the different ways people who live, work or play Downtown will benefit from introducing these systems.”
IKE is multilingual and includes detailed content listings of nearby restaurants, shops, businesses, cultural institutions, events, jobs and civic resources. The kiosks also provide access to social services information such as homeless shelters, addiction recovery programs and food support.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the City of San Diego and the Downtown San Diego Partnership to launch our platform in this exciting and vibrant city,” said Pete Scantland, CEO of IKE Smart City. “IKE’s innovative technology will serve as a new amenity for the public, providing greater access to information that further activates discovery, mobility, and equity for residents and visitors.”
IKE networks operate in 15 cities nationwide, including Baltimore, Berkeley, Houston, Miami, San Antonio, Tampa and Tempe.
(City of San Diego Release)
