Portland, ME
Municipality in Maine
United States
Portland, ME responds to rodent control issues with a pilot of Anticimex SMART Boxes
City officials observed an increase in resident complaints about rodents during stormwater upgrade work. The city worked with Modern Pest Services to place 40 SMART Boxes in areas with high rodent concentrations. Each SMART Box activates electrical currents for rodent extermination using body heat detection. Modern Pest Services services SMART Boxes based on sensor data about storage, water level, power, and temperature. Portland was the first U.S. city to implement this technology.
Portland, ME
United States
Portland, ME partnered with ReVision Energy to launch "Electrify Everything!" incentive program
The City of Portland partnered with the solar company ReVision Energy to create the "Electrify Everything!" incentive program encouraging residents to adopt renewable energy. The program offers residents $250-500 discounts on solar installations, air source heat pumps, electric vehicle chargers, etc. The program also offers low-income households up to $60,000 toward adopting solar.
Portland, ME
United States
Portland, ME migrates to Dhyan's StreetMan CMS to improve smart streetlight communications
The city of Portland partnered with Dhyan Networks and Technologies to manage its smart streetlights by migrating to the StreetMan cloud-based, state-of-the-art central management system. The StreetMan system allows the city to optimize the distribution of controllers between gateways and to isolate faulty controllers from those with communication issues. The StreetMan system enables the city to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and achieve sustainability goals.
Portland, ME
United States
Portland, ME considers implementing a fee of $1.05 an hour for electric vehicle charging stations
The Portland City Council is considering a proposal that would implement a fee for anyone using the city's municipal charging stations. The charging fee of $1.05 an hour would help the city recoup the costs of operating the charging stations and shift the costs from taxpayers to users. The proposal also includes fine of 25 cents per minute for users that leave an electric vehicle plugged in for more than 10 minutes after it's fully charged.
Portland, ME
United States
Portland, ME is seeking proposals to design, market, and operate a municipal bike-share program
The City of Portland is seeking proposals to design, market, and operate a municipal bike-share program. The city collaborated with Downtown Portland and the Chamber of Commerce to conduct a limited survey of 92 businesses which indicated that 78% of local businesses strongly support the concept of a bike-share program. The city's goal for the program is to promote and encourage bicycling as a safe and sustainable mode of transportation for local trips.
Portland, ME
United States
Portland, ME continues tradition of household waste reduction with food composting pilot
This one-year trial allows residents to drop food waste at five public locations including four around-the-clock sites. Participating residents divert approximately 40% of household waste made from food scraps and oils. City officials and researchers at the University of Maine evaluate pilot data to assess potential expansion. Public composting acts as a bridge from the longstanding Pay As You Throw collection program to innovations like waste-to-energy plants.
Portland, ME
United States
Portland, ME tests an AI-enabled chatbot that improves responses to resident requests
The 45-day pilot places a chatbot coordinated by CivicPlus and Frase on the city's website. Residents click a prompt on the screen and enter their questions or select commonly used requests. The chatbot uses artificial intelligence to craft answers from Portland's digital assets and past interactions. City officials hope users receive quick responses to their questions, thus freeing in-person and phone services for more complex requests.
Portland, ME
United States