COVINGTON, Ky. — Covington is rolling out a new parking payment system designed to connect drivers with local businesses as the city prepares for major bridge construction that could reduce downtown foot traffic.
The Proximity platform, created by Covington-based startup founder Grant Murray, allows users to pay for parking while viewing promotions from nearby restaurants and shops. The system launched this week at the Greenup lot on Court Street.
"I always found it kind of surprising that there was no way for local businesses to advertise directly to consumers that are quite literally right outside of their door," Murray said. "So I just thought to combine the two."
Murray developed the platform in 2024. The company launched in Lexington earlier this year before expanding to Covington.
The app, reached through a QR code, shows advertisements from local businesses while users are entering payment information. After completing payment, users can receive offers such as restaurant discounts or hotel reservation links.
WATCH: See how Proximity uses parking payment tech to drive local economic support
Murray said that advertisements focus only on nearby businesses, staying true to the company's name.
"It's really focused on advertising what is currently around you," Murray said. "It's meant to tell you what is currently in your proximity."
The Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority partnered with Proximity as part of the city's "Bridging the Gap" initiative to support businesses during the Fourth Street Bridge closure, which will last two years.
Naashom Marx, chair of the parking authority board, said the timing addresses a critical need for downtown businesses facing reduced access from bridge construction.
"If (businesses) don't have other people coming down and visiting them, they're losing money ... they might struggle more," Marx said. "That's something we want to mitigate between the bridge expansion over into Newport, as well as the one with the Brent Spence Bridge."
Marx said the platform could help visitors discover businesses they may not have known about before.
"It literally is the local businesses that are able to go on and be able to give different types of ads, different types of promotions," Marx said.
Proximity is installing 20 standard 12x18 street signs, 60 meter stickers and 12 kiosk stickers in the initial rollout, which includes approximately 20 businesses.
Mayor Ron Washington said the partnership supports the city's commitment to local businesses during infrastructure improvements. Covington recently secured $750,000 in state support for bridge construction mitigation efforts.
"Having a local company that shares our mission of strengthening the local economy makes this solution even more powerful," Washington said. "Proximity will drive customers to our downtown businesses and help us showcase what makes Covington a great place to live, work and play in."
Users can continue using existing payment options, including Passport and Cincy EZPark apps, coins or cards at meters and kiosks. Marx said maintaining multiple payment methods remains important for customer preferences.
"We still have customers who want to be able to pay by coin. We still have customers who just want to use their credit card," Marx said.
Proximity, backed by Kentucky investors KeyHorse Capital and Connetic Ventures, operates from the SparkHaus innovation hub in Covington. The company raised capital in 2024 and plans to expand to additional city parking facilities throughout early 2026.
Murray said the company is already operating in private locations across the river and hopes to expand further.
"We would like to expand everywhere we can," Murray said. "We would hope to work with the city of Cincinnati and any other city, for that matter, as we start to expand."
Marx said the parking authority holds monthly public board meetings and quarterly community engagement sessions to gather feedback on parking initiatives.
"There's such a sense of place that Covington brings when you have all of these interesting restaurants and bars and coffee shops and little boutiques, and we might know them, but not everyone else does," Marx said. "So ideally, it would be fantastic if everyone's able to get a little bit of a taste of Covington every time they come into the city."
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