"Give the Gift of New Haven" With Innovative Municipal Gift Card

"On his last day on the job, departing city traffic tsar Jim Travers unveiled a first: a new card for shopping, dining, and parking in the city and a new way for New Haven to 'brand' itself as a destination city," reports Thomas MacMillan. "Travers said he took the idea from mall gift cards—gift certificates that can be redeemed at any store in a mall. The Shop•Dine•Park works the same way, except the 'mall' is all of New Haven, and you can use it to pay for parking, too."

"At a Monday press conference at the Shubert Theater, Mayor Toni Harp said the card has made her think of New Haven as 'a sort of urban theme park' with the new card as a 'pre-paid all-access pass.'”