Across major smart cities, many parking operators are faced with the challenge of effectively utilizing their parking resources to meet the high volume of vehicles on the roads. To keep their cities running smoothly, ensuring effective parking management and enforcement and the equitable use of on-street and off-street parking resources and more, is essential. How can they achieve this? Smart cities need smart parking technology. These cloud-based solutions offer parking operators a macro-perspective on the common parking challenges within their cities and give them the tools to increase compliance, enforcement efficiency and revenue growth.
Understand how resources are being used
Without an effective system in place, gathering parking data can become a challenge for parking operators and could potentially make or break the success of their parking strategy. Using license plate recognition (LPR) technology, a cloud-based parking management platform like Roker can collect valuable data on parking occupancy and duration, violation lifecycles and payment history. This data is especially useful for parking operators to create a strong parking strategy for their city, while evaluating the current strengths and weaknesses of their existing infrastructure.
Improve traffic flow with better parking guidance
In peak hours, city drivers are often found circling around to find parking spots nearby – resulting in more traffic build-up and increased carbon emissions. Those who can’t find a spot in time or close enough to their destination may also find themselves parking illegally or leaving altogether. This is one of the top concerns for parking operators who recognize that the growing population in smart cities is beginning to outweigh the parking resources available. Smart parking technology provides a solution for this through real-time parking guidance. This helps parkers as they navigate the often stressful environment of city parking. As well, it substantially minimizes traffic congestion, promotes greater parking compliance and reduces your carbon footprint.
Effectively manage your curbside parking resources
With more people placing online orders and the growing popularity of car-sharing services, managing your curbside parking resources is a trend that deserves your long-term attention. The increase of delivery trucks and pick-up and drop-off activities has led to more blocked roads, traffic hazards and congestion – especially in metropolitan areas. Using a parking platform, operators can effectively manage drop-off and loading zones by enforcing time-limited parking rules and digital permits throughout their on-street facilities. Not only does this help to reduce traffic on the roads, but it will also give parking operators greater oversight and control to ensure equitable use of their resources at all times.
Create a more accessible facility for parkers
Not only are smart cities growing, but so are the trends in the way we choose to travel. People are beginning to shift to a more sustainable way of transportation as electric vehicles sales continue to rise in North America. That being said, this upward trend is something that parking operators must take into consideration in order to accommodate this new generation of EV parkers in their cities. With the support of a parking platform, operators can access key analytics to identify how many EVs are entering their facility on a daily basis, as well as how many charging stations and parking spots they need to allocate for these particular parkers.
Thanks to cloud-based parking platforms, cities can transform their parking facilities to become smarter and more efficient. At Roker, our SaaS parking platform is designed with a suite of features to help you resolve a range of parking challenges in your town or city. To learn more about how we can help your organization, contact us here.
