Description: Policy changes should be paired with customer improvements to the underlying parking systems, and upgrades to these systems will enable implementation of the other parking strategies listed in this section. Parking technology greatly enhances the user experience and can be utilized to enhance parking operations and enforcement.
Necessary upgrades include:
1. Upgrading payment systems to support online purchase of permits and citation payment by affiliates. Parking policy changes that are recommended in this section should be paired with user experience improvements. Making it easier to purchase
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Figure 4-14 Illustration of License Plate Recognition (LPR) System
Source: University of Rochester, www.rochester.edu/parking/assets/pdf/avitagbrochure1.pdf
permits and pay for citations via an online payment dashboard allows more flexibility for users and ultimately for administrators as well.
2. Upgrading meter technology to support pay-by-plate and multiple forms of payment.
Making it easier to pay to park helps improve convenience for those who drive and park, reduces scofflaw citations, and reduces the long-term need for equipment. Mobile payment is most important, and is best facilitates by a pay-by-plate system. This type of system requires License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology for enforcement.
3. Upgrade parking communications via a) real-time availability signage, b) online/mobile info.
Figure 4-15 Real-Time Parking Display at University of Texas - Dallas Providing clear and legible parking direction to CI
affiliates and visitors is crucial to keep traffic flowing safety and efficiently. This strategy requires gates and/or “virtual” access control at each lot (see CO.5). Real- time availability signs can make use of an access control data feed to display parking occupancy information at key driving decision points. The primary goal is to get incoming drivers to go directly to a particular area, and avoid circling. This same data feed should provide online and mobile info, in coordination with strategies CO.2 and CO.3. In addition to using real-time parking occupancy information for a campus transportation app and
campus transportation websites, the data feed should be publicly available, so as to be usable by navigation systems and similar tools, existing and future, that may help reduce cruising.
4. Upgrade enforcement capabilities to LPR to allow easy check of plates/permits.
Enforcement technology solutions on-campus will improve revenue collection and streamline operations. Improvements to parking technology should include integrating
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and upgrading the permit system from paper permits to license plate registrations. This type of integration will create a more streamlined process for permit enforcement and reduce the need for printing and distributing hang tags. Handheld License Plate Recognition (LPR) devices create efficiencies for enforcement and collections by University staff. License plates are quickly scanned with the device instead of looking for hang tags. Enforcement officers can also easily track down expired meters and issue tickets as necessary. This type of system minimizes enforcement costs and maximizes efficiency. RFID-based access systems generally involve installing gates at each facility entrance. A gate system eliminates the vast majority of enforcement costs, as drivers would have to pay to either enter or exit the facility. Without a gated facility, ongoing enforcement would be required, though costs could be reduced through the use of handheld units linked to a central database
Action Steps: CI should plan for the upgrade of parking signage, wayfinding, enforcement, and payment systems. A study will need to be developed to determine short- and long-term improvement strategies. Short-term upgrades should be identified and prioritized at key locations. Clear signage and wayfinding is needed to communicate when and where higher and lower rates and different parking regulations apply, which should be coordinated with the Campus Exterior Wayfinding Master Plan (December 2014) and Strategy CO5. Payment and access control technology will also need to be researched to facilitate data collection, rate adjustments, convenient payment, and proper enforcement.
If feasible, CI should release a Request for Proposals (RFP) on technology that combines real- time space availability display and a license-plate recognition (LPR) gate system. When a vendor is identified, real-time space availability displays should be installed at major campus gateways and at the entrance of large surface lots and garages. In the long term, this parking availability information should also be provided on a user-facing mobile application to further help motorists navigate. This data platform can also include functions that help drivers locate where they parked their vehicle, either at kiosks near pedestrian entrances to garages or on the smartphone app.
In the short-term it is recommended that automated license plate recognition (LPR) devices are installed incrementally at the entrance of parking facilities, starting with the larger facilities. This approach is essentially a gradual roll out of the capital investments needed to support
transitioning to upgrading the entire system to a “pay-by-day” pricing system. In the long-term, the campus parking system should be upgraded to a daily-pricing (“pay-by-day”), pay-as-you- go permit system, managed through automated license plate recognition (LPR) technologies.
LPR technology can eliminate the need for paper parking permits by utilizing a camera and laptop computer that uses software to read images of license plates and then verify the image against a list of authorized plates. This data is then loaded into the LPR system, which is mounted on a parking patrol vehicle. As the patrol vehicle is patrolling through the given area, the system will issue an alert whenever it identifies a vehicle that has no “virtual permit” to park in the area, or that has exceeded the time limit for free parking in the area. There a number of advantages to using the “permit-less” parking system. Staff time needed to manage paper parking permits is reduced, issues surrounding forged, lost or forgotten permits greatly decrease, unwarranted citations are reduced, and the time needed to verify a vehicle is lessened. Additionally, an online interface can allow permit holders to manage their accounts online.
LPR records license plate information as a vehicle enters a parking facility and matches the information to a user account. This will streamline operations, enforcement and provide a
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system for tracking parking patterns. Adding license plate recognition will allow enforcement officers to use handheld device units to easily and quickly scan license plates and reconcile whether or not payment is valid. When the vehicle exits the facility, the parking fee is deducted from the owner’s account. This will streamline operations, enforcement and provide a system for tracking parking patterns. This would allow employees and students the cost savings of
choosing to bike or take transit to campus some days, while driving and paying to park on other days. In conjunction with LPR, pay by plate technology can also replace the permit program hangtag system. Users would not need to display a hangtag, but instead their license. Fixed license plate recognition (LPR) devices – typically, radio frequency identification (RFID)-based automatic access gates – can be installed at the entrance of parking facilities to validate each permit holder, warn permit holders of balance or upcoming expiration and alert enforcement about permit violations. Parking facilities with a higher demand should be prioritized in the pilot phase.