BPA ACTIVITIES MONTHLY ROUND-UP
The parking profession is wholeheartedly embracing new technology for the benefi t of the user. Kelvin Reynolds looks at how innovation can also be socially responsible
A
design ‘T
Parkex showed how new technologies
can benefi t people with disabilities
he BPA represents the whole spectrum of the parking profession: local authorities and commercial operators managing parking in our streets and town centres; their service providers and equipment manufacturers; those providing parking facilities at railway stations and airports and in health care centres and universities; the retail and leisure sector, as well as those involved in designing, building and maintaining Britain’s car parks; all of them are contributing to the success of the UK economy. I would like to think that we act professionally in everything we do.’ BPA master plan 2012. Parkex was the opportunity to demonstrate
the partial fulfi lment of this vision, presenting a fantastic opportunity to show what true professionals we are. Here we showcased new and emerging technologies, alongside more traditional approaches to parking, such as provision, management, enforcement and maintenance. Everything must be presented in the best possible light showing how it contributes to society in general.
Not just about enforcement Parkex showed how new technologies can benefi t people with disabilities, making access to car parks easier for those with mobility issues. Camera systems and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) aren’t just about enforcement, they’re also about recognising a vehicle carrying a disabled person and raising the barrier automatically. They’re about making it easier for people to pay for their parking at a pay station; and they can make sure that the person who drives
16 MAY 2013
FOR LIFE
the car out of the car park is the same person who drove it in – that it isn’t being stolen! Monitoring remote parking areas also provides user reassurance, helping to ensure that they and their property will be safer than it would be without remote monitoring. New technology can also be used to
identify empty street or car-park spaces and transmit this information to satellite navigation systems, mobile phones and other in-car devices, making it easier for people to locate somewhere to park, thus reducing congestion, fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Speaking of which, the charging of electric powered vehicles in our car parks, better use of solar power to operate parking control equipment and car park lighting, plus renewable energy sources, are all examples of where parking professionals are thinking about their environment.
Some modern payment options require no on-street equipment at all and help improve the street-scape, creating a reduction in individual bay meters in favour of solar powered pay-and-display, or payment using smartphones.
Most people who drive simply want to go about their daily lives without hindrance and the vast majority can do just that because parking professionals up and down the country do their job effi ciently.
Helping ourselves
Most motorists never come into contact with parking enforcement, although the headlines tell you otherwise. We can help ourselves by presenting new technology – not in terms of its effectiveness in ‘catching people out’ or
www.britishparking.co.uk
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