Our second edition of Parking Talks covers the topic of Smart City. As consumers become more vocal about what they want in their living spaces, cities are taking note and changing.
What is smart city parking?
Essentially smart city parking includes the integration of data. In our daily lives we are now leaning more towards data-driven decision making. Constant feedback from specially designed apps, smart phones and smart watches mean that we are able to make informed decisions on the simplest of everyday things like what to eat, where to get it, how to access it and even how to eat your food.
Parking is following suit through the utilization of data. Sensors are able to give municipalities a range of data including but not limited to license plate and facial recognition, emissions and noise levels to congestion in general. This allows for municipalities to make decisions on what type of parking solution would be best suited for their needs. Subsequent implementation of improved parking solutions and continuous capture of real-time data allows situations to alter dynamically, leading to a better overall customer journey. 
Why is parking so important when building a smart city?
City parking generates huge revenue for municipalities annually. A 2017 report by Comptroller Scott Stringer on behalf of New York City Department of IT and Communications highlighted that New York City imposes fines for violations of various City laws and regulations. The report shows that out of all fine categories imposed by the City, parking violations are the largest. In fact, with a total of $545 million generated through parking violations, this accounted for 55% of the total revenue from fines in 2016.
The total of $545 million was generated despite $600 million worth of outstanding parking tickets bring either written off or deemed uncollectible. This report concerns only New York City and it’s 85,000 parking spaces. Arguably then, it is clear that there is a lot of revenue to be generated from city parking and if done in a smart way, this revenue margin can be increased.
An increase in revenue is not the only benefit. Improved parking solutions for cities mean potentially reduced levels of noise pollution, less congestion, more green spaces and lower emissions levels all of which can benefit society as a whole.
Parking Talks
This week we were able to discuss the topic of Smart City with Cleverciti, Ekin, ParKam and Urbiotica. The discussion has been split into two parts so that we can hear all of the responses in full. Stay tuned for our latest video, which will be released shortly!
If you would like to get involved with the discussion or have a topic you would like featured, get in touch with us at editor@parking.net to let us know.
