Will your problems be solved with the implementation of new parking meters, central pay stations, pay-by-phone, all of the above, or none of the above?

Notice in the title, it didn’t say which option is best, it said which option is best for you. With good intention and promise, the providers quickly provide for the capital outlay and adopt the parking lift solution. Before you know it the solution that was going to be the best thing since sliced bread is not getting the reception that you thought it would.

The common theme is that decisions are being made without regard to the actual needs of the community and instead are based on the perceived needs of what they think folks need. Providers should thoroughly research their community’s specific parking needs and understand that there will never be one size fits all solution appropriate for any and every situation.

The adopted parking solution should also cover the objectives of all key constituents – residents, businesses, visitors, government. Which leads to the question: what are the key long-term objectives? Herein lays the challenge. Each party has slightly different goals.

Regardless of what solution you decide to adopt there will be a set advantages and disadvantages that inevitably will lead to complaints. Knowing what these are and how to navigate against the headwinds will help. Based on our conversations with a broad base of providers – municipalities, universities, and owner/operators, we have compiled a list of things to consider before going down the path of any one option.

Note that if you do implement a pay car transportation station do not make it pay and display i.e. requiring the users to walk to a kiosk, pay for time, walk back to the car and place a receipt on the passenger side dashboard.

With inflation on the continuous rise, the migration to some sort of electronic payment is inevitable. There is only so many quarters and dollars you will stuff into a meter or kiosk.

In the end, it all goes back to doing what is right for meeting long-term goals / objectives of all parties. The right solution could involve any combination of the aforementioned alternatives but will depend on your situation and pressure points. Everyone has good intention but sometimes we fail to do what we should all be doing first- listen.