Rethinking parking after COVID-19

Traditional parking spaces and lots were already the subject of attention pre-pandemic. The seemingly one-dimensional blocks of real estate are the source of fierce frustration when unavailable — or utter joy when a spot magically appears and life seems to effortlessly fall into place.

Parking is a universal issue: To some degree, we've all experienced adding in travel time to circle blocks to find a space; managing our tempers when construction takes over a parking zone; running down the block to beat a parking enforcement officer to avoid a fine; breathing in excessive exhaust from idling cars waiting for a spot; and wondering why the parking-to-population ratio just never seems realistic.

For a while, it seemed like the ride-hailing and public transport lifestyle was a quasi-solution and a step in the right direction. These modes for getting from Point A to Point B supported emotions and logistics in not having to deal with finding a parking spot; millennials' need to not own any assets (let alone learn to drive); and emissions reductions, with fewer vehicles on the road. It was a meaningful situation that created jobs, provided efficiency and saved money as well as had a green benefit that paid dividends.

That approach worked around parking issues with clever solutions — it didn't innovate parking itself. But now, cities, investors and tech innovators are focusing on catapulting these blocks of precious real estate into the future using artificial intelligence, edge computing and deep learning to transform parking into demand-based space management. Because of COVID-19, share-based transportation is giving way to private vehicles and single-passenger travel as people opt for personal space, health and safety. The timing couldn't be better for a parking innovation overhaul.

In fact, this moment presents an ideal opportunity for cities, corporate campuses, shopping malls and other destinations to play a critical role in the future of mobility and smart-city solutions and create revenue opportunities where they didn't previously exist. Parking can be the great unifier in our post-pandemic, socially distanced world.

The key is to take full advantage of the space 24 hours a day. Traditional city lots need to address different users at different times of the day, different days of the week and even different times of the year. At any given time, there is a volume of drivers, including transient, contract, delivery and those from transportation network companies, coupled with situations to navigate such as loading zone times, events, construction, accidents, valet hours, etc.

And if working from home becomes the norm, and companies' needs for office space diminishes, what happens to the valuable parking associated with those areas?

When dynamic space management is applied, the chaos turns to control and opportunity. Here are some examples of smart space management in action for the auto and mobility industries to explore.

• Contractors can be identified and are able to enter and exit during designated times.
• Transient parkers are guided in real time to an available parking space rather than idling and circling lots and blocks. They can pay with their mobile device or at the multispace meter.
• One dedicated space or more can be contracted out to multiple delivery vehicles (e.g., Amazon, UPS, FedEx, Bob's Bakery) according to determined delivery schedules.
• Event parking is reserved with event-based pricing rates and hours.
• Transportation network companies can contract space for pickups or drop-offs.
• Construction vehicles have a reserved space until the construction site is ready for delivery of materials.
• Valet space can be sold to the adjacent restaurant or bar, opening a new revenue stream.
• Permit management, parking enforcement, parking revenue control and other functions are all seamlessly integrated into traffic and parking management cloud computing solutions.
• Automakers, navigation app providers and parking management operators can collaborate for seamless integration of smart parking guidance into vehicles, centralizing valuable driver data, both live and historical.

If the pandemic teaches us anything, it should be about taking advantage of a restart. In large and small cities all over the world, we have the opportunity to restart our communities with an eye toward the future, one that supports sustainable living and grants rock star parking to everyone.