What Does the Future Hold for Car Parks?

If you own a car, one of the biggest frustrations you get whenever you drive to the city is where to park your car. Car parks have become the biggest source of congestion and pollution.

Every car owner wishes to see new revolutions in the car parking sector to get rid of their frustrations.

Many people hope that technology will eliminate parking stress. Maybe robots will get rid of the tedious work that comes with parking. Will this be the future of car parks?

Let’s have a look at what the future holds for car parking.

Electric Vehicles to Curb Car Parks Pollution

There is a lot of pollution due to congestion in car parks. Curbing this will mean switching to electric vehicles and banning the use of petrol and diesel vehicle. As everyone understands, electric power emits no pollution at all.

But for this to come to pass, it means that parking spaces will have to adopt electric car charging. The vehicles will need car parks with charging ports.

Improved Parking Payment

Another new trend in car parks that the world is already witnessing is the new methods of payment. Thanks to the mobile app technology, car owners don’t need to wait in long queues to pay for parking. The app technology enables them to find reserve parking spaces and make their payments easily.

The app technology, automatic number plate entry, or QR code recognition has made it easy for cars to enter and exit car parks. There are no barriers and delays that were the case with attendant queues. The annoying and time-consuming fixed ticket and payment kiosks are no longer there.

Other changes to expect are a smartphone app connected to a Visa card, which will automatically charge parking fees. The fees will depend on the vehicle size and the amount of time they’ve spent in the parking area. This also means the drivers will be able to monitor how much they’re spending on parking.

Car Parks Expanding to Accommodate Cyclists

Many people now prefer leaving their big cars at home to cycle to work. One of the things fueling this trend is the fact that cycling is a healthier choice for those who want to stay active.

Other reasons that may fuel the rise of cycling are the need to preserve the environment and the sickening traffic jams in big cities. Whatever the reason, it’s now evident that the number of bikes in the parking spaces is increasing.

More parking spaces will continue to come up with ways of accommodating scooters and bikes. And because these vehicles don’t occupy too much space, it might be the solution to the huge congestion witnessed in parking spaces.

Electric bikes are also growing in popularity and are estimated to reach more than 30mph with a range of 50 miles. This means they can work well in place of vehicles. The electric bikes will not only save on parking spaces but also reduce CO2 emissions.

The Use of Smart Parking Technology

Smart technology has made parking easier by relaying important parking information. This information includes parking capacity, spaces available, and spaces occupied. As a result, there has been a reduction in the number of motorists doing rounds in the city looking for a space to park their vehicles.

Using your mobile app, you can get real-time parking information. There’s a sensor that drivers will connect to their phones via Bluetooth to tell them who parked where and how long the vehicle will be there. You can also get traffic information to the car itself so you can avoid running into a heavy traffic jam.

The intelligence monitoring technology comes with sensors that relay information on vacant and occupied parking spaces. The constant stream of data fed to the central database has made it easy to develop an easier pricing strategy. This way, parking operators have more ways to increase revenue.

Automated Multi-Storey Parking

Because of the limited parking spaces, there’s a need to utilize any spaces available. With up to 68% of the world’s population expected to move to urban areas by 2050, parking spaces will continue to be scarce. Without the implementation of new technology, parking spaces will continue to occupy a lot of space.

However, from the look of things, this may not be the case as multi-storey parking continues to grow. Experts are working on ways to ensure cars are parked closer together to avoid any space wastage. Since humans find it hard fixing their cars in tight spaces without scratching another, robots may take away the trouble.

The new robotic parking system will involve using pallets that slide under the car then lift it to a free parking space. Another way is where independent hands lift the cars to shift them to free space in the parking areas. You’ll need to leave your car in a designated place and let the parking machine take over.

The Use of Autonomous Vehicles

Concerns continue to rise over the large spaces that parking facilities occupy. Thus, there is a new exciting machine in a town called the autonomous vehicle. This technology’s vision is that the AVs will do rounds along the city to pick people up and drop them at their destinations.

With this technology, it means that more people will have to leave their private cars at home. They’ll order for the AVs the way they do for taxis. The enormous parking spaces could be converted to residential housing areas or sports fields.

What’s Your Opinion About the Future of Parking?

More people agree that parking facilities occupy huge urban spaces. Do you think the above technologies will be viable solutions? With they bring up a better future for car parks?

Well, there are those already in use, such as smart parking and payments, and people like them. However, some are sparking a lot of debates, such as the use of autonomous vehicles.

All you have to do is wait and see as technology takes its course. In the meantime, you can browse our site for more informative posts.