it's always great to connect in person with our customers and industry colleagues, just ask the members of our DESIGNA US team who attended the NPA Convention in Austin! Highlights from the show included the DESIGNA-sponsored Design/Build educational track featuring five sessions with case studies, best practices and trends in automation and parking asset development.
One of the NPA Convention educational sessions "Reaching Sustainability Targets with Automated Parking Solutions" was moderated by Kent King, Director of Project Development for DESIGNA US, and featured panelists John Whiteman from OMNIQ, Armen Kazaryan from Automotus, and Mary Gray Cunningham from Passport Parking. The session addressed how automation and new technology have changed the face of parking, for both facilities and on-street parking, and how automation has helped sustainability, profitability and ease of use for parking operations.
The audience was engaged with several questions throughout the session, providing some interesting feedback. Many participants indicated they don’t yet have LPR cameras installed, yet the panel discussed the growing importance of LPR cameras in the parking industry today. Most participants indicated they no longer have staffed cashiers in the mix. Many also indicated that they haven’t yet integrated their parking systems with other infrastructure systems. The panel discussed the integration of e-commerce, digital wallets and third-party apps which have become integral for parking in the US. Self-service online automation is the new normal for permitting or pre-booking.
The panel also discussed how new technology has changed the face of on-street parking and how automation helps manage the increasing demand for the curb and improve sustainability and profitability for on-street parking. Armen shared data on an analysis of commercial vehicle traffic and related carbon emissions due to idling and circling, and spoke about how curbside automation can catalyze groundbreaking projects like Zero-Emission Delivery Zones.
Finally the panel discussed the challenges of automation, including data privacy, safety and adoption, and the best practices for addressing such challenges. Daily scrubbing of all personal data associated with license plate information is one of those best practices. This is especially important for data privacy in light of third-party integrations.
DESIGNA would like to thank all the panelists for their valuable input into this important topic.