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The increasing population around the world has led to a rise in vehicle demand. With more and more cars on the road and the ensuing congestion, on-street parking is no longer a viable option, especially in big cities. This is why urban developers are looking to improve off-street parking management to solve the traffic problems in major cities.

This has led to unprecedented growth in the number of off-street parking areas across the USA. But this rise in parking real estate has brought about an entirely new problem – parking management.

High labor costs, manual vehicle checks, safety concerns, and lack of space have made the lives of many off-street parking lot managers a living hell, at least, until off-street parking management came into the picture.

Like a magic balm, off-street parking management systems relieved the many pain points of parking lot managers across the country.

Let’s look at some of the ways it achieved that.

• Better Space Management and Less Traffic

A sizeable chunk of the city traffic is made up of drivers looking for a parking space. With a parking management system, off-street lots can make real-time occupancy data available through the drivers through the integration of IoT and mobile apps. By using this data, drivers will know exactly where to go, rather than visiting every lot looking for space.

Also, with real-time occupancy information, you, as a lot owner, can efficiently manage space in your lot. For instance, many a time, it may happen that a car enters your lot only to find there’s no space to park. This may cause unnecessary congestion, especially if there are multiple vehicles.

But with a parking management system, the automatic gate arm will rise only if there’s parking space available. This prevents needless bottlenecks in your lot.

• Better Security

Parking management systems typically come with a host of security features, such as full-fledged CCTV integration and motion sensor lighting. Moreover, with completely automated, multi-story parking lots today, drivers don’t even have to enter the parking lot.

The fully functional system will automatically find a space for the car, scoop it up, and park it for you. Such a system greatly reduces the risk of vandalism and theft in parking lots.

• Cost-Effective

Since most parking management systems have some degree of automation to them, your staffing requirements are automatically reduced, which, in turn, reduces the labor costs.

The Future of Off-Street Parking Management

As per the report by Persistence Market Research, the off-street parking management system sector is looking at an annual growth of 9.5% from 2022 to 2029. And the number will surely grow as more and more cities are affected by the non-availability of accessible parking and traffic congestion.

To match the growing demand, parking lots will also have to evolve. And even though parking has already changed a lot, there’s still room for technological advancements.

For instance, the introduction of autonomous cars can transform the urban mobility scenario within the next few years. And it will have a considerable effect on reducing the stress levels involved in parking.

As discussed earlier, many parking lots are shifting towards becoming completely automated structures. And with space becoming a hot commodity, more and more parking lots will adopt automation. In fact, using a fully automated system can pack as much as four times a car than a normal parking lot. But how?

Well, fully automated lots have dedicated parking machinery that places your car in an available slot, depending upon real-time occupancy. Drivers don’t have to enter this facility at all. So, since pedestrian space isn’t required in these lots, you can make every inch count and pack as many cars as possible.

As various countries take up smart city initiatives for providing a more energy-efficient and sustainable lifestyle, space-efficient parking systems will become the mainstay. This will further boost the demand for off-street parking management systems among parking lot owners.

Also Read: Why Indians Prefer On-Street over Off-Street Parking

Parting Thoughts

As the demand for vehicles increases and the world moves towards sustainability, off-street parking lot management systems will play an integral role in space management for cities.

And with more technological advancements in line for these systems, the sector, with all its key hardware and software players, will witness a massive growth in the coming decade.