32 minute read
ASK THE EXPERTS
It’s almost a new year! If you could pick a resolution for the industry for 2022, what would it be?
Brian Shaw, CAPP
Executive Director Stanford Transportation
We should make a point to get back together with one another. I recently hosted a parking technology vendor for a campus tour and it was so great being able to talk about parking, technology, and the future with them. I didn’t realize how much I missed that. Try to get to at least one or two conferences in 2022, host potential vendors, and take time to visit your clients.
Christina Jones, CAPP, MBA
Consultant Walker Consultants
Create at least one new professional networking connection per month. We meet new people almost daily in our industry, but are we taking the time to listen, grab their business card, share ours, and really connect with them? IPMI and regional organizations offer great opportunities to connect with those who are either facing similar challenges or may have solutions we haven’t yet considered. At the very least, it is one more friendly face at the next webinar, roundtable, or conference.
Jeff Perkins
CEO ParkMobile
Every organization in the parking industry has access to a lot of data. But are we really doing anything with it? My resolution for 2022 would be for the parking industry to turn all this data into real actionable insights that can help drive smarter decisions to improve the parking experience.
Casey Jones, CAPP, PMP
Director, Customer Success FLASH
I’ll be traveling a lot this coming year and I plan to visit as many of the “top” ice cream purveyors as possible. Check this link for the list.
John Hammerschlag
President Hammerschlag & Co., Inc.
To leverage our parking operator’s business intelligence tools and technology recommendations for the development of responsive product offerings and pricing strategies as well as to maintain reduced manpower expenses resulting from our COVID experience.
/HAVE A QUESTION? Send it to editor@parking-mobility.org and watch this space for answers from the experts.
Why asset owners and managers should prioritize excellent customer service now more than ever—and how to do that for different types of parkers and parking operations.
By Andrew Sachs, CAPP
AS THE COVID CRISIS CONTINUES WINDING DOWN, the parking industry has been given a second chance to make a great first impression with the customers and institutions we support.
As offices, schools, restaurants, venues, and tourist attractions continue reopening and welcoming back workers, students, and guests, parking operations will once again fill up with cars. We have an opportunity to make the most of drivers’ fresh perspective—and we can do that by reframing the understanding of parking. It’s no longer a commodity; today, parking is a service.
Changes to Expect
In the next two years, demand for parking will rise, not from the lows of 2020 but from the highs of 2019.
Even if work-from-home and/or hybrid work arrangements is a lasting trend beyond what we’re seeing now, long-term lease agreements mean businesses have strong financial incentives to bring workers back to already-rented spaces. Combine that with the benefits of in-person collaboration, and companies have compelling reasons to call workers back to the office on a full- or part-time basis.
But the future will not look like the past. Work-from-home offers managers greater flexibility to maximize the value of their real estate commitments. With flex scheduling, 50 employees can work in an open bullpen safely slotted for 25. Workers will continue to return, but their needs will be different, and as we’ve seen already, smart parking operations will be prepared to support those workplace adaptations.
We are also seeing a great deal of pent-up demand for concerts, live sporting events, entertainment, and anything that allows us to come into contact with others. As proven in the second half of 2021, while the “new normal” life may look different, people are antsy and happy to get out and about.
On top of the re-entry of existing drivers into the parking world, by some forecasts, next year, there will be almost 10 percent more licensed drivers in the U.S. than there were in 2019—about 234.5 million people total. Whether these drivers rent, share or buy cars, we can reasonably expect more traffic on the roads and an increased need to park when they arrive at their destinations.
Searching for Seamless
As veteran parkers continue returning to regular driving and new drivers begin parking for the first time, parking facilities that prioritize service will be in an ideal position to make great “first” impressions. And a continued emphasis on service will convert first impressions into lasting loyalty. We have to adapt a PaaS (Parking-as-aService) mentality. This critical methodology shift is true for operations in many sectors: university, municipality, commercial, airport, or residential.
What does PaaS and “good service” mean for parking operations?
While touchless has been the buzzword for quite some time and safety and sanitation will continue to be a priority for years to come, the focus in parking now should be on “seamless.” Touchless is safe. Seamless is easy. We need to optimize for ease in every step of the consumers’ process.
For example, touchless parking experiences that rely on smartphone apps are excellent from a safety standpoint but thinking in terms of touch alone isn’t enough. But many apps do not function in smartphone operating system backgrounds and can result in a traffic jam if a parker needs to actively access their phone app at every entry and exit. Apple is notoriously stringent in iOS.
A similar seamless app experience employs technology that automatically vends the gate regardless of the smartphone app’s status. This speeds up the process not just for the individual customer but also for those in line behind them. Minimizing that wait and getting parkers home sooner makes our customers’ lives better.
How Can We Adapt? While touchless has been the buzzword for quite some time and safety and sanitation will continue to be a priority for years to come, the focus in parking now should be on “seamless.” Touchless is safe. Seamless is easy. We need to optimize for ease in every step of the consumers’ process.
Every community and every parking operation has different needs, opportunities, and resources so no one solution will fit everyone. As an asset owner, manager, and consultant, I have been using and evaluating several products and services that could add to the best possible seamless customer service.
The good news is that there is a lot to choose from. Despite the hard times that have hit us all, the bad news is that now is the time to commit time, money, and resources to upgrade operations to the PaaS reality.
Parking operations don’t have to overextend to upgrade. Develop a phased PaaS plan focusing on the items with the biggest bang for your operation’s buck first and then tie future items to clear revenue marks. As the pandemic switches to a lingering endemic, we are in for a bumpy return. Politicians will likely continue hitting the economic stop and go buttons as infections fluctuate. But over time, oscillations will flatten, and the situation will improve at a steady pace. A thoughtful plan will take fluctuations into account and spend some of the capital that comes in at the high points, so by the time COVID is in the rearview, the parking operation has been fully optimized for a service mentality.
What Can We Do?
There are many ways to optimize the parking experience; the magic mix of services will differ by the type of parker. What is most valuable for a monthly business parker (or to a company subsidizing parking for employees) might not be the same as what a tourist family would want.
Monthly Parkers Monthly parkers are the bread and butter of many parking operations and there is much that can be done to improve their experience:
Seamless Interactions: If you still require monthlies to stop at a gate, roll down their windows, and wave a plastic card while a line forms behind them, now is the time to reevaluate. Consider upgrading to a gateless, LPR, Bluetooth or app-based remote access system.
Pre-COVID, one of my operations, a premium fully staffed office location, was upgraded with LPR. We retained the HID passkey as a backup, offering reassurance in the rare event of a misread (2 to 5 percent). Staff keep their eyes on the gates, so they can quickly resolve those issues. Another operation is implementing a Bluetooth app-based approach that takes care of new customer signup and payment processing. Another cost-effective option may be to remove gates and use a roving LPR camera to monitor access.
Pricing Flexibility: Workers are likely to start returning to offices in fits and starts. Offering flexible monthly packages, such as a flex pass for 10 days of parking a month at two-thirds the standard monthly rate, will provide savings to workers returning part-time and generate a larger rate of return.
Unstaffed Concierge Services: It’s time to think about services that we can offer to provide value to our monthly parkers. For unstaffed locations, Amazon lockers and electric charging stations can be easily implemented.
Though Amazon will not pay rent, devoting space in a lobby or area by a pedestrian entrance to an Amazon locker can add value for parkers.
Reports predict electric vehicles (EVs) will comprise 10 percent of global passenger vehicle sales by 2025, so now is the time for parking operations to begin offering charging operations. Level 2 slow charging will be sufficient for most monthly parkers who park for a full workday. At my operations, monthly parkers receive five hours of free charging as part of their parking pass (and the option to pay for more).
Full Service Staffed Concierge: Fully staffed locations should consider upping their game to offer concierge services that include package acceptance, dry cleaning, and meal delivery.
Parking attendants can accept packages on behalf of monthly parkers and place packages in the car for parking customers as they exit, communicating with the parker via text to ensure the process runs smoothly.
The ability to drop off a bag of dirty laundry in the lobby on the way into work and pick it up from the parking attendant would be a huge time saver for the typical office worker. Coordinating this is as easy as making an arrangement with a reliable dry cleaning operation. Parking operators can charge a rent to the dry cleaner for access to customers and/or charge consumers a small handling fee.
During the worst days of the pandemic, my company initiated a free meal service for anyone in need, called Heart of the Park. Many of our monthly customers who worked in nearby restaurants and entertainment venues were suddenly out of work and in need of support. We raised money from the community, partnered with a restaurant, and the garage became the distribution point for chef-made meals. After a few months, demand for free meals waned, but people started asking to buy meals—and RocketGourmet, was born. Now, we are working with great restaurants that prepare meals designed to travel and be finished at home. The parking garage is the pickup point, and so far, customers are thrilled.
Payment and Account Management: If your payment and account management process is not as simple and effective as paying for an order on Amazon, now is the time to upgrade. This task often wastes management time and frustrates customers.
There are many options available, including services from most PARCs manufacturers. I work with two system-agnostic SaaS products that can pair with most PARCs systems.
Communication: In an era of simple email marketing software and sophisticated smartphones, many parking
U.S. Commuter Parking Activities YOY Change
organizations continue to send poorly worded PDFs; I frequently hear complaints about this from colleagues from outside the industry. This failure has real costs: I personally know several corporate leaders who cite poor parking management as a factor in the decision to relocate offices. To optimize customer and partner communications, keep them brief, make sure they are well-written, and consider newsletter services that are easy to use and provide analytics reporting so you know what works.
Transient Parkers According to Smarking’s Business Industry Benchmark, U.S. commuter parking activity was ~68 percent down, year-over-year, at the end of 2020 but up 12 percent up from the late-March beginning of the pandemic.
By summer 2021, we saw tourism and other social activities increase. Restaurants, entertainment, and sports venues pulled out all the stops as they welcomed customers back and parking operations. Parking operations should be prepared for more of this and more people going back to regular life activities.
Seamless Access: Transient parkers will benefit from minimized parking touchpoints. Some suppliers offer Bluetooth-enabled upgrades that create swift and easy touchless entry, exit and payment. When deciding on a product, consider who has more customers interested in what your operation offers.
Not only are customers willing to try Bluetooth access and payment, but once they adopt the technology, they continue to use it. Don’t be surprised if customers start to avoid operations that fail to keep up with the competition to make the gated experience as seamless as possible.
White label and branded operator options also exist; when considering these, try out the apps to understand how easy (or not) they are for parkers to download and navigate.
Special Rates & Community Partnerships: Money talks for transient parkers, so deals, especially when tied to a local activity or venue, are welcome. Plus, partnerships with local businesses are great for marketing and community relations.
Online Booking: Life happens online and for transient parkers, online booking can be a part of a seamless and touchless parking experience. An easy-to-navigate online tool is key to a pleasant booking experience; if parkers find it easy to book and pay for a spot, they will turn into
repeat customers. There are many great providers in the space. I recommended integrating with several as each appeal to different consumers and allowing the parking customer to use the app of choice makes their experience that much richer.
Dynamic Pricing: I have utilized several dynamic pricing engines in different facilities. As transients emerge, dynamic pricing is a terrific way to attract new customers. If you are worried about cannibalizing your existing customer base, you can relax. The statistics show that aggregator-based dynamic pricing brings in the value shopper, while those who are willing to pay the full price are looking at factors beyond price. Most importantly, the increased traffic at flexible online rates generates higher revenues than less traffic at a fixed price. Combined with a robust PaaS approach, the result is that customers drawn in by discount price at a slow time will return to pay higher rates at a busy time.
PEV Fast Charging: Several big EV companies are expanding their paid charging networks and are willing to sign long-term leases for parking spaces. They collect the revenue and parking operations collect the rent with the bonus of increased traffic—and many states have subsidies to offset the initial costs associated with charging. This model will continue to evolve, but now is the time for parking operations to begin laying the infrastructure.
The Curb
There is a lot of exciting research and work being done about managing and monetizing the public curb space to achieve the highest and best use for this valuable space. As we’ve seen a lot as curb use and strategy has changed the past 18 months, thoughtful planning can reduce traffic congestion and improve the consumer use experience. There is too much to mention here, but I encourage you to look into Urban Freight Lab at the University of Washington and the Open Mobility Foundation. Also, look into the automated kiosk TNC zones employed by the City of Las Vegas in the downtown district. The zones are just a small piece to emerge from the city’s well-thought-out 2016 Master Mobility Plan.
These sources will provide some excellent fodder for rethinking your curb priorities and offer some excellent insight into incorporating top-notch service into congestion-busting measures.
The pandemic has acted as an accelerant for forces and evolutionary trends that were already in play before 2020 blindsided our best-laid business plans. Now, we need to be prepared to adapt as new patterns emerge and impact our audience’s needs. Regardless of location or sector, the service paradigm has to be a driving force at the very core of where we lead the parking and mobility industry. ◆
ANDREW SACHS, CAPP, is president of Gateway Parking Services. He can be reached at andrew@gpsparking.com.
PARKING at the Zoo
New ways of undertaking parking technology studies make a big difference in what participants learn. The San Diego Zoo proves it.
By Bill Smith
PARKING UTILIZATION STUDIES have been an essential element of urban and facility planning for decades. By measuring parking use for areas of a city, a campus, or private parking owners, parking studies give owners the data they need to make informed decisions about whether new parking assets need to be developed, how to optimize existing parking resources, and whether shared parking opportunities exist. A comprehensive study will tell owners not just how many vehicles are using their parking, but which days are busiest and when peak demand occurs on those days. This is vital information for managing parking assets.
TRADITIONALLY, parking studies have been conducted by hand, either by a parking consultant or local volunteers. The individuals doing the study follow a route to measure occupancy and total space utilization. Typically, data collection is conducted on various days and various times of day to offer a snapshot of how parking assets are utilized and when peak parking demand occurs. Study participants also measure, as best they can, how long cars tend to stay in particular spaces and how often spaces turn over, thus providing an idea of how those spaces are used.
While hand counts have long been the norm, pneumatic lines and loops can be useful tools for supporting hand counts. The lines and loops are located strategically on city or campus streets, as well as exits and entrances to parking facilities, and as vehicles drive over them the equipment records the activity.
These traditional parking study approaches are incredibly valuable to owners, but they are also very resource intensive. Hand counts can require many hours on the part of consultants and volunteers, and they are only as accurate as the people doing the counting.
Fortunately, technology can streamline the process, making it more accurate and cost-effective.
Smart Cameras, Better Data
Automated counts are a vast improvement over hand counts because they aren’t limited by the availability of people to conduct the counts, and there’s no risk of human error in the process. Automated car counts utilize Intelligent Cameras located in strategic locations. The cameras, which are traditionally used in parking guidance, count how many cars enter and leave a parking zone or parking facility. That data is transmitted in real time to cloud servers, where it is immediately compiled and analyzed.
The data can be compiled in any manner required by a parking consultant, municipal or campus parking administrators, or parking owners and operators. All that’s required is to log into the cloud application and set parameters. The application then immediately provides the requested data. With just a few key strokes, it’s possible to find out how many vehicles entered and left a parking zone or facility, how long they stayed, even what part of a parking facility they used.
Parking consultants, administrators, or owners can get data for any range of dates, time periods on a given day or across days, or for individual areas within a parking zone or facility. Because the data is transmitted to the cloud every 15 seconds, there’s no need to send staff to collect SIM cards at the end of the day, as you do with pneumatic lines and loops. When consultants, administrators, or owners set up the cameras, they can just leave the equipment alone to do its job.
As an added benefit, the cameras can be used to provide additional security as video surveillance tools. Since the cameras are always recording, if there is an accident or crime within the parking lot, investigators can turn to the video footage to see what happened. If desired, owners and operators could even establish a “hot list” to track license plates that are barred from a particular parking facility.
Intelligent Cameras are typically leased for the purpose of conducting car counts over a finite period of time. However, some cities, organizations, and private owners may prefer to purchase cameras so they can continuously monitor parking utilization in the parking facilities. This way, they can access parking data whenever they need it, at a moment’s notice. The cameras are relatively inexpensive and for organizations and owners who need constantly updated data, the investment may make sense.
San Diego Zoo
One of the first studies utilizing Intelligent Cameras is underway right now at the world-renowned San Diego Zoo. The zoo, which is located in Balboa Park in San Diego and houses more than 12,000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on 100 acres, is the most visited zoo in the United States, hosting about 4 million people every year.
The study, which is being conducted by ACE Parking, is utilizing three systems. A camera is located at the north entrance, one at the south, and the third is located at a short-term drop-off curb to monitor pick-up and drop-off activity. The project, which began in July and will continue through September, is designed to determine peak parking times and traffic volumes at the park’s entrances and exits.
The immediate purpose of the study is to help develop strategies for reapportioning parking spaces to allow the zoo to resurface and stripe the 3,011-space main parking lot to improve parking flow and operations. The results will also provide a snapshot of parking trends to allow the consultants and zoo administrators to develop short- and long-term parking plans. They will also be able to use the data to create financial models to help the zoo better manage the financial side of their parking.
“The system is able to analyze real-time, daily and hourly traffic in and out of the park as well as parking lot occupancy,” says Chris Scheppmann, EnSight Technologies’ managing member; his company is providing the cameras. “Even though the study isn’t complete, we are already getting a picture of the parking and dropoff trends that the park sees every day, and throughout the weeks and months.”
Traffic ingress and egress times at each entry and exit is a particularly important trend. Through the study, participants are able to determine what days and times parkers are utilizing the different ways into and out of the surface lot. Ultimately, this data will help the partners better manage the zoo’s parking resources and it will help the zoo improve traffic flow in and out of parking areas to improve local traffic patterns.
“We are already starting to see some surprising results,” says Scheppmann. “Part of the study is intended to improve the zoo’s parking branding in the busiest parking areas. The assumption going into the study was that the south entrance was, by far, the busiest entrance. However, we are finding that the north entrance is almost just as busy and not as well branded. That data will help [study participants] realign the signage leading to both entrances.”
A Step Forward
The use of Intelligent Camera technology represents an important step forward for parking studies and car counts. The technology provides much more precise and targeted data, eliminates the risk of human error, and should reduce the cost of parking studies, since it doesn’t require significant staff time to conduct counts. And as the San Diego Zoo’s ongoing project demonstrates, it can be used for studies of all sizes, including large ones where many vehicles are being counted. ◆
BILL SMITH, APR, is principal of Smith-Phillips Strategic Communications and contributing editor of Parking & Mobility. He can be reached at bsmith@smith-phillips.com or 603.491.4280.
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Achieving Excellence
IPMI congratulates its newest CAPPs: professionals who exemplify industry knowledge and excellence.
WE APPLAUD LOUDLY whenever an industry professional achieves CAPP certification—it’s recognized worldwide as the leading credential in parking and mobility for good reason. CAPPs represent the best of the industry, advancing the profession and leading with innovation, professionalism, and expertise, and they’ve achieved a high and impressive level of knowledge and expertise.
The newest CAPPs were recognized on stage at the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo in Tampa, Fla., earlier this month and we present them here—please congratulate them with us!
Hannah Adeponu, CAPP
CITY OF OMAHA—PARKING AND MOBILITY DIVISION
Pablo Aguilar, CAPP
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY
Diana W. Alarcon, CAPP
CITY OF TUCSON
Jeremy R. Alleshouse, CAPP
BETHLEHEM PARKING AUTHORITY
Cha’ssem Anderson, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
Amar Bajwa, CAPP
PARK2GO VALET PARKING
Scott C. Bauman, CAPP
CITY OF AURORA
LaDonna Bemus, CAPP
REEF PARKING
Robert Browand, CAPP
Josh Cantor, CAPP
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
Helena A. Connors, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE
Lisa Copeland, CAPP
OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY
Matt Davis, CAPP
CITY OF OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI—POLICE DEPARTMENT
Charley DeBow, CAPP
CURBTRAC
Carmen Donnell, CAPP
PAYBYPHONE
CHARGEPOINT
Jovan Douglas, CAPP
CITY OF HOLLYWOOD
Austin Friesen, CAPP
T2 SYSTEMS
Keith Fisher, CAPP
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
Aaron Fodge, CAPP
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
Vicky Gagliano, CAPP
THA CONSULTING
Hughie C. Galbreath, CAPP
ABM
Michael D. Godfrey, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS HEALTH
Rodney Gomez, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY
Jada Hahlbrock, CAPP
ANN ARBOR DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Jonathan Haney, CAPP
ALLENTOWN PARKING AUTHORITY REEF PARKING
Neil Hart, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
David Horn, CAPP
PREMIUM PARKING
Christina M. Jones, CAPP
WALKER CONSULTANTS
Jonathan Kemp, CAPP
SP+
Cynthia Lang, CAPP
JASINT CONSULTING AND TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, / WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES
Chris Lechner, CAPP
UCLA EVENTS AND TRANSPORTATION
Kristen Locke, CAPP
PARKMOBILE
Amanda Long, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
Dane Lyon, CAPP
SP+ MUNICIPAL
Mike Maromaty, CAPP
DANE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT PREMIUM PARKING
George Mclean, CAPP
MIAMI PARKING AUTHORITY
Melissa Morgan, CAPP
T2 SYSTEMS
Mark Pace, CAPP
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE
Tavris S Parker, CAPP
THE CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH
Zachary Pearce, CAPP
DUKE UNIVERSITY & HEALTH SYSTEM
Matt Penney, CAPP
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Benito Omar Pérez, CAPP
TRANSPORTATION FOR AMERICA
Christopher Perry, CAPP
PARKTRANS SOLUTIONS
Joshua Puckett, CAPP
EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Steve Reiter, CAPP
CITY OF CLEARWATER
Elvis Reyes, CAPP
THE CAR PARK
George Richardson, CAPP
UF HEALTH SHANDS HOSPITAL
Casey S. Robinson, CAPP
SP+
Hal Robinson, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI
Joshua Rossnagel, CAPP
EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION
Diane Santiago, CAPP
PORT OF SEATTLE
Mark Santos, CAPP
DESMAN
Philip Savino, CAPP
CITY OF PITTSBURGH
Amanda Scala, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Michael J. Scales, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
Mark Schleyer, CAPP
PASSPORT PARKING
Kyle Sergott, CAPP
PENN STATE HEALTH, MILTON S. HERSHEY MEDICAL CENTER
Becky C Smyth, CAPP
CITY OF ROME, GEORGIA
Adrianne Spann, CAPP
TOWSON UNIVERSITYPARKING & TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
Brandy Stanley, CAPP
CITY OF LAS VEGAS
Britton Stansell, CAPP
Josh Stone, CAPP
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
Michael Stumbaugh, CAPP
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Charlie Tennyson, CAPP
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Sue Thompson, CAPP
THOMPSON PARKING & MOBILITY CONSULTANTS
Michael W. Tudor, CAPP
PARKING AUTHORITY OF RIVER CITY, INC.
Dustin J. Turner, CAPP
PREMIER PARKING
Jeffrey Van Allen, CAPP
WALDEN SECURITY INC
Michelle Wahl, CAPP
CITY OF BLOOMINGTON
Derrick Walker, CAPP
COBB COUNTY
Patrick Ward, CAPP
Kevin White, CAPP
WALKER CONSULTANTS
Rachel Young, CAPP
SP+
Mark Zandonella, CAPP
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
How LPR could have been used to bring down the Son of Sam
OPINION
BETWEEN 1976 AND 1977, New York City was terrorized by a serial killer infamously known as the Son of Sam, later to be identified as David Berkowitz. Berkowitz was responsible for the killing of six young people and wounding of seven others. In response to the killings, the New York City Police Department launched the Operations Omega Task Force to hunt down the suspect whose identity remained unknown throughout the investigation.
On July 31, 1977 in Brooklyn, (the date and location of the final murder) a major break in the case occurred when an eyewitness came forward to report that police officers were writing parking tickets near the scene of the crime that evening. One of those parking tickets was issued to a cream-colored Ford Galaxie that was illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant. Authorities eventually determined that this vehicle belonged to Berkowitz. Ten days later, after working with the Yonkers Police Department, the Omega Task Force detectives finally arrested Berkowitz.
While all credit must be given to the dedicated police officers and detectives whose tireless efforts solved this case, one can’t help but wonder if modern day advances in technology, namely license plate recognition (LPR) could have been used to identify potential suspects sooner, limiting the brutality and duration of these types of pattern crimes. After all, it was a license plate on a parking ticket that eventually led to Berkowitz’s capture.
The Possibilities
Fast forward to today and many parking enforcement duties have shifted away from traditional police department responsibilities. However, parking enforcement’s role in helping determine the successful outcome of a criminal investigation has not. Consider: No other individual does more routine patrols of a downtown area or college campus than a parking enforcement officer (PEO). Throughout the course of their daily routine, PEOs are continually seeing and interacting with vehicles that are parked on local streets and in off-street parking facilities. The parking industry’s shift towards license plate enabled parking (LEP) has only helped increase the frequency of these patrols thanks to the efficiencies gained by putting PEOs in vehicles equipped with LPR technology as opposed to just having PEOs on foot.
LPR allows cities, universities, airports, and private operators to more efficiently enforce both paid and permit-based parking, as well as easily identify parking scofflaws which can yield a significant increase in revenue. However, if an agency decides to just stop there, they are missing out on another huge benefit that comes from that parking agency’s use of LPR technology.
Since we have already admitted that the PEOs are most routinely circulating throughout downtown areas and college campuses, these agencies should absolutely be leveraging the PEOs’ ability to provide additional insights that can help to keep communities safe – while at the same time not compromising the personal safety of that officer. This capability now exists by a technology that is known as “blind alerting.”
Crime and Cars
According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, more than 70 percent of serious crimes in the U.S. involve the use of a vehicle – either before, during, or after the crime has been committed. Furthermore, a report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shows many property crimes in the U.S. occur in parking garages. One can quickly determine that the vehicle
intelligence data that is gathered through parking operations is paramount to helping support safer communities.
Going back to the Son of Sam case, what if in the 1970s, the New York City Police Department had been able to query license plates scanned within the proximity and date of each heinous act by David Berkowitz? Would they have been able to generate a “common plate report” after the second or third incident that could have yielded an investigative lead earlier on and possibly prevented further violence? One can only speculate on what may have been different.
The good news is that today no speculation is required. LPR data from PEOs can and should be accessible to law enforcement agencies with permissible purpose to use that information as part of a criminal investigation. Data sharing should be simple, and it should be easy to both audit and control. At the same time, the parking agency that generated that LPR data should, at all times, have full control and remain the ultimate owner of that information. They alone should decide who they share their LPR data with, and what the retention period of that information should be. Fortunately, modern day LPR solutions allow for such a scenario to exist.
When discussing LPR technology, there is often a healthy debate over privacy concerns and the use of LPR data. However, one must remember that there is no personally identifiable information (PII) contained within a traditional LPR detection. Instead, the LPR detection is made up of an anonymous serious of letters and numbers, combined with geo-location and date/time stamp metadata, plus some vehicle images. Only with permissible purpose can a law enforcement agency or a parking authority query a license plate database (typically maintained within a state’s department of motor vehicles) to extract registered owner data. Therefore, the vast majority of plate data that is captured via LPR will never be tied to PII unless the vehicle owner or operator commits a crime or fails to pay an outstanding parking violation.
Real-world Results
In recent times there have been many cases where LPR data that is shared by a parking agency to local law enforcement has resulted in a successful outcome. These examples include:
A city in Texas has recovered dozens of stolen vehicles by receiving real-time alerts from LPR detections that are generated by their local PEOs. As the PEOs’ LPR-equipped vehicles drive the city streets, a mirror copy of their LPR detections are seamlessly run against a hot list that is managed by the local police department—all without the PEO being alerted or distracted from their responsibility of enforcing the local parking regulations. The police department actively responds to the stolen vehicle alerts while the PEO safely continues along their enforcement route.
After an Amber Alert was issued in the State of New York, a shared LPR detection from a parking lot patrol a few towns over ultimately led to a six-month old baby being located unharmed and brought home to his mother. The detection also led to the timely arrest of the child’s abductor.
When a police department in Massachusetts stopped a stolen vehicle, a historical search of shared data from a private parking operation at a local mall showed a recent scan of the stolen plate. CCTV video from the mall on the date of the LPR scan also showed clear images of additional suspects that were part of a larger auto theft ring. This led to positive suspect identifications that resulted in multiple arrests.
In the State of Missouri, by working with local law enforcement, a mall property owner’s decision to share their LPR data led to a huge break in a case of organized retail theft that spanned multiple properties and jurisdictions. This was also a great example of a public-private partnership between the two agencies.
Whether they realize it or not, PEOs play a vital role in the safety and security ecosystem as the very nature of their job responsibilities requires them to be on constant patrols. A unified approach to LPR applications can assist local police agencies to make their communities safer while also bolstering day-to-day parking operations.
The use of LPR technology in parking will only continue to increase as cities, towns, universities, airports, and private operators seek ways to increase operational efficiencies while decreasing costs. Furthermore, in a post-COVID world LPR will increase in popularity due to its ability to bolster contactless payments and frictionless parking. By leveraging the full spectrum of LPR’s benefits, these agencies will yield higher returns on their investments—all while helping to keep our communities, campuses, and facilities safe from the everyday threats that are out there. ◆
BILL GERAGHTY, CAPP, is executive vice president of sales with Scheidt & Bachmann USA. He can be reached at geraghty.bill@s-b-usa.com.
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