Campus Parking Problems: Modern Security Solutions

• By Drew Pacino
• July 18, 2024

Parking: for many, it’s an everyday fact of life. Whenever we drive somewhere, we must consider parking, and often, that parking experience sets our mood and expectations for the rest of the journey. Whether a quick grocery store pickup or long-term airport parking, the parking lot is an integral part of whatever type of campus you’re visiting. This includes destinations like retail stores, your local high school, hospitals, and the park-and-ride systems present in major cities.

One thing all of these different places have in common? Their goal is to provide visitors with a pleasant, stress-free experience, even after you’ve exited your car. There are three main elements that come into play when we talk about what modern security solutions can do for parking situations, regardless of the size of the lot: safety and security, the cost factor, and the need for operations to run frictionlessly and efficiently. Security, safety and an understanding of location and direction should be felt the second you step foot on a campus, whatever that campus consists of. Parking lots and parking related technologies play a big role in improving flow, increasing safety and security and promoting economic activity.

Securing Spaces and Safeguarding People
When we think of security solutions, safety is always the top consideration. For parking lots, this means that vehicles should be kept safe even when parked overnight or long-term, and people should feel comfortable walking to, from, and within the lots at all times of day. However, common safety issues plaguing parking lots include potential theft or vandalism related to vehicles, and people being assailed as they walk to their cars—especially in lots that are tucked in campus corners or located on the fringe.

Key security solutions for ensuring parking lot safety include audio deterrents, cameras, and AI alerts, all of which help to enhance security and scale the efforts of campus staff. A camera may seem like an obvious solution, but with built-in, AI-based analytics growing more intelligent by the day, cameras now offer so much more than simple visibility. Loitering detection, for instance: AI analytics in a camera can detect a group of people hanging out in a parking lot either too long or after hours, triggering an automatic alert. That alert can first be sent out via an audio recording, which can be something as simple as a speaker in the lot saying, “This parking lot is currently closed,” or even warning the loiterers about trespassing. These analytics can also send automatic alerts to security personnel on campus, who can then make their way over to check the situation out in a quick and efficient fashion.

Paid Parking Considerations
Paid parking puts forth another key consideration (and challenge) for campus parking lots: How to ensure payment? First off, paid parking can have many benefits including providing access to valuable data, producing revenue to defray costs or reinvest, and increasing parking turnover and availability. Commercial parking could be a parking garage that’s serves an office building but also has paid spaces for the general public, a college campus with different lots for teachers and students at varying price points, or an airport or transportation campus that services different terminals. But when we think about ways to shore up parking payments, we don’t often think of security solutions as fitting into the equation; we typically think of booth attendants at the parking facility entrance/exit, or parking enforcement that trawls lots looking for passes on cars. Solutions like these might work for some scenarios, but they aren’t infallible, and things will always slip through the cracks due to human error.

The same cameras that are already in parking lots to enforce safety and security can also come in handy when it comes to paid parking. With new technology like license plate recognition (LPR), typical ticketing systems can be eliminated completely, as LPR can function in a few different—and valuable—ways. In a traditional parking garage that sees new cars every day instead of the same vehicles, LPR can note plates as they enter and exit the garage, automatically sending the parking bill to the address registered to the vehicle. For restricted parking zones or permitted parking like college campuses or private residential lots, LPR can identify whether or not a vehicle can/should be in the area and enact the next steps accordingly.

These capabilities can go even further, but they require a degree of integration and coordination among various teams. For example, instead of sending a parking bill to an address on file with the DMV, organizations have the opportunity to set up a parking app with a third party. These types of apps are already in use in parking lots and garages across the globe, usually in areas that would offer traditionally metered parking, and allow people to pay from their phones in real time instead of physically with cash. By integrating LPR with apps like these, payment can happen automatically without any time delays.

Preventing Clogged Lots
Finally, addressing the main issue that anyone operating a vehicle will face from time to time: traffic jams and inefficiencies. If a campus has available parking, it inevitably will have to deal with traffic, which can lead to other issues. Traffic control is the foremost challenge here. By getting people off the street and into a parking lot or garage, organizations can attempt to bring down the ever-growing number of cars in the street. This is especially important in areas with heavy pedestrian presence, like a college campus or a corporate campus in a downtown area. However, there are a few common traffic control issues that tend to cause frustration and can lead to safety concerns.

For instance, most people don’t want to drive around and around looking for an open space, nor do they want to clog up the area if there aren’t any spaces available. If a lot or garage is full, entrances and exits can experience backed-up traffic. But this is yet another area where cameras equipped with AI-based analytics can come in handy, specifically when it comes to object detection.

The “object” in question in this scenario would be an empty spot—by detecting, classifying and tracking vehicles entering and exiting a lot, available parking can be determined. Through camera analysis and alerts, the garage or lot can automatically share if there are any open places to park. That way, people won’t enter garages or lots that openly and accurately display there are no spaces available. And just like with payments, organizations can take this a step further by integrating with user-friendly apps that can tell visitors where and when parking is available.

From the Ground Up: Establishing a Foundation of Safety and Security in Parking Lots
For most places people visit, the parking lot is a key part of their journey, and it’s there that the foundation for a safe and secure environment must be laid. Addressing security concerns from the moment a vehicle enters a lot or garage not only deters potential issues but also sets a precedent for safety that carries through the entire campus.

Effective security solutions can transform parking lots from mere transitional spaces into well-monitored safe zones that enhance the overall visitor experience on any type of campus. Whether it’s deterring theft and vandalism, ensuring smooth and reliable payment processes, or reducing traffic congestion and frustration, modern security solutions set the stage and foster an enhanced sense of trust and confidence among visitors. As technology continues to advance, so too can our methods of safeguarding these crucial spaces, ensuring that the first step onto any campus is a step towards a secure and welcoming environment.

This article originally appeared in the July / August 2024 issue of Campus Security Today.