Rethinking Parking – The aftermath of Covid19 Urges to embrace the Automated Parking Solution

05/21/20

The Coronavirus crisis raised two major questions related to real estate development and parking:

1. How to maintain public health and minimize the risk of illness in all touchpoints.
2. How working from home is going to impact the demand for units and parking.

Here are why the Fully Automated Parking systems best fit the reality of the post-pandemic parking solutions.

1. Using Touchless Parking Solutions

As the global pandemic is still happening, thoughts are emerging about its impact on new developments in metropolitan areas. Planners are challenged to keep a healthy distancing while minimizing the use of common touchpoints.

The parking industry is also challenged to maintain users’ safety and health. Typically, a conventional parking solution involves several touchpoints for drivers. They walk in public areas, use parking elevators or stairs, open doors, and in some cases, accept a valet to drive their cars.

Fully Automated parking systems are completely Touchless Solutions, designed to work with no human intervention!

Automated Parking eliminates most of those touchpoints. Drivers Park in an ample bay room, lock the car, and leave. The system handles the parking and retrieving process with no human intervention. From entry to exit, no other person touches the vehicle besides the driver.

From the user’s perspective, the parking process ends in the bay room. Users may utilize the Kiosks to complete the parking/retrieval, though they can just use Utron’s mobile app, and avoid touching even the kiosks.

Yet, users get a valet parking experience and comfort, without anyone entering their vehicle.

2. Coping with Future Changes in Parking Demand – The Developers’ challenge

Remote working became an abrupt reality for the majority of workplaces over the pandemic. However, the future of permanent working from home is still unclear. The only thing we know is that the future of new buildings requires flexibility. That goes for parking too.

Automated Parking Can Be Repurposed to Housing!

Planning a new building, either residential or commercial, should take into account future changes in parking requirements and car ownership. Automated parking has the advantage of being able to repurpose a parking structure when changes occur.

Automated parking systems do not require ramps and turning radii. In many cases, it’s a rectangular shaped structure, constructed with 15′ floor-to-floor height. Steel racks are added in between the slabs to accommodate vehicles. It’s much easier to remove the steel racks and repurpose the volume than rebuild the whole garage. Developers will be able to construct new units/retail without rebuilding the entire development, keeping a minimum impact on the environment.

Key Takeaways 

Automated parking provides an entirely touchless parking solution, and best suited to the after-pandemic time, thanks to three major reasons:

1. Fully Automated by Machinery – The machinery takes care of the entire parking and retrieval process. It does not involve human action aside from the driver itself.
2. Mobile App Operation – Frictionless Parking – Utron users perform their parking, retrieving, and payments, with our mobile app. They avoid unnecessary frictions and enjoy an improved user experience.
3. Adaptive Reuse – Automated parking solution allows developers to future repurpose and convert part of the parking space into units, without having to rebuild the entire development.