By Jeff Van Allen | 2 min. read
Why Go Gateless?
Though not necessarily a suitable solution for every parking facility, going gateless can help resolve several operational inefficiencies. The most common of these is sluggish ingress/egress, which can cause unwieldy back-ups and congestion in and around parking facilities.
In particular, sprawling institutional campuses stand to benefit from going gateless — especially those looking to reduce their environmental impact and staffing demands.
That’s because such campuses typically manage a large number of parking spaces with limited resources. If they’ve yet to be reconfigured to accommodate ride-hailing traffic, they’re especially vulnerable to troublesome gridlock.
Controlling a Gateless Parking Environment
Contrary to what people sometimes assume, going gateless doesn’t mean sacrificing control of your parking asset. However, to safeguard your asset’s revenue stream, converting to a gateless operation does demand careful planning — ideally in collaboration with a seasoned professional.
Technological solutions such as license-plate recognition (LPR) and Municipal Citation Solution’s Violation and Ticketing System (VATS), combined with oversight from a qualified parking management company, can help you achieve your gateless goals with the lowest possible risk.
Fixed LPR technology has emerged as a popular monitoring methodology thanks to its efficacy, accuracy, and long-term return on investment.
Today, LPR can be integrated with:
- Parking access revenue control systems (PARCS)
- Enforcement software
- Permit and validation systems
- Pay-by-phone and pay-by-plate systems
- Smart parking data analytics platforms (IoT)
These compatibilities make implementation of LPR solutions effective and efficient across a wide range of parking environments.
Fixed LPR: How Does it Work?
Using cameras, infrared lights, optical character recognition software, and license plate databases, both fixed and mobile LPR systems allow parking operators to monitor parking zones at maximum efficiency.
Gateless parking environments tend to benefit from a fixed LPR solution (though the addition of mobile LPR may be advantageous for controlling larger parking facilities). Fixed LPR cameras are installed at parking facility entrances and exits, allowing parking managers or parking support staff to observe entrances and exits in real time. The LPR system then monitors how long each vehicle has been parked — a crucial component of time-based monitoring — and can alert parking staff of expired parkers based on the parking asset owner’s specifications.
Is a Gateless Parking Solution Right for You?
Municipal Citation Solutions (MCS), an Impark company, is a leading provider of fixed and mobile LPR systems and other parking monitoring equipment and software.
Backed by Impark’s parking management prowess, MCS can assist parking asset owners operating in any vertical to decide if an LPR-backed gateless solution is right for them.
Interested in switching to a gateless solution? Contact us today for a complimentary consultation.
Jeff Van Allen is vice president at Municipal Citation Solutions (MCS), an Impark company. For more information on parking enforcement methodology and equipment, email him at jvanallen@municipalcitationsolutions.com.
