The businesses within a city or town centre tend to rely upon efficient parking systems to fuel their success.
Be it big corporates, corner stores, retail venues or restaurants, all business centres need flowing traffic and accessible parking.
Solving the parking headache in areas of high congestion is no easy task, yet it’s not impossible. There are many viable solutions to alleviating the daily challenges of this system.
We compiled a quick reference guide.
Problems vs Solutions
The hustle and bustle of city or town centres draw individuals from far & wide. Whenever there are high levels of foot or vehicle traffic in a space there are bound to be challenges following close by.
Let’s explore some of the most notable ones before showing exactly how you can solve them too.
Problem: Not Enough Parking
Too often do we realize that there’s actually insufficient parking options available for centrally located businesses.
This generally occurs due to the infrastructure of a city being originally designed to accommodate lower population numbers. During the inception of most towns there is obviously fewer people to cater for.
As city centres grow, so do the interest of people and they tend to move closer to the thriving parts. Howeverthe original business areas still rest on spaces originally designed to host fewer people.
Parking takes a hit as a result of this, especially since cars came long after the founding of some cities and towns. It’s therefore usually a nightmare to find adequate, or safe, parking around the businesses you visit.
Solution: Building Out & Up
The only real way to alleviate problems caused by poor infrastructure is to rebuild.
Cities and towns will have limited space in which to do so, so the most viable solution would be to build upward.
Parkades are practical structures that can house thousands of vehicles on top of one another. Businesses in the area can all benefit greatly from a centrally located parkade as they remain in walking distance from the parked cars.
Another option that works well for cities are ‘park& ride’ programs.
By building parking lots just outside the city or town and providing rides into the centre the problem of insufficient parking can be greatly improved. Park and ride programs keep vehicles outside of the city & bring just the individuals in.
This does wonders in alleviating both the lack of parking crisis and the general traffic congestion of the city.
Problem: Traffic
A tough challenge to tackle in any bustling city centre is congestion. Traffic jams will affect you at some point in life, and often when you least expect them.
In city and town centres, particularly around businesses, traffic is usually significantly worse. Morning and afternoon congestion would bring the brunt of it, as well as seasonal congestion depending on the nature of the business in question.
Congestion within these centresoccurs when an overwhelming number of vehicles attempt to enter and exit a compact space at the same time. Congestion can occur both on the streets and within parking lots as well.
Solution: Access Control
The only real way to begin to deter vehicles from entering a city centre is to begin charging them to be there. This is why so many towns and cities around the world make use of various access control systems for their parking practices.
Access control systems include:
- Booming off areas
- Installing paid parking machines
- Monitoring entry and exit points
- Installing bollard points
Innovative businesses such as Advance Access provide all of these services for both the public and private spectrum.
Investing in systems that force drivers to pay for the duration of their parking is a way of both profiting and limiting the influx of vehicles.
While many drivers are happy to pay the tolls, an equal number will instead be more inclined to make use of public transport.
This has a direct impact on the amount of congestion that can occur within the town or city centre. With more people using alternate modes of transport there are fewer cars in the space to cause traffic issues.
Problem: Safety
Car related theft is naturally higher in places that see more traffic. So town and city centres are high up on the list.
Most drivers are more than happy to pay for private parking, so long as it’s guaranteed to keep their cars at least a bit safer than a public space would.
If a city centre is particularly dangerous (whether relating to the wellbeing ofdrivers or the safety of their vehicles), patrons are going to avoid the area & as a result the businesses in it.
This is largely why you so often see well intending businesses close their doors so soon after opening up in the wrong part of town.
Solution: Mass Lots and Guards
A simple solution to the car safety problem would be to construct a series of public lots around the city centre in which customers can make use of safe parking.
The lots would of course be access controlled in one way or another. By adding the presence of 24/7 security guards the space becomes incredibly appealing.
Businesses in the area will thrive once patrons realize there’s affordable, safe and convenient parking nearby.
They no longer have to leave their vehicles street side and hope that they will still be there when they return.
The parking situation within town and city centres can bea real headache. It directly impacts businesses in the vicinity. So change is needed.
With a little thought and consideration, however, there are implementable solutions to all the basic issues faced daily.
Parking management, parking infrastructure, access control systems and security presence can make a dramatic improvement to the space.
It’s important that town centre management takes the time to explore these solutions before businesses feel the negative brunt of the challenges.
If the answer is simple, why should life be complicated any longer?
