Why the Parking Industry Holds the Keys to the Future of Transportation

With a focus on bringing new vehicles and transportation services to today’s streets — from connected cars to scooters to rideshare — the transportation industry has historically overlooked an element of the mobility ecosystem that we hold near and dear to our hearts: parking.

Fortunately, major mobility players are starting to consider parking as an essential part of the equation. To be the solution we all need, however, will require parking operators to digitize their inventory and streamline the entry, exit, and payments process. As icon parking systems work together to address these needs, we’re helping the parking industry not just stay relevant, but become the solution to the largest and most persistent challenge facing mobility today: congestion.

Regardless of what method people use to get around, vehicles of all kinds need places to park. Searching for parking, and the tedious process that comes once you find it, is keeping more drivers on the roads for longer. Parking operators can solve for this issue, as long as they have the right technology, processes, and partners in place.

icon parking systems have a long history of working closely with operators to bring garages online, streamline operations, and maximize the number of drivers coming through their doors. So it’s funny, rather than viewing the flurry of new transportation options as reasons to worry about the future of parking garages, we see the exact opposite. This pivotal moment in the transportation industry is a huge opportunity for parking operators to become the solution to today’s congested streets.

The Austin one-tap redemption program was just the first step for us. We are continuing to reimaging how PARCS technology, in-car operating systems, consumer apps, and a range of emerging technologies can all work together to deliver an elevated driver experience that makes parking easier and the process of doing it more seamless.

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Smart Parking- The next big thing?

The influence and value of parking in planning for liable communities is often underestimated and not well understood. Smart Parking is more than a necessary element today. Smart Parking enables peoples to find spaces quickly and easily. Less time parking means less stress and happier peoples. Imagine a tool that allows you to effortlessly form a clear picture of where available parking spaces can be found and how long each space has been occupied for.





People are increasingly happy to use modern solutions in different fields. With consumer behaviour undergoing rapid changes, mobile phones are becoming the centre of our digital life and we are using it as our primary tool for managing all aspects of our daily lives. No city can become sustainable or a smart city unless it plans for smart parking. A city must have enough parking spaces to provide their residents and their visitors a place to park their vehicle. If people can’t find a place to park, or if they have to pay too much for parking, these people probably won’t come back to that city to do some more shopping, dining or spending money in any other way. Also, residents must have enough places to park their vehicle nearby their house and workplace.

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Improving Parking Enforcement Efficiency With Technology

smart parking technology fast catching up, the life of a parking enforcement officer is expected to become easier. It is clear that modern cities need an effective enforcement solution that is also convenient for the officers, parking lot operators, and motorists. Smart parking apps are poised to fill this gap in current parking enforcement.

Challenges in parking enforcement

Today, there are more vehicles on the road that is possible to manually regulate. And the quest for the parking spot only becomes more frustrating with time. When it comes to traditional enforcement methods, they are not just expensive but also need a great degree of human intervention. Without a technology-enabled enforcement system to easily identify vehicles, officers have to physically check them and write a parking citation. It is evident how this imposes a high manpower cost on city administrations. Even with electronic tickets, there still aren’t wireless devices with access to real-time data to issue them. The result is inefficient citing of parking violations due to the time-consuming nature of manual enforcement.

Smart parking for parking enforcement

Parking enforcement technology will evolve with smart parking solutions, offering greater flexibility and efficiency in enforcement. Such solutions – featuring a cloud-based platform fully integrated into a product platform with a common backend to manage the entire portfolio – are evidently an improvement over manual enforcement.

By allowing officers to deal with a single vendor for smart parking meters, permit management, citations processing, and enforcement, icon parking systems improves efficiency in the entire process. Also, convenient payment options increase the collection of fines and the easy resolution of citations. Moreover, the rich data such a system generates paves the way for improved decision making, greater operational insight, and greater transparency.

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Cities Must Get Smart About Parking

One of the biggest influencers when it comes to the way residents and visitors view a city and its infrastructure is the ease of travel and parking. Whether drivers are headed to work downtown on a Monday morning, touring the nightlife on a Friday evening or attending a weekend sports game, the desire to quickly and efficiently locate an open parking space is typically top of mind.

But this isn’t always easy, as various challenges make parking in a city complicated. Municipalities face the balance of wanting to keep residents happy while also providing a welcoming atmosphere to out-of-towners when an influx of traffic occurs. And as cities in the United States continue to grow — population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that San Antonio, Texas, adds more than 60 people a day on average — the parking process will only become more complex.

With the elimination of parking minimums popping up around the country, the key for cities in the United States becomes prioritizing smart parking management for the lots and garages that currently exist. There is an overabundance of spaces in numerous cities, such as New York and Philadelphia, but with improper and inefficient management, these critical assets quickly lose their value.

A crucial component that’s typically missing in today’s city parking environments is guidance. In a study conducted by the International Parking Institute in 2018, 43 percent of respondents said the demand for guidance systems to help drivers find parking was one of the top emerging trends in parking for the year.

By implementing an integrated, intelligent parking management solution, cities can guide drivers to the closest available parking space, rather than requiring them to circle around endlessly after being turned away at the nearest option. Real-time updates with reliable and live information captured from sensors on light posts facilitate intelligent parking decisions that are based on data, not luck.

This kind of parking management solution would be especially beneficial for a city when dealing with a major sporting event, such as the recent Super Bowl held in Atlanta. Ahead of the game, officials prepared for the remarkable amount of traffic expected, which included a possible 150,000 out-of-town guests and more than one million attendees during the 10-day span of events. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport also saw a record-breaking number of passengers the day after the game.

A smart parking management solution would not only improve the flow of traffic for drivers who attended the game, but it would also provide operators with enhanced monitoring and insight into the various parking operations around the city. This would then enable officials to ensure the proper protocols are being followed and adjust aspects where necessary.

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The 5 Best Parking Apps for Your City

Finding affordable parking can be a challenge, especially when you live in a heavily populated area. In fact, IBM found that 30% of a city's traffic is attributed to drivers looking for parking. Fortunately, there are a number of apps available to help you find and compare spots, save money every time you park, and even reserve a parking space right from your phone. This will help you get out of traffic and into a safe spot in a fraction of the time and effort.
1. Icon Parking


Just about anywhere you go in Manhattan, you’re not far from a safe and convenient Icon parking facility. Icon, combined with Quik Park, is the largest parking operator in Manhattan with over 300 special locations and more than 50 years of experience. “We Park New York”, a New York company serving the premier needs of one of the best cities in the world.


Our parking facilities are in virtually all of Manhattan's most high profile, prestigious neighborhoods, and business districts. We are on the forefront of providing unsurpassed value to city residents, commuters and visitors to the city's numerous restaurants, Broadway theaters, concert halls, event destinations, and shopping.




Icon Parking and Quik Park are members of the industry’s most diverse family of parking brands. Organized in 2013, Citizens Parking is the leader in Branded Parking Services, with 5 brands, 8,000 associates and 1,200 locations. The company has harnessed the power of its brands leveraging a collaborative culture to

2. BestParking
BestParking is a top parking app, and has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Forbes, ABC, FOX, CBS, and NBC. It locates all the available parking spots in your area so you can quickly compare and save. Available in 105 cities and 115 airports throughout North America, it will find you the best spot, no matter where you are. It even sorts spots by price, so you can instantly visualize where the most affordable (and most expensive) spots are. The app has 850,000 monthly users and is backed by outstanding reviews from people who have saved time and money.
3. Parker
Parker can help you find available parking spots, prices, and hours for 24,000 garages and lots. You can also filter parking spots by space, payment type, and more. Built-in GPS navigation can even guide you to the nearest open spot, so you will never have to drive around confused in a new city again. It can help you find a spot in a parking lot or garage, or it can help you navigate local street parking. It will also run a timer, so you don't have to worry about parking tickets. Parker has outstanding online reviews and was voted one of the most highly recommended apps by Forbes and Mashable.
4. SpotHero
SpotHero is an app recommended by Forbes because it can help you find and compare parking and reserve a spot for up to 50% off the drive-up rate. The app has its own dedicated unsold spots from parking facilities in the area. You can quickly reserve one of those spots from your phone and enjoy a discounted rate in the process. Not only will you save money, but you also won't need to worry about losing your prized spot to another driver. It is available in most large cities and is introducing new locations everyday.
5. ParkMe
ParkMe offers the largest and most accurate parking database in the world. With over 84,000 locations in over 64 countries, it can compare the most available spots and save every time you park. You can also reserve a spot in advance with your credit card so you never have to worry about losing your spot again. The app can even tell you where to find parking up to two weeks into the future.

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