Parking - April 2010 - 19

Government, Institutional and Non-Proﬁt Corner Robert Baer
Technology Wave
I recently visited the local library to check out a few books and was quite surprised to find that it was now a self-check out library. The bar code technology used at the self-service kiosk made it very convenient. Selfservice checkout was the only option for borrowing books. The library staff was still visible and helpful, but clearly had taken the step towards automation that so many other businesses and services have. In times past, we would pull up at the service station, an attendant would pump the gas, check your oil and clean your windshield. At the grocery store, the cashier would ring up each item using the register. You actually had to enter banks and complete transactions with a bank teller. When you parked your car, an attendant greeted you on the lot or by an employee in a booth. Times have changed. I have not seen a gas station attendant in I do not know how long. I always use the U-Scan to check out at the grocery store. I have not been inside a bank in ages and the parking industry has been right in the middle of this wave of automation for years. Today in the parking industry we have Pay-in-Lane, Pay-On-Foot, Pay-N-Display, Auto-Cashiers, Credit Card In/Credit Card Out, LPR, AVI, RFID, AVPM, CVPS, bar codes, magstripes, proximity cards, multi-space meters and much, much more. In addition to parking controls, many other technological advances allow for efficient use of lighting and way finding that interfaces with vacancy counts and directs visitors to open spaces. It is important that the right application fits your operational needs; choosing the wrong hardware and software for your facility can be a costly mistake. Many professionals within the National Parking Association are willing and able to provide assistance and feedback on your specific needs. The exhibition floor, the seminars, the roundtable discussions and the networking available at the annual convention have proven to be a great benefit to me personally and professionally. In my own community, there is mounting evidence of this technology wave taking hold. The University of Cincinnati has recently automated their parking operations. Central Parking has automated the Fountain Square garage, while System Parking has been running the automated 580 Walnut garage for several years. Parking attendants on surface lots have been replaced by meters and the valet operation at the Hilton Netherland Plaza is using technology to track valet efficiency, vehicles, keys and billing. Mark Twain once wrote, “When the world comes to an end, I want to be in Cincinnati because it’s always 20 years behind the times.” This may have been true in his time, but our time is marching on.
Robert “Bob” Baer is director of Parking and Transportation at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and represents the Government, Institutional and Non-Proﬁt Division on NPA’s Executive Committee. He can be reached at robert.baer@cchmc.org.

Digital Payment Technologies multi-space meter installed on Central Parking location in the Cincinnati area.

www.npapark.org PARKING April 2010

Parking - April 2010

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