Finding parking in towns has proven difficult no matter where you are in the country. The allure of cute towns, no matter their size and main downtown streets, is still ever-present, and people continue struggling to find parking.

Beach towns may have it worse than any other type of town nationwide. And the trouble of finding parking does not just touch a few tourists and visitors seeking parking at the beachfront. It affects those looking for parking and town & city officials trying to enforce parking. Moreover, it impacts HOAs, property owners, property management, and business owners struggling with unauthorized parking on their properties. So, it begs the question of how to address increasing parking concerns in beach towns.

Property owners, business owners, HOA board members, and city officials: if you’re seeking answers regarding addressing increasing parking concerns in beach towns and your communities, continue reading. We intend to provide solutions to the daily dilemmas your towns face.

The Situation

Who doesn’t love the beach? Apart from the few who cannot stand the feel of the sand, most would say it is a gorgeous landscape that they wish they could see more of. And a lot of people are doing just that! They are either visiting or moving to beach towns in swarms! Beach towns nationwide benefit from this influx of tenants and tourists. Their economy as a town grows, their rental properties are booked, and local businesses thrive. But despite all the benefits, it comes with its fair share of challenges, including parking.

The Problem

Regarding parking, the question of how to address increasing parking concerns in beach towns is a topic that has kept coming up over the past several months. So much so that many city and town officials and hired consultations nationwide plan to present their findings within the year. What is the recurring problem that many beach towns are facing? Let’s get to it!

The problem comes down to supply and demand. With more people visiting beach towns and even more moving to these locations, more vehicles are also seeing the streets of these towns. With a “stagnant” number of parking spots, people need help finding parking. Without enough parking, many people resort to parking in places they are not authorized to. These spots include reserved parking in HOAs, schools, business parking lots, banks, guest parking, loading zones, handicapped parking, EV charging parking spots, etc.

Now, it is not just the visitors violating parking rules! Workers who cannot find parking because there is no available parking near work infringe on rules, residents and tenants whose reserved parking spots have another vehicle parking in it will break the rules, and delivery vehicles will most undoubtedly double park people in when their loading zones are being improperly used, and of course, yes, visitors seeking daily or hourly parking will violate parking rules as well. So it begs the question, what can beach towns do to address these increasing parking concerns?

The Solution

ParqEx proposes a smart parking property technology solution that answers the question for people searching for parking, property management, HOAs, property owners, business owners, commercial real estate owners, enforcement officers and companies, and city & town officials!

The first smart parking solution we suggest is our Marketplace technology. Our Private Parking Marketplace enables individuals, business owners, and property managers to list their underutilized parking spots for rent on our online marketplace. By listing your spots on our database, parkers can find them on our Parking App and reserve their spot ahead of time to avoid the headache of finding a spot on the day of. Additionally, our marketplace tech helps bust the myth of not enough parking! There is enough parking, but some are hidden behind gates and garage doors.

The second smart parking solution ParqEx suggests is our Access + Access Control technology. With ParqEx’s Access + App, property owners, managers, and condo associations can improve the security of their buildings. With this technology on-site, only approved vehicles can gain access to the property via our app. All authorized individuals need to do is approach the gate or garage door and use our app, and the door will open. As can be seen, this eliminates the hassle and security issues of unauthorized parkers on properties.

The third smart parking solution that addresses beach towns’ parking concerns is our Access Control Premium License Plate Recognition technology. Like our Access + app, approved drivers can access the building’s parking facility simply by driving up to our LPR access point with their registered car. Our LPR technology increases security while eliminating the need for phones, apps, fobs, keypads, kiosks, or gate attendees. Like our Access + system, LPR also rids the headache of unauthorized parkers on the property.

Lastly, our fourth smart parking solution that is key to resolving increasing parking concerns in beach towns is the ParqEx Enforcer App. With our Enforcer App, enforcement officers, town and city officials, HOAs, and property management can easily verify every vehicle on the premises with the app. The app allows enforcement officers to quickly see who is not supposed to be parked on the property and then issue parking tickets, violations, and citations within the app. Recently, we decided we wanted to simplify enforcement even more. Now, our Enforcer app has a revenue collections module built within, allowing all parking fees, tickets, and offenses to be paid immediately in the app.

The solution per group

1. How can people searching for parking in beach towns do so quickly and easily?
   • For those seeking parking in beach towns, download our ParqEx mobile parking app. With our Marketplace platform, all available parking spaces that sit relatively unused within gated communities, open surface lots, street parking spots, or even businesses are made available to you! So, instead of struggling to find a spot and then risking it by parking illegally, reserve a spot in advance on our app.
2. How can property management, HOAs, and property owners fix all parking grievances and headaches on their beach town properties?
   • Our solutions will bring numerous benefits to your property. First, listing your available spots on our Marketplace will add revenue to your property. This allows transient renters to pay you for parking and frees up traffic in and around the beach town. Secondly, by utilizing our Access + or Access + Premium LPR technology, unauthorized parkers can no longer gain access to your property, thus eliminating the hassle of residents and tenants not being able to park in their reserved spots. Thirdly, by utilizing our Enforcer app, any parking violation can be issued immediately within the app.
3. How can business owners handle unauthorized parkers in their business’s parking lot?
   • You, too, can add income to your business by listing your unused parking spots on our platform. Instead of people parking illegally in your parking lots, list your available spots on our Marketplace & utilize our Enforcer app to ensure that only vehicles with active ParqEx parking reservations are parked on your property. For those who park without these reservations, immediately take action on enforcement.
4. How can city & town officials tackle all the parking concerns in their beach towns?
   • ParqEx’s smart parking solutions can help you answer how to address increasing parking concerns in beach towns. Our tech can help you ensure that parking payment is collected all around your town, can help you stay on top of parking enforcement, can help reduce security risks of unauthorized parking, and can help drastically reduce the long lines and congestion your beach town seems to face daily due to a lack of available parking. A solid parking operations setup is needed for a beach town to operate smoothly. Learn more here!

Beach towns, don’t let your lackluster parking operations forever discourage you! Sure, it may seem like your town is lacking in terms of parking. But we are here to tell you that the parking dilemma will diminish once many unused private parking spaces are unlocked and available to those seeking a spot. Moreover, by increasing the enforcement of all parking regulations in the city and at privately owned properties, there will be fewer parking offenses and unauthorized vehicles! Book a demo with us today & we will give you a detailed explanation of how to address increasing parking concerns in beach towns & show how our solutions have been the answer to many towns like yours.

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City Centers vs. Neighborhoods

City centers and neighborhoods may have qualities in common but they also have distinctive characteristics.

City Centers

For a long time, the city center was the hub of commerce, pedestrian traffic, and entertainment in many cities.  A city center, which may also be called r “downtown” or a “business district,” has features such as:

• Transportation hubs such as train and bus terminals.
• Convention centers for business events.
• Hotels for tourists and business travelers.
• A wide selection of restaurants, retail shops, and entertainment (e.g. nightclubs, theaters, concert halls).

Neighborhoods

While a city center is, by definition, the hub of a city, neighborhoods can be scattered around and may extend into the suburbs. While city centers often attract tourists, business travelers, and residents seeking entertainment, neighborhoods are more known for:

• Residential areas
• Schools
• Churches, community centers, and civic organizations

Obviously, there’s overlap between the two as people do live in city centers and there have always been retail, restaurants, and other attractions in neighborhoods. Now, however, we’re seeing more diverse businesses and activities in neighborhoods.

The Revival of Neighborhoods

City centers are still popular in many ways, especially for tourism and business events. However, the focus is shifting to neighborhoods in some important ways.

Retail Returning to Main Street

As Fast Company recently reported, retail is returning to neighborhoods. Retail stores and other businesses are finding that many customers prefer to find goods and services in neighborhoods where they live. Retail intelligence demands that savvy businesses anticipate customers’ preferences. Fulton Market in Chicago, for example, has recently grown quickly as one of the nation’s most trendy shopping areas. What is driving this shift? There are actually a number of factors.

• Convenience. Most people live in neighborhoods and don’t always feel like traveling to the city center for necessities or leisure activities.
• Community. Shopping locally gives people a chance to socialize and get to know their neighbors.
• Diversity. Suburban malls and city centers are mainly populated with chain stores. Main Street businesses are often independent and owned by locals.

Community and Civic Improvements

Aside from retail, many neighborhoods are enjoying the revitalization of community services. This is evident in several Midwestern cities. In Milwaukee, Co:lab, a coalition of civic organizations, is launching many community projects designed to strengthen neighborhoods, provide people with essential skills, and revitalize the economy. Similar efforts are underway in Madison, where community groups recently received a grant to work with troubled youth in the Mellowhood neighborhood. Such efforts are designed to improve safety, help at-risk populations, and make streets and malls more appealing to shoppers.

Such community strengthening efforts can have a significant effect on neighborhoods. They encourage more retail investors in these areas. They help to boost both commercial and residential real estate. A growing and improving neighborhood creates a submarket for developers and small businesses to invest in.

Smart Parking Solutions for neighborhoods that gain popularity over city centers

One implication of retail expansion in neighborhoods is that cities need efficient solutions to make life easier for businesses and shoppers. Traffic and parking, for example,  are a major issue in many cities today. Popular shopping districts need sustainable parking solutions.  There are several key issues that drivers and businesses care about.

• Availability. People want to know that they can easily find a parking space.
• Cost of parking. If parking is expensive, it discourages shoppers from visiting an area.
• Traffic congestion. Efficient parking cuts down on congestion
• Safety. It’s important that drivers feel safe parking and leaving their vehicles unattended while they’re shopping.
• Aesthetics. Parking solutions can either blend well with a neighborhood or an eyesore.

Neighborhoods in many areas such as Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and many other areas, are experiencing an exciting renaissance. This is good news but it also means that smart solutions are needed to accommodate growth.

Parqex offers innovative parking solutions for builders, developers, property managers, and residents. GuestParq makes it easy for property managers to organize guest parking. Access+ allows drivers to manage gates, doors, and garages. Enforcer helps you catch parking violations. These are some of the tools Parqex has introduced to make life easier as neighborhoods grow and attract more traffic. To find out more about our services, contact us.

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