Campus Parking and Your School’s App
Students usually download your school’s app before they even register for classes. Your app probably offers them maps of the campus, event information, and course catalogs. It might even offer meal plan information, faculty contact info, and class discussion forums. What if it could also help streamline campus parking so that students and teachers could park faster and get to class on time?
How good is your parking program?
Your school app is likely something every student has. And a parking spot is often something everyone complains they can’t find. Finding parking on college campuses is notoriously difficult. And with students taking to social media to vent about it, schools are eager to take action. Poor parking management isn’t only a vocal student complaint, it also actually causes students to be late for class. On many campuses, such as at Illinois State University, while students complain that there’s nowhere to park, spaces are sitting unused in campus lots and garages.
A New Issue?
Parking on campus is an issue universities have long struggled with. In 1957, the chancellor of UC Berkeley listed the three biggest problems on campus as sex, athletics, and parking. A 2015 article exploring parking issues in colleges says parking has probably outpaced the other two in administrative headaches. On some campuses, there simply isn’t enough place for everyone to park. But for many, spots are available; they
can just be difficult to find. Student and faculty parkers often favor specific lots, while others sit languishing empty despite frustrated parkers convinced there’s nowhere to park.
Parking Guidance
Parking counting systems like OpenSpace by Parking Logix keep track of available spots in each parking lot. Up-to-the-minute data is then shared with your students and faculty. They can see exactly which lot has room for them to park- and where they shouldn’t bother looking. Availability data can be broadcast in many ways so you can be sure students get the message. A sign at your campus entry and outside each lots can show available spots in every lot or garage.
At Parking Logix, we know that their phones are often the first place students seek data. That’s why we offer robust API integration that allows you to share campus parking data on your school’s app as well. Give students access to parking availability data before they even head to campus, with real-time updated whenever they need them, so that they can see how easy campus parking can really be.
