Posted: Aug, 13, 2020 11:11AM ET • 2 min read

A parking enforcement officer printing a parking ticket in front of a vehicle in a surface lot

If you’re a property manager of a residential building, commercial property, or mixed-use development in a high-demand area, and have decided to install parking meters as your parking access control solution, you will need to consider budgeting for enforcement services. This goes for any type of parking meter operation: single-space, multi-space, pay-and-display, or pay-by-plate.

Parking meter operations rely on an honour system. When you install them, you’re trusting that drivers will pay to park on your property. Investing in parking enforcement services is an effective way to promote compliance at your parking lot resulting in increased revenue capture.

Advanced parking enforcement technology is usually cloud-based and can be integrated with payment and validation options beyond parking meters. Examples include mobile parking payment apps, as well as visitor validation tablets in your lobby or communal space.

Parking enforcement is an essential add-on service for parking meter operations. Not only will it ensure that unauthorized vehicles parked on your property are issued a violation, it will also turn each and every one of your parking stalls into revenue generators. Enforcement services ensure that parking is available for your visitors and the likelihood of repeat violators is greatly diminished.

What to look for with parking enforcement.

Mastering parking enforcement can be a difficult feat, so it’s no surprise that property managers tend to gravitate toward outsourcing the service to experts in the field. When selecting a parking enforcement solution, it’s crucial for property managers to consider end-to-end enforcement services. The basics that property managers need to consider are:

Cloud-based enforcement technology: Increase accuracy with cloud-based enforcement technology that digitally communicates valid parking sessions in real-time by licence plate to the enforcement officer.
Software integration with your mobile parking payment app: Paying for parking can go beyond meters. Ensure your enforcement process accounts for payments made on your mobile payment app or visitor tablet in your lobby.
Flexible coverage: Ensure your service provider can be flexible to your needs and provides enforcement that follows the unique regulations of your property.
Strategic scheduling methods: Parking enforcement should be sporadic and unpredictable in order to be effective. Some properties might need to enforce multiple times a day, while others may need to enforce only on weekends or during peak hours.
Site-specific regulations: The right parking enforcement strategy should be customized for your needs so that your relationship with your staff, tenants and customers is maintained, and your customer service objectives are met.
Online payment methods: Make paying for and collecting payment for violations easy and hassle-free with the option to pay online.
Appeal and adjudication handling: Parking enforcement doesn’t end at issuing the violation. Customer service, appeal, adjudication and accounting administrations are all part of the enforcement process.