Parking has benefited from an incredible amount of innovation over the past 20 years or so, but even with all the changes we’ve seen up to this point, there’s still a long way to go.
Parking Innovations in 2022
Next year, for instance, we’re poised to see some pretty incredible shifts in the way people park. From the inner cities to the rural countryside, let’s take a look at 7 parking innovations we can expect to see in 2022:
1. Grass Parking
Parking on grass might sound like a step backward in terms of parking innovations until you take a closer look. TRUEGRID has recently come out with the ROOT system for turning ordinary grassland into stabilized, durable parking.
With the ROOT system, all you need to do is wet your grass, snap the permeable plastic pavers into place, and compress them into the ground with a roller or heavy vehicle to lock them into place.
This innovation allows anybody to stabilize their grass and make it perfect for overflow parking. The best part is, the grass will grow up through the pavers, essentially creating extra parking spaces without eating into your green space.
2. Robot Valets
Parking your vehicle at a crowded restaurant, business, or airport is not something you should have to worry about. That’s where robot valets come into play. Simply drop your vehicle off at a pre-designated cabin space and a robot will come and take it to a parking lot where all the cars are closely parked together.
When you’re ready to leave, the valet robot will retrieve your vehicle and bring it back to the pre-designated cabin space for you to pick up. This helps businesses pack many more cars into their lots and drastically lowers the rate of minor parking accidents, as the robots have zero margins for error.
3. Permeable Pavement
Another parking solution that’s expected to be in high demand is the PRO PLUS® permeable pavement system from TRUEGRID. Their permeable plastic pavers are made from 100% recycled plastic and are tough enough to handle the weight of a falling monster truck without breaking. TRUEGRID is used in industrial 18 wheeler parking but is economical enough to use in your small business or even your home.
In areas with stormwater management issues, this permeable pavement can be used to manage stormwater instead of costly drainage systems and retention ponds. They allow water to drain directly through them, which means you can use more of your land for parking spaces instead of drainage. Fill the grid cells with gravel or grass based on your application.
They’re also very quick to install and require almost no maintenance over their lifetime, a vast improvement over traditional paving materials like asphalt and concrete.
4. Stacked Parking
For those of us with more cars than we can fit into our allotted parking space, stacked parking is here to save the day. Car parking lifts are mechanical lifts that can be used to lift and park cars above each other vertically. Some are able to stack more than three cars on top of each other.
For both residential homeowners and commercial business owners who are pressed for space, vertical parking is one of the best parking innovations to help you make the most out of what you’ve got.
5. Pay-by-Plate
Manual parking meters are outdated. You shouldn’t have to run back to your vehicle and put more money in the meter if you need to extend your stay. Thankfully, with pay-by-plate parking, you won’t have to.
It works by using parking kiosks to help you reserve a spot. You just punch your license plate number in and pay with a credit or debit card. If you need to extend your stay, you can do so remotely via a parking app.
This is going to be the new normal for inner-city residential parking, and it’s expected to ramp up in 2022.
6. Pollution-Based Parking Rates
Every vehicle is estimated to put out a specific level of carbon emissions. With pollution-based parking, vehicles that run on diesel or have higher emission rates would be charged higher rates for parking.
This can help cities with poor air quality incentivize cleaner vehicles. Hybrids would get a sizable discount, while fully-electric vehicles would park for free.
7. Resident Rates
One way to reward residents of a big city is to give them parking priority over tourists. In popular cities like Miami, for instance, this would mean charging residents of the city much less for metered parking than non-residents.
Doing so would make it easier for residents who actually pay taxes in the area and give them a nice reward for being a member of the community.
Big Changes to Parking are on the Way in 2022
If you’ve ever had problems with parking, 2022 will be a golden year for you. We can expect a cleaner and less stressful parking experience that benefits people and the environment as well.
From residential options like grass paving and permeable pavement, to robot valets and parking meters that run on mobile apps, there’s no shortage of new parking innovations to be excited about next year.
To get a head start on an innovative parking solution, contact the paving experts at TRUEGRID today.
