Monday Musing: Beyond Expectations

The BPA is always horizon scanning, taking note of new innovations, shifts in mobility choices, and changes in motorist behaviour and it constantly questions whether the word parking accurately reflects and represents the breadth of its activities and its increasingly diverse membership community.

Before the pandemic, conscious thought had been given to the future of electric vehicles and the environment, although at the time the goalposts for achieving environmental targets were much further away in the distance.  Car parks usually only get a large investment every ten years or so, either for a complete refurbishment or to upgrade technology, so it was vital that new car parks be built with an environmental future in mind.  Small steps were already being taken to make existing car parks cheaper to run with the introduction of LED lighting for example, which uses less energy, produces less carbon yet provides better light quality.

Many of our multi-storey car parks were built in the 1960's and 70’s when concrete was cheap and construction quick and simple, so the challenges of making a concrete structure environmentally friendly are considerable.  While a structure of that size must obviously be solid and dependable and will be made with some environmental impact, other elements can reduce its carbon footprint and ensure it is sustainable over the long term.

We had developed Park Mark Plus to recognise environmental credentials in car parks as well as acknowledge that, as consumers, we are much savvier about parking and want more variety in payment methods, bigger spaces, and generally less hassle.  We want to feel safe and know that our vehicles are safe too.  Many people will be familiar with the Park Mark award that is given to car parks that have measures in place to reduce crime and the fear of crime and the success of this scheme and its support by the public meant that it was an ideal scheme to develop.  Thus, with safety issues foremost we added accessibility for disabled motorists, environmental and customer services elements to launch the new Park Mark Plus to recognise these stand-out features.

Preparations to launch Park Mark Plus were being made in early 2020, when talk of a strange virus was just filtering through, but seemed to be contained in other parts of the world.  The scheme launched in March 2020, just as we went into lockdown.  It was unknown how long we would be confined to our homes or what its effect might be on our lives, but as the months wore on it became apparent that the environment was fast becoming the most important situation to address.  Suddenly tackling emissions and increasing biodiversity were top priorities and target dates for the adoption of electric vehicles and net-zero carbon were brought forward.

For a car park to be awarded Park Mark or Park Mark Plus it is visited by an area manager and a police assessor who conduct a rigorous risk assessment, but of course, lockdowns meant visits to car parks couldn’t go ahead.  A couple of car parks had taken part in the Park Mark Plus pilot and had already received the award, but we did not envisage being able to visit new sites or award many, if any, that year.

It has been beyond expectation that despite the launch being frustrated, interest in Park Mark Plus has continued to grow and there are now 8 awarded car parks (Bristol, Colchester, Birmingham, Crawley, Cambridge, and Murton) and 4 more in the pipeline for assessment.  The criteria are extensive, covering structural integrity (life care plan, drainage), design (innovative architecture, internal style), management (customer charter, ANPR, help points, payment options), environment (EV charging, LED, recycled rainwater, green spaces, plants, air quality monitoring, bicycle parking) and customer services (wider bays, valeting, family-friendly facilities) and more.

Innovations in the electric vehicle market continue to find solutions to the many EV charging challenges and parking managers are investigating and implementing solar canopies for EV charging stations and car park rooftops to reduce emissions further.  The old municipal concrete car park may look very different in the not so distant future.  Gone will be the grey, austere horizon.  Look out for green walls, interesting artwork, colourful interiors, bug hotels and attractive design because before long, it might be worth going out just to park and admire the view!