Case Study
City of Boulder
Like the City of Boulder, You Too Could Implement
a Demand-Based Parking Ecosystem
Who’s Involved
Samantha Bromberg | Project Manager, City of Boulder
Customer Takeaways
Working with [ParkHub] has been vital for the successful implementation of this project. Based on the data we have access to and the analytical tools of the software, we can be confident we’re making intelligent decisions that benefit our community.
Samantha Bromberg, Project Manager
Summary
Beginning in October 2016, The City of Boulder, Colorado, partnered with ParkHub to gain insight into parking & mobility behavior in Boulder. In September of 2022, the city was preparing to implement dynamic pricing in some of their paid parking areas. Using parking utilization data from ParkHub’s Smarking BI tool, the City’s Parking Department recommended the council approve an updated rate structure for 2023 based on historical utilization.
Leveraging the Smarking platform, the City of Boulder transformed its parking management with data-driven decisions, enhancing efficiency and community benefits.
The Challenge
Lack of Visibility
The City of Boulder did not have a method to track parking data prior to utilizing Smarking BI. Any information about parking information in the city was anecdotal or estimated.
Randomly Assigned Rate
All rates of paid parking in the City of Boulder were assigned without context. There was no concept of dynamic pricing available due to a lack of data.
Unclear Future Vision
Without accurate historical information, the City of Boulder lacked the ability to plan for parking accommodations or adjustments in the future.
The Solution
Smarking Business Intelligence (BI) Tool
Based on occupancy information provided by the Smarking BI platform, the parking and access team determined which blocks in downtown Boulder had high on-street utilization, and which areas had low utilization. This granular visibility into parking utilization enables the city to determine which blocks might benefit from rate increases and which might benefit from rate reductions or changes to curb use.
Their primary goal is to generate parking turnover and availability to reduce cruising behavior of vehicles searching for parking. For example, to improve availability in the highly-utilized Pearl Street Mall area, the City plans to raise rates on the surrounding blocks and measure the impact of those changes on parker behavior.
In response, Boulder City Council adopted a plan to increase the price floor of all on-street locations to $1.50/hour and identified high-utilized blocks to $2.00/ hour, thereby incentivizing turnover throughout the city and decreasing congestion of vehicles searching for on-street parking.
The Results
Data Empowerment
With the Smarking BI platform, Boulder’s Parking Managers accessed precise historical and current utilization data, enabling informed policy decisions for effective parking management.
Demand-based Rate Optimization
Utilizing detailed occupancy information, the city identified high and low utilization areas, enabling strategic rate changes to incentivize turnover and reduce congestion.
Future Planning
ParkHub’s comprehensive data and analytical tools provided the Boulder team with a holistic view of parking patterns, empowering them to effectively plan and budget for upcoming years.
Learn More
With integrated payments, devices, and business intelligence, ParkHub is paving the road to a brighter digital future. On that road, ParkHub customers are driving away from cash, quickly and seamlessly.
Experience How ParkHub Can Transform Your Parking Operations
“ParkHub was designed to revolutionize an antiquated industry by providing an agnostic and open technology platform for finding, reserving, and paying for event parking online. As we expanded, we developed a best-in-class, mobile-point-of-sale device and comprehensive management suite, currently used by hundreds of parking operators, sports & entertainment venues, universities, festivals, & more, at thousands of locations across the U.S. With our recent acquisition of Smarking, we also offer full-scale business intelligence, dynamic pricing, and pre-paid reservation products, utilized by numerous municipalities across the country.”
Chris Elliston
ParkHub Chief Revenue Officer