image: UT Arlington's West Parking Garage view more
Credit: UT Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington has launched a new digital parking platform this fall that gives users real-time knowledge of available parking spaces, electric vehicle charging locations and garage/lot percentage occupancy.
The UTA Parking Finder is currently live and enables students, employees and visitors to make informed parking decisions in real time. Additional parking lot parking sensors will be added during the next three years until approximately 85% of all parking space on campus is covered.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments and Modii, a provider of modern mobility solutions, funded development of the app through a $500,000 grant. During the next 12 months, students will conduct quantitative research and run focus groups to assess the transportation improvements on campus as a direct result of the project.
The app allows users to search for parking availability personalized to their individual permits so they can quickly pinpoint appropriate spaces. Greg Hladik, executive director of UT Arlington Auxiliary Services, said the data shows that this system works.
“The system will help daily users find parking faster, ensuring the best use of existing parking facilities,” Hladik said.
Jay Rosenberger, UT Arlington professor and interim chair of the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering (IMSE), said the upcoming research will assess how effectively the tool improves safety, efficiency and sustainability of UTA’s campus mobility. Chen Kan, IMSE assistant professor, is part of the research team for this project.
Modii President Mark Frumar said: “Parking has historically been a challenge at most large universities, but it doesn’t have to be. Commuting students and staff, as well as campus visitors, should be able to find a parking spot with ease and eliminate the worry of being late to their class or event. The UTA Parking Finder aims to solve that challenge, and we’re both honored and grateful to receive the generous grant that will propel research into smart campus mobility. The findings from this project will pave the way for future initiatives and allow UTA to be recognized as a pioneer in the evolution of smart campus technology.”
Modii has also deployed an additional solution to provide UTA parking officials with valuable data. The tool, Modii PI, features a dashboard with live parking metrics of the UTA campus and has the ability to generate reports on the optimal adjustments of parking allocations to meet the demand. Parking administrators will be able to analyze, compare and report on the utilization of their parking assets for data-driven planning decisions. With detailed insight into parking, UTA will be able to plan strategically for games, events, construction or any other factors that could impact on-campus parking.
About Modii
Modii provides modern mobility solutions via a unified platform of digital infrastructure, data integration and parking intelligence. The innovative technology supports the digital transformation of urban areas and campuses while empowering thoughtful parking planning through data-driven insights.