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New Parking Technology Paying Off

System provides data to make campus parking more efficient

Radio-frequency identification devices like this one are appearing at more lots across campus. Duke plans to have the new system in place at 39 lots by 2016. Photo by Bryan Roth.
Radio-frequency identification devices like this one are appearing at more lots across campus. Duke plans to have the new system in place at 39 lots by 2016. Photo by Bryan Roth.

Almost two years into a multiphase project to roll out an enhanced parking system across campus, results show more efficient use of garages and lots while freeing up availability for employees.

Installation of the new, hands-free access system, which began in February 2014, is about 75 percent complete. So far, 30 parking lots and garages have the new system. The GC and H lots are expected to be online by early March, with the Bryan Center Parking Garage and the Card and 705 Broad St. lots rounding out the project in 2016.

New entry and exit lanes at lots and garages feature radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, which raises a gate without needing to reach out to swipe a permit. The improvements are part of a larger plan to upgrade services for better tracking of parking usage and behaviors, which will enable Duke to tailor its resources better. 

“Because we have better usage data, we have a better ability to manage our spaces,” said Carl DePinto, director of Duke’s Parking and Transportation Services. “Our reporting capabilities are down to each lane or each hour across lots at Duke.” 

That’s allowed Duke to start issuing day passes with barcodes for visitors as well as reduce the number of unauthorized users who had previously been finding ways to access lots and garages. In the Research Drive Garage, Parking and Transportation Services is working to provide permits to 100 wait listed employees after updating its parking system. That number was dwarfed at Parking Garage II, where 457 spaces have become available for employees, including some who have been waiting up to eight years.

Vickey Keathley, a clinical nurse educator in the School of Nursing’s Accelerated Nursing Program, made the move from Parking Garage III to II in November. She received a new parking permit after remaining on the wait list for seven years. She said her new parking arrangement has been a “godsend,” because hands-free entry and exit is easy and the new location will save about 15 minutes of travel to and from her car. 

“My new parking garage is easier to access, has more spaces available most any time of day and feels much safer,” Keathley said. “This has made working for Duke even better than before.”

As more facilities get RFID technology, DePinto said motorists should use caution with the automatic gates. He said Parking and Transportation Services has received notes from faculty and staff about drivers tailgating on entry, trying to make it through immediately after a car ahead of them passes through. The system must read a user’s permit on both entry and exit in order to avoid operational issues.

To learn more about the new parking system and how it impacts Parking and Transportation Services, visit this website.