Your parking space is about to get a lot smarter

It won’t be long before your car will find an open parking space, guide you to it and pay for it.

That’s one of the long-term visions of some exhibitors at the three-day International Parking Institute Conference and Expo that wrapped up this week at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

And it’s really not that far in the future.

Brent Paxton, executive vice president of sales and account management for Atlanta-based Parkmobile, said his company already is working with four automobile manufacturers and has pending deals with others to integrate his company’s smart parking software into cars made by Ford, Volvo, Audi and BMW. The technology could come to market as soon as next year.

The Parkmobile system is one of several innovations on display at the show, which drew 3,100 attendees and 255 exhibitors from 45 countries.

“It’s no longer just about parking cars,” said Casey Jones, past chairman of the International Parking Institute and a vice president of SP+, a Canadian parking management company. “Today, the parking industry is about providing access, and that means improving the experience of the driver.”

In some cases, that means using technology to make it easier for a motorist to park a vehicle. In others, it means capitalizing on ride-sharing and bike-sharing programs that enable a motorist to leave a vehicle and carpool or bicycle to a nearby destination.

The institute also believes it means recognizing parking services companies for their contributions to sustainability and innovation.

Seven companies were the first-ever to be lauded by the Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the institute.

“We’ve been talking about it for five years and (Wednesday) we announced the first parking facilities to win Green Garage Certification,” said program manager Trevyr Meade.

None of the winners are from Nevada.

The certification program is similar to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program for building design. Parking facilities are evaluated in 48 categories with a point system that rewards use of idle-reduction payment systems, lighting controls, energy-efficient lighting systems, facilities for alternative fuel and electric vehicles, wayfinding systems that reduce vehicle idle time, rainwater harvesting, stormwater management and other renewable energy systems.

While no Las Vegas car parks won Green Garage Certification, the city of Las Vegas was among seven municipalities nationwide recognized for parking system excellence.

The city joined Lexington, Ky.; Oklahoma City; Philadelphia; Sacramento, Calif.; Toronto; and Washington D.C. as 2015’s “Best Places to Park.” The city’s Parking Division was recognized by the institute for innovations in parking technology.

The city last year introduced the ParkMe app to give motorists a resource to locate open parking spaces on streets and in lots downtown.

The city also is testing two smartphone systems, Passport Parking and Parkmobile, that let motorists pay for parking through a phone application.

The pay systems are similar to an “extend by phone” system exhibited at the trade show by T2 Systems, Burnaby, British Columbia. Carmen Sevrens, regional sales manager for T2, said her company shows its sense of humor by naming its product Luke II, a nod to the Paul Newman character in the movie “Cool Hand Luke,” who in the movie was jailed for drunkenly cutting the heads off parking meters.

“We always get a kick out of that story,” said Sevrens, whose company’s units sell for about $7,500 to $10,000 each and allow customers to pay for parking by space or license-plate number and automatically alerts customers with a text message when the meter is about to expire.

Some of the other technology on display is already in use in Las Vegas. Several companies showed systems that display a red or green light above a space indicating an open parking place enabling motorists to find a space faster. Similar systems are in place at the underground parking lot at the Cosmopolitan and at a new garage at the Las Vegas Outlet Stores downtown.

Other companies are marketing open space count displays that show at the entrance how many parking spaces are available. Systems are in place in parking structures at Wynn Las Vegas, the Palazzo and at McCarran International Airport.

“The whole point is to make the parking experience easier for the consumer,” said Paul Wessel, executive director of the Green Parking Council.

“As for developing green garages, it’s good policy, it reduces operating costs and sustainability is an indicator of quality. It’s smart parking,” he said. “Besides, nobody want to be the last guy running stupid parking.”

Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find @RickVelotta on Twitter.