Demystifying Curb Management
Leveraging Tools to Meet Your Operational and Policy Goals
Curb management techniques and technologies (cameras, sensors, mobile applications, cloud services) have been a hot topic in the parking and mobility industry for several years now. The emergence of transportation network companies and shared micromobility, coupled with the continued growth of commercial deliveries, has increased congestion in a location previously occupied solely by parked vehicles and an occasional bus stop. A consensus of professionals might agree that curb lane management is balancing many competing uses for limited curb space in a way that is equitable and at the very least, revenue neutral. Between parking, transit, micro-transit, passenger pick-up/drop-off, dining, parklets, and art installations among other things, that can be a tall order.
The coronavirus pandemic has further increased the demand for curb space via outdoor dining, parklets, and food delivery. Cities have been examining new ways to think about and manage curb space, and vendors have jumped into the space with both new and re-purposed technologies to help with curb use data collection, monitoring, enforcement, and monetization. Many cities have deployed technology, are conducting pilot projects, modifying policy, and being more deliberate about managing curb space for these various users, particularly in highly congested urban areas. A scan of the technology marketplace unearths an almost dizzying array of new technologies and vendors. Beyond IPMI, curb management is a hot topic among a myriad other related planning, transportation, and smart cities organizations and disciplines.
What does it mean for you and your streets and on-street parking and mobility operations? Following the curb management topic and discussion over the past several years and it’s easy to see that much of the discourse about strategies and technologies has centered on highly congested urban areas of cities like New York, Seattle, and San Francisco. Driven by a strong need to manage scarce curb space, these cities have undoubtedly paved the way with new technologies, policies, and techniques. In many cases, however, these cities are unique and truly unlike the vast majority of mid to large cities across the United States.
Curb Management in Your Community
The truth is, if you have curb space in your community and allow parking, loading, or outdoor dining, you are managing your curb. You may have a program that allows for the installation of a loading zone or a valet zone. You may permit food trucks to park on your streets. You may or may not have time restrictions or paid parking. All the policies, technologies, and practices you employ to manage that space have likely evolved over the years, perhaps in an ad hoc manner as your community has evolved with new development, new uses, and new demands.
No matter how you manage your curb space, you may be following the curb management discourse and hearing about the new fancy technology and wondering, “how does this apply to me and my operation?” Intentionally or not, the discourse and new technologies (i.e., focused on cameras, sensors, commercial loading, and monetization in highly congested urban areas) that have emerged in the curb management space over the past handful of years have really focused on solutions for the significant urban centers of this country, and not on the vast majority of small to medium-size municipal operations in the United States. These operations may not have a paid parking program or a highly congested curb, yet still have a need to manage this space effectively. They are still taking part in curb management.
Regardless of the sophistication level of your curb space management, and regardless of whether your curb space is highly congested and not significantly busy, there is value in understanding the curb management landscape and how to leverage tools and technologies to advance your system’s goals. Think about where you are on the spectrum of curb management, and where you want your curb management journey to take your community. Who are the users trying to access your curb, and what programs, policies, and technologies do you need to enable their access and the enhance the vibrancy, equity, and quality of life of your community?
A critical step is to be able to state the problem to be solved plainly and clearly. This statement should be simple, and easily understood, such as, “We need to enforce delivery restrictions.” From there, it will likely be necessary to refine that problem statement into a more detailed requirements or performance specification that can be taken to market through an RFI/RFQ/RFP process. This information should be clear enough so that both the municipality and the vendor know what the objective is, who the users will be, and what performance levels are required of the technology.
Navigating the Curb Management Technology Landscape
The curb management technology landscape has evolved significantly over the past several years, and there are now a range of vendors supplying numerous technologies in this space. Although they all have different and unique attributes, they tend to employ some type of data source, and some sort of application to manage the data being provided by that source. Be it a camera, a Bluetooth beacon, crowd-sourced data, or something else, there are many choices. How would one even begin to sort through them?
Before COVID-19, there was a significant focus in the curb management space on managing Uber and Lyft and passenger loading areas. Cities were employing the use of flexible curb spaces that could serve as parking areas during one part of the day, and Uber/Lyft pick-up and drop-off areas in other parts of the day. Recent years, especially the past two, have really accelerated the focus in curb management on managing (and eventually monetizing) commercial loading zones.
Cities are conducting pilots and examining camera and other technology to monitor and facilitate commercial loading activity in urban areas. One goal (and certainly not the only goal) that many cities have is to set up a program where commercial drivers can pull into loading spaces along the curb, the city can employ technology to monitor dwell time, and commercial delivery companies are invoiced for time spent on the curb using an enterprise account in the city’s backend permit and billing system. The ideal scenario is that once set up, the system manages itself, and the delivery drivers and the city do not have to take any extra manual steps to facilitate loading, tracking, invoicing, and payment. The industry is eagerly waiting to see if these types of dynamic systems can be successfully completed at scale in all types of weather and geographies and sustained indefinitely.
Commercial loading is only one part of the curb management spectrum. Wherever you are in your curb management journey, it’s important to continuously refocus on your curb users and promoting access and quality of life. While following the latest curb management technology is important, make sure that technology is never viewed as more than a tool to help you achieve important community goals, not an end in of itself.
Photo Courtesy of Walker Consultants
