Every fall a new group of incoming students move into their dorms and call campus their home. We were approached by University Housing to assist them this past year with the logistics of parking and traffic control for the move-in of 4,500 new incoming students over the course of two days for the fall of 2025. In the past few years since COVID, the approach has been hands off from a parking standpoint. With occupancy of resident students increasing over the last few years traffic congestion, parking demand outpacing supply and frustrated drivers led to the need for a controlled and welcoming move-in experience. Thoughtful and strategic planning would be essential to our move-in experience success. Initial planning began with a high-level overview of what University Housing’s overall vision would be. Some of their needs included one-way traffic around the most populated dorms, express unloading zones, signage recommendations, and staffing of parking attendants to direct parking. Move-in 2025 was ultimately a success and there was positive feedback from those new students and families. Some key takeaways for success were planning logistically and communication. We started our logistics planning internally in February. This allowed enough time to decide what resources, signage and external parties were needed to be successful. We started communicating with stakeholders early in the process. We wanted the campus community to have realistic and clear expectations when students were moving in. University Housing took on the heavy lift of communicating plans through emails, meetings and social media. The week of move-in we started our setup with signage and barricades. This was a visual reminder for stakeholders as well. The last, and arguably the most important step in our planning process was to debrief and discuss lessons learned to improve the process. We met internally and with University Housing to discuss. Overall, move-in 2025 was a positive experience for those new students and their families and we are ready to start planning for 2026! Meredith Garrett, CAPP, is the Assistant Director of Public Safety, Parking & Transit Services for Kent State University. Meredith can be reached at mgarre12@kent.edu.

Join SWPTA in Las Vegas, NV, October 26-28, 2026.

Indianapolis, IN – Parker Technology announced the launch of its fully redesigned platform experience, delivering a modern, accessible, and brand-friendly interface for both motorists and customer service representatives (CSRs). The update represents a major step forward in the company’s continued investment in usability, scalability, and preparation for future integration with voice AI technology. The redesign introduces a clean, contemporary look and improved functionality that make the platform easier to navigate and more adaptable to customer branding. Accessibility improvements include larger text for translations and captions, enhanced color contrast, and clearer on-screen elements. Behind the scenes, Parker’s engineering team rebuilt the frontend codebase and standardized the UX component library, enabling faster, safer deployments and more efficient development. Together, these upgrades ensure a consistent, intuitive experience for both drivers and operators. “Our goal with this redesign was to elevate every interaction, whether it’s a motorist at the gate or a CSR assisting from behind the screen,” said James Paden, Chief Product Officer at Parker Technology. “We rebuilt the platform to be more accessible, visually neutral to better reflect our customers’ brands, and technically equipped for what’s next. With voice AI on the horizon, this new foundation positions us to deliver faster, smarter, and more connected experiences across the parking ecosystem.” This launch marks a key milestone in Parker Technology’s roadmap toward an AI-augmented support experience. The redesign not only improves usability today but also sets the stage for seamless integration of future automation and analytics capabilities, ensuring operators can continue to enhance customer satisfaction while optimizing operational efficiency. ABOUT PARKER TECHNOLOGY Parker Technology is the safety net that keeps parking operations running smoothly. Their workflow platform and professional service team resolve exception calls quickly and according to facility rules, protecting revenue, improving customer experience, and freeing staff to focus on higher-value work. With optional voice AI in development, they’re building toward even faster first responses and deeper operational insights, ensuring parking remains a non-event. For PR inquiries email marketing@parkertechnology.com or call 800.923.2704.

Los Angeles, CA and Auckland, New Zealand – ParkHelp, the global leader in parking guidance solutions, announced its acquisition of Cleverciti Systems GmbH, the worldwide leader in AI-powered curb management, on-street parking guidance, and guided enforcement solutions. The acquisition creates the industry’s most comprehensive, end-to-end platform—a unified ecosystem of technologies that reduces traffic congestion, increases revenue, and maximizes compliance and efficiency. “Cleverciti brings world-class AI, data intelligence, and sensor technology to the ParkHelp ecosystem,” said ParkHelp’s CEO Poojitha Preena. “Together, we’re the only global provider able to manage every parking space—on-street or off-street, indoor or outdoor—from one unified, cloud-based platform.” “For years, operators have had to piece together fragmented parking technologies,” said Cleverciti CEO David Parker. “Now, with our unified Portal, they can have a single source of truth for all occupancy, curbside activity, payments, and enforcement data. Whether managing a city’s entire curb network, an airport, or a university campus, clients can deliver a seamless, data-driven experience to drivers and enforcement teams alike—indoor or outdoor, on-street or off-street.” Cleverciti’s curbside, on-street, and open-air off-street technologies are used in over 100 cities across the globe to reduce congestion, increase compliance, and enhance the driver experience using patented AI-enabled overhead sensors, real-time occupancy detection, state-of-the art LED digital signage, and guided enforcement. These technologies perfectly complement ParkHelp’s off-street sensor-based guidance systems and digital signage solutions, and the two platforms will now be combined to offer city operators and private asset owners a single, cohesive solution. The combined platform will enable clients to: Monitor and manage every parking space in real time—across streets, garages, and open-air lots. Guide drivers intelligently to available spaces with dynamic signage and app-based wayfinding. Guide enforcement officers to increase compliance and reduce operational costs. Optimize curb zones for delivery, ride-hail, EV charging, ADA, and more. Leverage powerful analytics to maximize ROI, reduce congestion, and achieve sustainability goals. This strategic acquisition marks a major milestone in ParkHelp’s 20-year history of innovation and positions the company as the go-to global provider for cities, airports, shopping malls, universities, and parking operators seeking a unified, intelligent parking and curbside management solution. “Municipal parking and curb management remain among the most untapped opportunities in urban mobility,” said Andy Bess, Managing Director of TrueNorth Capital Partners, who advised Cleverciti on the transaction. “This combination creates a powerhouse uniquely positioned to shape the future of smart, connected cities.” With a combined direct presence in six countries—The United States, Germany, Spain, Brazil, New Zealand, and Ecuador—and a global network of certified distributors, the group now supports over 600,000 monitored parking spaces across over 700 locations in 50 countries. In addition to this strategic acquisition, ParkHelp announced that it is actively pursuing additional partnerships and acquisitions to further expand its technology offerings and global footprint. “We’re just getting started,” said Poojitha Preena. “This deal represents a pivotal step in our growth strategy, but we’re already exploring additional opportunities to bring even more innovation to the mobility and smart city space. As we close out our second consecutive year of over 100% year-over-year growth, we continue to hear from clients that the ability to drive ROI and offer flexibility in business models to accommodate any budget is a key reason they are adopting our Hardware-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service offerings.” The integration process is already underway and ParkHelp occupancy data is already available in the Cleverciti platform for existing mutual clients. Existing ParkHelp and Cleverciti clients can expect uninterrupted service and support, with new integration options enhancing the value of existing deployments. Cleverciti becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of ParkHelp and the entire Cleverciti team will remain in place following the acquisition, ensuring continuity for clients and partners. The combined company will continue to grow globally, investing in product innovation, AI development, and operational scalability. This continuity underscores the strong cultural, technical, and strategic alignment between the two organizations. Cleverciti was advised by TrueNorth Capital Partners and DLA Piper. ParkHelp was advised by Lupp+Partner. About ParkHelp Technologies ParkHelp is one of the world’s leading providers of smart parking solutions, offering a range of innovative products designed to optimize parking management, improve the user experience, promote sustainable urban mobility, and help parking owners generate more revenue. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services advanced parking guidance systems (PGS), digital guidance signage, license plate recognition (LPR) cameras, and integrated software solutions tailored for diverse environments, including commercial complexes, shopping malls, hospitals, corporate campuses, airports, and municipalities. ParkHelp can be found online at www.parkhelp.com. About Cleverciti Cleverciti is a pioneering curbside intelligence company specializing in AI-powered parking guidance and enforcement technologies. Its award-winning and patented systems deliver real-time parking availability, guided enforcement, and data-driven curb management for cities and commercial operators worldwide. Visit www.cleverciti.com.

500 EV Chargers and Counting! Drivers across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area now have 500 reasons to feel confident about going electric. In less than three years, we’ve grown from 8 chargers in January 2023 to Canada’s largest municipally owned EV charging network. And this week, with our partners in this initiative Toronto Hydro and City of Toronto (Environment, Climate & Forestry) we celebrated a proud milestone with the inauguration of our 500th charger at 9 Willingdon Blvd – Green P Carpark 504. Every new charger isn’t just hardware, it’s a promise to provide choice, ease, and speed to EV drivers: Choice to charge where and when it works best for your journey without range anxiety. Ease for city residents who don’t have access to home charging but still want to drive electric. Speed and momentum toward a cleaner, connected Toronto where sustainable mobility options are transforming how people move. “As an avid and appreciative user of the Green P EV charging network, I can honestly not overstate the importance of this infrastructure. Without the prevalence of the Green P charging network, owning an EV in Toronto would be a very challenging prospect for people like me who can’t charge at home. As a consumer who is personally committed to lowering their carbon footprint, but also trying to balance expenses, I greatly appreciate the Green P network, and their commitment to EV charging accessibility and affordability. Thank you, Green P!” – Jeff McConnell, Green P EV Customer. This milestone reflects how far we’ve come and how much further we’ll go together. “Our mission is clear: to create a seamless mobility experience that delivers on Choice, Ease, and Speed for our customers. Purposeful expansion of our EV network is a catalyst for EV adoption across Toronto by creating accessible, reliable, and trusted charging solutions for city residents. This milestone also reflects our passion to advance the City’s TransformTO Net Zero Strategy by building a more sustainable and integrated mobility eco-system to keep Toronto moving.” – Scott Collier, President, Toronto Parking Authority. The expansion of our network has been possible through partners who have worked with us every step of the way. “Reaching 500 energized EV charging stations is a testament to what strong partnerships can achieve. Toronto Hydro is proud to have helped build the foundation for this growing network and to support the city’s broader electrification efforts.” – Jana Mosley, President & CEO, Toronto Hydro This milestone drives us to keep delivering EV charging services that accelerate adoption.  Together, we’re building a future of sustainable mobility: powered by Choice. Ease. Speed.