Technology Impacts Parking Safety
Like other tragedies, last year’s
events at Virginia Tech taught many valuable lessons, lessons that would have
preferably and ideally been learned in other ways. While campus security has
always been a concern for college and university administrators and facility
and security personnel, the situation at Virginia Tech and other events around
the country resulted in an even greater focus and commitment to making campuses
as safe and secure as possible.
Parking has been and will continue
to be one of the most challenging areas to address. Preventing criminal acts
both within parking garages and on surface lots, and communicating with
individuals using these facilities, requires diligence and the successful
convergence of numerous design measures and technologies.
An article in last month’s issue of College
Planning & Management focused on the principles of CPTED, crime
prevention through environmental design, for parking lots and structures. In
this article, we’ll focus on technology options for safety in campus parking
facilities.
A New Focus
Rick Strawn, design principal and
associate vice president for HNTB Corporation, a nationwide engineering, architecture, and planning firm, says that there has been a
monumental change in parking design. “Security previously related to light
levels, manned points of entry, closed-circuit televisions, and emergency call
stations, among other measures. These components historically functioned
independently and, in some cases, students may not have been very familiar with
security measures, such as the locations of emergency call stations. The
lessons learned from the tragedy at Virginia Tech have and will continue to
impact the design of all types of campus facilities, including parking
structures.”
The college and university security
and facility personnel that Strawn works with are doing all that they can to
maximize security. While no parking structure is crime proof, he says that they
are becoming more time preventative. This means that help can be dispatched
more quickly to an area when a criminal act occurs and that preventative
security measures may make someone think twice, or it may take them longer to
engage in inappropriate actions.
“Security is an important and
extensive part of every design discussion that we have with our college and
university clients,” Strawn said. “Existing and new technologies are making
this effort much easier and more comprehensive. Integrating many of the new and
existing systems within a parking facility with other campus resources is
vital. Both top-down and bottom-up communication is required, and establishing
security zones is necessary. The same attention given to aesthetics and
long-term use must be given to parking security.”
While not a design issue, Strawn
also notes that increasing security within a parking facility may not involve
technology or any additional cost. Thoroughly educating users regarding
security features may serve as a deterrent to a criminal as the individual,
unfortunately, may be a student on the campus. If he believes he is likely to
be caught he, again, may think twice about engaging in criminal activity.
The Role of Technology
Samuel Shanes, chairman and chief
executive officer of Talk-A-Phone Co., agrees with Strawn’s comments regarding
system integration, two-way communication, and establishing zones. “Requests
for assistance were formerly user initiated or bottom-up,” he said. “Colleges
and universities must be able to broadcast targeted alert messages to specific
areas within a facility or campus zone when a dangerous event occurs. The
approach must be comprehensive.”
Events requiring communication with
multiple individuals relate to more than criminal activity. Shanes points to
environmental situations — such as a major chemical spill or an accident — as
information that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of individuals may need to receive.
“When security personnel have information to communicate, they may need
different messages for different zones or areas within the campus,” Shanes
said. “Another challenge involves updating messages and reaching people
regardless of their function on campus.”
Shanes points to the relatively
inexpensive approach of having students, faculty, and staff register their cell
phones to receive emergency notices. While this can be part of an institution’s
approach, it is limited. “Visitors and those who have left their cell phones at
home or who have them turned off obviously aren’t going to receive emergency
messages. In addition, the same message may not be appropriate for all areas of
the campus. Cell phone broadcasts alone are not the answer.”
Talk-A-Phone and other companies have
and are developing technologies that enable security personnel to target their
messages, to update them as easily and as frequently as required, and to
deliver them to as wide an audience as possible. Shanes said that Internet
Protocol (IP) backbones installed on college and university campuses and the
continued broadening of bandwidths is facilitating advances in communication.
One of the company’s products enables users to integrate technology to
broadcast messages over an institution’s existing siren system. Information can
be updated and changed based on evolving conditions and can be segmented by
zones. Within a parking garage, all components — lights, horns, and speakers —
can be managed to broadcast a different message to individual floors if required.
According to Shanes, advances in
technology require security and parking professionals to work differently than
before. He advocates establishing protocols for what is announced within a
garage based on the situation, as well as extensively detailing how messages
are updated and assistance provided. “Training is very important when it comes
to technology, and the staff must think differently. Personnel must be able to
quickly determine what they will say, the order of magnitude, and how messages will
be updated.”
Points for Emergency
Notification Requirements
Shanes advocates several key points
when it comes to emergency notification requirements on a campus or within a
parking facility. Keep in mind the following:
- The system(s) must have both back-up
power and phone capabilities in the event that a power outage or other damaging
event occurs. Determine the location of the command center.
- The system must be able to reach and
inform a large population of students, faculty, and staff in numerous campus
geographic zones.
- The capability for delivering
site-specific information is vital, as is the ability to quickly change and
distribute messages.
- Both current and potential future
technologies and uses should be considered when selecting a system. Thoroughly
evaluate IP installations.
- The size of the parking structure and
its design, including materials, must be thoroughly evaluated to determine
their impact on the facility’s security technology, especially broadcast
systems.
- All system components within a
facility, such as emergency call stations, must be compliant with the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
- System components should enable all
users to see and talk in real time.