Parkex comes to CBS Arena Coventry

It only feels like yesterday since we were last here, the only difference is that it hadn’t stop raining in the UK since the previous September. Again, PARKEX shares the platform with TRAFFEX, EVEX COLDCOMFORT, staged over 2 days and bringing with it a wealth of knowledge, experts, manufacturers and parking professionals from around the world.

This year the exhibitors are located across Halls 1 & 2 where large impressive stands display the latest in parking technology, innovation and digital surveillance and data capture within the Coventry Building Society Arena home to Championship team Coventry City Football Club.

An eclectic mix of over 50 specialists covering a plethora of disciplines in both the private and public sector, displayed their knowledge and expertise discussing trends, hot topics across the 5 interactive theatres that are shaping the parking industry today.

Over 16 hours of presentations across both days picked up on themes from EV infrastructure, legislation, accessibility, industry pressures with the ever increasing demand for parking data, traffic flows and modelling to the remodeling of ageing car parks and the modern demands upon them. Specialists from all facets of the industry formed panels to explore key areas, developments and impacts from legislation, Grenfell and the wider Safety Act.

150 exhibitors covering data capture, integrated payment machines, EV charging infrastructure and parking payment platforms seem to dominate this year with AI, digital modelling pushing the parking envelop, certainly a far cry from the “man in the booth” approach of yesteryear, but does all this technology mean a better parking experience for the parking public?

“As I have got older you seem to be more aware of inconvenience, maybe as a consequence of being past my midpoint, but you are more acutely aware as to the needs and frustrations of the elderly. Having attended Car parks 25 earlier in the year it became clear that all these new bright new things in the industry have in the main bypassed the retired generation assuming that everyone is tech savvy. Current available data suggest that most drivers stop driving around 80 years of age but the great assumption is that the whole world owns a smart phone and knows how to use it to its full capabilities.

The lost generation like my father can grasp basic texting and calling even sharing the odd photo and even the concept of email but at 88 feels rather suspicious of providing any private and personal details especially when it comes to credit cards or internet banking where for a generation cash was the only medium leaving some bemused by the whole new array of parking infrastructure and payment mediums, a distant cry from the “man in the booth” who greeted you as you entered, took your money and directed you to where the nearest available space was.

Unlike the cash transaction on entry which was fairly simple it appears that there is no standard logic which causes a degree of confusion and frustration between pay on exit, pay on entry, logging of number plates, pre purchasing time or even banded time slots, many accompanied with tiny writing or onscreen instructions or the requirement to download this and that app when for all intended purposes they just want to park and move onto their destination. With many operators introducing bespoke schemes and machinery, the familiarity of getting tickets and paying on exit seems long gone with a plethora of phone apps which adds to the already unfamiliar process. Let’s hope that the single platform will be completed despite the withdrawal of Government funding to create a less stress-free process.

… having worked in the industry for 36 years the rate and speed of change is incredible as microchips get smaller, faster smarter so do the machines, emailed receipts, automatic barrier lifting and a complete automation of the whole process, but whilst the young generation are very familiar with remoteness, the capability of the internet and apps, their logic with consummate ease, there are still those amongst us who prefer a friendly face, the ability to ask a question without trawling through the incessant list of pre-answered questions on line that don’t actually answer your problem…

…whilst I can appreciate the ease with which I can leave a car park with ANPR it always feels that someone is watching from afar, incognito,… it’s all great when it works but when it doesn’t or the power fails we have seen the recent chaos in Spain Portugal, France and Germany that a supposed simple atmospheric condition can do to digital infrastructure shutting down communication, payment methods, internet banking as well as bank ATM’s.

…it seems that as we crave more digital data to make more informed decisions we seem to have overlooked just how vulnerable this infrastructure is with a rising threat from hackers as recently experienced by The Co-op. Pop into one of their stores recently and you will be greeted by rows of empty shelves very much in the realms of covid for those who can remember, again a system hacked which cripples the business operation, but whilst new technology marches on an interactive experiment during car park 25 provided a simple level of choice complexity that provided layers of challenges to car park operators, from price, competition, location and even more complicated the needs of the consumer and those needs vary greatly depending on demographic in age, disposable income, occasion and time, all of which are different for different groups of people, quite simply parking is not automatic and a number of unconscious filters are applied in choosing where we park.

… clearly parking operators will be keen to understand the needs of the parking customer and how they can tailor their offer as particular effects will have different degree of weighting depending on the above, but it becomes even more solidified as we get older, familiarity of route, ease of access to destination location, safe and easy to move around, plenty of available parking spaces and particularly if special provision is required. Wider bays to assist with getting in and out of the car and the provision of working lifts as our bodies are not as strong as they once were, all these components affect our parking location of choice. We all want our parking to be convenient in its location, operation and payment but for all the years I have been working and refurbishing car parks the human face and presence has a reassuring quality particularly for those of the older generation.

We are hearing more and more about Dementia and Alzheimer’s in the news and one may be surprised but this does not disqualify you from driving. We have recently come across situations where owners have actually forgotten they arrived and parked their cars during refurbishment programs and with the steady increase of diagnosis as the population gets older, vehicle mobility will become a premium, its parking a challenge. We as a country already recognise certain groups with disabled, parent and child parking but we have recently created some dedicated dementia bays where the local population had a significant number of sufferers to reinforce where they have parked given full car park decks can be confusing and overwhelming.

…it was clear that many factors affect where we park and are heavily influenced if we are with family, particularly if they are elderly. As we become naturally more risk averse as we age, price point seemed to be secondary against convenience, safety, cleanliness and more recently available facilities.

As the next generation comes through, cash payments won’t be an issue, smart phones will be providing a level of interaction and accessibility to services that will see parking changing rapidly to demand changes… But with all this immediacy the human condition also changes with patience becoming thin on the ground, frustration and stress levels increasing and respect for rules and compliance reducing with an automatic level of entitlement. We see this is the abuse of special parking provision, the fraudulent use of disabled blue badge scheme and the consistent poor parking in an attempt to protect their vehicles….

In a world where cars are growing as large as their occupants it’s no wonder that there is a desire to use parent and child bays, disabled bays or double park, but in busy car parks the pressure on availability means wider bays may not be possible, but for those ageing car parks strangled and constrained by their original designed construction, the 2 into 3 solution may just allow them to provide that uplift before they become obsolete.

Inevitably we will see the loss of a number of parking structures constructed in the late 60’s and 70’s for a variety of reasons, but if adaptation is too expensive against possible income streams these building sit on valuable land available for redevelopment, coupled against the desire of most councils inner city green agenda to reduce inner city vehicle miles through congestion charges and pedestrianisation, the provision of a fully integrated transport networks will place some older parking structures under severe pressure.

Whilst it is possible to extend the life of the fabric, or increase its bearing capacity through technology or remodeling, it is almost impossible to increase head height and with SUV’s the most popular model for new registrations and the drive towards heavy electric cars, our older stock become increasingly more at risk and without constant observation and the likelihood to become uneconomical to repair or repurpose for todays vehicles resulting in demolition, however with over 34 million cars registered on UK roads they are going to have to park somewhere but by that time we may have come full circle and be met by the “man in the booth”.

Simon Lamb Managing Director Makers

Parkex 2026 will be hosted by the British Parking Association and will return to the CBS arena between the 20 & 21st May 2026 at which point Coventry City Football Club could be in the Premier League… …then again.