Trying to find parking in a crowded area is a notoriously frustrating issue for drivers everywhere, and this problem is especially infamous on college campuses. Spot Parking, one of the prize winners of the 2024 Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, is an entrepreneurial effort to counteract these issues and turn parking into an orderly effort.
Dean Smith, a current team member of Spot Parking, was born and raised in Salt Lake City and is a current undergraduate student studying computer engineering at the University of Utah. Spot Parking was formed in 2023 by Smith and Brigham Young University students Ryan Hagerty and Cooper Young. The company aims to provide solutions for locations needing parking management systems.
“We began trying to find solutions to this problem taking place on many college campuses, and we learned that the best way to solve the parking problem is to more efficiently utilize the parking that they already have available,” Smith said. “We found that parking passes are generally sold in relation to the number of respective spots that are available on campus. However, enforcing the usage of these permits isn’t perfect, and people know that they can often get around the need for them. Statistically speaking, it’s about a 51% chance that people who park illegally will get away without a ticket. Many spots are full that shouldn’t be full.”
With this in mind, the goal of Spot Parking was established: create a plan that makes parking easier for those with permits. This model involves the usage of cameras and license plate readers, which would monitor the entrance of lots around campus and create a more streamlined process for ensuring that cars are parking in appropriate areas, according to the permits they are associated with. This AI-assisted software would also be able to immediately track those vehicles which are parked illegally.
“We estimate that, with this solution, we will be able to decrease university parking enforcement costs by about 65%,” Smith said.
Eventually, the Spot Parking team discovered the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, a statewide collegiate business-model competition at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. The competition stuck out to them as a great opportunity to get their idea how to the public while also compete for a cash prize.
“Everyone in the competition process was amazing,” Smith said. “It was super cool to be surrounded by other businesses and learn from them, and the funding we received from it will also help us create the proper infrastructure for this idea.”
Several universities around the United States have already expressed interest in becoming early adopters of Spot Parking, and Smith hopes to be able to expand to them as soon as possible. However, they don’t plan to stop there.
“Anyone anywhere knows how difficult it is to park at universities, which is why we’re starting there,” Smith said. “But the problem goes beyond campuses – think concert venues, airports, national parks. Many places have these issues, too, and Spot Parking can help solve them.”
Learn more about Spot Parking at spotparking.app.
