Blog Post

Smart Parking Systems by Parking BOXX

The Best Parking Barrier Gates: How Do They Work?

Parking BOXX • December 1, 2021

Are you looking to install barrier gates in your parking facility? Click here to learn how these solutions work and why they are important.

Barrier Gates

There are many places that require parking solutions. From city governments to office buildings, smooth parking is important. But are you doing enough for your parking lot or garage?


What parking solutions could help your parking situation? Do you need barrier gates or pay stations? How do barrier gates even work?

Barrier gates can work in a lot of different ways. This will depend on your parking area's needs and payment processes. 


Read on to learn the different ways that barrier gates can work in your parking lot or garage.


How Do Smart Parking Systems Work?


Smart Parking Systems are anything that helps the traffic flow and security of a parking lot or garage. This can mean anything from counting the number of spaces that are still available to payment collection. If it helps you find a space, make payment, or prevents some people from entering the parking lot, then it's part of a parking solution.


There are a lot of ways that this can happen. A city might use an app to keep track of capacity, for example. Some places might have pay stations placed in convenient locations for people to pay for their parking or add more time. 


Some buildings might even use barrier gates to ensure safety and payment. These prevent people from going in or out without proper identification, payment, or both. 


How Do Barrier Gates Work?


Barrier gates, or parking gates, are a very common parking solution. These ensure that every person that goes in or out of the parking lot will need to pay either when they enter or when they leave. They can even help keep count of how many spaces are still available.

There are several ways that barrier gates can work.


Ticket System


The most common use of a barrier gate is a ticket system. These help keep track of how much to charge everyone and who still hasn't paid. This usually happens when you first enter the parking lot or garage.


When you first approach the parking lot or garage, you have to approach the barrier. By pressing a button, the barrier control will print a ticket for you. Once you take the ticket, the barrier opens.


Access Control


This system is generally for apartment buildings, offices, or even hotels. However, cities can also use them to offer frequent visitors special rates on parking.  In these cases, you're given an authorized credential such as the room key from a hotel. This gives you access to enter a specified parking lot. This system doesn't usually require payment.


This system can apply to gated communities or apartment complexes to let residents in or out without issue. It can also be applied to office buildings for employees. Some cities may even have a pass system that gives users free or reduced parking fees during certain times.


You can even give temporary access control to service workers who need to enter regularly. This gives them a window that they can enter the parking lot during.


Call Button


If your barrier gates have an access control system, then there should also be a way for visitors to enter too. This allows residents or employees to receive guests and services such as plumbers or pest control.


A common solution to this problem is a call button. Upon arrival, guests have the system call their host to let them inside the gate. This helps prevent any uninvited guests from entering the complex.


Remote Control


Another way to control a barrier gate is with remote control. This works like a garage door opener.  You're given a small remote with a button on it. As you approach the gate, you press the button to lift the barrier. These can be distributed to residents or employees. However, they are also useful for service workers that need to come in and out a lot.


This gives the city or landowner control over who is coming in and out of their parking areas. It keeps their property and their residents safe inside the property.


Payment or Validation


Cities will generally want to charge visitors for parking. This can be difficult to accomplish when there are not many ways to enforce this policy. Barrier gates are a great way to do this.  Some cities may want to charge a flat rate for parking. The barrier gate can charge this either as the car enters or exits.  Others may want to charge by the hour. In this case, most barriers will use a ticket system. When you're about to leave, you either go to a pay station or scan your ticket at the barrier gate. If you haven't already paid, then this is the time to do that. Otherwise, the gate should open to let you leave.


Some places even offer validation for free parking. This is usually a separate bar code that lets the system know that you don't need to pay.


Emergency Vehicle Sirens

Gated communities and parking lots still need to provide access to emergency vehicles. If first responders need to get somewhere inside the parking area, then they need to be able to do this quickly. They don't have time to get a ticket from a barrier gate.


The good news is that there is a solution to this. When an emergency vehicle is on its way to an emergency, it will always have lights and sirens on. This lets other drivers and pedestrians know to let the vehicle pass so they can get there quickly.

Barrier gates can register these sirens to open for first responders without identification or a ticket.


Free In or Out


Some areas that offer a flat rate for parking may offer a free entrance or exit. These are ways in and out of the parking area that will not charge for parking.


This is usually controlled by a sensor under asphalt, cement, or gravel loop. When it senses a car approaching, the gate opens automatically without asking for payment.


These are usually only in places that charge a flat rate upon entry. Otherwise, this system is completely unnecessary. This can even be used for the exit to keep track of how many available spaces there still are.


Safety Features on Barrier Gates


You might be wondering what stops people from running into the barrier. What protective measures are there to prevent damage to the barrier? What about protecting visiting cars from potential damage?  The good news is that there are three notable protective measures that are available in barrier gates.


Lights


The first notable protective measure is to protect cars from damage. The control system for the barrier has lights on it to indicate when to go or not.  If the light is red, then the gate is either closed or is about to close. This means that it's not safe to pull forward. You have to wait until the barrier has lifted again.


If the light is green, then the car can move forward. The barrier is lifted completely and won't close until the car has gone through. Then it closes behind it for the next car.


Obstruction Sensors


Vehicle detection sensors determine when a vehicle is present or no longer present. To be effective, barrier gate arms must close quickly to prevent tailgating, which means a second vehicle “sneaking out” by travelling close to the first vehicle. If there's an object in the way of the barrier, then the arm should auto-rebound. If the barrier arm hits something as it's going down, then it immediately lifts back up again. This can minimize damage or injuries – however the original contact with the arm may cause some damage or injury. 


For vehicle damage, if a vehicle is attempting to not pay or otherwise avoid the proper use of the barrier gate, then the vehicle driver is at fault. Parking lot operators may wish to upgraded to add foam edging on the bottom of the gate to minimize the damage upon contact.


Regarding pedestrian injuries, first, people should not be walking anywhere near the gate close areas. Despite separate walkways, signage, lights and audible warnings, people sometimes still manage to meander into these danger areas. Where this is likely to happen, human presence detectors may also be desired. However those devices give pedestrians a way to hold open the barrier gate arm – whether intentionally or inadvertently, which isn’t a desirable consequence to the parking lot owners. 



Break Away Bolts 


Usually, when a car runs right into a barrier, it's because they couldn't stop in time. These are often low-speed accidents, but they still cause damage to your barrier gates.


The solution to this is a break-away bolt. This bolt secures the arm to the barrier and allows it to move up and down. By making this the first piece to go when the arm gets hit, you can save the control mechanism as well as the arm in most cases.

All you need to do is replace the bolt and buff out the arm, but the arm itself should still be usable.


Get Barrier Gates for Your Parking Lots Today


Whether you're a city government looking to earn some income from parking fees or the manager of an apartment complex, your parking lots need barrier gates. These help ensure that everyone pays their fees when they're asked to and keep everyone safe. They can even keep count of how many available spaces are still left.


About Parking BOXX: The best place to get your barrier gates is right here at Parking BOXX. We're a parking technology company that believes in providing premium products at a great value.  We offer many parking products, from apps to barrier gates.  Contact us today to see how we can help you find the perfect parking solutions.


By Parking BOXX March 19, 2020
"You can only control what you can control."
By Parking BOXX December 4, 2019
4 steps to parking lot design & parking lot layout. Review these steps to quickly prepare a layout to determine how many parking spaces will fit into your lot.
By Parking BOXX May 1, 2019
At Parking BOXX, we get calls from all types of industries asking about our parking equipment: from retail, to university campuses, hospitals, and campgrounds. But we have to admit: it’s not every day we get a phone call from a hit television show asking to feature a parking machine , our parking payment machine in a murder mystery show. Much to our surprise, that’s exactly what happened when Private Eyes , Global’s hit television series slated to return come spring 2019, reached out. Now on its third season, the show follows the antics of Matt Shade and Angie Everett. He’s an ex-professional Hockey player, she’s a no-nonsense P.I. They join forces to solve mysteries every week with equal parts wit and humor. Filmed and set in Toronto, the show has a refreshing take on the city—it embraces its nooks and crannies, the glamour as much as the grit, which makes for a fun and authentic portrayal of this vibrant Canadian city. But to the more pressing question: why would the show, unless it’s building a state-of-the-art parking facility, contact us about parking equipment? As with any good mystery show, the puzzle is always solved by a leap in thought: something about the environment tips the detectives off, and through a series of mental maneuvers, they decipher who the culprit is, catch the bad guy, and restore justice. Viewers are left satisfied until a new mystery takes centre stage the following week. Season three, like the other two before it, will be rife with mysteries and suspense at every corner of Matt and Angie’s journey. As it turns out, Private Eyes will not be building the parking garage of our dreams anytime soon. Instead, this upcoming season, Parking BOXX’s very own parking machine will act as the key to one of its mysteries, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to see what the writers come up with. Stay tuned to catch us on the small screen.
By Parking BOXX February 1, 2019
At Parking BOXX, we expect a lot from our employees—it’s in our CORE values. To bring you the best services and support, we encourage our employees to carry out the following four value pillars: C ustomers, O rganization, R esults, and E xcellence, the —CORE in our CORE values. A company that expects a lot, however, must also give a lot. Far removed from the early models of productivity that looked at employees like machines, we know that to yield the best from our employees, we must provide services that will allow them to thrive personally and professionally. This is why we’re always thinking about ways to improve our work atmosphere [link to office art article], and this means thinking about the day-to-day experiences of employees at the office. Study after study has shown that prolonged periods of sitting causes harms to the body. It puts undue pressure on the neck, shoulders, and spine, results in back pain and conditions like carpal tunnel, all of which exacerbate one’s propensity for physiological and psychological malaises such as: increased blood pressure, stress, and anxiety. Not only does this stall productivity, it lowers morale and causes dissatisfaction at work. Since we are only as strong as our employees, we know that dissatisfaction hinders our ability to give you the best customer service in the industry. In seeking a way to remedy the imbalance caused by extended periods of sitting, we implemented the Employee Massage Program, in which our employees sign up for a massage during the workday. Why massage? The answer to this was easy. By releasing tension accumulated thanks to extended periods of sitting, massage helps alleviate both physiological and psychological stresses. As Matt, one of our employees put it, “Having a sedentary job, I feel like my muscles are joints are stiffening up throughout the day. When we get massages, even if they are only 20 minutes, it definitely gets rid of some aches. After the massage, I feel like I’m ready to get back to work. Happy employees make for productive workers. Implementing the massage program is a smart solution, creating a win-win situation for both our employees and customers. Unsurprisingly, we’ve received nothing but positive feedback from our employees. Praise of the stress-alleviating effects include: “Fantastic! I feel lighter, my arms are less heavy.” “I feel great. I don’t feel tired, I feel refreshed.” “I always have a good night’s sleep the day of the massage,” Implementing the program during the work day has also been one of its major successes. While other companies aim to fulfil the same goals by offering employees extensive health packages, a busy work schedule often causes people to forget or neglect to book a massage appointment. “I love that BOXX has a massage program offered during office hours. Due to my busy schedule both at work and at home, I don’t really have time for me. A massage time allows me to take care of myself and my health,” said one of our Sales Team members. At Parking BOXX, we’re delighted with the results of our massage program: through it, we fulfil our CORE values mission so that our employees may continue to offer the industry’s best customer service!
By Parking BOXX October 27, 2018
At Parking BOXX we care about people. We care about providing you with the best and most responsive Support that the parking industry has to offer. We care about our employees, about fostering professional and personal growth in order to bring our best selves forward. But we don’t stop there. We can’t, in fact, because we know that surrounding each member of our Team are groups of people that help the personal growth process in ways that we can’t. This is why we like to get involved with causes that affect our community—particularly those that affect our Team members’ friends and families. This quarter, the Team at Parking BOXX culled their efforts to raise funds for Diabetes Canada by donating clothing, accessories, and household items. The collection drive was spearheaded by Shannon, our Social Media and Marketing Specialist who is also our charity-drive organizing superstar. She took the time to educate the Team, set up reminders at company offices, and motivated everyone to participate. Behind this goal was the desire to support a cause that affected various members of our Team. “A couple of co-workers have family and friends that have diabetes,” she said, “My best friend also has diabetes. Diabetes is one of those illnesses that create radical changes to your life. And it doesn’t just affect the person who has it. It affects the whole family.” According to Diabetes Canada, 5.7 million Canadians over the age of twenty are affected by diabetes. Along with the immediate effects of the illness, like having to regulate one’s diet and glucose levels, having diabetes comes with other lifestyle changes. Thirty percent of people with diabetes, for example, experience depressive symptoms. In support of the cause, our Team donated everything from clothes, pots and pans, jewelry and hats. Diabetes Canada partners up with Value Village to sell these donations and raise money for various diabetes-related causes. Part of the money goes towards funding diabetes research in Canada, which has always been exceptional. After all, insulin, the protein associated with diabetes, was first discovered by Frederick Banting and Charles H. Best in Toronto. Part of the proceeds also go towards funding D-camps— camps tailored for kids with type 1 diabetes. Thanks to Shannon’s organizational skills, our Team rounded up enough items to fill seven large boxes —boxes big enough fit our parking kiosks! She made the giving process convenient, which often deters people from donating altogether. As one of our employees put it, “The initiative was fantastic. I have lots of clothes and I was very eager to bring them in to the office and have them taken. This is a very easy way to be a charitable good person”. Organizing these types of charitable drives are and easy way to bring the Team together while making valuable and important contributions to the community. We congratulate Shannon and our Team for making this drive such a success and look forward to the next one.
By Parking BOXX October 24, 2018
Learn more about factors to consider for a parking pay station purchase
By Parking BOXX June 26, 2018
Parking control equipment allows parking lot and garage owners and managers to restrict access to their lot as well as generate revenue. Parking control systems improve security, restrict vehicle access to specified areas, track who entered these specific areas, when they enter and exit, allow passback restrictions to be set, generate revenue, and provide reporting capabilities. When parking gate systems are utilized, this allows the system to control the entry and exit lanes of the facility or lot. Specific entrances may permit only proximity or long range card holders to enter. Public entrances may incorporate such readers as well as ticket printing or pre-paid entry. For persons receiving tickets upon entry, parking payments may be made at walk-up Pay Stations or upon exiting the lot. Exit lanes may incorporate Exit Stations with credit/debit card only payments, cash and credit/debit payment or Cashier Stations. Importantly, barrier gates secure all laneways to ensure that only valid card or credential holders or paid ticket holders are granted permission to leave as well as to prevent unauthorized ingress or egress. In addition to the above mentioned lane way equipment and payment terminals, Validation and Hotel Guest Check in Terminals may be incorporated to enhance the automated parking control system.
By Parking BOXX January 2, 2018
Are you looking for a Parking Equipment Show to view the latest parking lot equipment and smart parking systems ? If so, here's a list of major industry events for 2018. DATE LINK NAME LOCATION Mar 26-29 PIE Exhibition Parking Industry Exhibition (PIE) Rosemont, IL, USA Apr 24-26 Seguidad Expo Seguidad Mexico Mexico City, Mexico May 5 MAPA MAPA Spring CME Conference Novi, MI Mar 26-29 TPTA 2018 TPTA Annual Conference & Tradeshow Houston, Texas June 13-14 Parkex Parkex The Ricoh, Judds Lane, Coventry Oct 10-12 PAV PAV Annual Fall Workshop and Tradeshow Richmond, VA Apr 24-27 PAG 2018 PAG Conference Augusta, GA May 28-30 Intertraffic Intertraffic China 2018 Shanghai, China May 14-15 NEPC NEPC'S 23rd Annual Investment Conference Boston, MA June 3-6 IPI Conference & Expo International Parking Institute Conference & Expo Kissimmee, FL July 25-27 PIPTA 2018 PIPTA Conference and Expo Portland, OR Sept 3-5 Parking China Parking China Shanghai, China Oct 25-27 Parking Infra Tech Expo Parking Infra Tech Expo Mumbai, India Oct 24-26 IDA IDA 64th Annual Conference & Tradeshow San Antonio, TX Oct 31-Nov 2 PACE2018 Parking Australia Convention & Exhibition Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia Sept 25-29 CPA Fall Conference 2018 CPA Conference & Trade Show Hilton head, South Carolina May 2-4 PPA 2018 Pennsylvania Parking Association (PPA) Spring Conference & Trade Show Pittsburgh, PA Oct 3-5 FPA FPA Annual Conference Chicago, IL Oct 22-25 NPA NPA Annual Convention & Expo Las Vegas, NV Sept 16-19 CPA 2018 Conference and Trade Show Toronto, ON Nov 13-15 Intertraffic Mexico Intertraffic Mexico Mexico City, Mexico Nov 7-9 CPPA 2018 Annual CPPA Conference & Trade Show Los Angeles, CA
By Parking BOXX July 10, 2017
7 Reasons to Install a Parking System Why automate? Here are 7 reasons to automate your Parking Access and Revenue Control System with Parking BOXX:
By Parking BOXX July 6, 2017
If you're looking for a partner who can help achieve your Parking Revenue and Access Control goals, here are a few reasons to work with Parking BOXX:
Show More
Share by: