Parking for All is a serious game

Traffic + Parking: Parking Perspective's Andrew Potter reveals inventive engagement exercise for parking professionals and stakeholders

Various and largely insatiable demands are placed upon the kerbside. Space for safety margins, buses, loading, collection and delivery. Parking for car clubs, residents, shoppers and workers. Public realm ambitions and greater access for vulnerable users. All compete for the same real estate – the kerbside.

These competing demands were the subject of ‘Parking for All’, an interactive game developed by Andrew Potter, director of Parking Perspectives. The game, which features a model street, player cards and newspaper stories, explores a number of potential guidebook approaches for councils to make rationalised and consistent decisions about who gets what space.

‘Parking for All’ was unveiled at Traffic + Parking.

Delegates role-played different interest groups and debated a series of different proposals for the management of the kerb outside their parade of shops. The scenarios allowed the delegates to investigate the various merits of how kerbspace is allocated and work through different approaches to determine what uses would win their space on the street, and who and what is displaced elsewhere.

The players each had their own objectives and agendas, but collectively they had to deliver an outcome that: retains free flow of traffic and public transport; provides a safe space for pedestrians, cyclists, children and people with disabilities; and makes space for delivery vehicles, electric vehicles and mobility services, as well as keeping existing users content.
www.parkingperspectives.com

Players' reactions

The response of traffic and parking professionals who took part in Parkingfor All was overwhelmingly positive:

Richard Walker, head of parking, North Essex Parking Partnership
The Parking for All session explored the real issues that traffic planners face when trying to consider the social value of different measures at the kerbside.

As an interactive game it allowed us to play out the roles of various members of the community, and ensured we considered all the views.

Use of the kerbside is almost always a compromise between various groups and the social value exercise helped us understand a new dimension to the usage.

I’d certainly recommend this as an exercise for group working (indeed, I already have recommended it), perhaps as part of a regional meeting. It may be better played out in the middle part of the day before people have to leave to catch trains.

Keith Kelly, senior business development manager, AppyWay
The Traffic + Parking Conference in Manchester tried something new that really worked, based on the audience’s energy in the room. Instead of just talking about parking challenges, they turned the topic into a practical game – Parking for All.

Parking for All was devised and led by Andrew Potter, director of Parking Perspectives.

Everyone got to play a different role – some were residents, others were business owners or transport planners. Together, we had to figure out how to share limited street space between parking spots, delivery zones, bus stops, and bike lanes. By actually playing these roles, we understood the real world challenges much better than we would have from a typical presentation.

Neil Herron Founder and chief executive, Grid Smarter Cities
The Parking for All game made a refreshing change from death by PowerPoint and engaged people directly in roles and discussion that required them to see things from a perspective they may not normally consider.?It also brought out comments, responses and engagement from people that would never be elicited in a Q&A session or panel debate.

Parking for All broke down barriers and put people in a warmer, receptive and communicative environment. The scenarios and personas brought things down to relatable and understandable problems and communication on a human rather than an abstract level.

I recommend the game to others in the transport and parking sectors, with sector specific iterations and personas. ?Well done to Andrew for delivering a breath of fresh air into the sector.

Matt Turner, head of product, Barbour Logic
I enjoyed how well everyone took to their roles, it was well facilitated and lots of people got to have a say. I liked having to think about my particular stakeholder angle.

I liked how a diverse range of stakeholders were represented. It helped me think of the problem from many different perspectives, some of which I'd never covered before. The Dutch auction to park outside our own homes was really interesting.

I would recommend the game to others in the transport and parking sectors. Thanks again for organising the session.

Traffic + Parking 2024

The annual Traffic + Parking conference provides a space in which local authorities, their private sector partners, campaigners and consultants can explore topical issues relating to the planning, provision and regulation of parking, the kerbside and the urban street scene.

Traffic + Parking 2024 was packed with presentations, debates and an exhibition showcasing the latest innovations and services. The event was programmed by Parking Review and delivered by Landor LINKS in Manchester on 30 October.

The morning featured a major debate on the Future of Parking Policy, an in-depth look at delivering Better Streets and a panel sharing ideas on Beating the Parking Scammers.

The afternoon was made up of two special events. After lunch there was a ground-breaking exploration of artificial intelligence in the Parking AI session and the day concluded with a new interactive game called ‘Parking for All’.
www.traffic-parking.uk