Two new Parksafe sites
After Parksafe Derby opened in 1998 the value of its 100% secure design and technology combination seemed to Ken Wigley, Parksafe Systems founder, to be the start of a nationwide shift to more secure parking. He anticipated increased demand for his system as the public became aware of their right to challenge the disclaimers most car park operators use. ‘Car park users don’t question the ‘You leave your car here at your own risk’ signs,’ says Wigley and, while they don’t, there has been little financial incentive for other car park operators to install Parksafe systems.
But since Derby in 1998, Wigley has installed the Parksafe technology at two new sites: in an old car park in Lancaster and a new shopping mall car park in Workington.
‘Lancaster was a really bad car park before we installed Parksafe,’ says Wigley. ‘It was in an odd spot for a car park and it had an office block built on top of it. It’s on four levels that are full of odd spaces and there were problems of vandalism, graffiti and drug use as well as car crime. We took over in 2001 and from having horrific levels of crime it has gone to being completely crime free.’
In Workington a new car park was built in 2006 with Parksafe Systems installed right from the start. Another car park in the area suffered badly from theft and vandalism crimes but the new shopping mall owners wanted their car park ‘to be in the same sort of condition as they built it after 20 years,’ says Wigley. ‘When we were installing the stuff there were yobs and people on drugs moving all round the site. But since everything has gone live there have been no problems and all the security we designed-in remains in really good condition.’
‘We redesigned the system for Workington to include more modern high tech sensors and monitor everything digitally. There are more cameras installed per square foot than in the Lancaster and Derby sites because the technology is getting smaller and easier to install. We’ve put smoother, quicker gates into the site and our own pay-machines and ticket spitters. We’re now the only UK manufacturer of ticket spitters. And there are video cameras for customers to contact the control room if they need help activating their bay or using their tickets.’
The Parksafe system has long lasting benefits which have proved attractive to Derby, which last year renewed Wigley’s contract to provide Parksafe Systems at Bold Lane in Derby for another 10 years.
‘Car parks get busier if they are secure,’ says Wigley as all three of the Parksafe car parks often operate at full capacity, even at night. ‘Nobody used Bold Lane before on a night but now on a Friday or Saturday we have upwards to 200 cars parked. People feel safe to leave their car there over night because it’s going to still be there in the morning.’
One of the 10 most secure places on earth
Parksafe won a What Car? Security Award in 2005 and the BBC’s Focus magazine has called Parksafe Derby ‘one of the 10 most secure places on earth’, alongside Fort Knox, Air Force One and Area 51, the officially non-existent military base. The Bold Lane 440-bay car park’s four steps to security got it onto the list because they’d ensured no vandalism or break-in had occurred in the six years before Focus did its survey in 2004.
The four steps to security in Parksafe car parks are:
- Put your valuables in the boot of your car
- Lock your vehicle
- Secure your bay by entering its number in one of the machines on your exit route
- Keep your ticket until you return and use it to deactivate the sensor
The Derby site is designed to shut down all exits if any thieves do try to steal a car. The deterrents of panic alarm buttons positioned on every pillar throughout the car park and the fact that 78% of people who park there activate the security sensor under their car once they have parked, mean that the car park has only been shut down twice in six years due to attempted theft.
Before Parksafe was installed at Bold Lane the Derby car park had reported 178 crime incidents, and Wigley stresses that for every on reported, three on average go unreported.
‘Under normal circumstances we get 78% of people securing their bay and at night it’s verging on 100%’ says Wigley. Of those who don’t secure their bay, he see two types: ‘There’s those that trust the environment but you get others that just don’t care.’
Customers pay a little extra per hour to park Parksafe, but Wigley says savings are made elsewhere. ‘We’ve saved the police and enormous amount of money. They used to be in and out of here every night. All the vagrants have now disappeared from the site. As have all the skateboarders, boy racers and other anti-social groups.’
‘We are the only people who will guarantee your car is secure in our car parks. Our building insurance covers any car in one of my car parks like it’s in your garage at home. The insurance company wouldn’t keep giving me this guarantee if it wasn’t proved year on year.’
But ...
Wigley feels the likelihood of installing more Parksafe Systems in the UK is small because there is little incentive for car park operators to offer this level of security.