The mega new smart city ground up build initiatives of billionaires like Bill Gates are certainly an ambitious and promising initiative, and there is room for similar initiatives in Australia where a few smart cities could be built from the ground up in regional areas.

But more importantly, and with less dollars needing to be invested, we can be making our existing cities smarter.

What is a smart city?

A smart city uses information gleaned from data that is captured from various sensors and physical devices used by citizens, buildings, and other assets, to effectively manage resources, infrastructure, and services more efficiently.

Information can be used to analyse, plan, and optimise a whole host of civic services, including utilities, waste management, schools, community services, healthcare and of course traffic, transportation and parking management systems.

Parking’s role

A key area of pain for many communities is the increasing traffic and parking congestion in their local areas. A smart city can utilise available technologies to provide real time traffic and parking availability information to motorists. The community benefits are significant including: reduced traffic congestion; reduced CO2 emissions; reduced stress and anxiety with less time spent in traffic bottlenecks leading to an improved motorist experience and thus greater propensity to frequent those areas and facilities in future.

Smartening existing cities

Whilst the idea of building a brand-new city from the ground up is exciting, there are many things Australia’s smart city planners can invest in for existing urban centres that will help the community in the shorter term. Smarter traffic and parking availability information is an easy win and one that addresses an all-too-common pain point for local communities. Here are a few things that should be considered:

• Ownership of data. Data structures, communications protocols and formats are important, but it is far more important to ensure that city planners are partnering with suppliers that are able and prepared to share data. For any initiative under the smart cities umbrella, make certain the resulting data is either owned fully or at least with minimal, if any, constraints on what can be done with it.

• Sensors that are fit for purpose. Sensors or sensor systems are highly important in smart city building initiatives and there are a range of varying technologies available including magnetic resonance, infrared, ultrasonic, laser and camera-based sensors. The key is that they be “fit for purpose”; ideally highly accurate (as accuracy matters), long lasting and using reliable technologies with minimal ongoing maintenance costs. Security, communications capabilities, and size plus frequency of data packets/data payload generated by the sensors should be additional considerations. It is also important to consider how they are ‘controlled’ – what features and control functionality is available and how the Controllers function to consolidate and deliver data to the head end system(s).

• Turning data into actionable information in a timely and automated manner. The volume of data collected – even in a fairly straightforward project – can run into millions of data points each day. This mass of data needs to be aggregated in real time and processed efficiently and automatically into usable information without the need for manual intervention. A core focus should be ensuring data can be converted and automated to deliver timely and actionable information to the community that is using the facility and local areas. Wayfinding signage in congested precincts would be one good example.

The above points are just some of the many considerations that should be taken into account, in the evolution towards smart cities and effective management of them for the benefit of the community and the environment. It’s an exciting area to be involved in and Park Agility takes pride in the role we play in helping our cities to run a bit smarter.

Installing a Parking Guidance System (PGS) in a car park facility is becoming more and more common in a range of settings. Typically used in facilities such as retail centres, airports, university or TAFE campus, theme parks, transport hubs, multi-storey parking facilities, loading docks, and on and off-street parking bays, a PGS offers a range of benefits to both customers and car park owners/managers.

Collecting real time data on vehicle movements through a facility, a PGS contributes to green initiatives by facilitating improved vehicle circulation and flow of traffic, helping to alleviate congestion.

Vehicle throughput and bay occupation data provides analytics for car park management to help optimise their facility by allowing for dynamic demand/supply pricing, the planning of loyalty or permanent parking programs, and insight into when particular parking categories such as short stay, disabled or parents with pram parking see a spike in demand.

There are multiple elements that make up how a parking guidance system works, and these include:

Signage – Dynamic signage reduces the need for costly changes to fixed message signs as and when macro changes to a facility occur. Additionally, they support multiple and more content rich wayfinding messaging and information at entry and key decision points throughout a facility. Signage can come in a range of sizes and with message boards that include imagery and numbers. Longer LED panels can also provide safety and event messaging, which is easily editable via Park Agility’s management system.

Signage is an option at a precinct-wide areas supporting multiple car parks (even when they are not all owned by the same entity) or within individual parking facilities to provide the public with valuable information about parking availability and in the process helping to alleviate congestion on the roads.

Sensors – The sensors within a PGS system are used to detect vehicles moving from one area to another within a facility (eg between levels) as well occupation of an individual car parking bay. At Park Agility, ‘accuracy matters’ and because no two facilities are the same, Park Agility uses a range of sensor technologies to meet diverse environmental requirements, thus ensuring reliable, stable and accurate readings.

Indicator lights above parking bays are used to highlight both the parking category and availability – green lights for general public availability, blue lights to indicate availability of DDA bays and pink lights to register availability of a parents with pram parking bays and other categories. This enables fast and easy information to be delivered to drivers, speeding their time to park; – there is nothing more frustrating than seeing a green light above an already occupied bay.

Management System – the data that is gathered from the sensors is analysed constantly, in real time 24 x 7 to ensure updated wayfinding messaging on the signage throughout the facility. The management system also provides detailed reporting on facility and bay utilisation both in real time and historically, allowing car park managers to more effectively understand utilisation and plan accordingly to optimise their business and asset.

A PGS saves time and increases efficiency, working to reduce congestion and resulting pollutants by providing timely information to support customer and management to make informed decisions. Above all though, a parking guidance system delivers a customer first focus for the end user. Helping to minimise stress by guiding customers to available car parking bays, resulting in a positive customer experience that helps to drive loyalty.

Technology continues to disrupt traditional operations across our whole world. The goal? To enhance the user experience, safety, and lifestyle, and to gather rich data for future decision making. Car parking technology does all of these things.

Cities are more liveable, less congested and safer when car parking technology is used in a wide range of facilities – retail, commercial, residential, healthcare, travel and transportation hubs.

So how does it work?

Parking bay sensors transmit occupation status in real time to a software management system. This changes the colour of the indicator light in the bay and updates the internal wayfinding signage which show the number of available bays . This saves time for drivers, who are guided directly to available parking bays and reduces parking stress.

The same data is transmitted to the car park management team via on-screen status maps and structured reports. It helps asset managers improve efficiency. Parking bays stay empty for less time, and circling is reduced leading to less congestion and pollution. Data reports enable predictions of usage thus allowing optimisation of different parking categories during peak times.

A parking management system can also assist with minimising infringements and parking violations as reporting and alerts can be set to advise of overstays, incorrect bay usage and any misuse of payment systems.

External signage outside a parking asset assists drivers by advising of parking availability prior to entry. Typically, drivers overestimate bay occupation, believing a parking garage to be full when in fact there are parking bays available. This means reduced revenue for asset managers and owners. The win-win solution is providing drivers information about parking availability in advance. Of course, this is dependent on an accurate and reliable system and the technology used is important.

Outdoor parking can also utilise parking management systems by configuring magnetic loop and beam-based sensor technologies. This system will track entry and exit points, transmitting data to way finding signage to alert drivers about availability. It also provides rich data to parking management teams on occupancy. For larger indoor parking facilities this can be a cost-effective way to manage a restricted budget whilst still providing the benefits of a parking management system.

As technologies continue to evolve, so too will the efficiencies and capabilities of parking management systems, enabling cities and parking facilities to better serve the people who live and work in them.

Reach out to discuss how our parking technology can help optimise your assets now and in the future.

Technology has disrupted most industries over the past couple of decades, streamlining and improving service offerings in successive waves. The parking industry is no different, with the current wave of change including customer identification technologies such as Licence Plate Recognition (LPR), mobile phone apps, replacing tickets and RFID cards. We now commonly rely on apps and the web to find, reserve, and pay for parking in an age of on-demand, real time, and touch-free expectation.

As updated access control systems and parking guidance sensors and solutions have been deployed and consumer confidence in using online tools has grown, the amount of data being generated has grown exponentially; allowing insights into usage and behaviours that inform business decisions around availability, pricing, and occupancy expectations.

In short, technology has been helping to make parking more efficient, more customer-friendly, and at the same time, more valuable to the asset owner and associated business(es).

The management and reporting software that accompanies parking technology systems is a huge benefit to operators in terms of their management decision making. Parking guidance has reduced the uncertainty and time taken to find a parking space and improved customer experience and loyalty to the business in the process. When parkers are advised of availability via real-time signage before they even enter a parking facility, they are unlikely to drive elsewhere. Even a gradual improvement to occupancy as a result of a Parking Guidance Solution (PGS) investment can lead to significant additional revenue each year.

The use of parking guidance technology extends beyond just car parks. Any area where space is at a premium and congestion results – such as the loading dock in this example – will benefit from the occupancy information that a PGS can provide, in order to prevent inefficiencies and bottlenecks.

With the uptake of smart cities thinking and planning, utilising the data that parking technology generates can help councils and governments plan future infrastructure based on traffic patterns, behavioural insights, and predictive revenues.

Parking technologies are insightful, adaptable, and agile with an application that will be wide-ranging beyond carparks as we head into the future.

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Parking guidance and precinct signage solutions already tick the box for driving down emissions and reducing traffic congestion in busy areas, simply by making parking faster and easier.

One of our recent projects saw the introduction of solar powered parking guidance signage, upping the ante on green, future-focused technology solutions. Park Agility have worked with Duncan Solutions and Bayside City Council to install ten solar-powered, dynamic wayfinding signs to help guide drivers around a busy shopping and dining precinct to convenient and available parking.

Powered exclusively by solar, the signs have a lower operating cost and are a clean, energy efficient means of providing information on parking availability to the Bayside community. Another advantage is that being solar and 4G enabled, additional signs can be placed almost anywhere, without the need for costly and time-consuming power connections or environmental disturbance.

As the focus on climate intensifies, more and more organisations are looking for environmentally friendly solutions that meet their need to help manage congestion – and parking guidance is an easy win.

For more information or to discuss your needs, contact our team.