Parking allocation system
Multi-storey parking sites are predominately difficult to drive in due to tight corners, confusing layouts and other drivers. The worst thing about them is that you can never find a park when they are busy. Instead you’ve got to drive around and around looking for a free space. Do you go up to the next floor? Or just try your luck on this one?
The need for circulation of vehicles has implications for the design of the parking layout. Space needs to be allocated at the end of rows to allow drivers to turn around or into another aisle to continue their search for a free space. If there was no need for circulation to search for a space, more spaces could be provided – probably not all that many more per floor, but over a 5 or 6 storey car park this would add up.
Reductions in the volume of circulating vehicles would also have significant safety benefits, both for drivers and pedestrians.
One of the areas that ITS is supposedly going to improve things is in parking allocation. You’ll be able to `book’ a parking space over the net as you approach the parking lot and drive directly to a space that the in ground sensors have determined to be empty. All sounds very high tech – and a bit unnecessary. The benefits are available with today’s technology.
At the moment in most multi-storey car parks you arrive at the boom gate, obtain a ticket, look for a parking space, find a parking space, shop, validate the ticket and pay, put the ticket in the boom gate and leave. The computer system knows how long you’ve parked for, but not which space you parked in.
Consider if the entry boom gate allocated you a parking space. All spaces are numbered – say number 101 would be the first parking space on the first floor for example – and big signs say `you must park in your designated space’ etc. Heck, there could even be a button on the entry machine that allows you to choose which shops/gate lounge you would like to park near. No more searching for car park spaces!
The only issue would be compliance. If someone parks in the wrong spot the system will fail to work. Two possible solutions spring to mind – 1. have a couple of boxes on each level that let people `request a new parking space’, would be a bit of a pain but at least it solves the problem. 2. Give people two tickets, one to pay at the validator with and one to put on the windshield – would require manual enforcement. Alternatively, video imaging technology could be used to capture license plates, rather than requiring tickets on the windshield. Actually, option 1 would allow infringers to be highlighted to the parking facility manager, and in conjunction with option 2 the need for searching for infringers would be done away with.
There are parking garages in Switzerland that use the ground sensors in a similar way: each parking space has a red and green light above it (directional, so you could only see them if you were driving along the ’street’ past the parking space), and the sensors were connected to the “parking this way, more parking that way, exit that way” signs so that you actually had signs saying “35 spaces that way, 12 spaces that way”. Then you don’t need to reserve a space, just follow the signs.
comment at 04. September 2008
Yeah, but that requires a red and green light and a induction loop in every parking place. Sounds expensive and maintenance intensive over a large parking site.
Also, it cannot be easily retro-fitted to an existing car park. Lots of wiring for electricity and induction loops.
A couple of tins of linemarking paint and some reprogramming of the ticket printing machine could get similar benefits.
comment at 04. September 2008
German_speaking_people_seem_to_have_no_problem_implementing_projects_with_a_negative_NPV:P
comment at 05. September 2008