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Friday , 29 March 2024

Developments in Parking Technology

Parking management system comprises access control system, revenue management, security system and statistical information. Each car park is unique and requires customised management systems in order to achieve optimal operation. The systems provider takes a systems approach in designing entries and exits, traffic flow, payment systems and access management of every parking project handled.

Parking Guidance System

The faster one can park his / her car, the better one can do business. Parking guidance system helps people find parking spots quickly, thereby reducing frustration and enhancing efficiency of the revenue management system as well.

With the use of external guidance signs, the vacant slots in every parking space are displayed in every level/location with variable message signs (VMS). Additional traffic signals can be incorporated to further aid parking guidance at the facility?s perimeter.

Internal guidance detectors and indicators direct visitors to vacant slots at each parking level/location. They are also guided with variable directional signs that display green arrow directions towards vacant slots and red cross signs to slots that are full. Visitors see vacant slots from a distance with single space detectors mounted at the top of each slot. These detectors will emit a green light when the slot is vacant and red when occupied.

On-Street Parking System

Unregulated on-street parking results in limited parking availability, inefficient utilisation of spaces, and excess vehicular circulation. As population and economic growth occurs, parking demand in neighbourhoods can be expected to rise, exceeding on-street supply in many cases. On-street parking spaces are a finite commodity, and it is important for neighbourhoods to efficiently and effectively manage existing facilities as a scarce and valuable resource.

On-street parking management toolkits in India and some other countries have historically relied upon conventional strategies, specifically, time limits, coloured kerbs, meters, low-cost residential permits, and manual enforcement. These strategies, which have evolved incrementally over time, address block faces designated as ?commercial? or ?residential? independently, rather than in an integrated manner at the neighbourhood or area level.

Pay-and-display is a new on-street parking system used for on-street outdoor parking payment. This is made of highly durable material giving motorists an option for experiencing street parking as a world class experience. Moreover, this helps in organising public attitudes and develops radical solutions to deal with the problem of overcrowding. Pay-and-display system is commonly used by public and privately owned vehicles to park on designated legal parking areas with meter system.

Beyond specific collaboration at the local level, it is important for security operators and the parking industry to work together to explore specific ways new technologies enable them to share data and information.

On-street parking technology makes parking a simple, easy and most convenient affair, giving people a flexible option to pay by coins, bank notes, credit cards or mobile phones. The parking payment machine?s tariff system is also be customised upon request.

Central Management System

This provides full control over the parking facility and eases worries about overseeing the parking facility?s operation. With user control, full access and visibility on the status of all the system components, and with report generation just a click away, less time will be spent on parking concerns and customers can focus more on other aspects of operations.

Using Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is an automated vehicle identification technology utilising specialized cameras and software to recognise license plates, captures tag images, and transforms the numeric and alpha characters on a license plate into a common format data stream. For many municipalities, universities, airports, medical centres, shopping malls, military bases and corporations, ANPR technology is typically used to confirm vehicle access to parking facilities.

For example, a police department was able to locate a vehicle, set surveillance and wait for an armed robbery suspect to arrive with the help of ANPR technology in the city?s mobile systems. Images of the suspect?s vehicle parked on the street could be captured. In another example, a university?s parking and transportation services department installed its ANPR system on a parking control vehicle which could locate vehicles that had outstanding parking violations. Within 40 minutes, the system could read more than 2,500 license plates. During one sweep, the system was able to locate five vehicles with a combined 15 outstanding parking violations. In the long term, the university has the option of using the system to identify stolen vehicles or that have exceeded the time limit at time-enforced parking locations.

At several large airports and municipal facilities, law enforcement officials are working with parking operators to use ANPR technology to track and identify vehicles. In these locations, the parking operator can use its ANPR databases and, in essence, becomes an extension of the public safety system. As costs for ANPR systems continue to decrease, more systems will be installed, providing new opportunities for parking and improve security.

Vehicle Identification Technologies using RFID

In addition to ANPR, there are several other automatic vehicle identification technologies in use in parking facilities and toll road processing – all with security applications. These include the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, bar code tags and transponders. Several major universities and the military use RFID to control vehicle access to their parking facilities and track the vehicles as they travel outside the campus or military base.

Wireless sensing devices also are able to perform vehicle recognition (using general size and shape) and aid in revenue generation from parking violations. Combined with accurate GPS data, wireless sensing devices automatically detect and notify operators of unmoved vehicles. They also are equipped with cameras that can take photos of the violations. Benefits include an overall revenue increase as well as additional hours of security capability.

Other on-street technologies used to secure parking restrictions include handheld units, which have replaced pads and pens and in-ground sensors that can detect how long a vehicle has occupied a space.

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