Anti-Congestion Parking Technologies

Congestion is a growing global concern, and parking is a major contributing factor. In my latest feature for Road Traffic Technology I investigated how new technologies, from mobile phone applications to large data projects, are beginning to offer a solution.

According to the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), part of the US Department of Transportation, in 2009 a traffic accident occurred every five seconds in the US. 

A 2009 Texas Transportation Institute urban mobility report revealed that congestion cost the nation almost $90bn (more than $750 for every US traveller). And this was a cost that could be measured in more than dollars – the amount of wasted fuel topped 2.8 billion gallons (three weeks' fuel for each traveller) and wasted time totalled 4.2 billion hours, nearly one full week of work per traveller.

In the past, overcoming congestion issues has required new, wider motorways, better parking and expensive road works, but the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry says a much cheaper, and more effective answer could lie in the palm of our hands.

The car park conundrum

The Urban Planning Association (UPA), covering the metro areas of New York, San Francisco, Miami, Florida, Minneapolis and Seattle, has focused its efforts on using what it calls "the 4Ts" to reduce congestion: tolling, transit, telecommuting and technology and is concentrating on the metro areas of New York and San Francisco.

It is now focusing its efforts on issues to do with parking, and it believes that smart phones could bring smart parking to the fore. Mobile technology is enabling intelligent parking systems to emerge, helping drivers park smarter, easing congestion and reducing city spending.


To read the rest of this article, please go to Road Traffic Technology.