Barnet Council is undergoing an exciting new pilot which could make it easier for visitors to the borough’s high streets to find a parking space, and help local businesses.
The pilot, which has been taking place at Temple Fortune town centre since October of this year, allows drivers to download a simple mobile phone application which tells them where a parking space is available.
The council has installed sensors in all paid for bays and disabled parking spaces at Temple Fortune town centre. The bays relay data to an information system which communicates with the Smart Parking application.
The application also tells drivers the parking charges associated with a particular space.
If the pilot is successful it is hoped that it will be rolled out to further town centres across Barnet. The project would give Barnet Council useful up-to-date information about when vehicles arrive and leave parking spaces, and therefore how well occupied the spaces are at particular times of the day. It would allow for information such as the length of stay to be recorded and turnover rates. This would allow the council to make informed decisions to help improve parking bay occupancy to the 85% target level set out in its parking policy.
The Smart Parking application “SmartApp” is available to download on Apple IOS and Android devices.
Smart Parking is a market leader in the design, development and management of parking technology. As the only large-scale, fully integrated operational and technology provider in the market they have delivered a breakthrough in the deployment of parking projects across the globe, from Canberra and Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, the New Zealand cities of Taupo and Auckland to the world’s largest parking sensor installation in the city of Westminster.
Chairman of Barnet Council’s Environment Committee, Councillor Dean Cohen, said:
“We are always looking at ways to improve the experience of visiting our town centre and to help local businesses succeed, and I am sure that this project is a step in the right direction. Early indications show that this pilot would have a positive impact on Temple Fortune and I look forward for the final results next year.”
Smart Parking CEO Paul Gillespie, said: “I am delighted to have teamed up with Barnet Council to introduce this new innovative technology that saves drivers’ time, reduces traffic delays and provides a better overall experience. From our experience local retailers and businesses can also really benefit from this improved turnover of parking spaces.”
