Digital car park management

In city centres and increasingly also in residential areas, spaces used for parking vehicles are a valuable asset. In addition to the individual needs of those looking for a parking space, there is a debate in many places about the reorientation of parking areas in order to create space for exercise, relaxation, communal areas or attractive events. Here, the individual needs of those looking for a free parking space close to their destination clash with efforts to extend cycle paths in the city centre, introduce logistics concepts for the "last mile" or support retailers and restaurants affected by structural change. The first step towards such a liveable city centre is to identify the needs and manage parking search traffic accordingly.

Digital car park management can help to collect the necessary data and derive measures. By recording all parking spaces and parking areas in the city centre using sensors, a comprehensive information system for people looking for a parking space is made possible. This system will be implemented with the help of various digital information boards. The sensor-based detection combines existing solutions for large multi-storey and underground car parks with new detection of all individual parking spaces in car parks and side parking areas along the streets. Different types of sensors are used to fulfil the respective requirements and conditions. 

A multi-level information system with digital information boards informs those looking for a parking space with an increasing level of detail the closer they get to the city centre. This information not only shows the availability of free parking spaces in the various areas of the city centre, but also obstructions on the way to these spaces such as traffic jams, roadworks, events or similar. The evaluation of the data from the parking management system provides a detailed insight into the use of the parking spaces, the requirements depending on the time of day, day of the week or during events and, for the first time, presents the utilisation of the special parking spaces in full and in detail. Based on this, the city can initiate the first active control of search traffic by adapting the management of the car parks accordingly. The collected data is used by the city administration to derive measures that support the mobility transition.