If you live in a city, or own a car in central London, you’ll be familiar with the battle for the last parking space.
When the International Parking Institute conducted their 2012 Emerging Trends in Parking Study, it found that 30% of the cars clogging up already traffic-heavy city centres were just trying to find somewhere to park.
And as with so many other modern-day dilemmas, it seems that technology may have the answer once again, with several innovations on the horizon to make parking spaces easier to come by.
1. Smart access
Supervisors and barriers are expensive, which means that they’re often only present in larger car parks which can afford the outlay and on-going costs. But as more affordable smart access solutions enter the market, smaller car parks are being offered a viable way for to open and close electronic gates remotely, without relying on expensive security options.
2. Pre-booking
Once upon a time, you would only consider pre-booking a car parking space if you were travelling by air or rail and needed to leave your car for an extended period. But the convenience of having a space waiting for you has since strayed into city centre domain, with websites such as YourParkingSpace guaranteeing you won’t be one of the 30% wasting time hunting for a parking spot.
3. Parkopedia
The leading parking information site may not be as well known as the largest developer of parking apps, but Parkopedia has teamed up with Ford to develop the Ford Sync Applink. This will show drivers of selected Ford models their closest parking space according to their location.
4. Space sensors
In this case, car parking spaces can practically “speak up” to passing cars to let them know they’re free. A smart device is installed in the ground of a parking space, ready to communicate with driver apps when they’re nearby.
Westminster Council already boasts a network of 3,400 sensors installed with the help of Smart Parking.