Smart Parking System Benefits for Urban Planning
By: Archer Software
Tags: Parking System, Smart Parking System, Urban Planning, Parking Management, Smart Parking Solutions

Smart Parking System Benefits for Urban Planning

Smart parking has long been an integral part of the smart city concept. However, why aren’t many big cities in a hurry to implement these technologies locally? In most cases, the matter is in technical, bureaucratic, legal, and financial difficulties, however, there is also a lack of understanding of the significant advantages and opportunities for return on investment.

In this article, we decided to pay attention to the most promising advantages of a real-time parking management system, and thereby give you the opportunity to think about developing this innovation for your city one more time.

Time Savings

The smart parking system significantly saves drivers time. According to the research, an average American driver spends 17 hours per year looking for available parking slots, which is about four minutes a day if we take into account weekdays only. It would seem that this is a very small figure, but other studies point to 44 or even 90 hours spent looking for a free parking space per year. That is, four minutes a day is a minimum that you can spend looking for an opportunity to park your car.

Smart parking, in turn, reduces this indicator to almost zero, since the driver initially knows where he is going and where he will park the car. Also, in the absence of free parking spaces, the driver can immediately rebuild his route without wasting time driving through the obviously filled parking lot.

Less Stress

Even four minutes looking for a free parking space is annoying, especially if you’re in a hurry or running late. Irritation and stress lead to reckless reactions to what is happening on the road, and the behavior of an irritated driver can be unpredictable.

However, by using a mobile application that shows the availability of parking spaces nearby or in the desired location in real-time, the driver can avoid unnecessary stress and calmly reach the desired destination.

Cost Savings

Using the labor of parking inspectors is neither the smartest nor the cheapest idea. Firstly, this is a kind of hellish and dangerous work. In any weather, a person must be outdoors, putting himself at risk among moving cars.

Secondly, old-style parking did not even imply the ability to pay for a parking space online. Instead, drivers were required to pay with cash, which is extremely inconvenient, especially for a generation of young drivers who are used to online and mobile services. In addition to the fact that the work of parking inspectors must be paid, there is always the risk of abuse in the workplace and pocketing some of the cash, which is extremely difficult to control.

Smart parking solves both problems at the same time, eliminating the need for cities to maintain a staff of parking inspectors and giving drivers the ability to pay for parking online based on the actual time of use.

Better Safety

With the help of instant notifications about the availability of parking spaces, the driver can safely navigate to their destination, avoiding unnecessary and confusing maneuvers, such as turning on a turn signal with the intention to park in a parking lot known to be full. Predictable driver behavior and clear route following make the road safer, as each driver has a clear understanding of what his lane neighbor intends to do.

Less Pollution

Smart parking allows drivers to save time, make fewer unnecessary maneuvers, which means they can significantly save fuel, and reduce harmful emissions. Perhaps this is one of the most significant benefits of smart parking systems — 10% of harmful emissions come from extra miles and idling while searching for a free parking lot. This figure may seem insignificant at the local level, but it is a significant contribution to the preservation of the environment globally.

More Profits

A clear and transparent system of payment for parking spaces will be unambiguously beneficial for the city budget since it excludes the use of cash and includes a fair payment for a parking space as it is used.

However, there is one more thing that needs to be considered. IoT sensors should not only recognize the presence or absence of a car in a parking space but also identify it.

Otherwise, this may lead to the fact that the newly arrived driver will use the lot already paid by the previous driver if the latter vacated the parking space before the paid parking time has expired. In this case, it is necessary to either return the money to the first driver, or give him the opportunity to use the remaining parking time in another parking location, or develop a payment system depending on the actual time of using the parking lot.

Conclusion

Smart parking is a smart answer to the problem of traffic congestion, lack of parking spaces, and environmental pollution. Yes, this is a fairly expensive initiative that requires a competent approach to the development and implementation of such a project, but the benefits it promises will pay off the costs in the long term.