Canberra Ups Efficiency, Will Trial App To Take Guesswork Out Of Parking

The sad reality for everyone who owns a car is that eventually you have to find somewhere to put it.

And when that comes to finding somewhere to put it when you’re heading out to do some shopping, that task becomes an arduous pain the butt that often involves multiple loops around a block and a lot of wasted time.
But if the ACT Government has their way, all that could be a thing of the past (in Canberra, at least).
The Territory’s Government is in the process of commissioning a SmartPhone app that will send users real-time information about where there are free and empty parking spaces in the vicinity.
A 12-month trial of the app has been commissioned, and will initially focus on the busy shopping precinct of Manuka.
The whole thing works through sensors placed in the ground on parking spots that detect whether or not a car is present. These sensors send information to a server, which then provides real or near-real time updates to drivers about the location of free parking spots.
If the trial is successful, Smart Parking looks set to be rolled out across the entire ACT.
Manuka was selected as the trial region due to its diverse range of parking options – the app will cover on- and off-street parking, as well as paid parking and limited time parking zones.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the app was aimed at consumers, and would not be used to help Parking Inspectors monitor how long people have been parked in specific spots for.

“What we’re seeking to do is to provide easier ways for Canberrans to get around our town and shopping centres.”


“For parking inspectors it won’t mean a huge amount, it is really targeted at consumers.”

“It will help retailers because it will reduce the amount of time that people spend circling a shopping centre looking for a car park so it will assist in providing more convenient and efficient parking.”

The project is currently taking tenders for development. No set date for the rollout of the trial is currently known.

via ABC News.

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