Overview
Due to the lack of information, one driver out of three has to seek a free parking possibility in a town. Experiences of different cities did show that the traffic due to those looking for a free place is reduced enormously thanks to a parking guidance system (PGS); there was even a reduction of 28% after the introduction of a PGS.5
The objective of the project is to prepare fundamentals, including draft standard on the technical architecture for dynamic parking guidance systems in Switzerland.
Funding
Results
The final report informs about the function of PGS adding basic definitions of terms that are indispensable for a clear communication without misunderstandings in this field. Ecological and economic ideas were touched.
Whether the user will accept or not a PGS depends directly from the quality of the data a parking site supplies the PGS with. The data for PGS do not only come from observed parking sites but also from parking lots on the roadside. Already from the equipment of the parking site can be said whether it is apt to be connected to a PGS. There are definite minimal requirements concerning the form and the precision of the data as well as about the data type (effective/prognostic rate). For instance, a parking site is apt to be connected to a fully dynamic PGS in case there are more than 50 places, if the utilisation is registered exactly and maximal time of parking takes longer than one hour.
Within this research order one found that the choice of a uniform architecture of the system makes things easier. For this reason the structure of the technical description of PGS and their environment is based on the automation hierarchy as used for systems with telematics in the traffic; a basic objective is the autonomy of each layer.
The components of the parking data record (basis for the PGS) and its publication (visualisation for the end-user) are located on the field layer.
The local parking data preparation (registration and aggregation of the parking data) and the electronic for controlling and evaluating the signs emplacement (reception of control orders and sending regulation orders to the displays of the parking data) form the layer of group control.
The process layer is composed of the parking guidance and the control computer (control module, operation and data bank of the whole system with all parking data, guide function).
In Switzerland a large potential still exists for the construction of new PGS. In the cities already disposing of a PGS the use of the existing data for extra service such as further information and reservation could get more and more important.