Smart Parking Applications and Its Efficiency

Abstract

Parking is a problem in many cities. Usually, it is not possible to build new parking lots due to insufficient available areas. This paper focuses on the parking situation in Slovak city Žilina. The authors carried out an extensive traffic survey in private and city-owned parking lots. Not only were occupancy data collected, but also the opinions of the drivers who parked there. The second half of the paper is based on results from the survey. It includes a proposal of the new intelligent parking system which can improve the efficiency of parking. This system is proposed in flowcharts and also described. The intelligent parking system with guidance to a free parking space can improve the traffic situation in cities. Drivers find a free parking space faster, which reduces congestion and various other negative externalities. On the other hand, the system has high acquisition costs and other problems. These issues of smart parking solutions are also discussed in the paper.