Swarco Traffic has delivered a new parking guidance solution for Ipswich Borough Council in the UK, installing five variable message signs (VMS).
Ipswich, a coastal town in the east of England, has several public car parks in the town centre and by the waterfront which are very busy at peak times.
Following a review, Ipswich Borough Council identified inefficiencies in the existing process, particularly around the coordination of traffic management.
“Drivers were struggling to find available parking spaces, which led them to circulate through the town in search of somewhere to park, causing unwanted congestion and air pollution,” explains Tony Gillings, project manager at Swarco Traffic.
“Ultimately a solution was needed to improve the driver experience through clear communication that also reduced congestion.”
The VMS display clear space availability arrows throughout the city centre, featuring the number of free spaces in green or displaying ‘full’ in red - and can also be used for other text or image announcements, alerting drivers to events, maintenance works or road closures in and around the town, for example.
Intelligent data is sent to the signs by a series of integrated car park counters, control cabinets and inductive loops that record all vehicles entering and leaving a car park, offering real-time information via Swarco's cloud-based remote management system.
