David Crawford parallel parks with innovations in two continents. Surveys of US cities indicate that drivers searching for parking can account for up to 37% of all urban traffic congestion. A 2011 study by IBM of 20 cities around the world found that nearly six out of ten drivers had abandoned their search for a parking space at least once; while motorists generally spent on average 20 minutes looking for a sought-after spot.
Swedish company Prisma Tibro will feature a range of products at Intertraffic Amsterdam including Prisma Daps 2000 which it claims is one of the world’s most developed digital acoustic pedestrian signals. New electronic design brings greater flexibility and safety while more functions include advanced sound settings, spoken messages, RFID, smart ambient noise control and vibration.
Although urban traffic control and parking management are inextricably linked in so many ways, there remain fundamental differences which undermine closer integration. Car parking guidance systems can have a significant, positive impact on congestion in town and city centres, however conflicting business models still stand in the way of the more profound integration of car parking management and Urban Traffic Control (UTC) systems.
