Smart parking launched in Cardiff

Cardiff Council has become the first local authority in Europe to roll out smart parking technology across its city-wide road network.

The technology is expected to make it easier for drivers to find available parking spaces in the city.

Working with parking technology firm Smart Parking Ltd, Cardiff Council has installed 3,300 vehicle detection sensors in ‘paid-for’ and disabled parking bays. These detect whether or not the parking bay is occupied using infrared technology.

Data collected through these sensors feeds into an app, called ‘Park Cardiff’, which allows motorists to search and view a real-time map of parking availability and be directed to an empty space. The Park Cardiff app is available for both iOS and Android devices.

The app can also be used to pay for tickets via Cardiff’s mobile parking payment service, with free confirmation and reminder texts.

The full rollout of the £900,000 system follows a successful pilot project in which 225 sensors were installed in streets including Museum Avenue and Sofia Gardens car park.

Councillor Caro Wild, cabinet member for sustainable planning and transport at Cardiff Council, said: “Although our priority is for people to use sustainable modes of transport, we accept that there will still be a requirement for people to use the private car. Given this, we want to provide the technology to make parking as easy as possible, so that people don’t have to drive around the city to find a parking space.

“Now that we have invested in this scheme, we want people that park in and around the city centre to download the free app — it is easy to use and will help both the motorist and the Council. Congestion and driving at low speeds significantly increases pollutants from cars, so we want people to find a space and park as quickly as possible.”

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