A new ‘smart parking’ platform has debuted in a Polish city combining space availability with guidance, and payment through a smartphone application.
Parkanizer is the brand new platform from BT Skyrise, the Polish subsidiary of BT Signaal, a Norwegian technology company that develops and implements intelligent transport systems (ITS). Parkanizer displays the current availability and pricing of parking spaces to drivers through a smartphone app, in order to ensure smooth parking guidance and efficient payment for parking. The back-office Parkanizer Analytics system is designed for city and parking operators to closely manage, monitor and control the real-time usage of parking spaces. BT Skyrise’s first implementation of the Parkanizer platform is in the city of Piekary ?l?skie, which is located in the shadow of the cities Katowice and Gliwice. It is part of the Silesian metropolitan area in the south of Poland and has a population of 2.1 million people. Parkanizer has been introduced to improve the usage of on-street parking spaces in the time-restricted parking zones in the city center.
BT Skyrise has chosen Nedap, the Netherlands-based specialist for vehicle identification and detection systems, to provide the data for the Parkanizer platform by closely monitoring the real-time usage of on-street parking spaces with its SENSIT IR parking bay-mounted sensors. Nedap’s SENSIT system consists of bay-mounted parking sensors that use a dual-detection technology, combining magnetic and infrared interference to ensure accurate vehicle detection. This information is transmitted to the central hosted server through a wireless radio communication network. The real-time parking occupancy status and parking duration information is then made available from the cloud-based server to the Parkanizer platform. Drivers that overstay the permitted parking duration are detected by Nedap’s sensors, allowing the city authorities to monitor and enforce violations through the Parkanizer platform.
“Parkanizer can be used by motorists driving into a city,” explained Maciej Lukas, the Parkanizer project coordinator. “The smartphone app displays dynamic markers on a map, including the number of available parking spaces in geo-location context. Parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities are marked separately. While driving, motorists receive updates in real time. The app could be also used with a navigation system. When approaching the destination, Parkanizer informs where in the street the vacant parking spaces can be found. When parked, the app can be used to pay online.”
Jaroslaw Pilarczyk, CEO of BT Skyrise, commented, “Nedap has proven to be the right technology partner, with expertise in deploying sensor networks, smoothly integrated with end-user applications, in cities for many years. SENSIT is a fast and reliable sensor-based system, designed for outdoor parking spaces located on- or off-street.”
Ido Wentink, Nedap’s business development manager, noted, “The parking industry in Poland is changing rapidly. Cities are showing increasing interest in smart parking solutions. We are therefore pleased to start a partnership with BT Skyrise, an innovative company and developer of Parkanizer, an easy to use and complete mobile parking application for both motorists and operators.”
