Liverpool – a suburb of Greater Western Sydney in Australia – will be piloting a smart curbside project to facilitate parking. The 12-month pilot project is part of the New South Wales government’s Smart Places Acceleration program which began last year.
The goal of the smart curbs project is to lessen the amount of time spent in looking for parking. A new parking app – called Park’nPay – is also being introduced, that uses artificial intelligence to reduce congestion and streamline the payment process at commuter car parks.
“In busy city suburbs like Liverpool, kerbside parking is valuable real estate. We need to ensure we use it to its optimal level. We also need to guarantee drivers and small businesses are getting an equal share because — it is so important to ensure our suburban economies get back up and running,” Minister for Transport and Roads, Andrew Constance, said.
The pilot project will also collect data to be used in future for the introduction of other measures.
“The data we collect will also help shape safer pedestrian and cycling connectivity to offices, schools, and shops and could help create smarter loading zones that share availability information, to make deliveries quicker and easier,” Liverpool City Council Mayor, Wendy Waller, said.
Funding for the smart parking trials will come from the NSW Smart Places Acceleration Program’s fund, which has set aside AU$45 million (~US$35.1 million) for state government agencies, councils, or regional organizations to adopt smart technologies.
The NSW Smart Places Acceleration Program hopes to deliver dedicated communications networks, smart CCTV; smart lighting; predictive analytics; push-to-talk emergency systems to reduce crime; smart meters to help residents track water and energy usage; smart traffic signalling and real-time route planning to reduce traffic congestion; sensors to monitor air quality; and, digital models to improve construction planning and reduce costs.