Melbourne’s Moreland Council is considering a proposal to install electronic sensors in nearly 4,000 parking bays.
The technology, designed to increase the turnover of cars, sends an alert to parking officers if a car has overstayed its time in a parking spot. However, critics of the scheme claim that turnover of the spaces is already happening, citing a 2010 survey showing that 90 per cent of motorists left the space within the time restriction.
According to the news article, Moreland’s parking revenue is currently around $4 million per annum, with the sensors expected to generate an additional $1 to $1.5 million per year, at a cost of about $3 million to install (including additional works such as line marking).
Moreland Council have indicated that they are planning further developments including the integration of live signage to point drivers to available spaces, as well as the development of web and mobile phone applications to allow motorists to find a space. It will be interesting to see how the SFPark project goes in San Francisco as a base template for other councils to follow.