Atlanta, March 5th 2021 - A smart parking system devised and implemented by Cleverciti is set to reduce parking search in Redwood City by 45%. As businesses, restaurants, and entertainment venues are set to reopen, Redwood City is expecting an increase in parking demand in its Central Business District, where drivers have had to search for parking for up to 30 minutes during peak times before the pandemic forced businesses to close.

Parking demand has dropped by 90% and now stands at 50%, illustrating just how hard Redwood City’s stores, theaters, and restaurants were hit by the pandemic. “We’re really focused on the 3 R’s: respond, restore, and reimagine,” says Jessica Manzi, Redwood City’s senior transportation manager. “As economic activity picks up in the coming months, this program is going to help support our businesses.”

By reducing parking search times, people will have more time to shop, dine or simply run their errands faster, freeing up parking spaces for the next customers more quickly. 

A network of Cleverciti Sensors will identify on-street parking, surface lots as well as parking garages. LED signs will provide turn-by-turn directions to the nearest available parking space. The smart parking system is set to launch in the summer. 

Watch the news segment from ABC7 Bay Area about the case in Redwood City below:

Silicon Valley is known for widespread early adoption of the latest and greatest technologies for businesses and consumers, but one area of the Valley has yet to undergo a tech makeover: parking. Sure, there are mobile apps for metered parking, faster routes to avoid traffic, and time travel tracking apps, but what about the basic act of searching for parking itself? In an area where the population is dense, private vehicles are popular, and fuel emissions are of great concern, the raw issue of parking can deliver positive, meaningful outcomes for communities, businesses, and the environment. 

We are thrilled to share a newly formed partnership with Redwood City’s Central Business District which will help catapult the area’s parking into the 21st century. 

What does this mean exactly? Imagine driving to the Redwood City Business District and, rather than leaving early to maneuver congestion and circle the blocks to look for parking, you pulled into town, looked up and digital signage directed you right to an available spot. No more aimless searches, wasting time, and getting frustrated. No more needless emissions from idling vehicles. 

Cleverciti’s solution will feature space guidance for seven surface lots, eleven garages, and over 4,500 parking spaces. It will integrate with the city’s mobile app, PayByPhone mobile payment provider, and IPS Multi-space pay station, ensuring a connected and seamless experience across the city’s full parking ecosystem.

“Redwood City has made it a priority to innovate and improve its transportation systems, this includes the parking infrastructure. We must think more creatively and more holistically about parking and its daily interaction with Redwood City’s patrons; it plays a critical role in the future of mobility and in supporting our local economy, ensuring easy access to many of our small businesses,” said Christian Hammack, Parking and Transportation Demand Manager, RWC. 

“We partnered with Cleverciti Systems because they developed a comprehensive solution that considers everything from improving air quality to providing drivers with an extraordinary service and data.”

We are thrilled that Redwood City is modernizing its parking and setting the bar for other cities to follow suit! 

For the full press release and visuals, you can download here:  

Smart parking is an efficient and cost-effective system to monitor the availability of parking spaces in real-time. Technologies such as sensors and cameras detect free parking spaces and direct drivers to the most convenient spot via digital signage such as LED-displays. By leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, edge computing, and interconnectivity, the complexity of driving in a complicated environment is simplified.

Benefits of smart parking solutions

Smart parking solutions not only significantly minimize search traffic, but also help ease congestion in cities and reduce vehicle emissions. Finding a free parking space easily in an often-confusing commercial car park enhances customer experience, thus improving revenue. Simultaneously, parking operators and civic authorities can gather intelligent data on parking and customer habits that can be used to drive future infrastructure developments.

Generating data easily

Data is generated via in-ground sensors that have to be installed in each parking space or via Overhead sensors as developed by Cleverciti. The latter can be easily mounted on existing infrastructure such as lampposts or buildings and provide a comprehensive real-time overview of the occupancy status of up to 100 parking spaces per sensor.

Overhead sensors scan the vicinity and identify the position of a parked car or an empty parking space while also measuring the length of an available parking space and registering whether vehicles have been in an illegal space (e.g. in front of a fire hydrant or other no-parking zone).

The data gathered by these sensors is transmitted via cellular (LTE), Wi-Fi or wired Internet connection. The best smart parking solutions process data “at the edge”, which means the only data leaving the sensor itself is the GPS coordinates of a parking space and its availability. This approach ensures compliance with all the relevant data privacy regulations.

Real-time parking information

Relevant insights can then be passed on to drivers via a mobile application, website or digital signage. LED displays such as Cleverciti’s Circ360™ and Circ180™, both of which are multi-directional LED signs that can be installed on existing lampposts, show live parking information and messaging. 

Parking meters can be integrated into the system, showing parking operators whether time-limits are being observed.

See how smart parking works in a city environment in the video below:

Interested in learning more about smart city parking solutions? Click the button below to schedule a demo with a smart parking expert now.

There’s a lot of talk about smart parking these days. But what is Smart Parking exactly?

Smart parking describes parking management solutions geared towards assisting drivers to avoid circling around without information regarding available and occupied parking spaces. Reliable smart parking provides accurate data and immediate guidance, therefore reducing search traffic and vehicle emissions. 

Modern AI overhead sensors on lampposts, covering a large area of all types of outdoor spaces, provide real-time data that can be fed into mobile applications, websites, and local digital signage. In the past, magnetic field in-ground sensors have been used for marked parking bays. 

Real-time insights

Today’s smart parking solutions enable immediate and up-to-date detection of available parking spaces, helping to optimize on-street parking in urban areas or the use of surface parking at shopping malls, train stations, hospitals, and corporate campuses. In these surroundings, smart parking management aids in minimizing unnecessary driving in an already complicated environment while also reducing emissions and a waste of fuel and time.

Smart guidance for drivers, businesses, parking operators, and civic authorities

Smart parking is relevant for four main target groups: the general public, businesses, parking operators, and civic authorities. The average driver spends ten to twenty minutes looking for a parking space, which is not only a waste of time and a serious stressor but also has a negative environmental impact. Smart parking systems provide reliable guidance for drivers, thus simplifying their journey.

In business settings such as shopping centers and corporate offices, smart parking management can not only help improve the customer experience, thus increasing revenue, but also positively impact productivity. Less time spent looking for available parking spaces means less stressed and more productive employees. Dynamic LED displays used as part of smart parking systems can be mounted on existing infrastructure such as lampposts and are visible to drivers from any direction. They also offer the opportunity to build revenue by adding advertising and informational messaging. 

For parking operators, smart parking can provide valuable input on parking and customer habits, making it easier to enhance the customer experience and streamline parking management. In addition, smart parking enables parking operators to improve monitoring (for example, the appropriate use of dedicated zones such as handicap or delivery zones). Furthermore, the hourly or daily parking rates can be adjusted based on supply and demand.

In many cities around the world, civic authorities are trying to reduce emissions and the environmental impact cars are having on urban areas. By employing smart parking solutions, search traffic and therefore also emissions can be reduced significantly.  

In a larger context, smart parking solutions reduce traffic hazards and emissions, therefore contributing substantially to the quality of life in cities. These concepts are part of smart cities, where IT infrastructure is put into place and used to enhance the quality of life.

Real-life example: Cologne

In the German city of Cologne, smart parking has been put in place to reduce search traffic in one of the busiest districts, Cologne-Nippes. 360 degree LED displays at road intersections inform drivers where they can find parking in any direction and how many spaces are currently available. The data is also fed into a mobile application. Drivers no longer have to rely on sheer luck when looking for a parking spot, saving time and fuel as well as reducing emissions and noise pollution. 

To achieve this, a total of 89 Cleverciti Sensors monitoring approximately 890 parking spaces were installed on existing lampposts together with 27 Circ360™ LED displays, fitting seamlessly into the streetscape. By leveraging artificial intelligence, these solutions and technologies allow for a real-time overview of available parking spaces. 

Also watch the video below in which CEO Thomas Hohenacker explains what he believes is smart parking.

Interested in learning more about smart city parking solutions? Click the button below to schedule a demo with a smart parking expert now.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – May 14, 2018 – Leading parking technology provider Cleverciti today launched Circ360™, the industry’s first 360-degree overhead display that provides real-time digital traffic flow information and advertising space for open-air parking lots.

“The Circ360™ LED displays are ideal for venues like shopping malls looking to enhance the overall customer experience,” said Thomas Hohenacker, founder and CEO, Cleverciti. “The Circ360™ turns the daily headache of parking into a simple service that retail property owners can offer their tenants and guests.”

The accurate and reliable Circ360™ is an omnidirectional floating LED sign that displays live parking information and messaging from retailers in 360 degrees. It can be mounted on existing lampposts of any size within 15 minutes. The displays are ideal for a range of dynamic on-street and open-air digital signage applications, including local parking availability, advertising, smart city data, security notifications and more.

“Shoppers spend 10 to 12 minutes on average searching for a parking space when they visit a mall,” added Hohenacker. “This results in significant lost revenue for retailers because customers may spend less time shopping or potentially leave out of frustration.”

Now in daily operation in more than 19 countries worldwide, Cleverciti’s high-precision overhead parking sensors and innovative Cockpit management software empower cities and property owners to manage parking in a more intelligent and efficient way. Cleverciti helps reduce traffic congestion and emissions, while dramatically improving the parking experience for consumers. It also helps grow revenues for cities, airports, malls and numerous other businesses.