Mayor Michael Dreier recently inaugurated the new digital parking guidance system in Paderborn. This means that the search for a parking space in Paderborn's city center is now easier, because around 30 displays on the inner ring road and in the city center now show where there are still free parking spaces. The aim is to make car traffic flow more smoothly, avoid traffic jams and reduce CO2 emissions.
"We are pleased that we can put one of the most modern and innovative parking guidance systems in Germany into operation today," emphasized Mayor Michael Dreier during the inauguration of the new system. "On behalf of the city of Paderborn, I would like to thank everyone involved for their commitment," he continued.

Support from the Fraunhofer institutes in Paderborn and Lemgo

On the occasion of the digitization projects of the city of Paderborn, the waste disposal and city cleaning company Paderborn (ASP), which is responsible for parking space management, was commissioned to replace the existing parking information system with a digital, future-oriented parking space management system that should cover all parking spaces in the city center. The ASP is supported in the implementation by the Fraunhofer Institutes IEM from Paderborn and IOSB-INA from Lemgo.
Intelligent sensors record all parking spaces in downtown Paderborn, including over 2,600 parking spaces in multi-storey car parks, over 1,000 parking spaces in public parking spaces and more than 500 on-street parking spaces and parking spaces for residents. A digital platform processes the information and passes it on to displays within seconds. motoristinside receive a quick and easy overview of the occupancy of inner-city parking spaces in real time. "We have broken new ground in many areas with the project and I am glad that we have competent partners at our side in the Fraunhofer Institutes and Cleverciti, who have supported us," emphasizes Dr. Dietmar Regener, manager of the ASP. Eight large digital display boards, so-called macro displays, on the access roads to Paderborn, for example on Bahnhofstrasse, Neuhäuserstrasse or Husener Strasse, provide information on the parking situation and the traffic volume of the inner ring road as soon as they arrive and guide drivers inside without detours Goal.

System is a pioneer in Germany

Before turning into the Inner Ring, drivers can decide in which direction they want to drive to get to the next available parking space or another destination. The closer you get to downtown, the more detailed the displays are. The special feature: They not only show the free parking spaces in large parking lots and in multi-storey car parks, but also on-street parking spaces as well as parking spaces for residents, disabled people and e-charging stations. The innovative overall solution consisting of different sensors, a data platform and displays was created in cooperation between ASP, the Fraunhofer IEM in Paderborn and the Fraunhofer IOSB-INA in Lemgo. “In terms of its scope, the parking guidance system is a pioneer throughout Germany. The Paderborn citizensare our everyday experts - and can actively contribute their experience to further development. We will continue to optimize the system over the coming months," emphasizes Magdalena Förster, a scientist at Fraunhofer IEM. The cooperation was funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport and is unique in this form in Germany. The system in Paderborn covers all parking areas in the city center instead of just individual streets, as in other cities.
An app was also prepared in parallel with the development of the new parking guidance system. It can now be downloaded from the app stores under the name “Parco”. The app provides information about the current tariffs, parking space occupancy and other important parking data, such as parking tariffs, opening hours, etc. It can also be used to navigate to a free parking space. The app can be used not only in Paderborn, but also in numerous other cities in Germany.
In the coming months, a further 35 displays will be installed in the inner city area in order to distribute information on the parking space situation as widely as possible.
Paderborn residents are invited to get involved in the further development of digital parking management. The Fraunhofer Institutes have developed an online survey for this purpose. All information about the new digital parking guidance system is also available online