COMMON PARKING ISSUES

With the high percentage of vehicle ownership in the India, parking has become a conflicting and confusing situation for the people.

Whether at an airport, bus stations and shopping centers, problems with parking are an everyday occurrence. Lack of accessible parking can hurt local business and decrease the quality of life for residents. Due to the importance of parking, cities study and analyze parking programs and performance on an ongoing basis. The following list identifies the kinds of problems that typically occur in a community.

India is facing a new problem nowadays – lack of sufficient parking space. With families getting smaller and the total number of motor vehicles exceeding the total number of heads per family, the parking scenario is woefully falling short of the current requirements in the country. The situation is such that on any given working day approximately 40% of the roads in urban India are taken up for just parking the cars. The problem has been further exacerbated by the fact that nowadays even people from low income group are able to own cars. The number of families with cars has become much more than what the country is able to manage.

As it is, the cities in India are highly congested and on top of that the parked cars claim a lot of space that could otherwise be used in a better way. Thanks to poor, and at times zero, navigability, Indian cities are regarded as some of the worst options for living. One can also add the issue of pollution to this mix and understand the enormity of the crisis. In this context it needs to be understood that the Indian cities, with the possible exception of Chandigarh, were never planned in such a way so as to accommodate a deluge of cars as is the situation now. The apathy of present day urban planners has only made the situation worse.

Source: http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/government/parking-problems-in-india-and-their-solutions

Country: India

Rank: 135

Vehicles per 1000 people: 10

World Automobile Ranking

Parking solutions worldwide

Robotic Car Parking:

Dubai’s car park Capable of handling 765 vehicles, it is the first of several large-scale robotic car parks being built to address parking problems in the UAE. All the customer sees is a parking garage with space for one car, though the ‘floor’ is platform which rides on the top of a robotic trolley. When the customer leaves the vehicle and collects a ticket, the wall of the garage drops away and the car is whisked to an elevator, which in turn takes the car to another trolley.From there, the machine parks the car in the dark depths of the structure. In total, the process takes around three minutes.With this technology, you don’t need to drive through the garage to find a parking space.You simply drive your car to an entry station and leave your car to be picked up by the computerized lifts that will safely place it inside the building on a shelving system. When you leave, you return to a central point and your car is swiftly retrieved for you.

This robotic car park will be especially convenient for the office tenants, parking or retrieval can be completed in less than 160 seconds. It is safe and secure and obviously doesn’t expose expensive paint work to the abrasive elements during lengthy office hours.

Multi-level automated car parking at Sarojini Nagar and Baba Kharag Singh Marg:

The Sarojini Nagar parking will be of eight floors with the ground and the first reserved for shopping/

commercial complex and the rest dedicated for parking. It will have a parking capacity for 824

vehicles. The project is scheduled to be completed by June 2010 before the Commonwealth Games.

These automated parking’s will have car lifts, pallets, computerized control systems etc. that will be

operational round the clock.

Both the parking’s will have a basement level for the entry of cars from where they will be taken up

by car lifts as well as for the other mechanical services.

Electronic Parking System for Singapore

EPS or Electronic Parking System was introduced in 1998 in Singapore to reduce the congestion of

traffic in the city areas.

Almost all the vehicles in Singapore are equipped with

devices called, in vehicle units. Using these devices and

the technology based on the ERP systems, Mitsubishi

heavy industries, Ltd. Developed an electronic parking

system that enables settlement of parking charges without

parking tickets and cash. This saves a lot of time and

reduces congestion. Smaller and compact antennas are

used. Devices for calculating the fees were developed which are called Charging unit CHU.

Fig. 1 Access control system Fig. 2 Charging system

Host computerPersonal computer for

Host computermaintenance use CHU

OrOffice Optical communication

Antenna AntennaEntrance Antenna

EntranceBarrier

Exit

BarrierBarrier

Vehicle presence Vehicle presence Vehicle presence Vehicle presence Vehicle presence Vehicle presencedetector detector detector detector detector detector

Fig. 1 Access control system Fig. 2 Charging system

Features of EPS

1. Availability: The driver need not open the window to take any ticket or stop his cat. The vehicle just has to pass through the gates without halting

2. Flexibility of car park operations:The car park owner can flexibly change car park charges table depending on his demands

3. Reliability:The RF communication and ERP systems are highly reliable there by reducing any chances pf error.

4. Service time (hours)Since there is no need for handling cash and tickets at the entrance or exit allows nonstop operations round the clock.The process time per vehicle can be as less as 3 to 4 seconds however I at times can extend up to 15 seconds as well.

Lift Parking SystemLift type parking systems are used in high-traffic city centers to reduce traffic related problems

caused by lack of availability of parking space and unauthorized parking of cars.

The car parking capacity of an area can be increased by the use of lift parking systems.

It operates by the driver parking the vehicle in the parking bay at

the entrance level. Once the driver leaves the safety zone

incorporated into the parking bay, the system automatically

commences the vehicle parking procedure.

First, a turntable built into the lift turns the car through 180 degrees to ensure all cars are parked facing the direction of the exit. This facilitates the quick, safe and convenient retrieval of the vehicle from the system. The car is then elevated to its designated parking level and is the moved automatically to the left or right depending on which space has been allocated.

Advantages of Lift parking systems: Suitable for both Public and Private parking. Elevator Parking is used in Apartment Blocks, Commercial

and Office Parking applications. Safety is ensured by use of a parking safety zone and

multiple safety sensors. Access to and egress from the parking bay is quick, safe

and convenient. The Elevator Parking system is the most efficient system in

terms of surface land space required for an installation. The operation of the system is overseen and reliably

governed by a computer. The system operates with very low levels of noise and

vibration.

RFID-Based Automatic Vehicle Parking System

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an automatic identification system wherein the data that is stored on the RFID tag is automatically received. It’s a device that can be attached with a product, animal or a person for identification purposes and tracking the object using radio waves. Some of these tags can be read from several metres away beyond the line of sight of the reader.

RFID technology is used in vehicle parking systems of malls and buildings (refer Fig. 1). The system normally consists of a vehicle counter, sensors, display board, gate controller, RFID tags and RFID reader. Presented here is an automatic vehicle parking system using AT89S52 microcontroller. 

It’s a system that consists of an antenna or a coil, a transceiver that is fitted with a decoder and a transponder also called a RF tag. This tag is electrically programmed with certain information. Depending on their frequency,

RFID tags can be categorized in different categories. Some of the most commonly used RFID kits are low-frequency (30-500 kHz), mid-frequency (900 kHz-1500MHz) and high-frequency (2.4-2.5GHz).

Boom Barriers adapted along with RID technology

This arrangement used at the entry of the vehicle and at each of the slot. Barricades at the entrance indicate the availability of the slots small, medium or large. If space is available but not for large vehicle, at that time that hold the vehicle up to the space made available or suggest the driver to use another parking field. Another use of Barricades with RFID module is to pay parking charges and operate the locking and unlocking system. This used to prevent the vehicle from theft.

Flowchart

The parking management system functioning can be well understood from the following flowchart:

An introduction to ultrasonic sensors for vehicle parking

For years, ultrasonic sensors have been used in a wide range of applications including fish finders, parking sensors in cars and burglar alarms. In this article we describe the characteristics of ultrasound and the use of ultrasonic sensors, using parking sensors as an example.

Characteristics of ultrasound Ultrasound is an acoustic wave with a very high frequency, beyond human hearing. Since the audible frequency range is said to be between 20Hz and 20 kHz, ultrasound generally means acoustic waves above 20 kHz. Bats, with their echo-location (biological ultrasonic radar), can hear sounds up to 200 kHz, way above the capabilities of the human ear.

Ultrasound has several characteristics which make it so useful and that have led to its use in many electronics applications. Firstly, it is inaudible to humans and therefore undetectable by the user. Secondly, ultrasound waves can be produced with high directivity. Thirdly, they are a compressional vibration of matter (usually air). Finally, they have a lower propagation speed than light or radio waves.

The fact that ultrasound is inaudible to human ears is an important factor in ultrasound applications. For example, a car parking sensor system generates sound pressure over 100dB to ensure clear reception. This is the equivalent of the audible sound pressure experienced when standing close to a jet engine.

Ultrasonic parking sensorsUltrasonic sensors bounce sound waves off obstacles, using the ‘echo’ time to indicate how far away they are. A speaker in the car bleeps – increasingly frantically – as they get closer.

Pros of ultrasonic parking sensors The cheapest form of parking aid – aftermarket systems cost as little as £30; car manufacturers

charge £300-£700. 

Sensors detect objects even when the car is stationary.

Cons of ultrasonic parking sensors Ultrasonic sensors can miss smaller or narrow objects, and inclines can deflect the sound waves –

a steep ramp, for example. 

They also only detect objects directly behind or in front of the car, and may not work if the sensors are dirty or out of alignment. 

Fitting usually requires drilling the bumper, but stick-on sensors are available (though unattractive). 

Ultrasonic parking sensors not be suitable for use with a tow bar.