APMS—Who Is Using Them?
Advanced parking management systems have been operational in Europe and Japan since the early 1970s to reduce the congestion, environmental impact, and driver frustration associated with trying to find parking in city center areas. In the U.S., however, the use of ITS technologies to distribute parking information to travelers is still in its infancy. A 2004 survey of state transportation agencies shows that only four states (Arizona, Maine, Texas, and Virginia) distribute some sort of advanced parking information.[6] More detail about this statistic, as well as others relating to advanced parking management systems, is available on the U.S. DOT's ITS Deployment Statistics website http://www.itsdeployment.its.dot.gov.
Several advanced parking management systems are operational in the U.S. and others are in the design or installation phase. In each of these applications, parking information for drivers is displayed on specially designed dynamic message signs that provide both directional information as well as space availability information. The information helps drivers plan and execute a parking search strategy more efficiently, since valuable information is made available at key decision points along the selected travel route.
In the U.S., advanced parking management systems have seen the widest application in airports including Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Orlando International Airport, and Detroit's Wayne County International Airport. More limited CBD applications include systems in St. Paul, Minnesota; Seattle, Washington; and Norfolk, Virginia. In 2005, transit park-and-ride applications were initiated in Chicago, Illinois; and San Francisco, California.
The primary reason that APMS applications in the U.S. have been limited to airports, CBDs, and park-and-ride facilities is the level of infrastructure required to make the systems work. Many advanced parking management systems in the U.S. rely on fixed-location, dedicated components that include vehicle detection, space inventory management, and communication equipment.
However, although the majority of advanced parking management systems in the U.S. invest in such an extensive level of infrastructure, such a level of investment is actually not required. In fact, other systems use a combination of dynamic and static message signs or other low-cost options. Other potential venues that would benefit from APMS include special event facilities, such as festival locations and sports arenas. In Lincoln, Nebraska, for example, an online system allows University of Nebraska football fans to reserve their downtown parking spaces in advance.
- U.S. DOT (2006). ITS Deployment Statistics Database. http://www.itsdeployment.its.dot.gov.