How Does A Parking Control System Work?

Nowadays, parking spaces have become a worldwide problem. Major cities around the world are becoming more congested with businesses and apartments, leaving little to no space for parking. However, with the use of an efficient parking control system, the stresses and headaches brought by this problem can be significantly reduced.

From college campuses to shopping centers to airports, the need for adequate parking is everywhere. Parking systems such as the Aria's Parking Control System are designed to function in almost all settings, regardless of the location of the parking space. These systems are also available in a wide variety of options and applications, and choosing the right one that suits your needs allows you to capitalize its full advantage.

Parking Control System

An automatic parking control system is utilized to make the parking of cars, and its processing to be less complex and more efficient for both parking administrators and drivers. This is done through the use of sensors placed at the entrance and exit points of the parking space, a hardware and software system that administers the whole parking process, and a display panel that guides the car driver.

These systems usually come in various types and use different technologies. Here are four main types of parking control systems:

1. Counter based

The counter-based parking system utilizes sensors at the entrance and exit of a car park to manage the number of cars that can enter and leave the parking space. This system calculates the total amount of parking space available in a particular section by the amount of vacant space less the number of cars entering and by adding the number of cars leaving the car park.

This system, however, does not have the capability of guiding the driver where to park.

2. Sensor-based

This wired sensor-based system uses ultrasonic sensors at each parking space with wires transmitting the signal to a central management unit. This system can also provide information about the individual availability of car parks. Although this system is much more efficient, it will also require a wiring system, and will be much more expensive compared to other systems.

3. Wireless based

This type of parking system utilizes nodes with temperature, acoustic, and light sensors located within the car park that transmits the data wirelessly to an online database for processing. This reduces the need for wires and the cost of maintenance and makes this system more cost-effective and flexible. Additionally, this system provides the drivers with parking information online.

4. Image-based

This system utilizes cameras to monitor and manage the car park. The images are then transmitted to a central processing unit and display the information into an LCD screen for the drivers to know which spaces are vacant. This can be very beneficial, as this system provides real-time images of the car park for the drivers to use as a guide.

This can, however, be a lot more expensive compared to other systems, as it uses multiple sensors and cameras.

Advantages of Parking Control System

Before considering a parking control system, it’s cost versus benefit should be considered first. Implementing a parking control system to an unmonitored and unsystematized car parking will have numerous advantages and benefits such as:

1. Easy and safe parking

By applying such a system, drivers will spend lesser time navigating around the car park to find a parking space, allows for safe parking as it reduces the risks of blind spots and pedestrians passing through cars, and enables them to drive directly to a vacant parking space.

2. Efficient and economical space utilization

More advanced parking control systems utilize a conveyor belt to allocate cars by itself to a vacant space in the car park. This increases the space for vehicles to fit in a certain area for more than 30% when compared to traditional car parks. This is most advantageous in congested urban areas. Although this kind of system will have much more maintenance costs, expenses such as ventilation, fire protection, lighting systems, and cleaning are eliminated; as the parking space will be classified as “unoccupied.”

3. Environment-friendly

These systems reduce the amount of time of cars driving around the car park. Thus, reducing fuel consumptions and toxic gases.

Closing thoughts

A parking control system is a good way to efficiently organize your parking space. Consider this system as an investment, choose the one that suits your needs, and the one that provides the most advantage for you. Having such a system can give you higher returns on investment, better utilization of land area, and minimize human resources.