EASING PARKING BLUES

While recently traveling in Neuchatel in Switzerland, I noticed some rather nice innovations in most of the covered multi-level public and mall parking.  Each parking area has an electronic board outside, clearly visible as one drives to it, indicating the parking timings, time rates and number of vacant places inside.  Each parking slot has a lamp about four meters above ground.  This remains red when occupied and turns green when vacant.  When one is entering the particular parking-level, one can see at a glance the whole parking plate or zone and quickly determine vacant slots where one can park.  This does away with the incessant cruising and need for security on the particular floor to direct the visitors.  The slots are clearly numbered so that one can find ones' vehicle easily.  The parking level floors are fully paved, clean and have side zones for leaving shopping carts and garbage bins.  Well lit elevators take one to different levels. Clear lit indicators tell one how to reach the exit or the other levels.  Payment machines at the entrance and exit allow one to automatically collect the parking ticket with the date-time stamp and pay for the duration of parking by cash or card.  Human intervention is reduced to almost nil.  This last may not be necessary in India where labor is available economically.

It seems a simple infra-red proximity sensor coupled to high intensity LED lamps does the trick.  The totalling of the green lights will indicate the vacant slots on the outside electronic board.  The location of the red-green lamps and visibility from the entrance must be carefully planned.  Currently at most parking: open, covered and multi-level, one is stressed out rushing to capture an open slot and then trying to remember the location.  One will observe strange reversing and turning to get into a vacant slot, causing traffic hold up.  Witness the Mumbai Airport Parking issues, unnecessary pain; so also most shopping Malls.  With new multi-level public or private parking buildings coming up across the MMR, such simple arrangements with reasonable round the clock lighting (artificial or preferably natural with light pipes) and alert security guards with CCTV cameras, will go a long way in offering desired comfort to the citizens.  Let us remember that we now have TWO MILLION vehicles in MMR and rising by the day with sub-normal parking and even zero parking arrangements.  Since all these parking facilities are being charged a substantial fee, the added cost of red-green lighting and outside electronic boards, should not burden the service provider much. 

I expect the Activists focused on such issues will direct this idea to the right planning authorities and the MCGM will incorporate the same in their SOPs and DC rules. Jai Hind!