Smart Parking : Ashburton District Council monitors free parking with Smart Parking technology

Retailers, keen to see foot traffic return to the CBD have been working with Ashburton District Council to come up with a plan for its redevelopment.

Access to the heart of the CBD should be a easy, non-discriminatory and stress-free experience for the community it serves, however residents and local retailers found parking to be stressful, confusing and prohibitive.

In a bid to revitalise Ashburton, September 2016 saw Ashburton District Council launch its 12 month trial of one hour free parking in parts of Ashburton CBD.

To further support the trial the Council enlisted the help of Smart Parking to install bay sensing technology in East Street with the possibility to roll out further sensors in the CBD - leading the charge for regional centres across New Zealand.

SmartEyevehicle detection sensors are used to monitor individual parking bays by measuring how long vehicles are parked. Once 60 minutes have passed an alert is sent to the nearest parking warden who will then issue a parking infringement notice on the over parked vehicle.

Environmental Monitoring Manager, Rick Catchpowle says the 12 month trial will help the Council to determine a way forward for Ashburton, following concerns that parking has been affecting the patronage of CBD businesses.

"The Council is working with Smart Parking technology to measure how long vehicles are parked. These devices will also provide data on how the parks have been used, which will help establish what actions should be taken once the trial is over."

A Facebook page "CBD Revitalisation Ashburton" dedicated to revitalising Ashburton commented on the new technology saying: "Great to see the installation has started. So exciting to see cutting edge technology being trialled in our town. Watch this space!"