Gosford parking sensors and app will help drivers find a spot

Gosford has now joined Terrigal in the high tech world of app-based parking guidance systems. The app is meant to make life much easier for drivers.

Finding a car park in Gosford CBD can be challenging.

Carparking in Gosford may get a bit easier from now on following the installation of 260 parking sensors in the CBD.

This follows the success of similar car parking sensors in The Haven and Surf Club in Terrigal last year.

The installation of sensors means residents and visitors cab identify available parking through the ParkSpot Central Coast NSW app.

Using real time data, ParkSpot displays areas of available, restricted and unrestricted parking in the streets of Gosford CBD.

Central Coast Council has introduced a new parking app in Gosford.

Central Coast Mayor Jane Smith said that expanding the sensor technology into Gosford forms part of Council’s Gosford Parking Strategy.

“Parking sensors and the use of the ParkSpot app not only improves traffic flow, redirecting drivers to available spots, but it is also key to activating our town centres, and reducing stress,” Cr Smith said.

“It also has the added community benefit of making Gosford and Terrigal more accessible, as users can specifically select and display disability parking spaces to see if they are occupied or unoccupied.”

The sensors are not much bigger than a ten cent piece and are embedded in the road surface.

In addition to the 260+ parking sensors installed in Gosford CBD — which run between Donnison Street and Erina Street, and Baker Street to Albany Street North — a further 155 sensors have also recently been installed in Terrigal CBD.

ParkSpot operates by receiving a constant signal from small in-ground sensors installed in each parking space to detect whether or not a vehicle is parked in that space. Information regarding the status of each space (occupied or unoccupied) is transferred via pole-mounted nodes to the Parking Enterprise Management System (PEMS), where it is immediately transmitted to the ParkSpot app.

Users of ParkSpot will see parking areas identified as green, blue or red zones, indicating the current available parking capacity at each location. Available parking is searchable by time limit.

ParkSpot Central Coast NSW can be downloaded for free on the Play Store or the App Store.

This project is an initiative of Central Coast Council, with funding from the Federal Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.