Mystery of black dots on city roads revealed

DUNDEE motorists have been left confused by the appearance of small black discs on roads across the city – but what are they?

The little circles – confirmed to be parking sensors – have been spotted in Lochee, Broughty Ferry and the city centre this week, sparking various theories about their purpose.

Some drivers feared they were in preparation for more parking restrictions, or a reduction in spaces.

Now, assurances have been made by Dundee City Council that is not the case.

However, it is hoped the sensors will “encourage” drivers not to park longer than the allocated 45 minutes in Lochee and Broughty Ferry.

Dundee City Council has confirmed the discs are parking sensors, installed as part of a trial to track the use of bays.

This will “measure the footfall of bays” to benefit the shopping districts in Lochee and Broughty Ferry, according to Mark Flynn, the council’s city development convener.

“Although they are the same sensors the ones in the city centre are serving a slightly different function,” he said.

“The sensors in Lochee and Broughty Ferry are helping us to gather data for the 45-minute parking bays and how they are getting used.

“One example is just measuring the footfall of these bays and to see how we can benefit these shopping districts in how they are being used.

“It’s a culmination of many projects but ultimately it’s using technology to try and understand how these bays are being used.”

The city centre sensors will gather data about electric vehicle parking, as part of a new project which could replace parking meters.

If successful, the sensors could eventually allow use of a mobile app, AppyWay, for payment and showing available spaces.

Roughly the size of a compact disc, the sensors are part of the £1.4 million Mobility Innovation Living Lab (MILL) project, the same researchers behind the city’s e-bike scheme.

The sensors, combined with Bluetooth technology, will help gather data on how parking bays are being used in conjunction with Dundee City Council.

Mr Flynn added: “We are trying to develop our EV parking facilities and modernise the way we are doing this with a company called AppyWay.

“This will be trialled in the next couple of weeks, depending on how that goes we will see how the project will develop.

“It’s essentially an alternative to the parking meters and the app will also highlight availability for street spaces using the sensors.

“There could be around 340 to 500 bays like this around the city centre long-term but the trials will need to be conducted before that would happen.”

A spokeswoman for Dundee City Council said: “Parking sensors have been installed this week as the council looks to capture better information about use of city centre parking bays.”