City parking goes hi-tech

Smart meters ready to go and clever rubbish bins are next

HOBART drivers fed up carrying coins for street parking are set for a reprieve with the rollout of smart meter parking to begin next week.

About 30 smart parking meters will be activated next week in the Hobart CBD as Hobart City Council pushes ahead with its smart city strategy.

The new system features inground parking sensors that can detect when a vehicle arrives. The bad news for drivers is the sensor will immediately notify parking inspectors electronically when motorists exceed their time limits.

The good news is people will be able to use credit cards to pay for parking and, once the parking app goes live, users will be able to extend their parking times from their smartphone.

About 1800 in-ground park- ing sensors will be installed to pair with the new meters as part of a $3.9 million parking revamp which will eventually include city carparks and major streets including Elizabeth, Liverpool, Davey, Harrington, Collins and Bathurst.

The council’s director of city innovation and technology, Peter Carr, said the council was taking a ‘let’s walk, before we run’ approach to the six-week rollout of the project.

“The sensors have been in the ground for a number of months,” he said. “We want to get everyone comfortable with it before we do much else.

“In terms of the parking app, that is a separate part of the system, which won’t go live immediately.”

Another initiative the council is working on is smart street bins, part of its application for Federal Government funding under the Smart Cities and Suburbs Grant. Mr Carr said Sandy Bay had been selected for the trial where about 10-20 bins would be attached with special sensors to detect when the bins are full, if the bin omits offensive smells and if a cigarette butt has started a fire.

“We are looking at whether it will provide us with better information to provide a cleaner city,” he said.

The sensors will work on a low-power and long-range network called LoRaWAN, which can then be used for other smart city initiatives in the future.

“We can look at real-time water quality at beaches, air or noise issues in residential areas — the possibilities are endless,” Mr Carr said.

The Smart City Strategy is open for consultation until the end of the year.

For more information visit www.hobartcity.com.au.