Penrith drives toward the future with new parking sensors

Sunday, 31 March 2019

Parking is set to become more efficient for residents, shoppers and visitors with a new high-tech parking management system ready to roll out across the Penrith City Centre. 

The parking management system includes the use of state-of-the-art in-ground parking sensors, which will be installed in many Council owned on and off-street parking areas from Monday 1 April. 

The parking sensors will detect how parking spaces are used including turnover and frequency of cars. This will provide valuable and reliable data to help Council better understand parking usage and supply across the City Centre. 

Penrith Mayor Ross Fowler OAM said the data collected from the parking sensors will be used to inform future parking strategies and make improvements across the City. 

“This is about collecting reliable information and making sure our future parking strategies meet the community’s needs, in both the short and long term,” Cr Fowler said. 

Chief Executive Officer of Penrith’s CBD Corporation Gai Hawthorn says local businesses and retailers will benefit from this new parking system. 

“Having car spaces available for customers is vital to our local businesses and this new parking system will improve turnover in designated short-term spaces so customers can access our shops and services when and where they need it most, “Ms Hawthorn said. 

The installation of parking sensors will commence in Edwards Place Car Park, where sensors have been trialled since 2015. These sensors will be replaced with new, state-of-the-art sensors with other on and off-street parking areas to follow in a staged rollout. 

The next stage of this project includes the delivery of a free mobile phone app which will provide users with information about areas of available parking to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for a car spot. 

This smart parking management system is another step towards more efficient parking in the City Centre and is to be followed by the delivery of more than 230 new parking spaces at the North Street car park in May and an additional 600 parking spaces in the upgrade of Soper Place which is due to open late 2021. 

“We’re working towards creating a liveable city that is easy to access and get around, with a walkable urban centre, green spaces and parking that is conveniently located and connected to services and businesses. Smarter parking systems are a key element towards achieving this vision,” Cr Fowler said. 

Installation of parking sensors will take place between 5am – 7am on weekdays (4am-7am from 21 June to 28 June) to minimise any inconvenience for the community. Parking areas will remain open during this time. 

For more information about the parking sensors and location of parking sensors please visit the Parking Frequently Asked Questions page.

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Sunday, 31 March 2019.