Cleverciti Effectively Steers Visitor Traffic Flow in Lübeck Bay

Lübeck Bay, on the northern coast of Germany, is a popular recreational region that is heavily frequented by visitors in the summer, resulting in traffic congestion as tourists look for available parking spaces. As part of an integrated concept devised by the local tourism agency to direct visitor flow along the coast more efficiently, Cleverciti was selected to implement a parking system to monitor the real-time occupancy status of two parking lots near a popular beach.

The region of Lübeck Bay experiences a yearly influx of tourists and visitors from April to October with about 90% of guests traveling by car and frequently causing heavy traffic congestion. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting increase in domestic tourism, sections of the beach even had to be closed for several days in 2020.

In many cases, drivers head for the parking lots closest to the beaches, only to find they are already fully occupied once they arrive. What follows next is a random search for available parking in the adjacent parking lots or residential streets, causing needless congestion and traffic jams. The only solution for drivers is to get back on the freeway and repeat 90% of their parking search in the next town along the bay.

Lübeck Bay’s tourism agency was keen to overcome the problem by obtaining real-time occupancy data for two parking lots in Scharbeutz, enabling them to redirect the traffic flow to alternative available parking areas if necessary. This was intended to reduce traffic in Scharbeutz, lower CO2 emissions, and provide a less stressful environment for residents and tourists alike.

Cleverciti monitors approximately 100 parking spaces in the two parking lots in real-time via nine Cleverciti Sensors, which were installed to the existing lampposts. The occupancy data generated by the sensors enables a live view of the availability per parking space as well as the parking time per parking event. The data is made available to the tourism agency via the Cleverciti Cockpit, a comprehensive management dashboard. And, it can be made available via REST API to third-party sites which can be integrated into various tourism websites to inform drivers about the parking availability ahead of time. The plan is to integrate this data into a higher-level parking guidance system in the future.

The Cleverciti system was installed and deployed quickly and easily. The operation of the sensors is now running without any administrative effort to the tourism agency. The parking data is integrated into various websites, including www.strandticker.de.

By providing information about the occupancy status of the parking lots close to the beach in real-time, unnecessary parking search traffic in Scharbeutz can be avoided - reducing the burden on residents and hotel guests. Furthermore, the occupancy status of the parking lots has proven to be a good indicator for the occupancy of the beaches. The data can therefore also be used for the “beach traffic lights” to better distribute tourist flows along Lübeck Bay.

The Lübeck Bay Tourism Agency has won second prize and the audience award from the prestigious German Tourism Awards 2020 for its concept to better direct visitor streams. Due to its ongoing success, the Cleverciti system will be rolled out to other parking lots in Lübeck Bay.

About Cleverciti

Cleverciti is the leader in comprehensive, high-tech solutions for outdoor and on-street parking Clevercitidetection, monitoring, and guidance. Cleverciti provides organizations with a robust and highly reliable solution that enhances convenience, builds loyalty, and boosts engagement, allowing our customers to maximize ROI, and streamline the parking experience. Its end-to-end solutions are designed to strengthen parking detection, improve guidance, and enhance communication. With more than 200 installations in 20 countries across the world, Cleverciti seeks to help organizations reduce traffic and emissions, and increase revenue while allowing drivers to enjoy a smooth, stress-free parking experience. The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with offices in Chicago and Atlanta. To learn more, visit www.cleverciti.com.