Case Study: Venaria Royal Palace in Torino, Italy

The management of La Venaria Reale was experiencing issues with the parking situation around the royal palace due to the lack of areas specifically reserved for its customers, who often had to park on the street alongside the palace, causing traffic conges- tion, queues and a spillover effect to the adjacent streets. HUB Parking Technology engineers were able, thanks to an extended analysis of the site, to deliver a parking solution that was able to meet La Venaria Reale requests and also adapt to future needs.

Background

La Venaria Reale, former residence of the Italian monarchs, is a huge complex located just outside Turin. The area, adjacent to the seventeenth-century historic center of Venaria and the 3,000-hectare fenced park of La Mandria, is composed of the 80,000 square meters of the monumental Reggia building and 60 hectares of gardens. The residence and its green areas, a masterpiece of architecture and landscaping completed in 1679 on commission of Carlo Emanuele II of Savoy, were declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1997 and were opened to the public in 2007, after having been the most important cultural heritage construction site in Europe for restoration. A building of this importance deserves infrastructures that are able to ensure an easy flow of visitors without impacting the surrounding environment. The Italian State, Royal Palace’s owner, recently decided to revise the offer related to parking, in order to resolve the parking issue of one of the most visited historical complex in Italy.

Ground level parking, which can accommodate more than 1,000 cars and 60 buses, was then built in the immediate vicinity of the Savoy residence. Implementation of parking underwent a careful choice of materials, to ensure minimal environmental impact and maximum accessibility. The choice of HUB Parking Technology as a partner has allowed to respond, through the use of the latest technology, to all the peculiarities of the site, providing visitors with functional high-level parking, with a design that keeps up with the beauty of the site.

Client Requirements

• A reliable parking system able to quickly and intuitively grant access to visitors.
• Scalable and modular devices that reflect the level of technology adopted throughout the site, and that can be implemented with control devices.
• Integrated and automated system to detect the occupation of the various parking areas, supported by a network of LED panels to inform and guide visitors.
• Points of automatic payment that accept payments by means of coins, bills and electronic titles, equipped with coin and bill recyclers.
• Entry and Exit lanes with Telepass interfacing capabilities
• Exit lanes with Chip & Pin devices for payment by credit card directly in lane.
• Web-based management software, fully accessible from a remote control room.

Results

HUB Parking Technology has been able to fulfill all customer requirements thanks to the implementation of innovative and effective hardware and software solutions. HUB peripherals for entry and exit lanes, are able to handle both the occasional user of the Reggia, and the subscribers thanks to long-range AVI systems.

All equipment installed in the parking entry and exit lanes are fully upgradeable and can be integrated with LPR control devices, for automatic license plate reading, and Telepass transponders, which allow electronic payment of tolls on the Italian highways through its terminals. About 6 million customers use the system in Italy. HUB seamlessly integrated with the contact-free Telepass AVI system which is used for automatic identification of the customer at the entrance and exit of the parking lot. The due parking fee is simply invoiced together with the highway tolls for maximum convenience.

Given the high level of traffic expected in the parking lot, management has opted for peripherals fully integrated with the management software, able to detect vehicles entering and exiting the parking lot and to inform and guide them via LED panels distributed both in the immediate vicinity of the area and in the vicinity of the openings, in order to reduce traffic congestion and long anti-ecological searches for a parking stall.

All of the HUB Automated Pay Stations installed in Venaria Reale are equipped with touch screen color displays, extremely intuitive and clearly visible even in unfavorable light conditions, the display is able to guide step by step the customer in the parking payment transactions. For maximum convenience of the visitor, payment is possible with any type of electronic title and change is guaranteed by both coins and bills. Thanks to the self-recharging coin and bill safes, the HUB payment stations require very limited intervention by the parking employees.

To grant a flawless parking experience HUB exit stations are equipped with the latest EMV terminals, allowing the payment of parking directly while in the exit lane, using debit or credit cards.

All these features make the system installed in Venaria Reale a technological jewel that matches the look of all the recent improvements made to the complex during the restorations.

To complete the installation, allow total management, and ensure minimal downtime, the flagship of HUB Parking Technology, JMS - Janus Management System, has been installed at Venaria Reale. The state of the art management system is a fully web-based platform that allows you to control the parking complex and the technologies installed in Venaria Reale at any time and from any web connected device. JMS is a powerful tool that continually monitors the functionality of the facility, assists visitors, and can create detailed reports providing managers the ability to keep an eye on the parking lot operation on a site of such importance.

About HUB Parking Technology

HUB Parking Technology is the FAAC Group Business Unit that develops, manufactures, installs and provides after-sales services for Parking Revenue Control Systems branded ZEAG, DATAPARK and FAAC. Through its local Group companies and distributors it is represented in all five continents and more specifically in North & South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

For more information about HUB Parking Technology, visit: www.hubparking.com