Dresden Guides Coaches With Nedap Parking Sensors

The German city of Dresden introduces an innovative parking solution that efficiently guides the many bus drivers and tourists to the nearest available parking space. Within this award winning parking project, Nedap's SENSIT sensors are integrated with dynamic signs along the main routes to inform motorists in real-time about the number of available parking spaces. The solution was integrated by Swarco Traffic Systems (STS).

Tourist Attraction

Dresden, capital of the eastern German state of Saxony, is distinguished by various art museums and classic architectures. The city attracts more than 12 million visitors each year. More than 10% of the tourists visit the city by bus. About 100 buses visit Dresden on an average day during the main season from May to September. This number can transcend to more than 800 coaches during the popular Christmas market in December.

Parking and Guidance System

Perfect planning of the most optimized route and precise information regarding stopping places and special parking areas contribute significantly to a pleasant visit for the coach tourists. The City of Dresden has therefor decided to assist travel operators and coach drivers with the organization of their city trips. The real-time information provided by the City’s own “parking and guidance system” saves time-consuming searching for available parking spaces and unnecessary detours and navigation. As a side effect it also reduces traffic congestions and emission of CO2 and fine dust. The dynamic street signs allow the coach drivers to orientate themselves and guide them to the nearest available parking areas. At the same time, the signs help the tourists to return to the pick-up points from the coaches without getting lost in the city. The authorities of Dresden use an online available parking guidance system which provides drivers of both private cars as well as coaches with real-time parking information. That way they can easily find the nearest available parking spaces at any time.

Smart Move City Trophy

The coach parking and stopping areas are being expanded step by step at the most popular locations of Dresden and the services for coach tourists are being improved. In October 2015, Dresden was awarded for the second time with the Smart Move City Trophy by the International Road Union (IRU) for continuously updating their dynamic and flexible coach parking and guidance system. The international IRU jury recognized how both the local community and the tourism coach operators are involved in improving facilities for tourists and drivers. This was an important recognition of the achievements and implementation by the Dresden’s authorities responsible for the “Coach Parking & Guidance System”.

Wireless Parking Sensors

The coach parking areas are mainly in the open-air where traditional roof-mount parking sensors are not applicable. The wireless in-ground parking sensors of Nedap perfectly meet the requirements to monitor the status of the single parking spaces. The SENSIT sensors support both magnetic as infra-red detection which differentiates the Nedap solution with marked unknown high accuracy in real-time. This unique double detection technology makes Nedap’s parking sensors also applicable for detection of larger vehicles like coaches and trucks. The sensors are installed and commissioned by the German team of Swarco Traffic Systems (STS) and implemented into their parking guidance system. Nedap’s SENSIT sensors are installed all over the world in different type of applications like traffic, parking, enforcement and logistic single-space monitoring.

Dresden’s consistent political support for more than a decade has made the city a leading destination for coach tourism and a role model for other cities using state-of-the-art technology.

Intertraffic 2016

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Image source: Ziesch, city of Dresden

About Nedap

Nedap is the leading specialist in systems for vehicle identification, vehicle detection and vehicle access control. Readers, sensors and controllers optimize, monitor and control vehicle flows. With SENSIT, Nedap helps cities to become smart about their mobility. Nedap Identification Systems, part of Nedap N.V., is headquartered in the Netherlands and has offices in Europe, US, Middle East and Southeast Asia. Nedap designs and develops intelligent, sustainable technological solutions for themes that are relevant to the modern society. It is Nedap’s ambition to offer ‘Technology that Matters’.