Parking gizmo invented by Lewes man

2:00pm Sunday 27th May 2012 in News By Bill Gardner

An inventor's new gizmo could signal the end of the road for searching for a parking space.

Adrian Bone from Lewes has produced a ‘parking patch’, a sensor to be placed in parking spaces to detect when they are being used.

The 52-year-old said the invention would “revolutionise the parking industry and could mean the end of traffic wardens forever”.

His company Deteq Solutions has been testing the idea at the Sussex Innovation Centre in Falmer.

After producing a number of prototypes, Mr Bone will pitch the idea to Brighton and Hove City Council next month.

In that meeting he hopes to get the go-ahead to install the 7cm sensors in thousands of car parks and street spaces across the city.

Mr Bone said: “Rather than driving round fruitlessly searching for empty spaces, drivers would be able to check their mobile phones to find where to go. It just makes so much more sense.

“There have been ideas like this before but now the technology exists to make it a reality.”

Under Mr Bone’s system of “dynamic parking”, the devices could record exactly how long motorists are parked and charge the drivers automatically.

The patches would also alert the authorities when drivers have parked illegally or be used to reduce congestion.

Mr Bone said: “Our sensor could even detect whether a person had a permit so the council could send a fine to the vehicle owner rather than paying someone to wander around the streets all day.

“They could see at the click of a button who was parked illegally and it would stop people cheating the system.”

But the inventor said he was worried Brighton and Hove City Council might reject his parking patches because of the initial cost and the fear of lost revenue.

If the council were to give the parking proposal the green light, Mr Bone would charge around £1.8 million to install the sensors on every one of the 35,000 parking spaces in Brighton and Hove.

His company would then charge an annual fee for maintenance and running costs.

But the inventor said the cost to the taxpayer would be recouped before the first year was out.

He said: “The council employs about 80 traffic wardens and pays them about £25,000 a year. That’s £2 million a year saved right away.

“They would actually get more revenue because the sensors could tell them exactly how long people had stayed.

“And the data they get from the sensors would help to set proper parking prices to make sure vacant spaces are used.”

Comments(20)

Marrow Man says...
2:34pm Sun 27 May 12

This sounds like a good, sensible idea. Charging people for the time they park would encourage people to spend as little or as much time in the city as they wished. I think another reason the council might be wary of implementing this is breaching some sort of employment policy that would see 80-odd people lose their job...

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Stall69 says...
2:50pm Sun 27 May 12

This 'new' invention sounds remarkably similar to the already one being used in LA California : http://la.curbed.com
/archives/2012/05/he
res_how_downtowns_ne
w_variable_parking_p
ricing_works.php

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djjaykey says...
3:14pm Sun 27 May 12

The problem with this is that if someone is parked in a permit holders space who doesn't have a permit, however has a visitors permit then they would get a fine. However the general idea is a good one

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SteveUK says...
3:38pm Sun 27 May 12

OK, so the financial balancing act involves dispensing with the civil enforcement officers. Can you explain how this system detects and penalises drivers who park on double-yellows etc?

Looks like a non-starter!

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Stall69 says...
4:27pm Sun 27 May 12

I think the idea is that wardens (civil enforcement officers) solely patrol & administer to parking infringements like double yellow lines and the spaces/meters look after themselves.

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The Real Phil says...
5:45pm Sun 27 May 12

So the driver is looking at his phone to see where the spaces are available. Slight problem there then.

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Stall69 says...
6:01pm Sun 27 May 12

It doesn't have to be a phone. Anything like a satnav that has GPS would suffice.

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Nick Brighton says...
8:12pm Sun 27 May 12

But it has to take account of those that don't have Sat Nav or a mobile phone.

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Stall69 says...
8:46pm Sun 27 May 12

Yes, and of course it ignores people riding Penny Farthings too!

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Kerrplunk says...
8:51am Mon 28 May 12

Also, what's to stop someone taking the parking space? There will probably be a length of time between when you check your phone / sat nav and getting to the space itself?

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nosolution says...
9:25am Mon 28 May 12

Kerrplunk wrote:
Also, what's to stop someone taking the parking space? There will probably be a length of time between when you check your phone / sat nav and getting to the space itself?
I heard the mark 2 model will have an inbuilt time machine..

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maria m says...
9:58am Mon 28 May 12

What happens if some else drives into the empty space before you reach it!!
I presume you just keep driving around until you find the next one.

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mimseycal says...
10:02am Mon 28 May 12

Not really that different from the way it is really.

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GIVE UP says...
10:09am Mon 28 May 12

maria m wrote:
What happens if some else drives into the empty space before you reach it!!
I presume you just keep driving around until you find the next one.
It'll be just like playing musical chairs with out a winner

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mimseycal says...
10:13am Mon 28 May 12

Exactly ... increased air polution, increased petrol wastage, increased flared tempers ... wonderful really ,)

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hovelawns says...
10:15am Mon 28 May 12

sainsbury has these in its newer car parks.
the £1.8m cost will suddenly increase due to unforeseen issues.
The annual maintenance fee will be a time bomb for the city's taxpayers.
there will still be a need for wardens.
savings will be less than anticipated.
using a phone while in charge of a motor vehicle is illegal.
Sat nav / gps will still need manual operation to search.

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Kerrplunk says...
10:48am Mon 28 May 12

What's the point anyway when no one can afford to park in the spaces? Madeira Drive is empty these days. Maybe it can tell you rough estimates on how much seagull droppings you might get per space to make up for it?

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Slower14 says...
11:46am Mon 28 May 12

A new invention? This exists in both of the Westfields car park in London. Its handy, but not new.

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bug eye says...
4:06pm Mon 28 May 12

may work in car parks but not on street spaces too many probs as said, using phone whilst driving illegal, someone else gets to the space first, 80 wardens out or a job, fines sent in error and more contesting of fines etc. just make parking charges sensible and allow all eco cars to park for free or a flat 50p rate all over the city. put permit parking all around the lewes road and hanover areas to get rid of the old bangers and council tax dodgers. these policies will get old polluting cars off the road.

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Sussex jim says...
4:15pm Mon 28 May 12

When I wish to visit a shop or office I need to park nearby, for the duration of my visit- usually brief.
I don't do pay parking. I pay enough taxes to run my personal chariot as it is.
That's why I only shop in free zones or shop provided parking.

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