Less time will be spent stuck in traffic
for Central Coast residents and visitors as work is being started on the
installation of 450 smart parking sensors.
The project, according to Federal Minister
for Urban Infrastructure and Cities Paul Fletcher, would see the installation
of 250 parking sensors in the Terrigal CBD and 200 sensors in the Gosford CBD,
allowing drivers to link to available parking information through apps.
According to the announcement
made by Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities, this project is designed
to solve the perennial problem of finding a parking spot. This is a great
example of how the A$ 50 million Smart Cities and Suburbs Program of the
Turnbull Government is helping make the cities and regional areas more
liveable.
The Smart
Cities and Suburbs Program supports exactly
this type of clever solution to local problems, with the ultimate goal of
spreading good ideas to other cities, suburbs and regions.
This particular initiative will benefit the
local area as it will help reduce the heavy traffic congestion in the heart of
Terrigal and Gosford.
The smart parking initiative solves the
problem of traffic congestion in the business centres of the Central Coast. Federal
Member for Robertson Lucy Wicks explained that up to 30% of traffic congestion was
due to people looking for free parking spaces.
She added that the residents of Central
Coast park around train stations before commuting to Sydney or Newcastle in
their thousands every day, which makes finding a parking space at Gosford and
other centres problematic.
However, she said, they are now partnering
with Council to help resolve these long-standing issues. She explained how the
community has struggled for car parking in Gosford and Terrigal.
She’s delighted to see work starting for
locals across the Central Coast as it will help reduce heavy traffic congestion
in the heart of the business centres.
Aside from reducing congestion, the smart
parking initiative will help reduce air pollution, improve road safety and
boost ease of access to local businesses for potential customers.
Central Coast Mayor Jane Smith said
adequate and available parking was a key to activating town centres. These
innovative parking sensors will go a long way to alleviating the frustration of
finding a parking spot.
She explained that similar sensors are
already working well at The Entrance and thanks to this funding, visitors to
Gosford and Terrigal will benefit too by getting real-time information about
the availability of parking via an app which will identify available parking
spots.
The investment of the Australian Government
in this initiative is very much welcomed since this will help make a real
difference to the lives of local residents in terms of saving time, reducing
frustration and minimising town-centre congestion.
The project is one of 49 under Round 1 of the
Australian Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program. 40% of successful
Round 1 projects are located in regional areas like the Central Coast.
A funding of A$ 104,735 was committed by
the Turnbull Government to the project, while the Central Coast Council and Reino
International Pty Ltd will together contribute A$ 150,812.