Summary reader response (Draft 3)

In the article “IoT based Smart Parking Systems for Smart Cities,” hiOTron.com (n.d) claims that the adoption of the automated smart parking management system is crucial in the modern (urban) environment. It supported the claims with recent research that found that, “30% of the traffic in urban areas is generated by drivers and motorists looking for parking spaces”. A smart parking system uses sensor instruments to identify the occupancy of the parking lots and to transmit scanned data to the database in real-time. Consequently, drivers will then be able to determine if there is an available parking slot through the app. It can be adopted in most urban parking spaces and managed by a programmable logic controller (PLC). However, hiOtron.com shared that there will be many challenges such as high upfront costs, enforcement of parking fees and inconvenience for tourists. Nevertheless, smart parking does have many benefits such as improved traffic flow and reduced management cost, therefore, it is worth the challenge. While I admit that the smart parking system does have many flaws, for example, inconvenience from long retrieval time during peak hours, I do feel it is crucial to the current urban environment due to the impeccable benefits. 

 A smart parking system may cause hindrance to drivers during peak hours*. From Cheong (2016), the “mechanised HDB carpark” system causes mixed reactions and feelings from the users. There have been multiple complaints about the long collection time of vehicles during peak hours. As this parking system’s process is about owners depositing and retrieving cars on demand, the users have reported that it would take above 30 minutes during lunch hours to collect their cars. This could take even longer than usual if the other car owners are late for collection, further more retrieving isn’t done according to the queue number. Other users find it a nuisance to access to their vehicle and retrieve missed belongings after parking. Cheong has also shared that some experts commented that it might not be as efficient for places areas with “high vehicle volume and turnover.” Nevertheless, there are also compliments from the users, ranging from higher footfall for the retails, to fewer reports of congestions caused by cars queuing for parking lots. 

Despite the flaws, smart parking technology can result in multiple economic and environmental benefits. According to Krishnamurthy and Ngo (2019), the usage of a smart parking program (SFpark) has led to an increase in public transport ridership. The increase is due to the function of on-demand pricing for parking spaces during peak hours. The higher parking cost has then discouraged the usage of private transport in the city of San Francisco. SFpark has also induced a ‘temporal substitution pattern’ in terms of traffic usage and lighter congestion due to a reduction in traffic volume. Subsequently, the drop in congestion and traffic usage has generated lesser emissions, leading to environmental benefits summing up to US$ 3.8 mil and economic benefits of up to US$31.5 million. In short, Krishnamurthy and Ngo (2019) has supported that implementation of smart parking technologies can cause numerous economical benefits to organisations and reduce pollution to the environment.

A smart automatic mechanical underground parking system is one of the most efficient and safest smart parking system available. This system can function with the least amount of land space, and keeps the car safe and secured within the facility. Goel, Singh and Zhao (2012) shared that this parking system and through the construction of multi-stories above or under the ground level. This parking system saves up to two-thirds of land used when compared to a conventional multi-storey parking space. It is also safe because it mitigates the risk of theft and vandalism, and “thoroughly reliable”. It is also smart and responsive because the facility is monitored by a command centre around the clock. Moreover, it will also minimise human errors as the car is automatically parked. They even state one can even build a miniature underground parking system under streets, which will then benefit “traffic circulation” and diminish “environmental pollution” around housing estates. In summary, a smart automatic mechanical underground parking system is very technologically advanced and has multiple benefits, such as saving land space, keeping vehicles safe and secure and benefitting traffic in most of the residential or commercial estate.

In conclusion, although the smart parking system does have a weakness and have multiple challenges to be adopted widely. On top of what hiOTron.com has shared, I believe smart parking system can be a very feasible solution and shall be encouraged in most urban environments due to the countless benefits after adoption.

References

Cheong, D. (2016, February 19). Mechanised carpark comes online at Changi village, but expect delays during peak time. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/mechanised-carparks-come-online-at-changi-village-bukit-panjang-and-yishun

 Goel, R. K., Singh, B., & Zhao, J. (2012). Underground infrastructures: Planning, design, and construction. Butterworth-Heinemann,103-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-397168-5.00007-9

 hioTron.com (n.d). IoT based smart parking systems for smart cities. HIOTRON. https://www.hiotron.com/smart-parking/

Krishnamurthy, C. K., & Ngo, N. S. (2019). The effects of smart-parking on transit and traffic: Evidence from SFpark. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 99, 102273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2019.102273