Welsh capital launches the Park Cardiff app, providing data on parking spaces across the city
Cardiff claims to be the first local authority in Europe to roll out such a smart-parking programme across an entire city Credit: PA
Cardiff Council has launched an app allowing drivers to find available parking spots across the city.
Sensors from technology company Smart Parking from have been installed in each of Cardiff’s 3,300 paid-for or disabled parking spaces. The sensors can detect whether a vehicle is currently parked in the space, and this information has been used as the basis of the Park Cardiff app, which launched this week.
Android and iOS users can download the app and use it to access a real-time map of available parking spaces across Cardiff’s road network. The app also links into a mobile payment service from “cashless parking” firm MiPermit.
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Cardiff Council claims it is the first local authority in Europe to roll out this technology across an entire city.
Councillor Caro Wild, cabinet member for sustainable planning and transport at Cardiff Council, said: “Although our priority is for people to use sustainable modes of transport, we accept that there will still be a requirement for people to use the private car. Given this, we want to provide the technology to make parking as easy as possible, so that people don’t have to drive around the city to find a parking space.”
He added: “Now that we have invested in this scheme, we want people that park in and around the city centre to download the free app – it is easy to use and will help both the motorist and the council. Congestion and driving at low speeds significantly increases pollutants form cars, so we want people to find a space and park as quickly as possible.”
The citywide rollout follows a pilot project that saw sensors installed in 225 spaces in Cardiff locations including Museum Avenue and the car park at Sophia Gardens.
