This browser does not support the Video element.
Parking pilot program helps drivers find parking spots in Arlington
Arlington is using road sensors that can tell when a parking spot is being used and when it's empty. It's called the Performance Parking Initiative and county has launched a 3-year pilot program to study the technology. FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald spoke to Arlington County's Project Manager about the program.
ARLINGTON, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Trying to find a parking spot can sometimes drive you crazy, which is why one Virginia county is using technology to help ease the frustration.
Arlington is using road sensors that can tell when a parking spot is being used and when it's empty. It's called the Performance Parking Initiative and Arlington has launched a 3-year pilot program to study the technology.
Work crews have been placing monitoring sensors that are about the size of a hockey puck in the ground underneath 4,500 metered spots. Project manager Melissa McMahon tells FOX 5 the goal is to help drivers find open spots.
"It will hopefully last up to 10 years undisturbed if we don’t go tearing up the street where it is, but that technology is about to ping through the epoxy that hold it in the ground and bounce off the metal in the car essentially and tell you if it’s there or not," she says.
Arlington awarded $3M from HUD for homelessness efforts
Arlington’s Continuum of Care for Homelessness has been awarded $3 million by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that will be used to help quickly rehouse people experiencing homelessness in the county.
The data can be used by third party apps like Waze to direct drivers to empty spots. The sensors only know if a car is parking and for how long. No photo or identifying information on cars is being collected.
The information can tell officials if certain areas have higher meter violations than others.
A $5.4 million Virginia state grant is funding the pilot program. In years two and three of the study, county officials will use the data they've collected to adjust parking meter rates.