Revolutionary parking system will be coming to Rockville

Rockville (Map, News) - Rockville is on track to get a state-of-the-art parking system by summer that tells drivers how many spots are available and where even before they pull into the city’s new decks, officials told The Examiner on Tuesday.

It’s a technology in place at only three other locations nationwide — at the Fairfax County Public Schools headquarters, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and the Jacksonville International Airport in Jacksonville, Fla.

The hope is that the customer-friendly parking setup will be a “distinguisher,” especially as Rockville begins opening more businesses for its $350 million-plus Town Center project, according to Rockville Chief of Redevelopment David Levy.

“To our knowledge, no urban downtown setting has what we’re going to get,” Levy said. “This is absolutely cutting-edge technology for parking customer service.”

He noted that technicians will begin the monthslong installation process within weeks. The Signal-Park system will be fully installed and operational by the end of May or early June, as mandated by the contract with BKM Technology Partners, the firm supplying the equipment.

BKM is the agency behind the parking systems at the other three facilities, and its European parent company Schick Electronics has installed a large number of systems throughout that continent.

According to the group’s Web site, specially developed detectors equipped with lights are placed above each space. The detectors constantly check whether a vehicle is parked in the spot and send their observations to a central computer, which processes all of the data and posts it in lighted signs visible to drivers.

Levy said Rockville will use this setup for all three of its new decks in the Town Center area, the total capacity of which is almost 1,000 vehicles. The bonus is that if one lot is full, the system can tell motorists where to go in the next one.

“Essentially, it’s keeping your driving-around search process to an absolute minimum,” he said.

Cost estimates from last year put the total at $1.1 million for installation and maintenance. But that amount could be slightly less depending on the to-be-determined remote sign costs.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com

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