Around the World with Yunex Traffic: Belgium
A new portfolio element has been launched in Belgium: dynamic parking guidance systems make cities more liveable
Yunex Traffic will replace the current parking guidance system in Leuven with a modern and user-friendly traffic guidance system. It will inform road users in real time about parking options, intermodal options and travel times in and around the city of Leuven. The results: less cars in the city and a higher quality of life for visitors and residents.
On the road towards a more sustainable parking policy
The new parking system is an important step for Leuven on the way to a sustainable parking policy: By directing car traffic to the ring road around Leuven, a selective accessibility by car will be realized. At the same time, alternative means of transportation will be encouraged.
The new parking policy (for visitors) results in a parking structure in four preferred levels:
- Suburban car parks are located at a good distance from the city. These parking lots reduce car traffic at the borders of congestion-prone zones. Long-term parking is advantageous in these parking lots, which are accessible by public transport from the city center.
- Peripheral car parks are located on the city ring road. There are bicycle parking facilities provided of which some also offer the possibility of renting shared bicycles. The advantages of these parking garages are cheaper long-term parking and the P + Bus offer, where the bus ride is included free of charge in the parking price.
- Center car parks allow for “off-street” parking within the city ring. This form of parking is preferred to on-street parking.
Calmer traffic, more liveable cities
The state-of-the-art traffic guidance system is designed to guide vehicles to more efficient routes and parking options while providing a car-free streetscape. Parking will be directed to peri-urban, suburban and center parking lots, with out-of-town parking encouraged. At the same time, the new parking policy will encourage road users to opt more often for more sustainable modes of transport, such as cycling and/or public transport.
In the broader context of Leuven’s spatial plan, traffic calming will help improve the quality of life for Leuven’s visitors and residents. Both the encouraging of parking outside the city or in peripheral parking lots as well as the more efficient directing of cars to an underground free parking lot, which reduces search traffic, contribute to this.
Real-time parking-information: today from dynamic traffic signs, tomorrow from the navigation system?
Information about parking spaces, transfer options to public transport, shared bicycles or route information in the context of exceptional events is provided to traffic users via dynamic traffic signs. On the bypass, those are placed at critical points where parking and route choices are important.
The information that is currently distributed via dynamic traffic signs could be made available to traffic users via navigation systems in the future. To support this development, Yunex Traffic also provides the information from the signs as open data. You wonder how this can be ensured? Ronny Govers, Managing Director of Yunex Traffic Belgium knows the answer: “We have taken into account the rapid development towards smart cities, Internet-of-Things applications and the exponential growth of data. For this reason, the parking guidance system has a modular architecture that allows for expandability, scalability and interchangeability.”
