Seattle airport aims to curb parking rage with new system
Imagine this: You drive into an airport parking garage hoping to find an empty spot near the walkway closest to the terminal. You see what you think is an empty spot next to a car. But when you get there, it’s either occupied by a motorcycle or a small car.
So you find yourself driving around and around until you finally get the last spot at the topmost level furthest from either the stairs or the elevator. You’re not happy.
Seattle-Tacoma Airport (Sea-Tac) hopes to eliminate that parking rage by employing a video analysis-based space count system. They’ve evaluated systems in use at Portland International Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
But Albert Shen, the consultant who managed the technology retrofit for Sea-Tac, told Business Week that “Portland’s system would cost $1,100 per space, or $9.5 million for Sea-Tac’s 8,500 long-term parking spots.” Dallas-Fort Worth’s system is also too pricey, although Shen did not provide a figure.
It uses 88 cameras throughout the garage. Software analyzes the video feeds, detects moving cars and keeps track of how many cars are parked in each section. Signs at entrances that tell drivers how many spaces are available in each section on each floor are updated frequently.
The system,though, still relies on human intervention for greater accuracy. “Garage workers must count the cars parked in each section each night and update the system.”
The price tag was right for Sea-Tac: $400 per space or $3.4 million.
Other airports with older garages are also keeping an eye on how well Sea-Tac’s system works because they also face high costs to update their facilities.
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