SWARCO INNOVATION TALK
Safe Micromobility: News from the World of Cycle Path Markings
Live Online Event from the SWARCO Traffic World
27. April 2021
09:00 CEST
Online, live
from the SWARCO Traffic World
including Question & Answer Session
after the Talk
Safe Micromobility: News from the World of Cycle Path Markings
In this talk we address the booming topic of environmentally friendly locomotion in cities and target municipal decision-makers, road marking contractors and existing SWARCO customers. Why are bike lane markings important? What makes a good cycle path marking? What marking systems are available, and how can you increase safety on bike highways? Mario Nöllge, Managing Director of SWARCO Limburger Lackfabrik in Germany, will be available to answer these and other questions in the upcoming Innovation Talk.
Cycle Path Marking Solutions
Products for Cycle Path Markings
News: More safety for vulnerable road users
Traffex Parkex 2021
For 35 year’s Traffex | Parkex is the largest dedicated Traffic Management and Parking event in the UK; connecting forward thinking innovators with central government, Local Authorities and the private sector. With 3 days and over 18,000 sqm of space the exhibition provides the perfect platform for the entire highways and transport sector to get together and contribute to the debate through thought leadership at the cutting edge of Highways and road maintenance, Parking, ITS, road safety and transport planning.
LOWER CONGESTION AND CREATE GREENER PORTS WITH INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS
Improving the environment in and outside cities all over the world is currently one of our society’s top
How can Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) make the port greener?
ITS are used in cities, tunnels and on highways to improve traffic flow by guiding travellers and providing them information and new modern priority or micro-mobility solutions for a better travelling experience with
This is how ITS can be used at ports to minimize congestion:
1. Automated handling of all vehicles entering the port – decreased waiting time in lines and less exhaust:
By making
2. Streamline trailer management – efficient logistics and control of environmentally hazardous goods
Guiding trailers to the right waiting area and keeping track of their positions and specifications can make the loading and unloading process more efficient. Management of dangerous goods is made easier and even more importantly – more secure.
3. Traffic guidance by variable message signs for better traffic flow:
When guiding all vehicles straight to the right lanes, we create better traffic flow with fewer stops and wrong turns, which results in an overall lowered congestion in cities. This also provides visitors with a more pleasant visit to the port.
4. Optimizing the area instead of expanding the area, more space for cities or forests:
Optimizing the port and improving traffic flow makes it possible to lower congestion. It’s also possible to minimize the port’s area while still
managing more vessels. SWARCO’s project with Ports of Stockholm at Värtahamnen is a great example of this; the environmentally friendly port of Värtahamnen, with its five berths and modern passenger terminal, can now simultaneously handle more ships and more traffic within a reduced area compared with previously. The city of Stockholm has thus regained large parts of the area occupied by the port, which in turn means more space for the city to develop new homes, open spaces and jobs.
5. Parking Guidance around the port – no need to drive around searching for parking
When visitors have to drive around to look for free parking spaces, it is not only stressful it also leaves unnecessary and negative imprints on the environment due to the congestion it causes. This unnecessary extra driving can easily be avoided by implementing a parking guidance system that guides visitors directly to free parking spaces with the necessary requirements, e.g. parking with charging stations or accessibility-adapted spaces.
6. Using the latest LED technology to lower energy consumption
All SWARCO signs and lighting allow for an up to 97% reduction of LED forward current (depending on pixel pitch), maintaining
In conclusion, by making traffic flow more efficient we are able to minimize congestion all over our cities, ports and parking areas. This plays an important role in our society as ports are, and will continue to be, one of its essential building blocks. ITS ensures that the workflow, traffic flow and trailer management are made more efficient and more environmentally friendly.
“The project has been great in so many ways. Search traffic and congestion will be reduced; people will be able to plan where to drive, and this will also show that there are actually available spots”, says Henrik Lindblom, chairman of Karlstads Parkering AB to Värmland Folkblad.
In total 31 digital signs are installed all over the city. 19 of the signs are showing the direction to the available spots, while the rest are directly connected to the parking areas in the city. As Karlstad is a regional capital, receiving visitors and tourists in a good way is quite important, and an essential part in this is making navigation in traffic and parking more convenient and stress-free.
Good project for citizens and tourists
Especially if you are new to a city, you will feel more welcome if you get helpful services and guidance. Citizens and retailers will also benefit from guidance since the system shows that there ARE available parking spots. Spots which people normally would not find.
“We have always known that there are places to park, and we have also realized that the drivers’ dissatisfaction actually came from not being able to find those parking places”, says Mr. Lindblom.
Instead of people driving around in frustration, they can use their valuable time doing what they came there for.
Would you like to know more about the parking guidance solution?
Read more about our parking guidance solutions:
Link to article in Värmlands Blad
(subscribtion only and the text is in Swedish).
“The project has been great in so many ways. Search traffic and congestion will be reduced; people will be able to plan where to drive, and this will also show that there are actually available spots”
- Henrik Lindblom, chairman of Karlstads Parkering AB to Värmland Folkblad
avoid searching for a place to park
If you drive into a larger city or town and need somewhere to park, you obviously want a convenient parking space close to your destination. Parking Guidance from SWARCO can help you. You will be guided directly to the most optimal parking spot, regardless of whether you park at a park-and-ride or in the city center.
How parking guidance works
Camera-based solutions and sensors detect whether there are available parking spaces, for both indoor and outdoor parking. The information is sent wirelessly to apps, to physical signs along the road and to other devices so you can find parking in the most efficient way. SWARCO also collaborates with car manufacturers to get information about available spots directly into the car.
In the near future, parking can be even more convenient. At the ITS World Congress in Copenhagen last autumn, SWARCO and Audi presented a new parking solution together. In the demo area, the driver stepped out of the car at the entrance of the parking area, and then the car parked itself. When the driver wanted the car back, he just used an app.
“The pilot projects are done on a small scale now,” emphasizes the Managing Director at SWARCO Norge AS, Ørjan Hegg. - But the technology is highly accessible.
Hegg explains that the new technology is both useful and environmentally friendly, and will at the same time create advantages for car manufacturers in the future:
- Car producers must differentiate themselves in the market. We believe that premium cars offering this type of comprehensive service might be rolled out within a couple of years. Parking Guidance, however, is ready for implementation in Norway already today, he adds.
Other European cities are more ahead
SWARCO, which has delivered more than 95% of the traffic lights in Norway, also has long international experience in traffic regulation and parking, including City Guidance.
“- The service is more common in other European countries, such as Germany; Norway however is a little behind”, Hegg explains.
Environmental improvements needed
- Urbanization and a need for environmental improvement raise the importance of streamlining traffic flow in and between cities. He refers to a survey done over years that shows that approximately 30% of all urban driving in some cities and city areas are just people searching for a place to park:
“- It’s obvious that we can reduce the bad environmental impact if motorists in urban areas are guided to the most convenient parking space.”
“Parking Guidance has a positive environmental impact in urban areas”
- Ørjan Hegg, Managing Director, SWARCO Norge AS
Want to know more about our parking guidance solutions?
Watch the original article in Teknisk Ukeblad, 06-2019 (Norwegian):
