Green for go

A REVOLUTIONARY new parking system is being introduced in Malaga.

The project – the first of its kind in Spain – will indicate the availability of parking spaces in a large area of the city centre.

A total of 2,229 spaces in 100 streets within the city’s ‘blue zone’ will be fitted with sensors which will detect whether or not they are free.

This information will be transmitted to a central computer, and illuminated signs at the end of each road will show motorists how many spaces are available in each street.

The Perchel and La Malagueta areas are to join a pilot scheme that has been running in the Mercardo del Carmen zone for the past few months.

Testers noted a reduction in traffic as drivers no longer needing to cruise the streets looking for spaces.

Once up and running the Catalan company behind the new technology, Parkhelp, estimates the new system will cut the time spent looking for a parking space in half.

Reducing traffic on the street by at least 10%, will also result in a fall in CO2 emissions of around 21.6kg a year.

The company is also working on a system which will enable drivers to pay parking charges via mobile phone.