Dún Laoghaire welcomes the largest IoT accessible parking trial in Ireland

Smart Dún Laoghaire is a smart city research programme which brings government, academic, industry and citizens together to deliver innovation and technology projects. This 12-month accessibility project will see industry partners working together with local government to deliver impact for vulnerable citizens. IoT sensors will be installed in 37 accessible parking bays in and around Dún Laoghaire town which will connect to the Park Magic parking app and will provide realtime information on the location and availability of accessible parking spaces to the public. This app and service will be free to users. The information will also be made available on the Access Earth platform to maximise user engagement.

The sensors will also produce data for the Council detailing accessible parking space usage and length of stays, which will, in turn, enable us to interrogate the effectiveness and viability of the location of the spaces. Another element of this trial is to demonstrate the use of IoT sensors at scale through the urban environment where connectivity issues are common. Our industry partner Cellnex will ensure LoRaWAN coverage in this dense urban area. In advance of the trial a Cellnex LoRaWAN gateway was
installed on County Hall to ensure coverage for the town. This will facilitate this and the three other IoT trials Smart Dún Laoghaire have in the area.

Stephen Brady, Director of Corporate Affairs, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council noted:
“This project will eliminate additional unnecessary time for accessible users spent in the car circumnavigating the town looking for parking, delivering clear social and environmental benefits.”

Dr. Conor Dowling, Programme Manager, Smart Dún Laoghaire highlighted:
“The aim of this pilot is to promote a new way of using technology to inform the deployment and management of infrastructure, using sensor data to drive our decision making.”