RDU to introduce a new system to make finding an empty spot in the parking deck easier
As you head up the spiraling ramp into the parking deck at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, you begin searching for an empty space. There are 8,846 spots to choose from, but they appear at first to all be occupied.
Help is on the way. This summer RDU tested a system of lights, cameras and digital message boards designed to direct drivers to available parking spots.
The system relies on the cameras mounted on the ceilings down the center of each aisle. Each camera is embedded in a light, which turns red when the camera detects the spaces are full and green when one is open.
That information is posted on message boards at the entrance to each floor of the deck and at the ends of each row. A green arrow with a “5” next to it means there’s five open spaces down that row. “FULL” means you’re out of luck, keep moving.
Blue arrows and lights direct drivers to available handicap parking.
RDU tested the system on the sixth floor of its seven-story parking deck between the passenger terminals. After a trial run of several weeks, the airport said the lights, cameras and message boards will be installed throughout the deck by next spring.
There won’t be overhead lights on the rooftop sections of the deck, but cameras mounted elsewhere will detect open spaces, which will be reflected on the message boards.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, RDU paid people wearing reflective vests to direct drivers to open spaces in the decks. That practice started with holidays and other busy travel times and eventually expanded to include most weekdays.
The new guidance system replaces the human guides.
The airport expects to pay about $6 million for the Park Assist system. The contractor, TKH Security, claims it reduces the amount of time it takes to find an empty spot by up to 63%.
The guidance system includes a feature that can help people find their car when they return from a trip. Travelers can scan a QR code at the airport that leads to a Park Assist app they can download to their phones. When they enter their license plate number, the app will show them a picture of their car and a map of where to find it.
This story was originally published August 10, 2023 at 12:56 PM.
