Just find a parking space with parkzen: pilot project in Fairfax

Just find a parking space with parkzen: pilot project in Fairfax

A new concept for parking organization is currently being tested in Fairfax County. The application called Parkzen, which was developed in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), aims to significantly facilitate the finding of free parking spaces.

Have you ever hit a commuter parking lot and found that there is no longer any free space? This problem could soon be solved with the parking app. Manos Chatzopoulos, CEO of the company behind the app, describes Parkzen as a kind of "Waze for parking spaces" - a crowdsourced application that shows their users in advance whether parking spaces are available.

The functioning of parking

The special thing about parking is the use of anonymous user data that helps to display the availability of parking spaces in real time. "The more users are ready to share their information within the parking space anonymously, the more effectively the app works," emphasizes Chatzopoulos. It is important that the app does not pursue users' location data, but only collects information if they are within the parking spaces.

The app is currently being tested in six different parking and ride systems:

• The Saratoga Park and Ride in Springfield
• The Stringfellow Road Park and Ride in Centerville
• The Horner Road Pendler car park in Woodbridge
• The Backlick Road Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Bahnhof in Springfield
• The Brooke Road Vre Bahnhof in Stafford
• The Leeland Road VRe Bahnhof in Falmouth

Together these locations have more than 5,000 parking spaces. Here commuters can park their car and then use public transport, carpools or VRE trains.

Like Amy Mcelwain, program manager in the VDOT strategic innovations, explained, uncertainty about parking availability is an obstacle for many commuters who want to use public transport or carpools. "With this app, commuters can optimize their search for parking space, which benefits everyone and simplifies parking," says Mcelwain.

If the test phase is successful, VDOT is planning to expand the technology to other commuter parking spaces in North Virginia and the Fredericksburg area from spring 2025. The hope is that this innovative solution will boost commuter traffic and the use of public transport, which is both ecologically and practically important.

For a detailed view of the case, See the report on wtop.com .