Hi-tech may help find parking in Naperville

Imagine knowing which downtown Naperville parking garages are full before driving into one.

Naperville engineers are investigating a multitude of electronic parking count systems that would inform motorists how many spots are available before entering one of the city's decks.

Currently, the proposed 517-space Nichols Library parking deck is the only structure slated to be outfitted with such a system. However, with two other deck projects in the works, officials might push for similar systems to be integrated into those structural designs.

"There are a number of different systems on the market with a range of amenities," said Kim Grabow, a city project engineer. "They range in cost from a few hundred thousand dollars to millions."

In use largely in Europe, some U.S. airports have begun installing the "parking guidance systems" to help travelers find spots faster.

The systems can be as simple as displaying "full" or "open" on electronic screens outside the structure. Or they can go so far as to indicate how many spots are open on each floor and direct drivers to the nearest open space, said Harold Schulke, a vice president with the North Carolina-based Kimley-Horn engineering consulting firm.

"If a city wants to pay the money, there's a lot these can do," he said. "Places where there is high turnover, you can maximize the structure's use."

In California, the city of Santa Monica's parking management system is accessible online and shows visitors in real time how many spaces are available in the dozen or so parking decks and lots downtown and along the ocean.

The idea is not new in Naperville. In fact, in the late 1980s the Chicago Avenue parking deck had such a system in place. But it wasn't very reliable, said Andy Hynes, another city project engineer.

"The technology has changed and it's more sophisticated now that we can make modifications to alleviate problems like we had," he said.

If the city wanted to, electronic signs could be installed at key entrance points into the downtown area displaying the number of spaces available at all the decks simultaneously. But the city council is usually opposed to adding sign clutter to city streets.

While the new decks are first in line for such systems, Hynes said the existing decks at Chicago Avenue, Van Buren Avenue and city hall could be retrofitted with the systems. That might be a little costlier than outfitting a new deck, Schulke said.

"The biggest complaint we get from motorists is they drive in and get frustrated because they can't find a spot, so they leave," Hynes said.

Grabow said the city's parking deck consultant will be detailing what type of parking guidance systems are available to the city. It will ultimately be a council decision as to which, if any, system is installed.