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Parking technology provider Smart Parking has collaborated with Madrid-based Viarium Technologies to deploy its SmartPark space-finding solution in Costa Rica.

Of the 4.8 million population in Costa Rica, more than one-third of the drivers in the urban areas spend an additional 580,000km a year in locating a parking space that unnecessarily generates a high amount of CO2.

This has become a major concern for the Costa Rican Government as it strives hard towards its goal of becoming a carbon dioxide neutral region.

Alongside SmartLink zone controllers, Smart Parking will deploy 200 V2 SmartEye sensors in February in the cities of Cartago and Grecia.

"Analysis of this management information will help long-term strategy in the required number of disabled, reserved, public and resident bays."

Viarium Ingenieria director of mobility, infrastructure management and applied technologies Javier Navacerrada said: "The Smart Parking solution is an ambitious project that will manage city parking and traffic, saving fuel and reducing CO2 emissions.

"If the initial phase proves to be successful, a further 1,600 sensors will be deployed across Cartago and Grecia in 2016 with an ultimate goal of a country-wide deployment in 12,000 bays."

The deployment will also include Smart Parking’s SmartApp, which will enable drivers to locate and be directed to streets with vacant parking bays.

Smart Parking CEO Paul Gillespie said: "The SmartEye sensors will provide never-seen-before kerbside management information and assist in fair use of the limited parking resource in Costa Rica.

"Analysis of this management information will help long-term strategy in the required number of disabled, reserved, public and resident bays."

With the launch of the Cartago Historico Digital project last May, Cartago became the first smart city in Costa Rica to introduce smart parking technology.

The project has been developed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (Micitt) and the Municipality of Cartago with investments from US company UST Global, public service firm Heredia and Spain-based Sustainable Reference.

Image: Deployment of smart parking solutions is part of Costa Rica’s goal of becoming a carbon dioxide neutral region. Photo: courtesy of Smart Parking.