Help for motorists driven to distraction by parking

ANYONE who has ever driven a car around Edinburgh city centre will know you need all the help you can get when it comes to finding a parking space.

Now parking bosses at the city council have launched a new website which allows drivers to check for real-time updates on how many spaces are available and where.

The site includes the city's privately-run car parks as well as the council's own park-and-ride facilities.

The council said it hoped the site would help dispel some of the "myths" surrounding parking in the centre of the Capital.

Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, the city's transport convener, said: "This site gives drivers information on where they can go to find a space and the more of that there is, the better.

"It's about giving people better information before they set off, so that they can make informed choices about where they are going.

"Hopefully it will help dispel some of the myths. Yes, there's a lot of demand for parking in George Street, but there's lots of spaces around the city centre. It's great to be able to give people that up-to-date information."

Cllr Mackenzie also confirmed that a trial which will give drivers advance warning of how many spaces are available in George Street is due to begin soon.

Sensors located on George Street's parking spaces will allow the council to show the number of empty spaces on its network of variable message signs across the city.

George Street, where parking attendants hand out more tickets than anywhere else in Scotland, is notorious for being a difficult place to find a space, and the council said the initial trial of the new technology would take place on the part of the street between St Andrew Square and Hanover Street.

Andrew Busby, business manager for Town and City Parking, the firm carrying out the trial for free, added: "George Street is one of the busiest streets in Scotland, possibly in the UK.

"Our product will help Edinburgh City Council understand traffic movements.

"It uses infrared detectors that know if there's a car above them and will send a message out. The information is then collated and made available to Edinburgh City Council."

Business leaders say Edinburgh's main shopping streets are still suffering from the "hangover" of the city's tram works, which have seen many motorists opt for out-of-town shopping centres instead.

The new website providing real-time updates can be viewed at http://edinburgh.cdmf.info/public/carparks/list.htm