Lane Cove Council
Enhancing Public Parking Efficiency Through Smart Technology
Public parking is an essential but often overlooked component of urban infrastructure. For councils, retailers, and communities, the way a car park functions directly impacts accessibility, customer experience, and local business performance. At Lane Cove Council, improving parking amenity has been a priority, with recent upgrades at Market Square demonstrating how technology can transform a busy, complex site into an efficient and user-friendly facility.
The Challenge of a Complex Car Park
Market Square is a 300-space, three-level public car park serving a wide range of users, including local businesses, Woolworths as the anchor tenant, the Lane Cove Library, and families visiting the nearby school. The design of the facility, which includes tight corners, limited sight lines, and peak congestion periods, made navigation difficult for drivers. As a spokesperson from Lane Cove Council explained:
“It’s not the easiest car park to navigate. The configuration does not lend itself to straight lines of sight and includes a number of mandatory turns. Further, peak times such as school drop-off and pick-up impact other users. The Park Agility solution has delivered great equity for all user groups”
The Council identified the need for a system that could reduce congestion, improve turnover, and deliver greater equity and fairness for all users.
Implementing Red-Green Indicator Technology
Following a procurement process, Lane Cove Council selected Park Agility to deliver an overhead red-green indicator system. The solution provides real-time visibility of available spaces, integrates with digital signage showing space counts, and includes monitoring for designated areas such as seniors’ and disability parking.
“We determined from the research, that overhead green-red indicator lights were the optimal solution. Park Agility’s offering was the most reliable and it’s certainly proven to be the case since delivery.”
By removing uncertainty for drivers, the system has streamlined parking flows, reduced search times, and created a more positive experience for visitors.
Integrating with a Frictionless Parking Model
The Council had already taken steps to improve throughput by removing boom gates and moving to a ticketless, frictionless model. Drivers can pay at machines, on exit, or up to three days post-exit, with enforcement handled in the background. The new indicator system complemented these changes. Together, they eliminated bottlenecks and supported the high turnover needed to meet community and business demands.
“By making it quicker and easier for people to get in and out, and augmenting that with overhead indicators, we’ve got an efficient public car park.”
Delivering Equity and Fair Access
For councils, fairness is as important as efficiency. By reducing misuse of seniors’, disability, and electric vehicle charging bays, the system has supported equitable access. Pricing policies have also reinforced this, with the first three hours free and subsequent charges kept deliberately affordable.
“This is not a commercial venture for Council. We don’t have any return-on-investment hurdles to meet. Our goal is high turnover, delivered at a fair price.”
On a typical day, Market Square now handles between 2,100 and 3,000 vehicle entries, which is seven to ten times its capacity. This high utilisation benefits both the community and surrounding businesses.
Supporting Local Businesses and Community Facilities
Beyond convenience for shoppers and commuters, the upgraded car park is critical for local business viability. With Woolworths, a dozen other tenants, and the Lane Cove Library relying on visitor traffic, reliable parking access directly impacts customer footfall.
The Council has received positive feedback from users and stakeholders alike. As the spokesperson noted:
“The community anchor tenant, and speciality retail stores are very happy with the improved turnover and customer experience.”
Why Park Agility Stood Out The Council’s decision to appoint Park Agility followed a rigorous tender process. Park Agility was selected as the preferred partner due to the reliability of their technology, competitive pricing, and the high level of care demonstrated by their senior staff.
“Senior members of staff were involved from the beginning and remained engaged throughout. The reliability of their offering and the support they provided were superior to other submissions.”
For the Council, the qualities that mattered most were responsiveness, reliability, and care; standards Park Agility met consistently.
A Partnership Built on Responsiveness and Care
Ongoing support and maintenance have remained strong, reinforcing confidence in the system and the partnership. While analytics were not a primary driver for Council, the platform’s reporting features provide useful oversight and further opportunities for collaboration with other technology providers.
When asked what advice they would give to other councils or organisations considering Park Agility, the spokesperson’s message was clear:
“Their duty of care was evident from the start. They focused on what the client wanted and delivered solutions that fit those needs.”
A Model for Future Council-Led Initiatives
Lane Cove Council’s Market Square project demonstrates how smart parking technology can deliver measurable community benefit. By combining frictionless entry and exit with real-time occupancy indicators, the Council has improved fairness, reduced congestion, and supported local business activity, all without imposing unreasonable costs on users.
For other councils and facilities managers, the project offers a proven model: invest in user-focused solutions, select reliable partners, and keep equity at the heart of decision-making.
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