A REVIEW OF PARKING GUIDANCE AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

This study is based on work being carried out in the PARCMAN project, an international research project involving a consortium of 6 partners drawn from Greece, the United Kingdom and Eire. The work is being carried out under the DRIVE programme of the EEC. The aim of the report is to review 17 parking guidance and information (PGI) systems recently installed in Britain, West Germany and elswhere, and to draw appropriate lessons for later stages of the PARCMAN project. The report is organized in 6 sections: 1) introduction; 2) overview od existing PGI systems; 3) approaches to the design of variable message signs; 4)approaches to the design and control of PGI systems; 5) evidence on the effects of PGI systems, and 6) conclusions. The study is confined to systems that provide parking information through roadside signs, rather than by means of radio broadcasts, information boards and maps, or road markings.