Parking Will Soon Be Easier at City Center Mall in Doha-Qatar

Traffic Tech Group (Middle East/Gulf) has won a contract to design, install, commission, and maintain an Integrated Parking Management & Guidance System at City Center Doha, the biggest shopping mall in the State of Qatar.

Once completed, the new system is expected to ease customers difficulties in locating vacant spaces within the malls two level parking building that have 1,811 parking slots, 6 entries and 10 exits.

Integrated with an external and an internal Parking Guidance System, drivers will be directed as they approach the parking facility, and up to their search for vacant parking spaces at each level. This will reduce search times, resulting to less vehicle emission within the building. In addition, customers will be more satisfied with the enhanced parking operation of the mall.

Ten external status signs will display information on number of available slots and its level in the building. These will be positioned around the perimeter of mall to give drivers an idea on locations of vacant spaces. Within a level, variable directional signs will aide drivers while searching for vacant slots. Green colored arrow signs would indicate a vacant slot at the direction where its pointed and crossed red sign would indicate a direction that is full.

Each parking slot will be equipped with an overhead mounted device that will detect a parked vehicle, emit a red light when the slot is in use, and a green light when vacant. This device would aide drivers to locate vacant slot/s from a distance, and will also be used by the whole system to calculate the total number of used and unused slots.

Parking fee payments will be done by cash or by subscription cards. At entry points, ticket issuing devices and transponder card readers will register entry time of each vehicle. Customers can pay by cash at automatic pay machines located inside the mall or through human operated teller booths at each exit point.

This Integrated Parking Management & Guidance System will be operational by 2010.