Parking sensors are to be trialled on Northallerton high street in a bid to help the local economy.
North Yorkshire County Council is testing the use of sensors to monitor parking habits, with the hope that this could be rolled out across the county.
The data from the trial will help the project and partners inform decisions about the high street, including business rates, with the potential to help business owners decide when to open their premises in line with busy periods.
The county council received funding from the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership for projects to better connect those living and working in North Yorkshire.
It has already supported the roll-out of public wi-fi and air quality sensors. The networks for all schemes are being delivered by NYnet.
North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for business and economic development, Cllr Derek Bastiman, said: “We are excited to trial this innovative scheme in Northallerton which supports our ambition of using technology to improve the lives and livelihoods of residents, businesses and visitors.
“The sensors are there to detect which parking bays are occupied at any particular time, parking patterns, how long people park for and busy or quiet times of the day.
“Although this is just an early stage trial at this point, work is underway through a Department for Transport (DfT) pilot to explore the potential for ‘Smart Parking’ payments.
“However, this is dependent on the success of the pilot and currently there will be no changes to parking payment methods.
“The scheme helps towards delivering a modern, integrated transport network which is a key objective of the council’s plan for economic growth.
“We look forward to seeing the scheme in operation, assessing its performance and receiving feedback from stakeholders and businesses which will benefit.”
The sensors will be placed in parking bays from the Northallerton library roundabout to Quaker Lane
A phased installation begins from today to run over five weeks, aiming to minimise disruption by only closing a small number of bays at a time, and avoiding busy periods such as the Wednesday and Saturday market days.
To ensure minimal disruption to the high street and local businesses, 10 bays will be closed on each side of the road over a 24-hour period, starting at 6am.
Vehicle access within the coned areas will not be permitted.
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