Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (LPGC), an enclave in the Canary Islands stands out as a pioneering city highly committed to transforming urban mobility. Through a major comprehensive smart parking project, covering a total of 6,500 parking spaces, the city council is accelerating the reduction of its carbon footprint and propelling its transition to a more sustainable environment.
This innovative milestone started in 2018 with the implementation of autonomous magnetic sensors installed in 3488 parking spaces. The central purpose was to optimize parking availability and, consequently, improve the fluidity of urban mobility. This initiative sought to encourage vehicular rotation, decreasing congestion caused by the search for parking spaces.
The initial phase of the project has been successfully developed in key areas of Las Palmas, where parking demand is high. Sensors detect the presence of vehicles, providing information to drivers about areas with available spaces. This information is presented through 21 digital information panels strategically located throughout the city, and is also integrated into the LPGC city council’s LPA-Park application . Urbiotica has been integrated into the city council’s smart platform where it updates occupancy data in real time, which in turn is sent to the app in question to provide a comprehensive city parking experience for users.
In addition to providing real-time information to drivers, the data obtained by the system becomes an analytical tool that amplifies the efficiency of operational management. It provides tangible information on the utilization of the seats, making it possible to compare actual occupancy with payments actually made. This intelligence enables strategic decisions, such as the reorganization of supervision routes by guards, adjusted to actual needs.
The next stage of the project envisages the expansion of the green zone to 3,000 additional spaces, thus extending the benefits and results of the first phase to new areas. On this occasion, the choice has been made to install U-Spot NB-IoT sensors, taking advantage of the mobile network for direct communication. This choice has eliminated the need for gateways and repeaters, considerably simplifying the installation and allowing a faster and more agile implementation than in the previous phase.
The implementation of this mobility improvement project in Las Palmas brings significant benefits to the city and its citizens. Urbiotica’s advanced technology has managed to optimize parking, improve traffic flow and provide a more convenient experience for drivers.
This project exemplifies how the smart application of technology can forge more efficient and sustainable cities. The case of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria sets a standard and offers inspiration to other cities striving to reconfigure mobility in their urban environment to combat the pollution and chaos inherent in densely populated cities. This narrative highlights the pivotal role of digitalization in this transformation. The implementation of smart technologies and advanced management systems makes it possible to optimize mobility, reduce traffic churn, and create smoother and safer journeys for all.
César Garía – Head of Operations and Innovation at Sagulpa (LPGC) says of Urbiotica, “In the field of parking and smart mobility, Urbiotica is undoubtedly a reference both nationally and internationally. Its vast experience and deep technical know-how translates into innovative and efficient solutions that are having a positive impact on our operations. The combination of experience, technical know-how and personalized support makes them a great technology partner.”
