Prague
- City size
- Large
- European region
- Central Europe
Prague
Solutions Tested in Real Life Demonstration
Pilot objective
Assess digital solutions for managing curbside and pick-up/drop-off spaces, with a focus on local operational needs, stakeholder requirements and enforcement conditions.
Solutions tested in real‑life demonstration
- KER8Dynamic Curbside Management Tool
- KER9Dynamic Management of Pick-up / Drop-off Points
Dynamic Curbside Management Tool
Dynamic Curbside Management Tool
Pilot Focus
Prague focused the demonstration of this solution by testing the dynamic management of one curbside parking space using electronic signage and occupancy monitoring. The parking space changes function throughout the day (loading zone, no parking/stopping, residential parking) while monitoring occupancy in real time.
What worked during the demonstration?
- Strong engagement and responsiveness from Prague's city stakeholders during pilot preparation.
- Good collaboration between Prague and solution provider during technical development.
- Local stakeholders clearly identified operational needs and provided valuable feedback for solution refinement.
What were the challenges and barriers?
- Significant delays in delivery of the technology prevented early on-site testing.
- Dependence on the developer's delivery schedule.
- Coordination between several municipal departments.
- Existing parking enforcement challenges reduced the expected effectiveness of the pilot.
- Enforcement logic was outside the scope of the current solution.
- Illegal parking was identified as a major operational concern in Prague and an important issue to consider when evaluating the effectiveness of the solution.
Factors to assess for replication & required adaptations
Governance, Regulation & Enforcement
The effectiveness of the Dynamic Curbside Management Tool depends strongly on local parking regulations and enforcement.
Assess local parking regulations, enforcement mechanisms and operational constraints before implementation. Integrate these requirements and existing city pain points into the solution design from the beginning.
Technical Readiness & Solution Maturity
The alignment between solution-development and pilot timelines is critical. Delays in technology delivery can substantially reduce the time available for physical testing and evaluation.
Verify solution maturity before deployment and build sufficient flexibility into implementation timelines.
City–Developer Alignment
Cooperation between the city and developer is essential to ensure that the solution responds to actual city needs. Some city-specific requirements and pain points need to be incorporated earlier in the development process.
Establish a structured process for communicating city needs, pain points and operational requirements before and during technology development.
Key lessons learned
Main takeaways from implementation
- Early city assessment is important before technical development of the solution starts.
- Dynamic curbside tools need to respond to the city's real operational pain points, especially enforcement.
- Technology delays can strongly affect pilot testing and reduce the ability to validate the solution on site.
- Multi-agency coordination is necessary when the solution interacts with public space, parking rules, public transport and street infrastructure.
Recommendations
Action-oriented advice for future adopters
- Identify the city's main curbside problem before designing the solution.
- Involve enforcement bodies, road authorities, public transport and infrastructure owners from the beginning.
- Check technical readiness, infrastructure compatibility and approval procedures before planning the pilot timeline.
- Include enforcement logic or misuse detection if illegal parking is a major local issue.
Dynamic Management of Pick-up / Drop-off Points
Dynamic Management of Pick-up / Drop-off Points
Pilot Focus
Because physical deployment was not feasible, Prague carried out a simulated demonstration and stakeholder workshop presenting the booking system, parking reservation functions and management interface to logistics operators and city representatives.
What worked during the demonstration?
- The workshop and simulated demonstration provided a practical alternative when physical deployment was not feasible and enabled feedback to be collected from logistics operators and city representatives.
- Demonstration allowed stakeholders to understand the proposed functionalities.
- Surveys and discussions provided valuable user requirements, to the best of their abilities – given it was solely a demonstration through a screen rather than a live demonstration.
- Flexible approach (simulation instead of field deployment) enabled stakeholder engagement despite technical constraints.
What were the challenges and barriers?
- The solution did not address Prague's concern of parking enforcement and illegal parking (reported up to 80% on some streets).
- Physical sensors could not be installed.
- Difficulties with drilling into existing infrastructure.
- Physical deployment was therefore impossible; physical barriers would have been needed but were considered expensive and impractical.
- Difficulty identifying a suitable pilot location.
Factors to assess for replication & required adaptations
Governance & enforcement
Passenger vehicles often park illegally in loading zones. Without an enforcement mechanism, the pilot would not be effective. Prague requested that this issue be reflected in the solution, but it was not incorporated.
Integrate enforcement mechanisms into the solution and ensure local enforcement capacity exists.
Stakeholder engagement
Prague shifted from physical testing to a workshop. The platform was demonstrated to urban logistics operators, and surveys were used to collect their feedback.
Workshops and surveys are easily transferable and useful for collecting operator feedback before implementation.
City–developer alignment
The city's pain points were identified early, but the solution was not flexible enough to respond to these local needs. Prague highlighted that cities should first explain the problem and developers should then adapt the solution accordingly.
Developers should incorporate city pain points early so that the final solution reflects local operational needs.
Site Suitability & Physical Installation
Physical deployment was constrained by difficulties installing sensors in the existing infrastructure and identifying a suitable pilot location.
Assess the proposed site and installation requirements before deployment, including sensor installation methods, drilling restrictions, communications infrastructure and any physical modifications required.
Key lessons learned
Main takeaways from implementation
- A booking system for loading/unloading bays depends heavily on enforcement and reliable availability of reserved spaces.
- Without enforcement, logistics operators may not trust that booked spaces will actually be available.
- Physical deployment can be limited by infrastructure constraints, such as sensor installation, drilling restrictions and unsuitable locations.
- Simulated demonstrations and workshops can still provide useful feedback when full on-site testing is not feasible.
Recommendations
Action-oriented advice for future adopters
- Confirm enforcement capacity before deploying a dynamic loading bay management tool.
- Select pilot locations where booked spaces can realistically be kept available for logistics operators.
- Test the concept with logistics operators through workshops or simulations before investing in physical deployment.
- Avoid locations that are too far from delivery destinations.
