Tag: Moreton Bay Regional Council

Assessment of Tenders for North Lakes Smart Car Parking Project Completed

In Round One of the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program, $450,000 has been granted by the Australian Government to North Lakes for its Smart Parking project.

Read: Government Grants North Lakes $450,000 in Round One of Smart Cities and Suburbs Program

Following Moreton Bay Regional Council‘s calls for tenders for the design, installation, and operation of the system, a total of three tenders were received by the Council for the project. The tender process closed on 12 December 2017.

The tender for the North Lakes Activity Centre Smart Car Parking Trial Design, Implement, and Operate project was discussed in a coordination committee meeting held on 27 February 2018.

In the report of the coordination committee meeting endorsed to the council, officers have recommended that the contract for the project be awarded to Telstra Pty Ltd  for the sum of $479,865.80 (excluding GST).

Smart Parking Trial Area Photo credit: Moreton Bay Regional Council

Tender process

Amongst the three tenders submitted to the council, Telstra was the only one who submitted a comprehensive tender. Given their relevant experience in providing the technology needed for the smart parking project, it is no surprise that they were chosen to deliver the project.

Other companies who submitted a tender but were deemed non-conforming were Frogparking Pty Ltd who was deemed non-conforming due to incomplete submission and Smarter Technology Solutions Pty Ltd (STS) who were not invited to submit a full tender following the Expression of Interest process.

Two more aspects of this project will be delivered under separate contracts to ensure the accuracy of the technology. These are the CCTV of the smart car parking spots and the establishment of a Smart City data platform.

Photo credit: CCO Public Domain / chrisjmit / Pixabay

Project funding

The total value of the project as stated in the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program is $900,000 where $450,000 was granted by the Australian government and the remaining $450,000 will be co-contributed by the local government.

So far, the tender price for the project is $ 479,865.80 with contingency funds of five percent and a QLeave of $2,800.00. The total project cost is currently at $ 506,659.09. The remaining budget is set to be used for CCTV installation and the development of a Smart City Data Platform.

Benefits of the Project

Once completed, the project will improve traffic congestion associated with the introduction of pay parking at the North Lakes shopping centre. It will free up short-term parking spots, allowing residents easier access to parking for surrounding businesses. The proposed app and signage will also make it much simpler to navigate to a free parking spot.

North Lakes’ FlowBiz Working for Better Mobile Coverage across Moreton Bay

The Moreton Bay Regional Council has teamed up with FlowBiz, a small-to-medium enterprise based in North Lakes, to identify which areas across Moreton Bay have problematic mobile coverage. Through this partnership, the council aims to provide better mobile infrastructure across the region’s rural and remote areas.

Mayor Allan Sutherland explained that most of the residents and workers in remote areas are experiencing blackspots despite previous budgets that have been allocated to address the problem.

“We have more than 25,000 businesses in Moreton Bay, and it’s simply unfair for those businesses in rural areas – our farmers and agri-businesses – to have to put up with sub-par mobile connections. It’s also not just businesses that suffer, it’s local residents who struggle to get a phone signal to make important calls or stay in touch with loved ones”, Mayor Sutherland said during the announcement.

Flowbiz is a company that provides unique and customisable technological solutions. For its partnership with the Moreton Bay Regional Council, the company will utilise mobile app technology.

This mobile app will be installed on the phones and tablet devices of council maintenance crews. The crews shall then periodically test the mobile signal strength in the area, relay their information to Flowbiz which will later on use the data to categorize and mapped out the areas with the sub-par connections. This map will be made available for the public.

Flowbiz CEO Terry Sinkinson explained that all members of the community can in fact participate in this initiative. All they have to do is download the free app from SigMap. The app will get accurate data from mobile telephone carriers as it records changes in signals whilst the users go from one place to another. In an instant that the app detects a low signal, it automatically sends this data to the SigMap server. All data retrieved will be utilised for the initiative and subsequently for officials to decide either to troubleshoot the existing mobile infrastructure or build an entirely new mobile tower.