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How does the EPS solve parking crunch? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To address the parking crunch at several parts of the island, the Housing and Development Board has announced that it is rolling out the Electronic Parking System (EPS) at all suitable car parks within the next few years. SINGAPORE: To address the parking crunch at several parts of the island, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has announced that it is rolling out the Electronic Parking System (EPS) at all suitable car parks within the next few years. It will also be adding 1,000 more car park lots across the heartlands this year. Currently installed in about one-fifth of HDB car parks — or 412 out of 1,800 — the EPS "has proven to be effective in regulating parking demand, particularly at popular car parks with higher short-term parking demand", said an HDB spokesperson, in response to TODAY's queries. "EPS will be installed progressively at all car parks without site constraints, within the next few years," the spokesperson added. The system can only be installed in car parks whose entrances are wide enough to accommodate CashCard payment gantries. Where it is not feasible to install the EPS, the HDB said it will try to leverage other technologies to enhance car park operations. Noting that there are generally sufficient parking lots for both residents and short-term visitors, the spokesperson said the authority takes a two-pronged approach to meet residents’ need for car park spaces - by managing parking demand and increasing supply. Between 2010 and last year, 5,000 car park lots were added at a cost of S$66 million. The latest measures come as the proportion of households which own at least one car rose steadily to 46 per cent last year, up from 40 per cent in 2008 and 38 per cent in 2004. The average Season Parking Ticket take-up rate in HDB car parks is about 80 per cent currently, up from 68 per cent in 2007. Members of Parliament (MP) whom TODAY spoke to said parking is a concern among residents. Having enough parking space is “one of the top concerns” for residents in both public and private housing estates in the Bukit Timah Division, said Ms Sim Ann, MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC. Ms Sim said the HDB had just completed a temporary extension to an existing car park next to Block 204, Clementi Avenue 6, adding 24 “much-needed lots to an area that has been experiencing a parking-space crunch”. In Toh Yi estate, plans are under way to ride on ongoing development and upgrading projects to add more car park lots to the area, she said. In Tampines, some grass patches have given way to car parks, while kerbside parking has been introduced along a less busy stretch of road, said Mr Baey Yam Keng, one of the GRC's MPs. To cope with the shortage of parking lots in a few precincts in Marsiling, Mr Hawazi Daipi, MP for Sembawang GRC, said more temporary car parks are being built. "In addition, I have asked (the) HDB to speed up the implementation of (the) electronic parking system in the estates to regulate demand and supply," he added. Mr Zainal Sapari, MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, who noted that many car parks in his constituency see close to 100 per cent occupancy, suggested that the HDB allow the temporary car parks to remain, even after multi-storey ones are built nearby. "The HDB usually removes a temporary car park after (a) multi-storey (one) is built, so as to avoid entrenchment, but I feel it should be left there and taken away when needed," he said. Car owner Wilson Lim, 34, agreed with the HDB's move to introduce electronic parking in more areas. "It prevents people from parking longer just because they are using a coupon for a longer period," he said.