Parking areas

The Parking area type (ParkingAreaDatasetDTO) represents a mapped parking location, with its GPS position and an estimate of the number of available spaces.

Description

Each parking area is a geographic projection of a location where parking has been identified. The data includes:

• The estimated GPS position of the area
• The parking type (parallel, perpendicular, angled)
• An estimate of the number of spaces
• Additional attributes (paid, accessible, markings)

What an area represents

A parking area corresponds to a continuous set of spaces of the same type, generally located on one side of a street. For example:

• 5 parallel spaces in front of a shop
• 8 perpendicular spaces on a residential street
• 3 accessible spaces near a public facility

Availability by source

Parking areas are available in two distinct layers:

Property	Field imagery	HD satellite imagery	Notes
center	GPS ~1-2m	GPS ~3-5m	Lower accuracy from satellite
parking_type	Complete	Partial	Coarser estimate from satellite
spot_count_estimate	Complete	Partial	Coarser estimate from satellite
has_markings	Populated	Not available	Not visible from satellite
is_paid_parking	Populated	Not available	Not visible from satellite
is_disabled_parking	Populated	Not available	Not visible from satellite
has_no_parking_sign	Populated	Not available	Not visible from satellite
road_side	Populated	Not available	No direction in nadir view
source_osm_id	Populated	Not available
matched_osm_id	Populated	Not available
fit_score	0-1	0-1	Same scale

Properties

Identification

Property	Type	Description	Example
id	string	Unique identifier	pa_a3f2b1c4d5e6f7a8
layer_type	string	Document type	parking_area
h3_index	string	Parent H3 cell	893b0c6a9a7ffff
h3_resolution	integer	H3 resolution (always 9)	9

OSM references

Property	Type	Description	Example
source_osm_id	string	OSM ID of the source road (where the camera was)	way/123456789
matched_osm_id	string	OSM ID of the road where the parking is located	way/987654321

Location

Property	Type	Description	Example
center	GeoPoint	GPS position of the area	{ lat: -21.12, lon: 55.48 }
road_side	string	Side of the road	left, right, center, unknown
is_on_roadside	boolean	On-street (vs parking lot)	true

Parking type

Property	Type	Description
parking_type	string	Configuration type
spot_count_estimate	integer	Estimated number of spaces
is_parking_lot	boolean	Parking lot (vs on-street parking)
parking_lot_type	string	Parking lot type if applicable

parking_type values

Value	Description
En ligne	Parallel parking (parallel bay)
En bataille	Perpendicular parking
En épi	Angled parking

parking_lot_type values

Value	Description
public	Public parking lot
commercial	Retail parking lot
residential	Residential parking lot
other	Other type

Attributes

Property	Type	Description
has_markings	boolean	Visible road markings
is_paid_parking	boolean	Paid parking
is_disabled_parking	boolean	Accessible space
has_no_parking_sign	boolean	No-parking sign present

Traceability

Property	Type	Description
source_type	string	Source imagery type (street_level: ground-level imagery, satellite_hd: satellite imagery)
captured_at	datetime	Date of the source imagery
observation_count	integer	Total number of concurring observations that contributed to this data
first_detected_at	datetime	Date first identified
last_detected_at	datetime	Date last identified

Quality

Property	Type	Description
fit_score	number	Confidence score (0-1)

Space estimation

The spot_count_estimate field provides an estimate of the number of spaces in the area. This estimate is based on:

• The visible length of the area
• The parking type (parallel ≈ 5m/space, perpendicular ≈ 2.5m/space)
• The observed constraints (entrances, pedestrian crossings, etc.)

About the estimates

The spot_count_estimate values are estimates. For a precise count, an on-the-ground check is still recommended. The fit_score indicates the reliability of the estimate.

Confidence score

Each area includes a confidence score between 0 and 1:

Score	Interpretation	Recommendation
≥ 0.8	High confidence	Direct use
0.5 - 0.8	Medium confidence	Verification recommended
< 0.5	Low confidence	Verification required

Use cases

Parking mapping

Display the areas on a map to:

• Visualize the distribution of parking
• Identify accessible or paid areas
• Analyze the supply by neighborhood

Navigation applications

Integrate the data to:

• Guide users to parking areas
• Filter by type (free, accessible, etc.)
• Estimate availability by area

Urban studies

Analyze the data to:

• Inventory the parking supply of a territory
• Compare supply across districts
• Plan new developments

Recommended QGIS style

Parking areas are visualized in blue (circles) by default:

1. Download the style file: parking_areas.qml
2. In QGIS: Right-click on the layer → Properties → Symbology
3. Style → Load Style → Select the .qml file

Download and styles guide →

GeoJSON example

{
  "type": "Feature",
  "properties": {
    "id": "pa_a3f2b1c4d5e6f7a8",
    "layer_type": "parking_area",
    "h3_index": "893b0c6a9a7ffff",
    "h3_resolution": 9,
    "source_osm_id": "way/123456789",
    "matched_osm_id": "way/987654321",
    "parking_type": "En ligne",
    "spot_count_estimate": 5,
    "road_side": "right",
    "is_on_roadside": true,
    "is_parking_lot": false,
    "has_markings": true,
    "is_paid_parking": false,
    "is_disabled_parking": false,
    "has_no_parking_sign": false,
    "source_type": "street_level",
    "captured_at": "2025-01-10T09:45:00Z",
    "observation_count": 3,
    "first_detected_at": "2024-06-15T14:00:00Z",
    "last_detected_at": "2025-01-10T09:45:00Z",
    "fit_score": 0.87
  },
  "geometry": {
    "type": "Point",
    "coordinates": [55.48, -21.12]
  }
}

Relationship with other types

Type	Relationship
H3 cells	Each area belongs to an H3 cell
Road segments	Areas are located along the segments
Signs	Signs define the regulation
Markings	Markings confirm the data