New parking sensors are now in force in Marlow in a bid to clamp down on drivers abusing limited-waiting and disabled parking spaces in the High Street.

The 'smart tab' sensors are fitted into the road surface in limited-waiting parking bays across the town, including blue badge spaces, which will then allow parking enforcement officers to make sure drivers are not taking advantage of the one or two-hour free car park spaces in the town.

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Installation of new Marlow parking sensors slammed for causing chaos in town centre

It comes after Transport for Bucks (TfB) carried out a study with Smart Parking to identify areas of “high-volume parking turnover” on the main streets of Marlow.

The information showed that prime parking spots were often being parked in for extended periods of time by either residents or staff from businesses in the High Street.

The 170 sensors work with a Smart Parking app, which receives real-time information from the sensors to show available on-street parking bays.

Bucks County Council says they will help to manage traffic flow, free up parking spots and give drivers a clear view of available spaces.

The Google Cloud-managed platform feeds information about each individual bay’s status to TfB, providing the council with both real-time and historical parking management information to understand parking use and how best to optimise it in the “high-demand” area.

But the installation was branded a “fiasco” by long-standing business owner Bernard Burger, owner of Burger’s tea room in The Causeway – amid claims the High Street was completely shut off, affecting shops.

Deputy leader and cabinet member for transportation Mark Shaw said: "At Transport for Buckinghamshire, we are always looking for ways to improve the service that we deliver.

“The implementation of Smart Parking is a brilliant, innovative step forward for parking in Marlow. I really look forward to seeing the improved results.

“This system can ease the parking situation in the town centre.

“The project is still in its early stages, but Marlow is already seeing better use of parking facilities, and it is hoped that this could be the start of a progressive roll out of new sites across the rest of the county in the future.”