Downtown Parking Technology and Guidance
The City of Bend’s downtown parking guidance system uses real-time digital signs to help drivers find available spaces.
Parking Guidance System
The City of Bend uses a Parking Guidance System in Downtown Bend to help drivers find available parking more quickly. By directing drivers to open spaces, the system helps reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions in the downtown area.
Downtown visitors will see two types of signs:
- Large digital displays that show real-time parking availability throughout downtown, including on-street parking.
- Circular (CIRC) signs at intersections that show parking availability on the next block.
The circular signs are attached to light poles at most downtown intersections. These signs use digital displays to show the number of available parking spaces in each direction.
- A red zero means no parking spaces are available in that direction.
- A yellow number means only a few spaces are available.
- A green number means many spaces are available.
The numbers are displayed from left to right. The left number shows available spaces to your left, the middle number shows spaces straight ahead, and the right number shows spaces to your right.
How the system works:
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The Downtown Parking Guidance System does not collect license plate information. The parking sensors only detect whether a parking space is occupied or available.
No. The Downtown Parking Guidance System does not issue parking citations or provide automated parking enforcement. The sensors are used only to measure parking utilization—how many parking spaces are occupied at a given time—and to display parking availability to drivers.