The future of Coogee Beach is looking bright thanks to a raft of smart technology measures that will be rolled out over the next 12 months, making a trip to the famous eastern suburbs beach easier and more informative, Randwick Mayor Kathy Neilson announced.

“The primary goal of our Coogee Smart Beach Program is to harness the benefits of people-focused technology so that it improves the lives of our residents and visitors,” said Mayor Neilson.

The new measures are thanks to a $300,000 Smart Cities and Suburbs Program Grant from the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, along with a further $300,000 in matched funds from Randwick City Council.

Coogee Smart Beach plan:

• Smart parking sensors will notify drivers as to the nearest available parking spot;
• Free, high-speed wifi will provide users with up to 2 gigabytes of data per day;
• The CCTV network along Coogee Beach and Coogee Bay Road will be expanded for improved safety;
• Signage will inform visitors about real-time beach conditions, including air and water temperature, wind direction, solar UV rating, wave height and swell and the presence of rips and other beach hazards;
• Real-time transport information will inform visitors about fastest departure routes using public transport and estimated wait time for ride-sharing;
• Sensors on BBQs, amenity blocks and bins to improve service response time.

“These innovations will allow visitors to Coogee Beach to make data-driven decisions that will allow them to find parking spots more quickly, assess beach conditions accurately and enjoy well-maintained facilities,” said Mayor Neilson.

Most of the data will be made available online for application developers to integrate into their own solutions, and the technology platform will be adapted to cover other beaches within Randwick City.