Innovative car park with roof-top sports ground
The latest addition to our list of “Alternative uses for a Car Park” will now include “sporting field”. The University of Colorado in Colorado Springs has recently completed a new car park which doubles as a sports venue, as reported in The Gazette. With its ribbon-cutting ceremony this month, the USD $23M project will simultaneously […]
Car park conversion to luxury apartments
Melbourne developer, Grocon, is breaking down the miserable reputation of the car park with a rather unusual project. The development, known as QV8, is converting part of a car park into luxury apartments, as reported by news.com.au. Located on the top floor of the car park in the QV building on Lonsdale Street, the finished […]
They didn’t even bother to pave this paradise!
The land of my forebears never ceases to amaze me… Sicily is a land of contrasts. On the one hand you can book a hotel in Palermo for around 100 euros a night and find yourself in a room with this ceiling: On the other, where else could a beautiful beach like the one above […]
Dusseldorf airport employs smart valet robot
In a new twist on automatic garaging, Düsseldorf Airport is now offering travellers the latest in valet parking technology, as reported by the Washington Post. A self-driving robotic forklift, named Ray, manages the task with ease, utilising laser navigation and mapping software to gently deliver your car to its parking spot. The agile forklift technology […]
Melbourne’s worst parkers in the spotlight
For the last post of the financial year, we thought we would celebrate parking with a bit of light relief. As we all know, the days of anonymity are long gone since the advent of Social media and smart phones with cameras. Back in the day, you could do something really stupid and no-one had […]
Google Now finds your parked car
Losing sight of one’s car happens all the time, and not just to the memory-impaired! As reported in The Verge, Smartphone users can easily avoid the problem thanks to a recently added feature in the Google Now suite. The latest update takes the popular map app one step further, producing a “parking card” to remind […]
US operators adopting size-based parking charges
As an adjunct to our Madrid post, we note that some parking operators in the US are also adopting variable pricing measures, but this has more to do with a scarcity of space than any green initiative. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, drivers of large SUVs are being charged extra to […]
Melbourne cyclists face parking shortages
Melbourne cyclists are growing in number, but the facilities to accommodate them have not kept pace. As reported in the The Age last month, the City of Melbourne has estimated that cyclists currently make up 15% of morning peak commuter traffic, a significant increase since 2006, when estimated at only 4%. Bicycle Network Victoria spokesperson, […]
Beware the bollard!
Last month, AAMI published its Annual Crash statistics including state-by-state comparisons of the most common types of events. The National averages have remained reasonably consistent year to year in most categories, with the most common cause, nose-to-tail collisions, hovering between 27% and 29%. Second on the list is the “parked car ding” which by contrast, […]
Car park data helps US retailer improve bottom line
US DIY retailer, Lowes, is using data collected from its car parks to optimise staffing ratios and gain a competitive advantage against its rival, Home Depot. As reported by Bloomberg Business Week, hourly images of the car park are collected by satellite, and these are analysed to help paint a picture of the peaks and […]
Tick of approval for safer car parks
The reputation of car parks is slowly evolving, but there is definitely more work to be done in ensuring that they are safe places for the people that use them. Unfortunately, they are still a common place for thugs to commit a crime, be it robbery, assault or even murder. The responsibility of owners and […]
Contenders for confusing sign awards
We love this post by 3AW Radio in Melbourne featuring yet another confusing bit of signage found by one of their listeners. Working in the parking industry, initial thoughts were that we could probably figure this out – but no, we have to agree, it’s mighty unclear. Apparently, it means that Standing is allowed for […]
Hefty profit from Melbourne car park sale
Leigh Seymour made headlines last week with the announcement of the sale of a Melbourne car park for $40 million. As reported in The Australian, the Victoria University car park at 300 Flinders Street was purchased by Seymour in November 2011 for $28.2 million. Since that time, property improvements and a change of operator with […]
CBD parking space rents tipped to rise
An article in the Australian Financial Review last week tipped Sydney parking space rents to be on the rise in 2014 after four years of stagnation. The rate has been steady since 2009 at around $800 per month, yet Sydney is still the most expensive CBD rate in the country. The article is based on […]
Car vending machines address transport issues
Reported last month by news.com.au, Hangzhou’s nine million residents will be encouraged to relinquish car ownership in favour of a greener solution – electric hire cars available on demand from giant vending machines! In this attempt to spearhead the problems of pollution, traffic congestion and overcrowding, all exacerbated by spiralling car ownership in China, Hangzhou […]
Melbourne’s congestion levy expanded
Last month, the Victorian government announced plans to expand the reach of the congestion levy imposed on Melbourne parking spaces. Introduced in 2006, the current levy is restricted to the CBD area, but commencing 2015, the tax will be extended in all directions encompassing most of the City of Melbourne municipality. The new “Category 2” […]
2013 from the rear-vision mirror
Hard as it is to accept it, another year is about to end. When we ask ourselves “Where did it go?”, we realise that we have been too busy working to notice the passing of time! Appreciating Our Regular and New Clients 2013 has been a very successful year for us at Parking & Traffic Consultants. […]
Top shelf garaging for your Lamborghini
The subject of previous PTC blogs and articles, automated garaging must be the ultimate accessory! Well, if you can afford the car, then you can probably afford this Hamilton Scotts luxury apartment and the “attached” garage to go with it. That’s one way to keep an eye on your investment…Enjoy!
Entry point into the Sydney Property Market?
If you’re one of the thousands of Sydneysiders that feel the property market is out of reach, this story from Australian Business Traveller will either depress or delight you! Here’s your chance to own a plot of prime Sydney real estate for only $57,500. Not that long ago (OK, maybe 25 years), that sum might […]
Women in Parking lands in Australia
Cristina Lynn, Vice President of PAA at WIP Launch Event At a recent PAA event in Sydney, PTC Managing Partner and Treasurer of the Parking Association of Australia, Cristina Lynn, launched the Australian chapter of Women In Parking. Australia is the first outpost of the US association by the same name, and members will enjoy […]
Hillary Clinton gets unexpected extra at awards event
All in a day’s work! Reported last week in the International Business Times, a Westminster City Council parking warden rather courageously slapped an £80 penalty notice on the car of former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, while she was attending an event at Chatham House. No fewer than five Secret Service minders jumped out of nearby […]
Profit squeeze for Melbourne Airport off-site parking operators
An article last week in The Australian reported complaints of off-site parking operators being squeezed out of the market by the new seven-storey car park at Melbourne Airport. With construction only just commencing and the car park’s scheduled opening in 2015, the complaint surely couldn’t be about the pricing of car parking (yet). The issue […]
Sydney car park sells for $8.05 Million
A short and sweet article in The Australian appeared this week regarding the sale of the car park at One Dixon Street, Chinatown by Hyperion Properties to a Singapore buyer. The 93-space car park sold for just over $8 million, which puts it at approximately $80,500 per bay. Interestingly, this same property traded in 2007 […]
Contemporary car park turning heads
Thank goodness for the creative types who are turning the traditional vision of a car park on its ear! Reported this week in Designboom, Vienna based architects, PPAG, (in collaboration with Milan Mijalkovic) have recently completed this 3D patterned multi-storey car park in Skopje, Macedonia. The project began when architect, Anna Popelka, created a collage […]
Parking prize at Melbourne Airport
Forget lotto – here’s a prize you might actually have a chance of winning! Promoting its Short-Term Car Park and online booking service, Melbourne Airport is running a competition that will score 12 lucky winners a permanent, private car spot – not for a month, or a year, but until 2020! Patrons of the car […]
Don’t blame the parking space!
If you think it seems more difficult to park these days, you’re not wrong. We’ve seen statistics that say 1 in 5 accidents happen in a car park, but have you ever wondered why? A contributing factor would definitely have to be that the average size of vehicles has increased steadily over the past 20 […]
Car park transformed into trendy bookshop
The Librarie Avant-Garde in Nanjing has recently been voted China’s most beautiful book shop, which is rather surprising given its humble origins. It is located in a disused government car park beneath a stadium, formerly a bomb shelter. “There is an old saying in Chinese — turn something rotten into a miracle“, says the owner, […]
(Un) expected fallout from UK workplace parking levy
The introduction of Britain’s first workplace parking levy has been causing a spot of bother in the UK. The City of Nottingham was the first in the UK to introduce the levy in 2012 in an attempt to reduce congestion in the city. Employers are being charged £334 for each parking space offered to employees, […]
Cool Car Park no longer an oxymoron
The adjectives and imagery most often associated with the words “car park” would undoubtedly be summarised as “dull”. Well, be prepared to challenge your preconceived ideas and marvel at the shortlist of the World’s 10 Coolest Car Parks. Yes, they do exist! The contest, run by FX Magazine and Stress Free Airport Parking, recently announced […]
Parking Meters – where did all the coins go?
$210,000 US = 840,000 coins = 21,000 rolls = 10,500 lbs = 4,800 kgs If councils around the globe need any more evidence to support the upgrade to meters accepting non cash payments (credit card, phone, prepaid cards), this story might be it. An employee of the city of Buffalo, NY has been arrested and […]