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!
Parallel parking utopia
The technology has been around for a while, but have you ever wondered just how those self-parking cars manage to manoeuvre themselves into spaces? This great little clip from NRMA explains the process beautifully, from both inside and outside the vehicle. It looks pretty fool-proof, but the only proviso is that you must be able […]
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 […]
(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, […]
Traffic fumes identified as cancer risk factor
Every week cities around the world bemoan their traffic problems and look for ways to solve them. Reports abound on the knock-on effects that traffic chaos has on our stress levels and the health and wealth of our economies. The typical debate surrounding investment in public transport vs new roads tends to focus largely on […]
Auckland tolls to fund infrastructure crisis
Auckland is easily New Zealand’s largest city, and like many big cities it is suffering from a dearth of roads and transport infrastructure. Conservatively, traffic congestion is costing the city more than $1B in productivity per annum, a figure that is growing. In a high level report released recently “Funding Auckland’s Transport Future”, we’re told […]
The impact of driverless cars on our cities
As we posted in last week’s Wayfinding Forum, auto companies are now striving beyond the development of self-parking cars. They are building self-DRIVING cars. Whilst the technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, public acceptance and understanding is still in its infancy. This week, an interesting perspective was offered by The New York Times. The […]
Remember the Jetsons?
We complain about traffic snarls. We complain about transport links. We complain about airport processing queues. Well, it seems the creators of the imagined “Horizon System” had all this in mind when they submitted their winning entry to the Glasgow School of Art creative competition, offering a vision of the future of aviation. Watch their […]
Driving and parking – where have the people gone?
We’re told there would be fewer accidents and traffic snarls, and time spent looking for parking could be spent doing…..well, anything else. Thanks to Volvo, the fully automated, driverless car is now closer than ever. But are we ready for it? Volvo will become the first car manufacturer in the world to release a self-parking […]
Parking technology – the alternative option?
We often comment on Wayfinding Forum about the development of technology in our industry and how it is apparently streamlining the way we live. The previous article is a case in point. Subscribers may also recall articles we have written on fully automated parking garages, folding cars, underground bike parking and car park guidance systems […]
A world without parking consultants? Surely not!
Ever imagined a world without cars? Some might think a world without oxygen is more palatable, but would it really be so bad? There’d be no traffic, no car accidents, no parking tickets. Goodness, there’d be no need for traffic and parking consultants whatsoever….. Actually maybe this isn’t such a good idea! Seriously though, would […]
Driverless trains are headed for Sydney
The NSW budget handed down last week delivered significantly on transport, with over $6 billion pledged towards infrastructure projects. Along with the light rail project previously mentioned on Wayfinding Forum, heavy rail was the big winner with funding confirmed along the north-west corridor of Sydney. The NSW Government describes The North West Rail Link as […]
Cyclists take over the streets of Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia is the second most populous city in South America and one of the highest capitals in the world at a lofty 2625m above sea level. From Monday to Friday it is not unusual to hear ‘Bogotanos’ complaining about heavy traffic, pot-holed roads and an overburdened public transport network. However each Sunday and most […]
Commercial parking minimums in Latin America
Still in Colombia, take a look at this commentary from Reinventing Parking on a new parking policy guide that was launched last week in Bogotá. From the data provided, it is evident that there is a distinct split across South American countries in parking space provisions for new commercial buildings. The graph shows Mexico, Brazil […]
Opal expands to Sydney’s rail network
The NSW Government will extend the trial of its Opal smartcard ticketing system to some of Sydney’s trains from the end of this week. The trial, which has previously been introduced on two of Sydney’s ferry routes, will now include train stations on the City Circle and Bondi Junction lines. The rollout brings Sydney closer […]
Melbourne’s parking squeeze to tighten
As with many of the world’s big cities, Melbourne’s CBD is experiencing a chronic shortage of parking spaces, an issue that is likely to worsen in the coming years. According to The Age, over the past 13 years only 9551 car spaces have been added to the CBD’s supply of 38,085 commercial places while the […]
Bike sharing program launched in NYC
New York City’s bike-sharing program was officially launched last week, sending 6,000 bright blue “Citi Bikes” onto the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The system will feature 24/7 access to terminals at hundreds of subway stations around New York. Each terminal is equipped with a touchscreen kiosk, a map of the service area and a […]
Synchronization gets the green light in LA
Los Angeles has long been a symbol of America’s traffic congestion with its polluted stretches of multi-lane freeways turning into car parks during rush hour, aggravating its users. However, if city planners are correct, this is about to change — with LA turning from eternal gridlock into a best practice model for traffic control. This […]
Quest to improve cycling safety in Otago NZ
Two recent deaths of cyclists on the streets of Dunedin have prompted councillors to investigate options for rejigging parking and traffic management protocols on some of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. The Otago Daily Times reported requests have been made to council and the NZ Transport Agency to investigate the option of increasing parking limits for […]
Tackling abuse of disabled parking spaces
Around the world, parking enforcement agencies battle with illegal use of disabled parking spaces by unauthorised drivers. On the Gold Coast, along with increasing fines, the city council hopes to ratify a proposal for photo IDs to be displayed with disabled parking permits. According to the Gold Coast News website, Councillor Bob La Castra admitted […]
Park-and-Ride: Not as helpful as you may think
A new study published in the Journal of Transport Geography, by Dutch researcher Giuliano Mingardo has revealed more unintended consequences of Park-and-Ride facilities in metro areas. The result of the study confirms earlier research that it can actually generate greater traffic as a result of its implementation. Research from the early 1990s found that park-and-ride […]
Is paid parking the solution for Canberra?
Following our post on Wayfinding Forum in January, the parking landscape in the ACT’s Parliamentary Triangle is about to change forever, but it may not be to everyone’s liking. In last week’s budget, Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan announced 9,000 pay-parking spaces will be introduced in Parkes, Barton, Russel and Acton from July next year. At […]
Plans to arrest the parking crisis in Mumbai
India is the world’s second most populous nation and traffic on the streets of Mumbai reflects this. In fact, the number of cars in Mumbai has increased by 51% in the last six years, meaning not only is pollution and congestion on the rise, but the fight for parking spaces is too. As a result, […]
Parking meter privatisation deal renegotiated by Chicago Mayor
Chicago City Mayor Rahm Emanuel is attempting to make up for what he describes as the mistakes of a previous administration by renegotiating its 75 year deal with the private company now responsible for running the city’s parking meters. In 2008, the Chicago Parking Meters group paid $1.15 billion for the lease to monetize about 36,000 […]
Can road pricing really improve urban productivity
The Grattan Institute has this month released a report entitled, Productive Cities: Opportunity in a changing economy offering solutions to help increase economic productivity and efficiency in Australian cities. The report analyses housing, income and transport data in Australia’s four largest cities to show that while highly paid and qualified workers are living close to city […]
Adelaide parking levy faces stiff opposition
CBD parking levies are still a hot topic of discussion around Australia following last week’s blog reporting on the Victorian government’s plans for an increased parking tax. This week has seen South Australia’s Opposition ramping up its fight against their state government’s planned parking levy for Adelaide’s CBD. The controversial plan is fast becoming a […]
Some comic relief
Parking lot humour can sometimes be hard to come by, but here’s something recently “dug up” by one of our long term subscribers. Enjoy the rest of your week, from all of us at PTC!
Car parking levy in Melbourne on the rise
An increased parking levy is set to be included in Victoria’s state budget next Tuesday. The Age reports that property owners are currently charged $950 annual per long term (all day) parking space, however this will rise to $1300 p.a and will be extended to include short term parking as well. The levy will now […]
Plans to ease weekend congestion in Sydney
Earlier this week the Sydney Morning Herald reported on the State Government’s imminent plans to extend clearways on Sydney’s most congested roads to include weekends. The report tells us that there are up to 200,000 more cars on Sydney’s roads on Saturday mornings when compared with weekday mornings, and less people are using public transport. This […]