Traffic lights that think for themselves
The ways in which traffic signals handle oncoming vehicles is a complicated science, and how well engineers manage that science impacts on how much traffic congestion we experience while driving. A new patent on self-organising traffic signals, which aim to manage the flow of vehicles to minimise waiting at intersections by doing the ‘thinking’ for […]
Why simple design is often complex
Parking World magazine has recently published an article penned by George Burton, Parking Consultant International’s design guru. The article, called ‘Why simple design is often complex’, explores the path a design process usually takes in order to arrive at a desirable product and to present an overview of the relevant factors that influence the process […]
The bus system that runs over traffic in China
The above picture illustrates a concept drawing of a revolutionary bus system being proposed in China: the 3D Fast Bus. The giant hybrid bus/train straddles the street allowing cars to drive right underneath it – meaning it is not slowed down by traffic, and doesn’t contribute further to it. The bus is designed to run […]
Port Macquarie parking sensor installation begins
This week marks the start of the project by Port Macquarie – Hasting Council to install sensors within CBD parking spaces in Port Macquarie. The technology will be able to record how long a car has been parked, with notifications sent to a ranger when a car exceeds the permitted time limit – but with […]
1111 Lincoln Road, Miami
We have touched on the parking structure at 1111 Lincoln Road, Miami recently (see our blog post A call to arms to improve car park design here), but must admit, when we found out more about this car park during the week, our jaws dropped. The architects of the garage (Herzog & de Meuron) developed […]
Brisbane Airport car park to be transformed into art project
Brisbane Airport’s new Domestic Terminal short-term multi-level car park is to be converted into an eight level kinetic public art project. The project has engaged Urban Art Projects (the firm we recently reported on as having given Brisbane’s Albert Street Car Park a similar installation), who have in turn commissioned established American artist Ned Kahn. […]
How many more car parks do you need than cars?
A new regional survey released in the US has found that the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin combined have 1,260 square kilometers of paved parking lots, or 5% of urban land use. That’s about 2.5 parking spaces per car, not even counting street parking, private car parks, and parking structures. If you add […]
On-street parking sensors in Port Macquarie and San Francisco
The Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has recently announced the introduction of on-street parking sensors, which electronically monitor how long the vehicles are parked in the bays and alert rangers when they over-stay time limits. The sensors are planned to be introduced for a 12-week trial under 50 parking spaces in the Port Central Shopping Centre area, […]
Car park planning
Cristina Lynn, Managing Partner of PCI, recently delivered the above presentation on the benefits of good planning to the car park development process. Particularly relevant to urban planners and councils, the presentation provides an overview of car park planning processes, including optimal space calculation, design, ‘green’ parking and other initiatives for consideration in optimising the […]
What do your car and your steak have in common?
NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies published the results of a study into the earth’s climate on February 18, analysing the impact of different industry sectors on it. They have discovered and described certain airborne chemicals that can trap incoming sunlight and warm the climate, while others cool the planet by blocking the Sun’s rays. […]
Preserving historical architecture
This building is a 17th century condominium in Crema, Northern Italy – the Palazzo Compostella già Dolfin. At first glance it seems perfectly normal, but in fact it hides an underground car park by the brilliant use of hydraulic stacking technology. The end result is a garage that stores 18 cars invisibly underground, with the […]
Australian Parking Convention – guess who is coming to town?
A guest post from PCI Managing Partner Cristina Lynn Dear Subscribers, The Parking Association of Australia is organising its next biennial convention which will be held in Sydney (at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre) between 7th and 9th November 2010. As the chair of the Organising Committee and Treasurer of the PAA I would […]
The cost of building car parks in Belgium and California
Following on from our recent blog posts on the cost of building car parks in various cities (see our blog post How much does it cost to build a car park around the world), PCI published this data to the parking community via business networking communities. We received a good response to the information and […]
New technology helps protect islands parking machines
After a run of thefts on their parking meters, the Isle of Wight Council has deployed a new technology designed to deter and assist with the apprehension of would-be vandals. The technology sprays a uniquely coded substance on anyone who illegally tampers with the machines. The harmless substance remains on the person for months and […]
Singapore’s green mall car parks
We’ve been reading up on the ‘Green Mark’ awards in Singapore, launched by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in January 2005 to promote environmental awareness in the construction and real estate sectors. It is a benchmarking scheme that aims to achieve a sustainable built environment by incorporating best practices in environmental design and construction, […]
How did car parks come about? See the House of Cars exhibition
Currently underway in the National Building Museum in Washington, the ‘House of Cars’ exhibition is gathering positive press from the industry. As read in the National Parking Association’s website (presenting sponsor of the event): House of Cars is the first exhibition of its kind to explore parking garages and the parking industry. It presents the history […]
Cars being rude to pedestrians in New York City
New York City at the moment is undergoing an urban planning evolution project, called ‘livable streets’. However, just because there’s an evolution underway doesn’t mean that drivers have gotten the message. Cars blocking crosswalks, drivers failing to yield to pedestrians, unnecessary honking and a slew of other quality-of-walking violations are still a routine occurrence on […]
The people vs the parking police – part two
In Logan City (USA) a recent council decision to replace the on-street parking strips with park-strips (small strips of park and greenery to improve aesthetics) has resulted in… a lawsuit. Residents of the area argue that the City initiated the park-strip project too quickly, and feel that the actions are outside their authority, invoking the […]
Oxford “Scramble” Circus
Courtesy of TreeHugger, we found this interesting article on the redesign of the pedestrian crossing at Oxford Circus in London, one of the busiest street crossings in the city. Modeled on the Japanese ‘scramble crossing’ design, as used in Shibuya station in central Toyko, the new design allows pedestrians thirty seconds to cross the intersection […]
Toyota designs a font using a car
This is a great idea for our more arty followers out there. Toyota has teamed up with two typographers and a race car driver to develop a font using only a car! The font is called IQ – the pictures tell a great story, but if you really want to be blown away, view the […]
Parking World magazine – October issue
The October issue of Parking World magazine is now out, and focuses on Airport Parking and Technology. There are a few mentions of PCI in this month’s issue, including the announcement of Kathy Ross’ appointment to PCI, and Cristina Lynn’s article about Sydney’s traffic challenge in the future, called Traffic Congestion – Sydney’s Paradigm Paralysis. […]
Sydney’s traffic solutions?
With Sydney’s population forecast to reach 10 million by 2050, drastic measures with regard to urban and transportation planning are likely to be required for the city to be able to cope with the demands placed on its services and infrastructure. The Sydney Morning Herald has been championing this cause of late, setting up independent […]
Traffic Congestion – Sydney’s Paradigm Paralysis
On returning from my overseas trip in July of this year I came across an article published in the (sydney) magazine entitled “I have a dream” which explored four different experts’ points of view regarding the state of our city: where did we go wrong and where do we go from here? This was quite […]
House of Cars
A brilliant exhibition is to be housed at the National Building Museum in Washington DC: House of Cars: Innovation and the Parking Garage. The exhibition will be open between October 17, 2009 and July 11, 2010. Taken from the National Building Museum website: “Cars. We imagine them always in motion, but they spend most of […]
2009 Australasian Airports Landside Transport Conference – Townsville QLD
From the desk of Cristina Lynn, Managing Partner of PCI: I have just returned from a very informative and pleasant couple of days in Townsville (isn’t this a tautology?) where I attended the third AALTC held at the Mercure Inn. The event was hosted by Madonna Simmons and her team at Townsville Airport and facilitated […]
It’s not an episode of play school
Whilst the above pictures could be mistaken as the new set for Play School, they represent a great example of the ‘new style’ of bright and friendly car park interior design, minus those dark, dangerous corners where one does not feel safe. The car park of the new terminal at Luxemburg Airport is an excellent […]
The pick of parking architecture, Vol 1: Marina City, Chicago (1962)
We have used photos of this car park in our website and other marketing material for a while now so we thought it worthwhile to give you some information and details regarding the car park and the development that it belongs to. The complex, dating back to the early 60’s, is called Marina City and […]
Dubai launches robotic car park
A commercial building near Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai opened a 765-lot computerised multi-storied car park on August 12. Motorists drive into slots inside a parking bay, much like an automatic car wash. TV screens, voice prompts and grooves in the ground guide the driver into a proper fit. After clearing a checklist, the driver […]
Around and around they go
Can reduced parking availability actually increase emissions as people drive around and around looking for that elusive parking space? Cristina Lynn was asked to comment this week on the Green Building Council of Australia’s statement that reducing the number of car parking spaces will be one means by which buildings can earn a ‘green’ rating […]
Car park ads three times less effective than shopping centre ads?
A report published by the Survey Sampling Institute research firm, on behalf of outdoor advertising company Eye, called Mall ads more effective, has found that ads placed in shopping centres were considerably more effective than those placed in car parks. They found the shopping centre ads to be three times more memorable, four times more […]