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 […]
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 […]
Parking meter technology is not always convenient
Every week we read about new car parking technology being unveiled somewhere in the world. This week, The New York Times published about the latest smart phone application being trialled in the Bronx, using real time updates to direct drivers to available parking spaces. The technology also allows for motorists to pay for parking with […]
Brisbane to Melbourne high-speed rail, but at what cost?
Phase two of the Federal Government’s study to construct high-speed rail (HSR) spanning from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra was released this week to a lukewarm reception. The ambitious infrastructure plan would be the largest investment of any national project, eclipsing the NBN many times over. The HSR network, comprising over 1,700 kms […]
Transit Oriented Development needs to be more than transit and development
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is not a new concept in urban planning. DNAinfo.com has published a story about the latest mixed development taking advantage of local public transport hubs in Chicago. The Wicker Park building contains 99 residential units but only 15 car spaces, supposedly reserved for visitors only. Whilst ratios vary around the world, […]
Green badges to encourage electric car investment
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has called for free parking for electric vehicles in an attempt to encourage UK drivers to switch to the more environmentally friendly mode of travel. An article published by the Guardian this week, explains that the concept is similar to the existing blue badge scheme for disabled drivers. […]
Folding cars. Your parking problems are solved!
Ever tried to squeeze into an impossible parking spot? We all have, but with the latest technology coming out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) the impossible is becoming possible. A BBC Business News report published this week has revealed the media lab at MIT has designed a ‘folding car’ which is being developed […]
PIE at Chicago, 2013
Cristina Lynn attended the Parking Industry Exhibition held in Chicago earlier this month on behalf of the Parking Association of Australia. The exhibition took place over three days showcasing a wide range of suppliers with many representatives from access control, parking guidance, ticket manufacturers, LED lighting and on-street technology. A very interesting group of speakers […]
FlightCar to alleviate airport parking headaches in San Francisco
Time Business & Money has reported passengers flying into San Francisco now have an alternative when deciding on their rental car choice. An innovative peer-to-peer car-share program is operating out of the international airport. Travellers can choose to leave their car prior to boarding their flight, allowing fellow travellers to use their vehicle while they are […]
Electric cars to have a home at Highland Park, Chicago
The Chicago Tribune has reported Highland Park, a municipality of Chicago, will create areas in its downtown to accommodate electric cars. The city will consider priority parking spaces and reduced vehicle sticker fees to further incentivise electric car owners. The concept is hoped to be not only good for the environment, but also may help […]
Compact automated parking garage launched in LA
AutoParkiT has just been launched in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles. The system is designed to automatically park, store and retrieve vehicles in a compact parking structure, using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology containing details of the user to ensure the swift identification and retrieval of vehicles. Whilst automated mechanical parking is not new, this […]
Hobart’s Bike Hubs turn drab into art
Bicycle racks are generally seen as a functional yet drab and unimaginative element of the urban landscape. In Hobart, recently commissioned bike hubs, have turned that idea on its head. The bike hubs are the vision of local architect and designer, Ken Betlehem, to whom they represent an understanding of international bike parking best practice, […]
Car park design – an interesting beast
In any development, there is a fine line between the interests of the engineer, the developer, the investor and the end user. Ultimately all are after a solution which works, but it can be the age-old battle between cost and benefit which dictates terms. In a previous post entitled Why Simple Design is Often […]
The Case For Abolishing Parking Tickets
A novel solution to managing parking fines for those found to have overstayed their limit has been proposed by Anam Ardeshiri at the annual Transportation Research Board conference in Washington last month. Mr Ardeshiri claims that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime for an inadvertent misjudgement of time by minutes, compared with those who intentionally run […]
Pango Arrives in Phoenix and New York
The next wave of mobile phone based parking technology is being rolled out across two of America’s most populated cities, New York and Phoenix. Pango, an Israel based company, claims to be the world’s first provider of pay by mobile phone parking solutions, developing the technology to give consumers a convenient and easy way to […]
Kunming, China, trials ‘no car day’
The city of Kunming in China (the home town of our analyst Sunny Huang) held its first ever ‘no car day’ recently, with private cars not allowed in the city centre. The event was the climax of Kunming’s ‘Urban Public Transport Week’, promoting the city’s bus system and other alternatives to driving private automobiles around […]
Avis to buy Zipcar car sharing service
Car sharing service Zipcar agreed last week to a sale to Avis Budget Group for about $500 million. The deal puts Avis ahead of its competition in the hourly rental market. According to the Boston Globe, the market for hourly rental in the US has grown to nearly $400 million and could reach $10 billion […]
NYC upgrades parking signs
The New York City Transportation Department announced last week the replacement of more than 6,000 parking signs with an easier-to-follow design. According to the NYTimes, key changes include “more breathing room” (white space), eliminating a colour (blue), and reducing the number of characters needed to explain the rules to a Twitter-friendly 140 (from 250). The […]
Paying for parking by Etag is a reality (in Santiago!)
During our recent visit to the South American capital, we were able to witness the operation of a payment by e-tag in a large shopping centre car park. The system has been recently installed and the owner is expecting that use will increase very fast from a currently low 2% to around 40% of transactions. […]
Parking and Traffic Consultants – 2012 year in review
2012 has been another eventful year for PTC. Many new clients joined the prestigious names in our portfolio, including Perth Airport, Health Infrastructure, Adelaide University and Leichhardt Council. Many other previous clients engaged us to do new work. Just to give you an idea, during the year we worked for these airports: Adelaide, Gold Coast, […]
Sydney light rail project to be green lit
The first stage of the extension of Sydney’s light rail appears to be moving ahead, with the staged construction of a line from the University of NSW in Randwick to the CBD expected to be announced this week. NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell will announce that work will start at the university and go to Central […]
Hola from Santiago
A guest post from Parking & Traffic Consultants’ Managing Partner, Cristina Lynn Hola to all our blog readers! George Burton, Grant McLean and I are in Santiago, Chile to kick start a project for a major shopping centre owner. The project will include design review, signage and wayfinding and external traffic issues. I thought you […]
A year of ‘Parking and Traffic’ blogs in review
Feel like the year has passed you by too? If you’ve been too busy to stay on top of the parking and traffic industry news every week – never fear! Here is our annual round-up of the highs and lows, and headline-making stories from 2012. Parking and policy in Australia This year saw Parking & […]
Sydney’s bike lane network set to be completed
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell’s push to take control of Sydney’s CBD transport may see the completion of the network of bike lanes. The committee set up by the government to take control of the city’s transport planning has endorsed the completion of the bike lane network by May next year. The committee gave new impetus […]
Sydney’s smartcard technology already behind the times
With the roll out of Sydney’s new ticketing system, the Opal card, starting on December 7, some transport experts are claiming that the system is “old technology”, already being replaced around the world. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, one analyst claims that the Opal card is 10 years too late, due to the rise […]
Sydney public transport mapping
Mapping of Sydney’s public transport network has revealed that huge pockets of the city are disadvantaged when it comes to convenient and frequent transport services. According to ABC News, a community group called the Sydney Alliance has commissioned maps revealing the proximity and frequency of public transport services throughout greater Sydney. Key findings of the […]
Light rail is people’s choice for George Street
A forum at Sydney’s Town Hall on Monday night has endorsed plans for a light rail line down George Street (see our previous post about this here). The forum, attended by around 700 people including business owners and general public, tackled two competing plans before the O’Farrell government: a tram line versus an underground bus […]
Unofficial street photography gallery in Sydney
A ‘guerrilla gallery’ has been installed by photographers on Sydney’s Elizabeth Street, on the wall beneath Goulburn Street Parking station, with more than 40 works by six photographers. Sydney’s Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, has thrown her support behind the project, and will call on Monday night’s council meeting to take all necessary steps to ensure […]
The market for charging stations for electric vehicles
Meanwhile, and somewhat in contradiction to our previous post, research released by Lux Research recently indicates that the market for delivering electricity to Electric Vehicles will rise to be a $1.2 billion market in 2020. Lux Research developed a forecast using vehicle sales to project the global electric-vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) market. According to a […]
Interest in electric vehicles is declining In the US
A new study conducted by Pike Research indicates that the number of people ‘extremely’ or ‘very interested’ in electric cars has declined in the last year, from 40% to 36%. According to Torquenews.com, key findings from the survey include: Consumers often cite insufficient range as a primary reason for their lack of interest in plug-in […]