Does parking supply influence transport planning?
Sareco, a Paris-based firm, recently published a paper that explores car parking management and transport policies, and their influence on greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, the paper claims that most urban trips (both for commuting and pleasure) are influenced by the parking conditions at their origin and destination. Further, a research paper by UK-based academic Adrian […]
Canberra electric vehicle charging network rolls out
The construction of Australia’s first full service electric vehicle charging network is underway in Canberra, which is currently operating on a limited scale but due to offer a full service from the second quarter of next year. According to the Australian Financial Review, the nation’s capital has been targeted because the city’s households have a […]
Car park advertising firsts
We have recently come across two (self-claimed) ‘world firsts’ in car park advertising and media placements that may be of inspiration for car park owners or operators in an additional revenue stream for their businesses. The first is an advertising campaign in Sydney and Melbourne for car insurance client Allianz. The campaign has seen a […]
Melbourne trials pay-by-phone technology in Carlton
The City of Melbourne will be trialling pay-by-phone technology in the Carlton area, allowing customers to pay using their mobile phones at on-street metered spaces. This is another step in the project announced earlier this year by the City of Melbourne to employ modern technologies to more effectively manage its on-street parking bays and improve […]
Newcastle considers variable car parking pricing
Newcastle City Council is currently considering a number of new on-street paid parking measures, including the possible introduction of a flexible pricing strategy, similar to the SFPark system currently being trialled in San Francisco. The new parking strategy is being driven by increased congestion in the city, and includes an extension of paid parking until […]
Sydney car park to install solar panels on rooftop
Willoughby Council has announced plans to install the biggest council-owned solar farm on the rooftop of Chatswood’s Albert Avenue car park. The project, which will see 140 solar panels installed on the rooftop of the car park, is the first part of a three-year plan to build a 300-kilowatt energy system that will provide power […]
New York to create a pedestrian wayfinding system
This week, New York City’s Department of Transportation announced that they were planning to add signage to the streets to help pedestrians navigate the city more easily. The wayfinding system will provide clear signs that tell people their location, how long it takes to walk to key locations and gives a map of the area. […]
Electric vehicles face challenges despite infrastructure roll out
A report released by the Boston Consulting Group questions the ‘dominance’ of the electric vehicle era, arguing that internal combustion engines will continue to improve enough to cut CO2 emissions and enable automakers to hit their 2020 emission targets. Whilst they acknowledge that automakers will need to improve across a number of areas, including vehicle […]
TED: Bill Ford discusses a future beyond traffic gridlock
We came across a TED Talk this week by Bill Ford, great-grandson of Henry Ford, who has spent over 30 years working for the Ford Motor Company. He recently delivered a speech at TED which discussed both his concerns about the impact of cars on the environment, as well as what, for him, is a […]
Sydney’s transport solution may lay underground
Over the past two weeks, we have discussed the new precinct of Barangaroo on the Wayfinding Forum, and the resulting affect of the increased commuter numbers on the infrastructure in Sydney’s CBD. One of the key concerns for the project is the commuter hub of Wynyard; with the existing train station due to reach capacity […]
Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct faces transportation challenges
According to NSW’s Auditor-General, Peter Achterstraat, Sydney’s $6 billion Barangaroo development is at ‘considerable risk’, due to inadequate transport and lower-than-expected developer contributions. Wynyard Railway Station, which is expected to handle up to 63% of the commuters to the waterfront development is likely to reach capacity by 2017. The additional 14,300 predicted commuters won’t be […]
Parking & Traffic Consultants once again at the World Parking Symposium
Cristina Lynn, our Managing Partner, will be attending her third World Parking Symposium which this year is being held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada between 26 – 29 June. The World Parking Symposium’s title is: “Why does Parking & Transportation Matter? The Future of Service Delivery in the 21st Century” and will address selected issues in urban […]
Traffic management inspiration from New York
This week, we came across a demonstration of how one particular New York intersection is both dysfunctional and more than a little dangerous. For his master’s thesis at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Ron Gabriel created a campaign called 3-Way Street to examine how “pedestrians jaywalking, cyclists running red lights and […]
Google Wallet’s potential effect on parking industry infrastructure
Google launched a product this week called ‘Google Wallet’ which uses ‘Near Field Communication’ (NFC) technology to enable secure credit card payments using a mobile phone. With Google Wallet, customers will be able to add their existing credit cards to the platform. Google Wallet can be locked via multiple levels of security, including a phone […]
Why is Melbourne’s bike sharing scheme underperforming?
After one year of operation, the Melbourne bike sharing scheme is running into trouble, with apparent underutilisation and rider numbers falling short of projections. A number of issues have been identified as possible reasons for the lack of enthusiasm – including awkward pick-up points, a wet summer, compulsory helmet laws (with riders being forced to […]
Barbara Chance – a worthy parking consultant
In more news from Pittsburgh, the IPI recognized three parking professionals who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Parking Consultant Dr. Barbara Chance and University of California/Irvine’s Ronald Fleming shared the Parking Professional of the Year award. You will no doubt remember that Barbara was one of the speakers at the Australian Parking Association’s […]
Interesting trends revealed by Parking Industry Survey
Also released at the IPI Conference were the results of the 2011 “Emerging Trends in Parking” survey of its members to examine the evolution of the car parking industry. The survey revealed that while parking professionals are finding increased pressure to boost parking revenue, significant trends centre on demand for sustainable parking solutions and advances […]
Solar panels built into roads
Produced by a Dutch research firm, the Solaroad comprises solar panels being installed directly onto roads and cycle lanes, using the extra space for the production of energy. The idea is that a centimetre thick layer of crystalline silicon solar cells is laid on top of the concrete road surface, in turn covered by a […]
Green power and electric vehicle charging stations
Whilst we have commented on the benefits of electric vehicles on the Wayfinding Forum for some time, recent studies are muddying the waters as to the effectiveness of the technology. Car maker Audi has examined the energy output of the entire chain of powering the vehicles – from power station to the car’s emissions – […]
Mobile technology: changing the way drivers look for parking spaces
The recent emergence of location-based applications servicing the parking industry is having a significant (and very fast) impact on how drivers seek for available parking spaces and how owners/operators of those spaces monitor usage, provide information on their location to the public and, in some cases, enforce the regulations governing their use. With the largest […]
Manly Council – great parking developments!
Manly Council (in Sydney’s Northern Beaches) announced last week plans to build a two storey car park underneath Manly Oval, as part of a plan to reduce the number of cars in the village area. The 800-space underground car park will allow Council to demolish two other at grade car parks with a combined capacity […]
How much parking is enough?
Following the lead of Sydney and Melbourne Councils recently reducing the minimum parking requirements in both residential and commercial buildings, Wollongong City Council announced last week that they plan to reduce minimum parking requirements in the CBD by almost 20 per cent. The Illawarra Mercury reported that the first instalment of a three-stage review of […]
Virgin introduces kerbside check-in service
Another innovation launched by Virgin Blue (since renamed Virgin Australia) last week, brings a kerbside check-in service and valet parking for its business, premium economy and Gold Velocity passengers at Sydney Airport’s Terminal 2. Domestic passengers travelling without luggage now have their own entrance, check-in and security screening point that allows them to bypass the […]
New car parking technology for City of Melbourne
On April 20th the City of Melbourne formally approved a $5.48 million project to modernise the way parking is managed across the city which had been unveiled earlier this year. The new technology, which will be rolled out between 1 July and 30 October this year, includes the installation of in-ground sensors in more than […]
Honk For iPhone
The parking app business is booming at the moment, with the release of another great parking application for iPhones, called ‘Honk’. It includes a range of features to help with the management of the parking process – from a timer which can be set when parking, with minute by minute updates of remaining time on […]
Electric motorcycles the future of road transport?
With rising petrol prices and the release of plug-in electric and hybrid cars, the auto industry (as well as this blog!) have given the electric car revolution significant attention over the past two years. However, with all of the attention on the electric cars, a smaller adaption of the technology may have been overlooked – […]
San Francisco switches to demand-based parking fees
The implementation of demand-based parking fees (on city streets and public parking garages), which is an integral part of the SFpark project in San Francisco, is starting on April 21. Sensors installed at each parking space will track where parking is available in real time and uploaded to signs and smartphone applications. According to the […]
The vertical bike hanger
New York architects Manifesto Architecture have developed a concept design for bike parking, an issue which is growing in line with the popularity of bicycle commuting. The Bike Hanger can stack bicycles vertically, along the usually bare building walls along laneways. Bike Hanger was designed and shortlisted for the 2010 Seoul Cycle Design Competition, which […]
“Best of Green” awards for cars and transportation
This week, TreeHugger published their ‘Best of Green’ awards for the cars and transportation category. Whilst we won’t run through each of the winners, we’d like to share those that especially inspired us: Best electric car on the market:Nissan LEAF. The LEAF won the award because it’s a mass-produced family-friendly electric car which sells at […]
Sydney’s mayor says that the critics are wrong on cycle lanes
An article this week in the Sydney Morning Herald summarises a lecture delivered by the Lord Mayor at the University of NSW on Wednesday April 6th about the city’s cycle lanes, currently in construction along several key corridors to and through the CBD. She argues that NSW has been held back due to little interest in […]