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 […]

Parking levy could fund transport expansion in Toronto

Toronto’s transport authority Metrolinx has big plans to solve their city’s congestion troubles, but the question remains, how are they going to pay for an ambitious list of proposed investments? To better engage the community and help inform policy decisions, the authority has released an online interactive simulation where the public can select the projects […]

Parking lot manager in conspiracy to steal over a million dollars

A former parking lot manager at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a conspiracy to steal more than $1 million in visitors’ parking fees. For just over three years, Abeselom Hailemariam was the manager at the 2,000-vehicle parking lot servicing the renowned museum precinct. […]

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 […]

George Street makeover a step closer

Both the State Government and the City of Sydney agree that light rail from Circular Quay to the city’s east along George Street will be a great thing for Sydney. The vision is for an integrated transport network able to move large groups of commuters quickly and effectively around the CBD and out to major […]

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 […]

Businesses fight parking levy in Adelaide

A coalition of South Australia’s most influential property owners have joined forces to fight the State Government’s Transport Development Levy planned for Adelaide’s CBD. We posted about this levy earlier this year.  Led by the SA branch of the Property Council of Australia, the State Coalition to Repeal the Parking Tax (SCRPT, or ‘SCRaP iT’) is […]

CBD parking tax win for New Zealand businesses

New Zealand PM, Mr John Key Meanwhile in New Zealand, business organisations and unions have claimed victory after the Prime Minister backed away from a government proposal to introduce a fringe benefit tax on car parks provided to employees as part of their remuneration. The tax on inner-city car parks in Auckland and Wellington drew […]

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, […]

Bikes and cars battle for parking in the UAE

It’s confusing times for motorists in U.A.E when it comes to street parking, especially for motorcyclists. A report from Emirates 24 | 7 has highlighted the confusion with stories of misinformation, blatant disregard for the law and officials willing to “turn a blind eye”….. sometimes. So, what’s all the fuss about? Car owners claim that […]

Car sharing in San Francisco seems like a good idea, doesn’t it?

The City of San Francisco prides itself on its Transit First policy, a concept that emerged over 40 years ago to ensure that urban development focused primarily on public transport solutions to tackle the city’s congestion problems. In this vein, two such initiatives have been recently adopted. One was to tighten controls on car park […]

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 […]

WA Labor’s election pledge to trial satellite car parks

Western Australia’s Opposition Leader Mark McGowan has pledged a series of measures to reduce Perth’s traffic congestion. The plan improves direct rail access to Perth Airport and would add an extra 17,000 parking bays around the rail network over the next eight years. The pre-election commitment comes as part of Labor’s $3.8B Metronet Plan aimed […]

Car parking fee slashed to encourage investment

Port Adelaide Einfield Council has voted to reduce the penalty on new developments to encourage commercial investment. Under current regulations, in lieu of providing their quota of car parks required for new proposals, developers may choose to make a financial contribution to the Port Adelaide Centre Car Parking fund. Revenue raised by this fund goes towards upgrading or building new car […]

City workers paint handicapped spot around car, then tow it

The UK’s Daily Mail has reported on a truly remarkable story described by the irate victim as “bullying and contempt never seen before.”When Hila Ben Baruch, from Tel Aviv, Israel parked her vehicle outside her home with a parking permit, she had done so legally. By the time Ms Ben Baruch had returned, a handicapped […]

Jakarta’s off-street parking tariff hike to “cover loss insurance for car owners”

The doubling of Jakarta’s off-street parking tariffs to Rp 4,000 per hour (AUD$0.41) prior to the last year’s gubernatorial (City Governor) elections will be challenged in an Indonesian court. Lawyer David Tobing has filed a lawsuit against the Jakarta Legislative Council over the higher parking tariffs, claiming the unannounced hike by the former regime led […]

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 […]


Subscribe to receive the latest Wayfinding Blog straight to your inbox.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.