Audi’s Intelligent Assist predicts parking availability
A recent story from Wired has showcased the latest in intelligent technology from Audi. By using “big data”, wireless connectivity and the car’s on-board navigation system, an Audi-developed phone app will not only find parking, but also uses “intelligence” to predict when other spots might open up! Branded as Audi’s Urban Intelligent Assist, the project […]
Contenders for confusing sign awards
We love this post by 3AW Radio in Melbourne featuring yet another confusing bit of signage found by one of their listeners. Working in the parking industry, initial thoughts were that we could probably figure this out – but no, we have to agree, it’s mighty unclear. Apparently, it means that Standing is allowed for […]
Rome enlists Twitter to combat illegal parkers
We all know that Rome is synonymous with chaos when it comes to traffic and parking. For the most part, Romans and visitors have just accepted this as “the way it is”, because historically, enforcement has been seen as non-existent to intermittent at best. According to last week’s story on Mashable, the local polizia have […]
Equality the goal in planning cities of the future
We came across another great TED talk in December, featuring the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, Enrique Peñalosa, who suggests a new yardstick by which to measure our cities of the future. “An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but rather one where even the rich use public transport.” Peñalosa […]
CBD parking space rents tipped to rise
An article in the Australian Financial Review last week tipped Sydney parking space rents to be on the rise in 2014 after four years of stagnation. The rate has been steady since 2009 at around $800 per month, yet Sydney is still the most expensive CBD rate in the country. The article is based on […]
Car vending machines address transport issues
Reported last month by news.com.au, Hangzhou’s nine million residents will be encouraged to relinquish car ownership in favour of a greener solution – electric hire cars available on demand from giant vending machines! In this attempt to spearhead the problems of pollution, traffic congestion and overcrowding, all exacerbated by spiralling car ownership in China, Hangzhou […]
Melbourne’s congestion levy expanded
Last month, the Victorian government announced plans to expand the reach of the congestion levy imposed on Melbourne parking spaces. Introduced in 2006, the current levy is restricted to the CBD area, but commencing 2015, the tax will be extended in all directions encompassing most of the City of Melbourne municipality. The new “Category 2” […]
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!
Entry point into the Sydney Property Market?
If you’re one of the thousands of Sydneysiders that feel the property market is out of reach, this story from Australian Business Traveller will either depress or delight you! Here’s your chance to own a plot of prime Sydney real estate for only $57,500. Not that long ago (OK, maybe 25 years), that sum might […]
Hillary Clinton gets unexpected extra at awards event
All in a day’s work! Reported last week in the International Business Times, a Westminster City Council parking warden rather courageously slapped an £80 penalty notice on the car of former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, while she was attending an event at Chatham House. No fewer than five Secret Service minders jumped out of nearby […]
Reclaiming your city – lessons from the transformation of NYC
Here’s an inspiring and interesting TED talk from Janette Sadik-Khan, the Transportation Commissioner of New York City, sharing her strategy for transforming urban areas into a place for people. In the space of five years, New York has been reclaimed by the people thanks to some bold moves in the area of transport and planning. […]
Sydney bike lanes to absorb some parking spaces
Not everyone will be happy with the NSW government’s new City Centre Access Strategy, and that is expected when dealing with complex transport issues, multiple stakeholders, and the fixed infrastructure in a city the size of Sydney. The Sydney Morning Herald reports this week that planned expansion of bike lanes will be particularly detrimental to […]
Sydney car park sells for $8.05 Million
A short and sweet article in The Australian appeared this week regarding the sale of the car park at One Dixon Street, Chinatown by Hyperion Properties to a Singapore buyer. The 93-space car park sold for just over $8 million, which puts it at approximately $80,500 per bay. Interestingly, this same property traded in 2007 […]
Contemporary car park turning heads
Thank goodness for the creative types who are turning the traditional vision of a car park on its ear! Reported this week in Designboom, Vienna based architects, PPAG, (in collaboration with Milan Mijalkovic) have recently completed this 3D patterned multi-storey car park in Skopje, Macedonia. The project began when architect, Anna Popelka, created a collage […]
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 […]
Parking prize at Melbourne Airport
Forget lotto – here’s a prize you might actually have a chance of winning! Promoting its Short-Term Car Park and online booking service, Melbourne Airport is running a competition that will score 12 lucky winners a permanent, private car spot – not for a month, or a year, but until 2020! Patrons of the car […]
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 […]
Car park transformed into trendy bookshop
The Librarie Avant-Garde in Nanjing has recently been voted China’s most beautiful book shop, which is rather surprising given its humble origins. It is located in a disused government car park beneath a stadium, formerly a bomb shelter. “There is an old saying in Chinese — turn something rotten into a miracle“, says the owner, […]
Parking Meters – where did all the coins go?
$210,000 US = 840,000 coins = 21,000 rolls = 10,500 lbs = 4,800 kgs If councils around the globe need any more evidence to support the upgrade to meters accepting non cash payments (credit card, phone, prepaid cards), this story might be it. An employee of the city of Buffalo, NY has been arrested and […]
Richard III resurrected in parking lot
Another on the theme of reclaiming urban space — Manhattan theatre group, The Drilling Company, has been doing just that for more than two decades. They have elevated the lowly parking lot to new heights with their annual summer productions of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. Staged in the Municipal Lot at the corner of […]
Putting the “Park” back in Parking
Mark your diaries – World Park(ing) Day will be celebrated around the globe on Friday, September 20th. This annual, worldwide “open-source” event gives people the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and have some fun while “greening” our cities for the day. The concept is credited to the Rebar Group, a San Francisco design studio who […]
Double yellow lines under review in UK
It seems that many metropolitan town centres around the globe are facing the same dilemmas—trying to support local businesses and residents with the availability of short term parking, while managing the impact on traffic flows and the public purse. A complex issue, to be sure, to be sure… Reported this week in the UK Telegraph, […]
Car parks – the perfect solar opportunity
It’s a match made in heaven — car parks and the sun above. Why wouldn’t one take advantage of a free supply of energy will that could conceivably make a multi-story structure carbon-neutral? The beachside haven of Coffs Harbour has taken another step towards its goal of becoming a “solar city”. Councilmembers voted unanimously to […]
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 […]
Japan’s underground bike parking solution
Tokyo is a metropolis of over 13 million people, all trying to get around by the best means possible. Overwhelming congestion means that car travel is sluggish and we’ve all seen images of “train pushers” (or oshiya) cramming passengers onto Japan’s subway system. As a result, cycling is trending as a preference for many commuters. […]
Brazilian people power leads to transport policy review
In a follow up to last week’s blog article on the protests in Brazil, the country’s President, Dilma Rousseff, has held discussions with ‘peaceful protest leaders’ in an attempt to end days of nationwide unrest. The dialogue has led to the President unveiling a series of reforms including creating a national plan for urban public […]