Finding new solutions to renting out parking space

We have come across several articles recently regarding techniques that people are adopting to source alternative car parking options, or find new customers for their existing assets. The Sunday Telegraph published an article recently about renting out vacant property space, both for storage and parking. The article, “Cash in your spare space”, reports that returns […]

Adelaide proposes electric-charging meters

Adelaide Lord Mayor Michael Harbison is jumping on the electric powered car bandwagon, proposing electric recharge meters across the city’s CBD. Whilst there are only seven electric cars currently registered in Adelaide, he believes the introduction of the recharge facilities will see a jump in ownership levels. Electric car owners will also have access to […]

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 […]

East vs West

Waverley Council, in Sydney’s East, and home to iconic Sydney landmark Bondi Beach, have recently increased their parking fees by more than 10%, to $5 per hour. Bondi shop owners are fearful that the increased fees will have a negative impact on their trade. Waverley’s mayor, Sally Betts, was reported as having demanded that ‘people […]

Davis Langdon Consumer Sentiment Report, September 2009

Davis Langton has just released their September update to their consumer sentiment report, monitoring consumer sentiment and attitudes in the construction industry. Their last update, published in May, reported that they felt that attitudes had begun to turn the corner, indicating that the construction industry had potentially turned the corner out of the recession. View […]

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 […]

One good way to reduce demand for parking?

We came across an opinion piece on September 3 from The Australian columnist Bernard Salt, pointing out several examples of what he refers to as ‘Design triumphs over application’, where designers seem more concerned with the “look” of a space than the use of that space. We quote from his article: Carparks with tight turning […]

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 […]

Number plate scanning used for good?

Recently, PCI published information about new number plate recognition technology (called autoChalk) currently being trialed in Australia for parking enforcement, in an article called Drive-By Chalkings. The Age on September 5 reported on the use of such technology for crime detection and prevention, where cars are scanned daily, using software capable of reading characters on […]

Safety not negotiable

The New Zealand Parking Association’s 26th Annual Conference is being held from September 29 – October 2 in Christchurch, with a theme this year of ‘Safety Not Negotiable’. Keynote speakers will focus on health and safety within the workforce, dealing with difficult customers, safety through technology, coping with personal appraisals and the general wellbeing of […]

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 […]

Parking spaces are ‘created’ by £10 tariff

The article, ‘Parking spaces are ‘created’ by £10 tariff’, proves the point – put prices up, and parking spaces are created! In this case, it’s a slightly different scenario – we have a hospital with free parking, but such a demand for parking that available spaces are almost impossible to find. By introducing a £10 tariff to […]

Get out of your car

A ‘hot topic’ in the parking industry, especially in the application of planning principles and theories to the pricing of urban parking, is the ‘make parking more expensive’ argument. Refer to our recent blog posts, San Francisco City Parking Report, and Head out of the sand please, Mosman residents! Coined ‘Out of the car thinking’, […]

Sydney Parking 2029

With forecast strong population growth, Sydney’s unenviable claim as one of the most expensive cities in the world in which to park looks set to dramatically worsen over the next two decades. It may be overreacting, but the Sydney Morning Herald recently published “The Big Squeeze”, labeling the issue a ‘Parking Crisis’ and predicting that […]

Like Twister for Godzilla!

A three month seafront celebration in Weston, UK, will see colour-coded car parks arranged according to vehicles’ colour. It’s part of the summer art festival on Weston’s Beach Lawns. Perhaps inspired by our previous blog post reporting on California’s Southwestern College in 1994, Finding your way made easier by colour? Beach Lawns becomes a colourful […]

Head out of the sand please, Mosman residents!

As letters continue to rain upon the Mosman Daily’s editor expressing rage over the introduction of parking meters, you could almost be forgiven for thinking that everything in Mosman is free. (For those of you who are not familiar with the latest developments in PCI’s home ground, view our recent blog post, A Metered Debate?). […]

Melbourne Car Park sells for $38m

The car park at 522 Flinders Lane in Melbourne has recently been sold by ISPT for $38 million to a local private buyer. We understand that the car park comprises around 1200 spaces and therefore this would indicate a price per bay of just over $30,000. Knight Frank agent Clinton Baxter said that new apartment […]

Cash for clunkers

The US Senate recently passed a ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program, allowing owners of old, emission-heavy vehicles, to receive up to USD$4500 when they trade them in for new, fuel efficient vehicles. Environmental website TreeHugger, in an article entitled Cash for Clunkers Passes – Auto Industry Saved? Blue Skies Ahead? explores the issue both from the perspective […]

Mirvac calls it a day on car park management

Mirvac has announced that it is in the process of disbanding the car park management side of its business, reports The Australian. According to the article, it is in the process of signing over nine of its larger car parks to Wilson Parking, and handing the management of two of its shopping centre car parks, […]

Didn’t plan for this…

We came across an interesting article in the Canberra Times this week about the most planned of all Australian cities, Canberra. Architects and sustainability experts are concerned about the increasing rate of urban sprawl in the city, especially in the northern suburbs, and the impact on the city’s future. “But the more that planning and […]

Canberra to become Australia’s first electric recharge city

In another story on Canberra this week, it has been announced that our capital will become the first Australian city and only the third in the world to support electric cars, with an international company pledging to establish recharge points in the capital’s homes, workplaces and shopping centres within three years. The company facilitating the […]

Condor Towers Car Park

Last weekend’s social scene in Perth saw a relatively unique event on the calendar – the opening of the Condor Towers car park in Perth. Not usually something to make much of a fuss about? A while ago the developers of Condor Towers asked artist group OLOLO if they could ‘art up’ the 5 level […]

Parking officer survey reveals rising rate of abuse and assaults

We recently published a post about parking rangers, titled ‘The People vs The Parking Police’, which explored some of the consumer frustrations with parking police. On Tuesday (July 28), a report was published by the United Services Union exposing the other viewpoint – that of the parking rangers. The report, ‘Moving on for Safety’, publishes […]

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 […]

Why advancements in fuel efficiency aren’t all that efficient

Courtesy of TreeHugger comes a report about vehicle fuel efficiency. This article, entitled ‘No wonder fuel economy is stagnant, cars ballooned up since 1980′, talks about how gains in the size, weight and horsepower in passenger cars have more than overcompensated for recent improvements in fuel efficiency. We found this excerpt to be most telling, sourced from […]

Pedestrian casualties in rush to bag a car park

Brisbane’s Courier Mail explores the increasing incidence of pedestrians being struck by drivers in busy car parks, desperate to beat other motorists to available parking bays. Compensation lawyers are getting in on the act too, and AAMI reports that as many as 70% of drivers have had bad experiences in shopping centre car parks, from damage […]

Drive-by chalkings

For anyone who currently takes the parking risk on a regular basis – watch out! A new drive-by spy camera, which electronically scans the position of parked cars is being trialed in Australia. Mounted to a vehicle driven by a parking ranger, it scans parked cars at two separate intervals, noting the colour, shape, size […]

CBD parking costs through the roof

Following up from our post last week, ‘Colliers International Global CBD Parking Rate Survey’, the Sydney Morning Herald has published their take on the report, including additional information about the cost of investing in car parks as a property investment, and commentary from Wendy Machin of the NRMA. Whilst the inclusion of Sydney in the […]

A tax grab!

We have come across another article on the Sydney parking levy, this one published by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). With the parking industry saying that there are no studies that validate the claim that the additional tax will ease congestion, which is the claimed rationale from the Government behind the tax rise, the Government is […]

Colliers International Global CBD Parking Rate Survey 2009

Colliers International have just released their Global CBD Parking Rate Survey for 2009. The survey, which tracks 140 downtown parking districts around the world, found that Australia’s capital cities ranked among the most expensive places in the world to park. Sydney, Brisbane and Perth again all ranked in the top 10 cities globally for the […]


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