Electric Vehicle charging in Europe
A report released by Pike Research (now stored in web archives) into the deployment of Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure across Europe has forecasted that by 2020 there will be more than 2.9 million plug-in electric vehicles on Europe’s roadways, and the region will have more than 4.1 million electric vehicle charging stations installed. The EV […]
Ford develops Traffic Jam Assist technology
Ford has announced that it is developing “Traffic Jam Assist”, an intelligent driving feature that employs technology from the already-available active Park Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane-Keeping Aid and the PowerShift transmission to enable a vehicle to automatically keep pace with other vehicles on the road, using radar and on-board camera technology. It also provides […]
Andrew Morse joins Parking and Traffic Consultants partnership
A message from Parking & Traffic Consultants’ Managing Partner, Cristina Lynn I would like to officially welcome Andrew Morse to the Parking & Traffic Consultants partnership. Andrew has cemented his commitment to the business by becoming a partner, demonstrating the success of the implementation of a traffic division within our long established parking consultancy. We […]
Pango mobile parking service launches in US
The Israeli-founded app “Pango”, designed to help with city parking and cruising, has launched in the US, together with their first so-called ‘smart garage’ in New York. Once users install the app and create their account using their license plate number and credit car details, they are able to search for participating parking stations. On […]
Urbanized: A must see for all Urban Designers (real or otherwise!)
Urbanizedis a feature-length documentary about the design and development of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers. According to the film’s press release, over half the world’s population now lives in an urban area, and 75% will call […]
Ohio State University leases parking operations to QIC
Ohio State University has moved ahead with leasing their parking operations to Australian company QIC and US partner LAZ Parking, in a 50 year contract deal worth US $483 million. According to the Star Tribune, the university pushed the plan as a way of providing cash flow at a time of declining public funding, with […]
Parking news from around Australia
In a quick summary of other news from around the parking and traffic world this week, the press is once again taking aim at airports, this time comparing the cost of parking a car to the cost of parking a plane. The article compares the base rates for parking against each other (finding that it […]
Car park signage – the good, the bad and the ugly
One of the areas that is often overlooked or taken for granted in car parks is signage. From exterior signage that attracts customers, to interior signage that helps drivers and pedestrians navigate quickly and easily through a car park, the importance of good signage to a positive customer experience is crucial. We would like to […]
New York explores private deal for parking meters
New York City is exploring the possibility of privatising the running of its 39,000 parking meters, currently researching mistakes made by other cities and exploring potential bidders. According to the Wall Street Journal, NYC officials are motivated in part by a belief that a private company could help alleviate some of the well-known frustrations of […]
Russian newspaper uses social shaming to stop bad park
An online Russian newspaper ‘The Village’ has launched an app and a media campaign designed to try and stop illegal and inconsiderate parking. Using the app on a mobile phone, the public take photos of the parking offenders, capturing photos of the car and the number plates. Image recognition technology then reads the number plates […]
Washington DC approves plan to expand ‘performance parking’
A council committee in Washington DC has approved a plan to allow city officials to manage the demand for parking spaces by adjusting parking prices, taking inspiration from San Francisco’s SFpark program. Under the plan, city officials would be able to adjust parking meter rates, length and times of operations, parking fines and residential parking […]
Riders want footpath parking for motorcycles in Perth
In Perth, the Motorcycle Riders Association is calling on the government to allow motorcycles and scooters to be able to park on public walkways in Perth city. According to ABC online, they are calling for a trial policy similar to Melbourne, allowing motorcycles to park on footpaths and concrete public spaces, providing the vehicle is […]
NFC payments in parking
Near field communication (NFC) technology allows secure data to be transmitted from a device or object to exchange information or even conduct electronic transactions with a tap. The technology is already embedded in many chip credit cards, and mobile phone providers are moving to roll out handsets which are NFC enabled, allowing users to pay […]
Dutch bicycle congestion
The Dutch are facing the consequences of their own cycling success, including congestion, lack of parking and infrastructure. In a country where bicycles outnumber people by 1.2 million, the Dutch have simply run out of space to accommodate the 5 million cyclists who take to the road every day. In Amsterdam alone, 490,000 cyclists travel […]
Avoiding storefront crashes
We came across an incredible video this week caught on the CCTV of a car crashing through the front window of a store. Amazingly, no one was hurt other than a few scratches and bruises. Watch the video above and here. The International Parking Institute has recently published an article written by Mark Wright on […]
Darwin council increases parking fine revenue
Darwin City Council increased its revenue from fees and fines by around $500,000 year on year, according to the NTnews.com.au site. This included an increase in fines from $917,000 to $1,193,000, and an increase in fees from $3,597,000 to $4,042,000 from the previous year. The Lord Mayor Graeme Sawyer said that this could be attributed […]
Are new parking charges illegal?
According to the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, the Cotswold District Council (UK) recently voted to extend weekday parking charges to Sundays and apply a flat rate £1.50 fee for overnight parking between 6pm and 8am, in a bid to raise £55,000 extra revenue. In the newspaper article it is claimed that a UK parking consultant […]
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 […]
Does the uniform make the man?
A pensioner in Collingwood, Victoria, has challenged her parking fine after an ‘unidentified passer by’ photographer her car whilst parked in a no standing zone. Her complaint is based not on the fine, but on the fact that the parking officer was not wearing a uniform or driving a marked car. Yarra City Council said […]
Can a Police vehicle park in a disabled space?
CCTV cameras caught a police vehicle parked in a disabled space at a shopping centre in Nudgee Beach, Brisbane. Witnesses claim that the police car was circling the parking lot looking for a space before pulling into the disabled parking bay. A spokesperson for the Queensland Police Service said it is only appropriate for a […]
iPhone app targets misuse of handicap parking spaces
A new iPhone app has been developed by a Canadian non-profit company, designed to both help handicapped people find accessible parking spaces – as well as report inappropriate use of the reserved spaces by drivers without a proper permit. Called Parking Mobility, it was developed by Vancouver resident Campbell MacDonald and his Calgary business partner […]
Find Your Car system launched in LA
A camera-based ‘Find You Car’ system has been launched In Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Place. Shoppers can simply type in their registration number into a kiosk touch screen, which then displays a photo of their car and its location. According to system developers, consumers are more likely to return to shopping centres if they don’t […]
VicRoads launch SmarkPark application
We have posted several articles recently about a range of new mobile technologies and location-based applications for parking. For the most part, these have been built as open software, from consumers, for consumers, to aggregate parking information – either by pricing or by availability. Until now, at least in Australia, we were not aware of […]
A moral victory?
In Brisbane, a man has had a $100 parking fine halved but ordered to pay $2871 in court costs. According to the Courier Mail, Stephen Hall, of Cleveland, in Redland City, said he thought he had reasonable grounds to appeal against the ticket issued on January 17, 2009, after he parked his motorcycle in George […]
Traffic lights that think for themselves
The ways in which traffic signals handle oncoming vehicles is a complicated science, and how well engineers manage that science impacts on how much traffic congestion we experience while driving. A new patent on self-organising traffic signals, which aim to manage the flow of vehicles to minimise waiting at intersections by doing the ‘thinking’ for […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Retail shopping experiences start in the car park
We came across an article this week, written by Kevin Moore, CEO of Crossmark Australia, which talks about the experience of retail shopping. It draws upon Paco Underhill’s latest book, The Call of the Mall, which presents the concept of “retail theatre”. In the article, ‘Shopping should start in the carpark’, Moore discusses car manufacturer […]