parking structures

Public art commissioned for the Scioto Peninsula parking lot

by Deena S. Hawkins on February 28, 2022

Earlier this month, the City of Columbus announced that four artists have been tapped to create new public art installations on the Starling Garage, which is currently under construction on the site of The Peninsula development. These four artists include local muralists Adam Hernandez, Nick Stull and Lucie Shearer, as well as architecture and design firm Studio KCA.

The public art was commissioned by the City of Columbus with a budget of $250,000 through the Columbus Art Commission. A total of 81 applications were submitted for the project.

“These vibrant works of art will strengthen our sense of community connection by celebrating our city’s diversity, openness and optimism,” Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said in a press release. “Drawing inspiration from the natural beauty, rich history and cultural diversity of Franklinton and the Scioto Mile, these artists and their respective works of art will invite guests to The Peninsula to reflect on who we are as a community. and what we will become.

*(left to right) “Scioto Magic” by Lucie Shearer, “Creative Consciousness” by Nick Stull” and “Vejigante Godmask” by Adam Hernandez.*

Three of the works will take the form of murals while Studio KCA’s installation is a sculpture of bird figures called ‘Gather and Flow’ which will illuminate with LED lighting at night.

Installation of the public artwork will take place this spring before the garage opens in June.

The first phase of the peninsula development includes four buildings in addition to the two parking structures. These four buildings will house more than 230,000 square feet of office space, 329 residential units and a 198-room hotel. Phase two will feature a 34-story mixed-use tower that will include a mix of residences, retail offices and parking.

“On the peninsula, we’re building places where people can live, work and play, and public art is part of the unique urban fabric that will make it a popular destination,” said CDDC Chair Amy Taylor. “We are thrilled the city is showcasing such talented artists, who have captured the soul of this new neighborhood, embracing the bend in the Scioto River that literally defines the peninsula while embodying energy, inclusion and openness. of Columbus.”

For more information, visit columbusddc.com/scioto-peninsula.

Parking garage

Proposed hospital car park would create green space and ease access – The Daily Gazette

by Deena S. Hawkins on February 9, 2022

SCHENECTADY — A new eight-story parking structure proposed by Ellis Medicine along Nott and Ulster streets would not only increase parking capacity but also eliminate longstanding confusion that has existed on campus for years, officials said Tuesday. hospital officials in a virtual community meeting.

The hospital is looking to demolish its 700-space, four-level parking garage that was built more than 40 years ago to make way for an eight-story structure that can accommodate up to 1,200 vehicles. The hospital has outgrown the current structure, which requires thousands of dollars in annual maintenance costs.

Plans for the new structure will be reviewed by the city’s Planning Commission on February 16.

But before meeting with the commission, a number of hospital officials, including President and CEO Paul Milton, joined members of the structure’s design team to brief the community on the proposed plans, answer any questions and gather additional feedback on the plans.

“Time is up for the current Nott Street Garage. It’s old,” Milton said. “With our commitment and our mission of what we do, we need to make sure we have good access and a safe way for everyone to approach the hospital.”

A dozen residents attended the meeting, most of whom remained silent during a question-and-answer period. Those who spoke appeared to approve of the proposal and were primarily concerned about the timing of the project and its potential impact on local traffic.

The new structure, expected to cost $30 million, will have the same facade as the hospital’s Rosa Road parking garage and would be located in the same area as the existing structure.

But the new garage would have a reduced footprint of around 45 feet to ensure the remains of the current structure are entirely removed from the site. The narrower structure will create room for additional green space along Ulster Street that will beautify the area and help reduce stormwater runoff, according to David Vander Wal, senior vice president of Walker Consultants, an engineering firm. engineering specializing in parking structures.

The structure would be precast offsite using concrete and will stand six to seven stories high when fully assembled. The assembly will be done in phases using a crane, according to Vander Wal.

Construction plan

The goal is to begin demolishing the existing structure this summer after obtaining the necessary approvals and securing funding for the project. Ellis received a $2 million state grant for the project and expects the savings on maintenance costs to help offset remaining costs.

The project should last around 16 months. The hospital said the savings in maintenance costs and shuttle services will offset the remaining costs of the project.

Currently, hospital employees must use a shuttle service to get to work due to a lack of on-site parking. The hospital is in the process of securing additional parking for the start of construction, but current plans include expanding the use of Hillside Avenue for employee parking and providing enhanced valet parking for patients. and visitors, according to Mark Mesick, the hospital’s chief financial officer. .

It is estimated that 20 lorries would cross Ulster Street each day during assembly, the equivalent of around three lorries per hour during an eight-hour working day. The road will remain open during construction.

“Once they’ve made 80 percent of the parts, they’ll start erecting the prefab,” Vander Wal said. “It will go from a hole in the ground with footings to a fairly complete building in about two to three months.”

Milton said the hospital administration is working closely with the Schenectady City School District to ensure minimal disruption to students at Oneida Middle School, which is directly across from the site of proposed construction.

“Access and security are very important to us. We are very sensitive to being next to school here with children running around,” he said. “We are working with the school system on this project to make sure it is safe in the future.”

Karen Corona, a school district spokeswoman, confirmed the hospital has been in contact.

The new structure will include three tunnels, including an exit and entrance along Ulster Street and an entrance on Nott Street.

According to Daria Mallin, president of Envision Architect, an Albany-based design firm working on the project.

“We are raising the floor … to allow you to enter at the same level compared to A1, the first floor of the hospital, to obtain this continuity, to again reduce the stress of the experience of arriving on campus” , she said.

Milton said the hospital will work to notify the community of any changes once the project has obtained the necessary approvals and plans for parking and construction are finalized.

Contact journalist Chad Arnold at: 518-410-5117 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @ChadGArnold.

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Categories: News, Schenectady County

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Snow and Ice Handling Tips for Parking Structures

by Deena S. Hawkins on February 8, 2022

Facility Manager Cost Reduction/Best Practices Quick Reads RSS Feeds

February 8, 2022 – Contact the FacilitiesNet editorial staff »

Chemical de-icers and snow plows are commonly used in the winter to remove dangerous ice and snow from patios and parking structures. While de-icers melt snow and ice, some can actually corrode the concrete and reinforcing steel of the parking structure, and some snow removal techniques can actually do more damage than good.

Western Specialty Contractors, a company specializing in the restoration and maintenance of parking garages, offers several tips for grounds managers to minimize unnecessary damage to parking structures during the winter months and keep drivers safe.

Snow Removal Tips

Clearly mark expansion joints in a manner that will be visible to the equipment operator when the deck is covered in snow.

Establish a snow removal pattern so that the plow blade approaches expansion joints, control joints, and tee-to-tee joints at an angle no greater than 75 degrees.

Equip plow blades and bucket loaders with rubber shoes or guards that prevent direct contact with the deck surface.

Do not pile snow on the deck surface. Snow piles can exceed the rated load capacity and cause cracks in the surface of the concrete deck.

Defrosting/Salting Tips

The use of chemical de-icers to control ice and snow buildup is common. However, these chemicals can have a negative effect on concrete and reinforcing steel and should be used sparingly. There are several types of de-icers on the market that can be used, however, only those approved by the American Concrete Institute are recommended.

Sodium chloride (road salt, table salt): It is the most commonly used salt de-icer. It has little effect on concrete, but promotes corrosion of reinforcing steel and other metals. The use of this type of defroster is not recommended.

Calcium chloride: It is a major ingredient in most commercial de-icers. It has little effect on concrete, but promotes corrosion of reinforcing steel and other metals. The use of this type of defroster is not recommended.

Ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulphate: Use of this de-icer will cause severe concrete deterioration due to its direct chemical attack on the reinforcing steel. The use of this type of defroster is not recommended.

Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA): The effects of this de-icer are similar to those of salt, but it takes longer to melt the ice. It has no adverse effect on concrete or steel reinforcement. If a defroster is required, a CMA is recommended.

It is important to minimize the amount of de-icing chemical applied during the first two years of concrete installation. Meanwhile, the concrete has increased permeability which can allow de-icing chemicals to migrate into the concrete more quickly. As concrete ages and hardens, it will become less permeable and chemicals will not penetrate as easily.

It is important to remember that the use of de-icing chemicals in general is not recommended. The safest way to remove ice and snow is to use a snowplow. Sand can also be used to increase tire traction on the deck, but be sure to protect the drainage system when washing the deck after use.

For more information on restoring and maintaining parking garages, contact Western Specialty Contractors.

Following

A giant, luminous octopus takes over the parking lot in the city center

by Deena S. Hawkins on January 20, 2022

LAURENT COSENTINO

One of the largest works of public art ever erected in greater Lansing has quietly crept into the heart of downtown in the final weeks of 2021.

An undulating ribbon of anodized aluminum hundreds of feet long, designed by St. Johns artist Ivan Iler of Netflix “Metal Masters” fame, now spans the colossal west and north faces Capitol Avenue parking ramp between Shiawassee and Ionia streets.

At night, hundreds of LED lights embedded in the aluminum flash in programmed patterns, as if a phosphorescent octopus has taken over the garage for good.

City officials say the unnamed sculpture is meant to distract from the raw concrete brutalism of the huge ramp, built in 1972 in the widely despised style named after raw concrete, or concrete slabs crude cast in place.

“It’s brutal, for sure,” said director of economic development and planning Brian McGrain. “The name speaks for itself.”

Chad Gamble, the city’s parking manager when the project was conceived three years ago, called the garage “monstrous.”

“It breaks up downtown,” Gamble said.

But the artist is not one of the haters.

“There are some very beautiful things about brutalism,” Iler said. “I wanted to contrast with them rather than hide them.”

The Greater Lansing Arts Council and city officials chose Iler’s vision over several competing designs.

“The ramp has all these beautiful architectural lines and a really amazing shape,” Iler said. “He has a simple beauty. At the same time, it’s a lot of straight edges and a lot of straight lines. My thought was to add a more natural element to it.

Iler’s organic vision dovetailed with Lansing’s multi-year, $7 million bond-funded effort to renovate the three downtown parking structures and make them more welcoming to residents and visitors.

Iler already had several huge sculptures to his credit, including a 25-foot-tall leaping fish installed at Baldwin in 2018, billed as the “world’s largest brown trout sculpture” (beating the previous record holder in New York by a few feet). Zealand), and “Portrait of a Dreamer”, also known as “The Gearbox”, a 15-foot-tall bust of a man with gears extending a further 20 feet from his skull above Museum Drive in downtown Lansing.

Iler has just started work on a new sculpture, ‘Bridge Between Banks’, after winning a competition to design the first public sculpture to be installed at Dimondale in December.

But the Capital Avenue octopus is by far the greatest thing he’s ever worked on.

The obvious choice for material was aluminum, which is light (about a third the weight of stainless steel), corrosion resistant and good at reflecting light. It also stands out well, even during the day, when layered on raw concrete.

“The beauty is in the contrast between the two,” Iler said. “We’re not trying to hide either; only to show one using the other.

Iler appreciated the pure geometric shapes of the ramp even more when a colleague created a 3D computer model that he could manipulate.

“I could fly around it like I was Peter Pan, able to look in any direction, from any angle,” he said. “I went over there and took pictures, but realized I wasn’t going to get what I needed out of it.”

He liked to work within the confines of the site.

“It’s the first I’ve ever done that’s been integrated into a building,” he said. “Sometimes having constraints can drive creativity. Without this building, I would never have designed something like this.

Gamble, project manager for the now-retired parking lot renovations, said he was inspired by recent improvements to the campus of nearby Lansing Community College, where former LCC president Brent Knight launched an all-out assault on the brutalist look of campus.

“I had the honor of riding around campus in Dr. Knight’s golf cart, and that was the seed,” Gamble said. Knight added dozens of sculptures, panels, flowerbeds, trees, shrubs and a clock tower, splashing the raw 70s concrete with light and color at every turn.

Gamble pointed out a factor that most people don’t consider when thinking about a parking garage.

“From a visitor perspective, it’s the first and last thing people will see when they come to downtown,” he said.

It took a statewide team of engineers and makers, and numerous Zoom meetings, to bring Iler’s design to life.

Engineers at Walker Consultants, based in Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, transformed the design into three dimensions.

“We had electrical engineers looking at configurations and power consumptions, making sure we could power everything,” Gamble said. “You don’t normally think of putting a sculpture on the side of a building.”

The octopus came to life, section by section, in the Detroit workshop of America’s Green Line, an LED lighting company based under the direction of Aaron Mohr.

The lights are about 5 feet apart and the foil tape varies in width from about eight to 14 inches.

“It has to look good when you look at it from the front, but also if you look at it from an angle,” Iler said. “I needed to make it wider and thinner to give it a feeling of fluidity and movement as you walk past it.”

Chris Revis of Detroit and Grand Rapids-based Ram Construction called the sculpture a “descent tape.”

“I’m in the concrete business and I’ve never worked on anything like this,” Revis said. “It was fascinating to see everything come to fruition, from a scratch drawing on a piece of paper to seeing the side of a building. It was a very special project.”

“It was good, like a team effort,” Iler said.

Late in the fall, Revis, McGrain, Iler, and other major players converged in Detroit to view the finished sections and give the go-ahead for delivery to Lansing.

The sculpture was secured to the garage with approximately 500 Tapcon carbon steel screws of the same type that you might use to mount shelves to your cement basement wall.

Revis said the design only needed “a few tweaks here and there” as it goes. The biggest issue the team faced was negotiating the supply chain delays that occurred in the second half of 2021.

“I think it will leave a lasting impression on a lot of people,” he said.

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Parking garage

Car park, substations highlight LIRR 2021 achievements – Featured

by Deena S. Hawkins on December 29, 2021

The Long Island Rail Road could see infrastructure improvements in the coming months. (Photo courtesy of MTA)

The $ 2.6 billion Long Island Rail Road expansion project is due for contract completion in late 2022, and the MTA has said it is on track and within limits. budget to complete the four-year project.

In December, the project released Milestones Achieved in 2021, which involve a number of community improvements in Floral Park, New Hyde Park, and Mineola, among others. The project adds a third track on the main line from Floral Park to Hicksville.

In Mineola, the eighth and final crossing on Main Street was closed in February and replaced with an underpass. The two-year construction project joins Willis Avenue and the two New Hyde Park intersections at Covert Avenue and South 12th Street, among others.

Another checkpoint at Mineola resulted in the opening of the Harrison Avenue parking lot. The structure, one of two completed in 2021, was built at Mineola Station west of Mineola Boulevard between Harrison Avenue and First Street and replaces an aboveground parking area. The five-level garage represents a net increase of 446 parking spaces.

The December opening ended years of delays that consistently pushed back the planned transfer of ownership from the MTA to the village.

MTA spokeswoman Kayla Shults said the project would serve taxpayers.

“The LIRR expansion project is on time and on budget and continues to be the best example of MTA’s new method of allowing a team to complete design-build contracts,” Shults said in a statement to Blank Slate Media. “The project has many benefits for the community and for LIRR users that have already been put in place this year, including the removal of level crossings, the reopening of stations at Carle Place and the floral park, new sub-stations. electrical stations and two new parking structures. ”

For Floral Park, the G13 substation was installed to help provide power for the increased workload when additional trains are in service. In addition, the Parc Floral station is ADA accessible thanks to the installation of elevators. By 2022, residents can expect construction of the noise barrier on the north side of the tracks, behind houses on Charles Street, to be completed in March, according to administrator Archie Cheng.

Another substation has been delivered to New Hyde Park, and with regard to the village station, improvements are to be continued in the new year, including infrastructure and rehabilitation works. As for the sound barrier between Covert Avenue and New Hyde Park Road, residents can expect its completion in the first quarter of 2022.

In Elmont, the first new LIRR station in nearly 50 years opened in nearby Belmont Park, days before the UBS Arena opened to the public.

A potential project delay could arise in Garden City, where construction of the Denton Avenue Bridge has long been delayed amid a battle between the village and the MTA.

Since 2019, the MTA has been trying to obtain the required permits for street closures and road excavations in order to rework public service pipes. However, the village refused to issue any, delaying the project for several months.

On November 30, Judge Helen Voutsinas sided with the MTA in the lawsuit filed to obtain the permits earlier this year. Garden City appealed the decision and lost last Wednesday in the New York State Appeal Division.

MTA officials said the agency filed motions on Monday asking the court to hold Garden City in contempt of court after the village disobeyed the order.

The MTA said it is asking for a daily fine of at least $ 50,000 until the village complies.

Denton Avenue remains the pending project that has not yet started, and the MTA, according to court documents, expects to complete in four months what was initially considered a six-month process. Nonetheless, officials said the project is on schedule and will be completed on budget.

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Deadline for submitting ideas for creative bicycle parking structures is approaching

by Deena S. Hawkins on December 27, 2021

the Atlanta Department of Planning seeks ideas for creative bicycle parking structures, including amenities such as bicycle racks, performative art, and bicycle repair stations. Applicants can choose to submit from three types of awards and be judged through a competitive application process.

Applications are open to community organizations, including neighborhood associations, advocacy groups and professional associations and must be submitted online by December 31, 2021. Based on the scoring criteria, conditional rewards will be awarded to the best projects, which will then have to bring together support from the neighborhood to move the project forward. Once the final awards are announced, the City will partner each recipient with an artist to develop and implement custom artwork for each award location.

According to the City’s website, the three types of bicycle parking structures include:

Bike Corral – Bike corrals are the conversion of an on-street parking space into a bike parking structure. City of Atlanta corridors with existing on-street parking are eligible for this type of award.
Sidewalk-Level Bicycle Parking – Sidewalk parking will use the sidewalk or furniture area for creative bicycle parking. Sidewalks must be at least 8.5 feet to be considered.
Open Space Bicycle Parking – Open space parking ideas include a destination in the City-owned public park. However, private properties or open spaces owned by other public bodies are not eligible destinations.

Project rating criteria include:

Priority equity areas (low to moderate income areas)
Destination (local shopping districts, main street districts, Friends of Park affiliation with city parks).
Cycling facilities (adjacent to existing cycle paths or paths).

According to the City’s website, the Bike Parking Structure competition is part of the Love our places initiative to reimagine Atlanta’s public spaces through small, low-cost, high-impact projects across the city. Past projects have included art-filled crosswalks and redesigned parking spaces as street food options.

Source: Official

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Paid parking comes into effect at Vail parking structures as Vail Mountain opens Friday

by Deena S. Hawkins on November 9, 2021

The Town of Vail issued the following press release on Tuesday on starting paid parking at both city lots starting Friday with the opening of Vail Mountain for the 2021-22 ski season:

Paid parking at Vail parking structures and outlying lots will coincide with the start of the 2021-2022 Vail Mountain ski and snowboard season, which is scheduled for Friday, November 12. Parking passes can be purchased in person from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. 45 pm Monday to Friday on the lower level of the Vail Municipal Building, 75 S. Frontage Road. Bring proof of eligibility as restrictions apply.

The city offers parking pass options that offer significant discounts off standard daily rates. Holders of value cards from the previous season will be able to confirm carry-over balances from the previous winter season and top up the value of their cards using the walk-in payment stations in the Vail Village and Lionshead car parks, by contacting the sales office parking pass at 970. -479-2014 or by going to the office in person. The recertification process has been lifted again this season to take into account public health protocols.

To coincide with the opening of Vail Mountain, Vail Transit has added service to West Vail, Lionsridge Loop, Ford Park and city roads to complete the start of the winter season ahead of the implementation of the schedule. full winter on December 13, which will include West Vail Express. West Vail Frontage Road parking service every 20 minutes via the sandstone interchange during morning rush hours. Passengers must adhere to federal requirements to wear face covers to protect the health and safety of drivers and passengers.

For more information on the sale and description of parking cards, call the parking sales office at 970-479-2104 or visit the city’s website at www.vailgov.com/parking. For more information on bus timetables, call 970-479-2178 or www.vailgov.com/transportation-services.

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Pasadena May End 90 Minute Free Parking City Owned Parking Structures – Pasadena Now

by Deena S. Hawkins on October 25, 2021

The City of Pasadena may terminate the 90-minute free parking privilege at the nine city-owned public parking structures by charging a minimum charge of $ 1, effective July 2022, to fund repairs and repairs. maintenance of installations.

This is what the Department of Transportation recommends after a recent assessment showed that all City-owned parking structures are in need of repair and that most of the repair work must be completed by the end of the year. year 2024 to maintain these facilities. in operation.

Funds for these repairs are not – and will not be – available unless the City increases parking rates.

The new recommended parking rates are $ 1 for the first two hours, $ 2 for each hour thereafter, and $ 12 for the maximum daily rate.

The assessment by engineering firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner (WJE) Associates Inc. identified more than $ 12.15 million in needed repairs across the city’s entire garage portfolio. About $ 9.5 million of these repairs are expected to be completed in 2024.

The assessment showed that the priority for urgent repairs was based on the age of the current equipment that needs to be replaced and the parts of the structures that need to be repaired to ensure the future viability of the structures.

Some of the work to be done before the end of 2024 includes repairs and updates to carbon monoxide exhaust systems at three city-owned garages, upgrading cars and aging elevator systems. in eight garages, the installation of a new roof covering in a garage, and the improvement of the lighting systems in the nine structures.

The recommendation of the Transport Service will be taken up by the municipal services committee of the municipal council on Tuesday, October 26, before being taken up in plenary meeting of the municipal council on Monday, November 1.

Noting that the City’s Parking Garage Fund (Fund 407) does not have funds available for necessary repairs, the Department said parking rates at City garages have remained stable over the past 20 years. recent years, while spending – mostly on salary increases, materials and supplies, and the cost of repairs and upgrades – has grown by around three percent a year.

“Fund 407 closed fiscal 2020 with a balance of $ 429,186, a decrease of approximately $ 5,000,000. Fund 407 is expected to close fiscal 2022 with a negative fund balance of $ -1,519,796, ”the transportation department said in an agenda report for city council.

The report also states that transportation department staff will work with local businesses near municipal garages to create a validation program so that these businesses can provide parking for their customers. The Ministry has also carried out outreach efforts to engage the local community and business owners and collect inputs to propose recommended actions.

The report says that if the recommended changes are approved, the Parking Garage Fund could potentially increase by about $ 2.9 million per year.

Department of Transportation staff will explain the details of the recommendations at Tuesday’s municipal service committee meeting, which begins at 4 p.m.

Members of the public can access the meeting through http://pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php? Publish_id = 9 and www.pasadenamedia.org.

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Parking structures will be key to Bushnell South’s development in Hartford

by Deena S. Hawkins on September 20, 2021

Parking structures will be a key component of Bushnell South, a development that aims to replace acres of parking lots with up to 1,200 new housing units and 60,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

“The main objective is to take advantage of the [Capital Region Development Authority’s] are working in some critical properties and the investments they’ve already made in the Clinton Street parking lot, ”said Ben Carlson, director of urban design for Goody Clancy, a Boston-based architecture and planning firm, in a statement. updated September 16 at CRDA. plank.

As the existing supply of above-ground parking declines, Carlson said they will need to create more parking structures and then operate them in a shared-use format that will allow residents, office workers and theatergoers to use them at different times of the day and week.

“We minimize the costs and the square footage required and this opens up opportunities for development,” said Carlson.

The project focuses on approximately 20 acres bordered by Capitol Avenue and Elm, Trinity and Main streets near the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts.

CRDA built the new $ 16 million parking lot on Clinton Street. It is also contributing $ 13.5 million to the conversion of the former state office building at 55 Elm St., into 164 residential units, a $ 63 million project that is part of the first phase of the development. from Bushnell South. In total, the first phase will have 278 housing units.

CRDA executive director Michael Freimuth said the authority owns several plots in the area and plans to endorse other projects in line with the plan prepared by Goody Clancy.

The second and third phases take advantage of adding two levels and approximately 135 spaces to a CRDA parking structure by creating a mixed-use building facing the state office building, Carlson said.

Phases two and three represent half of the housing potential of the project, he said.

Parking garage

project w: Parking Garage Altstadt-Hafen, Wismar

by Deena S. Hawkins on August 16, 2021

Wismar is a city in northern Germany, on the Baltic Sea, known for its well-preserved medieval buildings. The car park was reopened in 2018.

A total of 211 parking spaces are available to visitors on five levels, which cover the parking space needs of surrounding residential buildings, hotels and tourist attractions. All the parking spaces have a comfort width of 2.6 meters. In addition, there are six disabled parking places as well as four charging places for electric car.

The planning was carried out by architects Lengfeld + Willisch from Darmstadt, who are experienced in parking lot construction. Red protection wall

The multi-storey car park was designed as an “open car park” using steel and reinforced concrete construction. This makes it particularly clear and user-friendly. The five levels of Parking Garage are designed as couples. Interior access to the cars is via two single-level ramps located opposite each other in the central area. Of the 250 integrated INTEGRA-pw 943 auto security barriers, representing 10.74 tons of steel, 64 pieces were installed in the ramp areas alone.

About the project w

projekt w was founded in 1984 and is located in central Germany and specializes in parking lot security barriers. We have made it our mission to harmoniously integrate our products into parking structures. The INTEGRA-pw product range replaces conventional systems such as concrete parapets or guardrails and meets applicable European and American standards.

Parking garage

New parking lot could arrive at State College, PA

by Deena S. Hawkins on July 22, 2021

Big parking changes could happen to downtown State College over the next few years.

State College’s oldest parking lot – Pugh Street Garage – could be replaced by 2026, as part of a larger borough parking project currently estimated at $ 46 million over the next five years, over the basis of a first list of priorities which still has to be approved by the borough council. No financial commitment has yet been made and the borough is essentially on the “ground floor” of these first plans.

Yet with these potential plans being publicly discussed (and this list, known as the Capital Improvement Plan, which is due to be adopted by council on August 2), the borough’s future vision for parking at the city center is better targeted.

The improvement plan, which, if adopted as planned, would serve as a guide and not a list of financial commitments, includes $ 5 million set aside for the purchase of a property for parking in 2022 According to Borough spokesperson Doug Shontz, this property could then serve as a replacement site for the Pugh garage or potentially new paved land, since it is also possible that the Pugh garage will be rebuilt on its current site.

The improvement plan also provides for $ 15 million set aside for 2023 and $ 26 million in 2026. Shontz confirmed that these funds are intended to finance parking structures (i.e. a garage and potentially land. paved), in addition to possible emergencies.

“Parking is always in the conversation here whether you’re a visitor, a student or a long-term resident,” Shontz added. “And we are just trying to get out of this pandemic so that we can continue to offer parking at the level requested not only by our residents but also by visitors to the region. they go back to Happy Valley.

The improvement plan does not specifically name the garage on Pugh Street, but public council discussions have repeatedly indicated that the garage is the priority replacement. After all, it was built in 1972 – which is 13 years older than the next oldest garage on Fraser Street – and consultants told the borough as early as 2002 that the garage was nearing its end. and that it should eventually be replaced.

In a March report, Walker Consultants told council that the Pugh Street garage has about 7 to 10 years of useful life left. That same consultant recommended that the borough spend $ 591,000 on maintaining Pugh this year alone.

“We need to replace the Pugh Street parking structure,” Borough Director Tom Fountaine added at Monday’s council meeting.

The borough’s four parking garages combine for a total of 1,563 parking spaces, with the Pugh Street garage accounting for 31% of that, or 491 spaces.

The projected price of $ 46 million for the project makes it the most expensive of the 31 projects in the 2022-2026 Capital Improvement Plan. The remaining 30 projects amount to around $ 85 million, which could be partially offset by state subsidies or other means.

“First, we don’t want the parking structures to fall,” said City Councilor Theresa Lafer. “Second, we don’t want parking structures to be insufficient, which would make it impossible for the continuing and possibly even increasing number of people coming here for various vacations… clearing up.”

Lafer was quick to address residents, however, and stressed that the borough council would not commit to spending more than it can afford. The adoption of the capital improvement plan does not commit funds for these 31 projects; instead, it simply serves as a first step so that budget discussions in the years to come have a foundation from which to start.

“We don’t want to do anything that is going to cost us more than what we have to spend,” City Councilor Evan Myers said. “But we don’t know what it is yet – so it’s kind of like a placeholder.”

Each project in the capital improvement plan is prioritized. The new garage is seen as something the borough “should do” as opposed to “must do” or “could do”. Projects the borough “must do” include maintaining the parking garage, which is expected to cost $ 4.275 million through 2026, and repairing the sinkholes.

The capital improvement plan was first presented to council on May 10, before council met for three public works sessions and two public reviews. The adoption is scheduled for the council meeting at 7 p.m. on August 2.

“The idea is to make sure that we are able to do something to not overload our parking system downtown,” added Shontz.

Josh Moyer received his BA in Journalism from Penn State and his MS from Columbia. He has been involved in sports and news writing for almost 20 years. He’s got the best athlete he’s ever seen like Tecmo Super Bowl’s Bo Jackson.

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UToledo speeds up parking lot demolition after Florida collapse

by Deena S. Hawkins on July 13, 2021

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – The University of Toledo is accelerating plans to demolish its parking lots in response to the nationwide conversation within concrete structures following the tragedy of the Surfside Condominium collapse in Florida and recent inspections for annual repairs.

The east and west ramp garages were due to be demolished next year, but demolition is now taking place this summer on garages built in 1976.

On its website, the administration explains that with all car parks, damage caused by de-icing salts, snow removal, winter freezes and exposure to the sun and water affects the life of the structures.

In a statement posted on the university’s website, Jason Toth, senior associate vice president for administration, said, “Garage degradation continues at an accelerated rate compared to what we have seen in recent years. and for the safety of our community on campus, we had to go up our timeline to eliminate them.

As a precaution, the two parking structures will henceforth be replaced by land with paved surfaces. A nonprofit called SP +, from Chicago, will also take over day-to-day operations. The university is expected to spend $ 9 million demolishing the east and west garages, as well as paving, tripping, resurfacing and repairs over the next few years.

“Despite our best efforts to extend the structural integrity of garages, they have reached the end of their useful life. … we are convinced that these short-term drawbacks are necessary for the positive long-term impacts on the University, ”Toth said.

“I never really used the parking garages so it’s not too bad for me. I don’t know a lot of people who use the parking lots, but I’m sure for safety it’s a good idea, ”says Toledo student Molly Ryan.

“I mean, if they wanted to demolish it anyway and it protects everyone, then yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” says Amid Gahadrad, a junior at Toledo.

909 spaces in the east ramp and 750 spaces in the west ramp will be eliminated, but once the garages are removed there will still be over 6,700 parking spaces on the main campus and 4,400 spaces on the health sciences campus . The university says it will also factor in forecasted parking demands based on enrollment and employment trends, it expects to have excess parking spaces.

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Town of Normal loses revenue on parking structures due to pandemic

by Deena S. Hawkins on June 23, 2021

NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) – Parking structures were the subject of a debate on Monday evening at the Normal City Council meeting.

Council member Stan Nord questioned the fees and said the city was constantly losing money to reimburse the management company for the management fees.

In Uptown Normal parking structures, parking is free for the first hour and any additional hour costs $ 1 per hour. However, for the past year, the Town of Normal has experienced a loss of revenue for the town specifically at this structure.

On Monday night at the council meeting and on social media Tuesday, administrator Stan Nord said the city should reconsider charging parking fees at city-owned garages after the city paid more than $ 8. $ 000 in lost revenue refunds to Heartland Parking Inc.

“The total is $ 56,000 which we lost due to the collection of parking fees. So if it costs us more to collect, we have to look at that because it’s an overall net loss, ”said Nord.

The city reimburses Heartland Parking, which manages the collection of fees. But the money used to pay is not made on the structures. Nord said the parking fee should cost taxpayers nothing.

“Taxpayers lose. All this money is coming out of taxpayers’ pockets. All the money that we don’t get because of parking, taxpayers pay to cover it, ”said Nord. “If we cut spending anyway, then it’s a net gain all around, but we have to think about it. We need to have this conversation.

Normal City communications director Cathy Oloffson said fees exist for the interview and deter students from filling bridges, avoiding fees elsewhere.

“These are costs that are fixed costs. They are not leaving. We want to make sure the bridges are clean, safe and well lit and the fees we collect help offset those operational costs, ”said Oloffson.

Oloffson said COVID-19 primarily caused a loss of people using Uptown parking and in the non-COVID years the city broke even, preventing taxpayer dollars from reimbursing Heartland Parking.

“We are starting to see traffic picking up from Uptown station. For many months at the start of the year, Amtrak did not have a full train schedule, so these numbers are reflected in what has been shared so far, ”said Oloffson.

Oloffson also said the city does not operate the parking lots as a revenue generator, but only as a place where residents and visitors can park their cars and “dine, shop and play” in Uptown.

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Latest e-book takes a look at waterproofing concrete parking structures

by Deena S. Hawkins on March 31, 2021

The magazine’s sponsored e-book series continues with an overview of waterproofing concrete parking structures.
Photo courtesy of RJC engineers

Owners, engineers and contractors involved in the design, operation, maintenance and restoration of parking garages and building podium decks should understand the role and importance of waterproofing systems in protecting these facilities. When there is a lack of attention to these systems, repair and maintenance costs increase and the expected life suffers.

The methods of protecting parking garages and catwalks have evolved and changed dramatically over the past 30 years. Old ways of thinking and designing have given way to new understandings of deterioration mechanisms and protection needs, some of which are reflected in the new requirements of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) S413, Parking structures. The better understanding of how moisture and de-icing salts accelerate the deterioration of concrete and steel structures has encouraged growth in this sector. The long-term performance of these buildings is directly related to the effectiveness of the watertight barriers used to prevent contamination by moisture and de-icing salts, as well as the management of salt-laden water entering the building. installation. An article in our latest sponsored eBook looks at waterproofing concrete parking structures.

This waterproofing article, along with two others, can be found in our latest eBook “How to Waterproof Concrete”, a free downloadable resource. To get your copy in pdf or digital format, visit www.constructioncanada.net/ebook/kryton-how-best-to-waterproof-concrete-e-book.

Parking garage

How parking garage conversions can help fight overbuilding

by Deena S. Hawkins on December 23, 2020

The excess supply of parking spaces for office buildings continues to be inefficient in terms of capital expenditure and material waste.

I first wrote about the unrealistic parking ratios expected by the real estate brokerage community in 2018. Brokers continue to operate on the principle of protecting the tenants they represent, and CMBS lenders continue to regularly dictate parking requirements that far exceed the current or future needs of corporate office facilities. Four parking spaces per 1,000 rentable square feet of office space is an outdated standard that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of rarely or never used parking spaces.

One of the area’s most successful developers, Granite Properties, has completed a formal study in its Granite Park which continues to serve as a relevant measure and clearly identifies the problem of excessive parking in suburban office buildings. His study found that 2,600 parking spaces at his mixed-use complex had never been used.

BOKA Powell estimates that the order of magnitude of the investment in this unused space is equivalent to just under $ 40 million: 28,000 cubic meters of concrete placed, 144,000 man-hours spent on construction and 819,000 square feet of rigid, single-use concrete structure. Opponents say that as buildings age, the tenant category drops a notch or two, resulting in more office uses at the back of the house (i.e., office space).

But will he do it?

Vertically integrated podium parking

It is likely that after COVID, parking demand trends will continue as they did before, indicating an increased reliance on rental cars, carpooling and the use of public transportation. Autonomous vehicles are likely to become more common over the next decade, and the demand for car parking will decline over time.

So what is the alternative to the single use parking structure?

The solution is to integrate podium parking in high and mid-rise office buildings vertically in its simplest form. Rather than imagine converting parking spaces into offices, imagine building future office base and envelope spaces and use part of the building for parking until those parking spaces are no longer needed.

Office buildings and parking lots are fundamentally different types of occupancy and types of construction. The differences are substantial and include different heights from floor to floor, different live loads (surprisingly offices require 2.5 times the load capacity), floor flatness considerations, ventilation, requirements temperature control, fire extinguishing systems and output requirements.

Ironically, many recently built garages are clad in materials designed to match the office buildings they support, including glass curtain walls, architectural composite metal panels, and architectural precast concrete. Mechanical ventilation of garages in these cases is common.

The more the garage matches the quality of the windows of the office tower, the easier it is to jump while protecting some or all of the parking floors integrated into the integrated structure.

Ideally, individual floors can be decommissioned as parking floors and returned to service as an office from the top of the garage down. Major technical challenges need to be overcome, such as the connectivity of the intermediate parking levels to the external ramps, as shown in the graph. Central cooling installations also need to be designed to accommodate future office conversion and require additional chillers, pumps and fresh air supply. Aftermarket elevator shafts may offer the flexibility to add elevator cabins and machines in conjunction with office floor conversions, or elevator capacity may be overloaded early on (if the number of floors to be converted does not exceed the capacity of the base building’s transport system).

Cost-benefit analysis

In 2020, the initial cost to add a floor of white counters ranged from $ 160 to $ 190 per square foot. The cost of building a conventional podium garage level, clad in materials to match the office building (but without increasing floor to floor height or increasing payload) ranges from $ 90 at $ 110 per square foot. Increasing the garage floor-to-floor height and payload capacity will add $ 20 to $ 30 per square foot. The initial overhead to build a future proof garage level will be $ 60 to $ 70 per square foot.

Therefore, consider the benefit of adding multiple floors of office space over the next decade, where the cost of converting to add bathrooms, ventilation rooms, power distribution, fiber distribution, and access. to elevators is less than $ 60 per square foot, compared to $ 160 to $ 190 per square foot (adjusted for inflation) to build additional office floor space.

If municipalities are serious about reducing the footprint of conventional, rigid and inefficient parking lots, they should consider offering an incentive in the form of tax credits or construction cost subsidies for sustainable garages.

I urge other members of the real estate community to join the fight for the right size parking lots and commit to providing thought leadership and further study to encourage the sustainability of parking structures and minimize the effects. long-term negatives created by overconstruction of the parking lot.

Don Powell is a partner and primary manager of BOKA Powell.

Parking garage

Confusion over building codes keeps hospital parking lot lights in dim light

by Deena S. Hawkins on September 23, 2020

Dimly lit parking lots aren’t just a backdrop for spooky movie scenes.

Darkness is real in parking lots across the country. And so do the crimes and the dangers that come with it.

This has been the case for decades, even though recent FBI data shows parking lots – in hospitals, hotels, or downtown offices – are the third most common site of homicides, assaults, and other serious crimes.

Why did darkness prevail?

One answer is buried deep in obscure international building code guidelines, in a section that indicates whether buildings are “occupied.” Even though hundreds of people can use the parking structures 24/7, they are classified as “storage” spaces.

Other responses play on the seriousness with which regulators, lawmakers and parking lot owners take responsibility for providing a safe space for visitors and employees who use the structures.

RELATED: A nurse survived a brutal attack in the parking lot of a Chicago hospital. Decades later, she still feels the pain and trauma.

In Milwaukee, at least two aldermen hope to tackle the problem at the municipal level where lighting plans are being implemented without review by regulators and authorities say they now have limited ability to enforce city codes. parking areas.

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation published last month revealed how hospitals, especially across the country, fail to adequately protect employees from parking lot violence, choosing not to monitor cameras, improving the ‘lighting and patrolling, or offering employees convenient escorts to their cars during the tour. – the clock is changing.

Last year, nurse practitioner Carlie Beaudin was beaten to death in a parking lot at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa after completing her shift.

As recently as last week, a doctor in Edina, Minnesota was shot in the head during an attempted robbery in the parking lot of the hospital where he worked.

The Journal Sentinel hired a safety consultant to assess eight parking structures at five hospitals around Milwaukee. The consultant’s spot checks revealed serious security deficiencies and unsafe lighting in every location.

“If they don’t want to provide more lighting, they can opt out of the business,” Ald said. Bob Bauman referring to owners of parking garages. “It comes down to the economy. They would rather settle multi-million dollar lawsuits largely paid for by insurance companies rather than endure day-to-day increases in their operating budgets. “

Froedtert Hospital reached an out-of-court settlement in November with Nick Beaudin, Carlie’s husband of nine years, for an undisclosed sum.

Certain security measures in parking structures – from better lighting to the presence of on-site parking attendants and frequent patrols – could be enforced through licensing requirements, Bauman said.

In 2018, the Common Council passed a law revising the licensing of downtown parking structures, requiring all owners to submit a police-approved safety plan and – if they have more than two incidents of parking. security per month – to implement additional security measures such as improved lighting, video surveillance and other actions directed by the Milwaukee Police Department.

“The Medical College of Wisconsin might solve their problem tomorrow: hire 50 people to patrol the area on foot, by bike on Segways, you name it,” Bauman said.

As for lighting, Bauman and Ald. Legislation co-sponsored by Nik Kovac was introduced on Tuesday to address gaps that have created confusion over lighting requirements and could also force the city to start inspecting lighting plans before construction, Kovac said. at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Mayor Tom Barrett is aware of the problems, according to his spokesperson, Jodie Tabak. “As issues arise, we will respond appropriately,” Tabak said in an email response to questions from Journal Sentinel.

Confusion reigns

One of the reasons authorities struggle to enforce better lighting rules stems from an International Building Code directive that cities often include in their own city codes. It classifies parking structures as “storage” facilities.

Some developers, planners, and garage owners argue that this means they don’t need to adhere to higher artificial lighting requirements for spaces people use.

Occupied buildings should have an average of 10 foot candles of light, according to the International Building Code. The Arcane Sound Foot Candle is the amount of light equivalent to what a candle would illuminate in an area of 1 square foot. The light level inside most large grocery stores, for example, is about 30 foot candles. Movie theaters register approximately 0.5 to 1 when darkened during screenings.

Other city regulators and some members of the International Code Council say that when you park your car in a structure and walk to and from a building, you are occupying the structure and it should follow general lighting guidelines. interior.

Still others, including town planners in Milwaukee, say the issue is not so much whether the structure is occupied, but rather whether the structure is closed, like the underground parking ramp where Beaudin was beaten. to death.

Closed structures are interiors and must meet the average standard of 10 foot candle, said David Rhodes, building and building inspection supervisor in the City of Milwaukee’s Neighborhood Services Department.

During a spot check in May 2019, the consultant hired by Journal Sentinel found light readings ranging from 4 to 6.5 foot candles in the area of the Froedtert hospital garage where Beaudin was killed. Surveillance video showed her killer prowled the hospital and garage for more than two hours before Beaudin drove to his car after finishing his shift around 1 a.m. – but no one was watching the cameras .

Rhodes said that “open” garages – those with outside air between floors – are not subject to indoor artificial lighting standards because they let in natural light.

But what about at night?

As it stands, nothing requires that open garages have more than the mandatory one-foot candle in fire codes to find emergency doors, even in the dark of night, a he declared.

“At the moment we have codes that don’t get you closer to what you would like from a security standpoint,” he said.

“It is an emergency rescue device”

Kimberly Paarlberg, senior architect at the International Code Council, stressed that building codes are a bare minimum. Designers and builders can – and often should – go beyond guidelines, she said.

“The guidelines are not intended to protect people from assault,” Paarlberg said. “The building code doesn’t assume a bad guy is there.”

Codes aren’t the only problem behind poor lighting. In Milwaukee, code enforcement supervisors say they’re not allowed to inspect parking lots for light levels or anything else – unless someone drops off a car first. complaint.

Unlike restaurants, which city officials inspect annually, the city does not have the staff to inspect every garage, said Mike Mannan, building code enforcement manager for commercial properties for the City of Milwaukee.

“Every inspection is like a search,” he said. “We cannot search illegally. We need a complaint.

Thomas Smith, healthcare safety consultant, said safety really comes down to the priority choices made by parking structure owners. They often choose to spend more time and money on landscaping and aesthetics than on safe lighting and security, he said.

A broken down emergency call booth is shown in Parking Ramp B on Monday, May 13, 2019 at Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Milwaukee Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hired an architectural safety consultant to assess the parking ramps at five Milwaukee hospitals.

Each of the hundreds of hospital parking structures Smith assessed has a percentage of burnt out bulbs and blue light emergency phones that don’t work, he said.

“I always say, ‘Which of you wouldn’t take care of your defibrillator properly? “It is what it is,” he said.

“It’s an emergency rescue device. “

To make a lighting or code complaint about a parking lot in Milwaukee, notify the Commercial Code Enforcement Division of the Department of Neighborhood Services through the complaint line at (414) 286-2268; or use the Click for the action portal: https://city.milwaukee.gov/ucc/action; or complain through a smart phone using an app called the MKE mobile action app where you can also submit photos. Instructions on how to download are here: https://city.milwaukee.gov/ucc/mkemobile.

Read the survey

To read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s In the Shadows survey of violence and lax parking lot security, visit jsonline.com/intheshadows.

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What are the advantages of prefabricated parking structures?

by Deena S. Hawkins on June 1, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO—With the possibility of more people driving to cities and workplaces rather than taking public transportation once staggered workforces are given the green light, parking structures will be in greater demand. When considering building a parking structure, how can homeowners determine which type is best for a given project?

Rodney Riddle, Vice President of Parking Structures at McCarthy Building Companies Inc., recently shared his thoughts on the advantages of using pre-engineered deliveries over cast-in-place deliveries.

GlobeSt.com: What is the difference between precast and cast-in-place concrete parking structures?

Screen: When it comes to parking structures, there are three types to consider.

Placing the concrete: These structures are constructed using ready-mixed concrete poured into removable forms on site. High-strength cables in concrete are anchored at the outer edges and tensioned after the concrete has acquired sufficient strength (48 to 72 hours). Post-tensioned concrete is a very common type of concrete structure for parking garages today, especially for those above ground.

Prefabricated double tee: As the name suggests, a prefabricated, prestressed double tee looks like two capital Ts side by side. Panels, stringers, columns and double tees are fabricated off-site and assembled on-site. High-strength tendons in concrete are anchored to the outer edges of concrete forms and prestressed before the concrete is placed, then released once the concrete has acquired sufficient strength. In California, this method requires that a cast-in-place cap slab be placed over the double tee members to create a structural diaphragm and accommodate seismic requirements.

Concrete/precast hybrid: It is a composite structural system that uses the prefabrication process for columns and beams and decks formed and cast in place. Precast beams are bonded to cast-in-place bridges by weaving the bridge reinforcement through the exposed reinforcement casting in the precast beams.

GlobeSt.com: What are the pros/cons of each delivery?

Screen: Delivery of cast-in-place concrete offers the best seismic performance and the lowest cost solution. Its lighter structure equals fewer footings and fewer seams, which minimizes the amount of ongoing maintenance for items such as sealant replacements and reduces overall project lifecycle costs. This option also allows greater flexibility for mechanical, electrical and plumbing/MEP design. On the other end, cast-in-place concrete involves a higher field labor risk and longer construction time with more concrete pour days involved.

Prefabricated double tee structures require a large initial investment for engineering and prefabrication, but construction time can be faster than other types of structures. These structures require less on-site construction time by using most of the labor in a controlled prefabrication plant. Structurally, these buildings involve longer-term maintenance and appear darker from a lighting perspective after completion.

The hybrid option merges the advantages and disadvantages of cast-in-place and pre-engineered deliveries. These structures also require a large initial investment for engineering and prefabrication, but construction time can be slower than other types of structures. For contractors who do not have labor available, these types of structures reduce the amount of labor required on site and instead use labor from the precast plant .

GlobeSt.com: How can owners determine which method is best for a given project?

Screen: It really comes down to evaluating what is considered the best value for the homeowner based on a full understanding of the pros and cons of each type of structure. If lower costs and long-term durability are important, then cast-in-place should be considered a higher value. If construction speed is more important, a pre-engineered double tee option should be considered higher value.

Regardless of the type of structure used, selecting a contractor who performs structural work in their own strength can provide benefits to owners in terms of cost, schedule and quality control of the project.

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Saginaw County Considering Closed Parking Structures, Launches Meters To Raise More Money

by Deena S. Hawkins on May 14, 2020

SAGINAW, MI – Saginaw County leaders are considering ditching parking meters and adding closed parking structures to generate more revenue.

On Tuesday, May 12, Saginaw County Executive Committee members approved plans to install closed parking systems at metered parking lots on Cass Street and Court Street.

Over the years, the county has experienced a decline in meter revenues. At one point, the counters brought in $ 83,000 a year and, more recently, annual revenues were $ 73,000, a loss of nearly $ 10,000 over the years, according to a document submitted to the committee.

To generate more revenue, parking fees will be increased, according to Saginaw County maintenance manager Bernard Delaney Jr.

First-hour customers would be charged 50 cents, then $ 1.50 for each additional hour. Currently, the meter charges 50 cents per hour. A full day of parking will cost $ 11 in the new system. There are 166 meters between the two lots. Delaney estimates that the new system will bring in around $ 100,000 per year.

The meters would be replaced with closed parking structures. Customers will be greeted with a door to enter and a door to exit the car parks. They will be issued a ticket to park in the car park and upon leaving, the customer can pay by phone, credit card, cash or token. A payment kiosk will also be available inside the Saginaw County Government Center for those who wish to pay inside. They would then receive a parking validation ticket to use at the exit, according to Delaney.

“The current system we have is outdated,” Delaney said.

He added that at one point 12 meters broke down and could not collect any money.

Commissioner Cheryl Hadsall asked if there would be someone to help clients use the new system.

Delaney responded that there would be remote microphones built into the system that would connect users to someone inside the Saginaw County Government Center to help them resolve any issues.

The cost of the system and its installation would be $ 155,000 and eliminate the parking attendant position. The parking attendant walks the lots checking the meters every hour, fixes broken meters and collects money weekly with the Sheriff’s Assistant.

Some meters will be scrapped, while others will be posted on eBay, Delaney said.

The proposed plan will be the subject of a final vote at the Council of Commissioners meeting scheduled for Tuesday 19 May.

Delaney said if the plans are approved, work on both lots will begin in July.

Related news:

“It’s a big win,” says lawyer in court ruling on chalking tires that started at Saginaw

Saginaw’s parking ticket trial could have “major effects across the country”

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New Smyrna Beach could add downtown parking structures

by Deena S. Hawkins on March 6, 2020

New Smyrna Beach could add downtown parking structures

The City found that many were unhappy with the parking lot around Flagler Avenue.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL. – Beachgoers and New Smyrna Beach residents might see more parking options around Flagler Avenue, as the city plans to implement a downtown parking garage.

The City of New Smyrna Beach conducted a survey of residents who asked them about parking and found that almost everyone said there were parking issues around Flagler Avenue.

“Ninety-seven percent of the people who responded said there was a parking problem on Flagler Avenue and they would like that problem resolved,” said Phillip Veski of the City of New Smyrna Beach.

People say parking near the beach can be hectic.

“It’s a bit clustered, a bit chaotic, and if you get there at the wrong time you won’t find parking,” said Laila Costello, who travels to New Smyrna Beach a lot.

The city is working on three potential ideas to alleviate downtown parking problems:

A parking garage that would have a store front downstairs and multiple parking levels above. Plants would hide the structure of the parking lot.

A Park-and-Ride system that would have a parking lot further away and a shuttle to the beach

Metered parking on Flagler Avenue

Currently, parking on Flagler Avenue is free, and people can park on the beach and nearby lots for an additional fee.

Some beach goers say they think providing more parking options will entice people on Flagler Avenue to shop and dine in New Smyrna Beach.

“If you want to get off and maybe just have lunch or something, you might not find parking and you could go somewhere else,” said Eddie McQuillan.

However, not everyone is on board.

Some people tell FOX 35 News that they think parking will take away the uniqueness of New Smyrna Beach.

“Absolutely not,” said resident Jean Reddington. “New Smyrna Beach has always been a wonderful, quaint little town that we all love and if you start putting in parking garages it will take away the historic charm of the town.”

New Smyrna Beach will hold a meeting on Tuesday, March 10 at 4 p.m. to review the survey results and discuss potential parking options for the city.

They ask residents and others to attend and share their opinions.

The meeting will be held at New Smyrna Beach Town Hall.

Parking garage

Parking garage barriers do not prevent the six-story plunge

by Deena S. Hawkins on February 27, 2020

Facility Manager Cost savings / Best practices Quick reads RSS feeds

February 27, 2020 – Contact the FacilitiesNet editorial team »

A man survived by accidentally driving his jeep from the sixth floor of a parking lot in Santa Monica on Sunday, February 23. Two passengers were able to jump out of the car before it plunged from the parking lot, according to the Los Angeles Times. Cars blowing away from parking lots seem like something that only happens in the movies, but it’s actually not as rare as one might hope. And the parking structures themselves may be partly to blame.

In June 2018, a car broke the security cables of another parking lot in Santa Monica. The city is currently in the process of replacing 50-year-old safety rails on several of their parking lots, as they no longer comply with the code, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. Last year, the Indy Star reported finding at least 46 incidents of cars falling from parking lots over the past two decades, resulting in 22 deaths and nearly 30 injuries. They also report that uniform requirements for parking garage barriers were not put in place until 1990.

Even when garage barriers are installed according to code, they may not be sufficient to prevent a car from passing to the side. According to the 2012 International Building Code, vehicle barriers must withstand a concentrated load of 6,000 pounds, which includes a payload tolerance of an “ordinary impact condition”. Typically, that’s enough to stop a 5,000-pound vehicle traveling at 5 mph, according to Indy Star. However, some full-size SUVs and trucks on the market easily exceed this weight, not to mention the various circumstances that would cause a vehicle to travel faster than 5 mph in a parking structure. Additionally, in a public ICC hearing in February 2008, comments regarding vehicle barriers noted that changes in the height of the bumpers of vehicles, such as SUVs and larger trucks, affect the barrier’s ability to withstand impact from vehicles.

Beyond having to deal with the change in the composition of vehicles, the parking lots themselves face significant wear and tear due to their exposure to the elements. This could lead to a weakening of the barrier systems at the periphery. Some jurisdictions have passed legislation requiring parking structures to be periodically assessed and repaired, according to an article in Building Operating Management. However, in many other jurisdictions these inspections and repairs are left to the discretion of building owners and facility managers.

Naomi Millán is editor-in-chief of Building Operating Management.

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Parking spaces

The population of the CPP remains greater than the available parking spaces

by Deena S. Hawkins on January 28, 2020

Finding a parking spot on campus again poses problems for students as the spring semester begins. Cal Poly Pomona students struggle daily to find a spot due to the limited number of parking spaces available on campus.

According to the CPP website, there are just over 26,000 students and 2,000 faculty and staff. The CPP offers several different parking lots, with a total of over 14,000 parking spaces, as The Poly Post previously reported in Issue 1 (September 10, 2019). This is a major drawback given that only 9,000 of these spaces are general student parking spaces, while the rest are reserved for faculty, staff, students with disabilities, and residents. Obviously, there is not enough space for everyone.

Mary Zaarour, a fourth-year psychology student, explains how she has struggled to park since transferring to CPP in the fall of 2018, Zaarour said. “I have to come hours before my class starts just to find a place to park. I was even late for classes a few times due to the lack of available places.

The car parks generally fill up between 7:30 and 10:00 on weekdays.
(Carla Ghafari | The Poly Post)

According to the CPP website, peak times to arrive on campus are Monday through Thursday between 7:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Parking Structure 1, located east of Voorhis Alumni Park and west of Police and Parking Services (Building 109), and Parking Structure 2, which is southeast of the school iPoly secondary, are the two most popular places to park at the CPP. Parking Structure 1 has approximately 2,200 spaces, while Parking Structure 2 has approximately 1,600.

Zaarour is not the only one to arrive late to class because of the parking problem. Lilly Lopez, a fourth-year finance student experienced similar challenges. “I feel like there should be more parking structures. I was late not only to some classes but also to exams because of the parking lot,” Lopez said. Like Zaarour and Lopez, many students are frustrated by this situation and hope that additional parking lots or structures will be built to eliminate this complication.

“We haven’t received any complaints about the lack of parking space,” a representative from Parking & Transportation Services said. “We have two overflow lots, as well as a lot on Corporate Center Drive with shuttles running almost every 15 minutes.”

Parking and Transportation Services strongly recommends that students use the two additional lots to avoid traveling by car. The Bronco Shuttle has five routes, AE, all operating during class hours to help students get to campus from overflow lots. For a complete list of Bronco Shuttle times and routes, visit https://www.cpp.edu/transportation/commuting-to-campus/bronco-shuttle.shtml.

As stated on the CPP website, hundreds of new students are admitted to CPP each year. With a greater demand for parking spaces, campus police usually try to help students direct traffic in the morning, Monday through Thursday.

As the semester progressed and the first few weeks passed, the traffic on campus decreased slightly; however, finding parking remains a daily struggle for students.

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Students pay millions of dollars for parking structures | Campus News

by Deena S. Hawkins on December 8, 2019

This year alone, Cal State Fullerton students paid $ 9.8 million for their campus parking, and they are expected to spend millions more over the next decade.

The $ 9.8 million comes from the sale of approximately 39,000 half-year parking permits. Historically, CSUF is a suburban university and at least 50% of students buy parking permits every semester, according to the Ministry of Parking and Transport.

As of this semester, there are 39,868 students enrolled at CSUF and a total of 8,047 parking spaces available for students. CSUF sold 18,880 permits this semester, more than twice as many permits as there are places.

The parking permit cost $ 236 last semester, then rose to $ 285 this semester and will climb to $ 334 by the 2020 summer session, an increase of over 40% in two years. The daily parking pass will be increased from $ 8 to $ 10, and motorcycle parking permits will be increased from $ 120 to $ 140.

Campus officials justified the increase by stating that it will be used to fund the inbound parking structure on the east side of the campus, alongside the existing structure on the east side. The structure will contain 1,900 new spaces and cost $ 38.8 million, according to Sasha Azoqa, communications specialist for the parking and transportation department.

She added that each parking spot costs $ 20,000, which is used by of them to three students per day.

The new parking structure will be built north of the Eastside parking structure and is expected to be completed by fall 2020. It will include energy efficient LED lighting, elevators, staircase and a solar canopy on the roof.

The structure is meant to help alleviate parking lot overflow, a problem that has worsened over the years. However, some students expressed their dissatisfaction with the increase, acknowledging the problem of on-campus parking, but not wanting it to be paid for by students who are already facing financial hardship.

“It upsets and frustrates me because the students are already food insecure. We have homeless tenants. We can’t afford to pay for their textbooks, ”said Maria Linares, Associated Students board vice president. “Now is not the time to increase parking permit fees. “

Students opposed to increased parking permits have started a petition on the site changer.org which collected nearly 3,000 student signatures – more than half of its target of 5,000 signatures. Throughout the comments section, students have expressed concern and disappointment with the increased fees.

A state audit on UHC earlier this year found that the chancellor’s office “has failed to ensure that campuses fully explore alternative transportation options before investing in expensive parking lots. The audit came months after the CSUF announced the construction of a new parking lot.

Kristen Jasko, director of the parking and transportation department, said her department has always looked for alternatives to parking, whether through third-party apps or carpooling to solve the parking problem.

The increase in parking fees supports an even greater cost: structures already built.

In the past 15 years, three parking lots have been added to the CSUF which are still in the process of being reimbursed, according to Danny Kim, Vice President of Administration and Finance.

The $ 25.7 million Nutwood parking structure is expected to be paid off by 2029, and the State College’s $ 24.7 million parking structure is expected to be paid for by 2031. Finally, the parking structure Eastside’s $ 24.9 million is expected to be paid in 2035, according to the Parking and Transportation Department.

The new structure will cost $ 2.6 million per year, bringing the total annual cost of construction bonds to $ 6.9 million, which will remain until at least 2029.

This brings the total cost of the parking structures to just over $ 114 million.

Azoqa noted that the new parking structure is “on track” in terms of development. Bomel Construction, the same contractor who built the State College parking structure, is currently building the third floor.

According to California Education Code 89700, the Department of Parking and Transportation cannot receive any state or university funding to help pay for the costs of operating or developing parking lots, forcing the department to fund itself only. .

“All construction or maintenance of the parking structure must come from the parking permit fee,” Azoqa said.

Jasko said the parking structures are typically funded by a 25-year loan that is paid back with the income from the parking permits.

“The revenues from the parking permits are used directly to finance the parking operations, whether it is the operating expenses of the department, any unpaid debt service on the parking structures or simply general operating expenses, ”said Jasko.

To meet the demand for parking during the first three weeks of the school, the department launched an assisted parking program in the spring of 2017, which allowed students to park their vehicles in the aisles after the lots had been filled.

This year the “assisted parking has been placed in areas we didn’t have before, and for an extended period, ”Jasko said. This is due to the 500 parking spaces that were lost in Lot E, due to the construction of the new structure.

The program is available Monday through Thursday in lots A, G, S and Titan Hall South, with a parking attendant available until 10 p.m.

Another effort the department has made to help deal with the parking crisis is offsite parking at EvFree Church. This additional parking was offered for the first time in the spring of 2017 due to the registration record that the university faced in the fall of 2016.

Students can purchase an off-site parking permit for $ 85, with a shuttle service to and from campus available Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

“What’s really cool about this parking lot (EvFree Church) and the shuttle service is that while we have 865 students parking there regularly, we also have a lot of carpool from there,” Jasko said. “So we actually have more passengers using the shuttles than we have license holders. “

President Fram Virjee was unavailable for comment.

Noah Biesiada contributed to this article.

Parking spaces

Pitt Article Shows Parking Spaces Near East Liberty Bus Station 30% Underutilized | News | Pittsburgh

by Deena S. Hawkins on October 16, 2019

CP Photo: Aaron Warnick

East Liberty Bus Station

As a rule, new developments come with new parking spaces.

Most people in Pittsburgh travel by car, and developers assume that most people visiting their new retail and housing structures will need parking spaces. As a result, developers tend to build a lot of parking. However, there are pockets in Pittsburgh where this logic does not work. According to a 2018 report by a University of Pittsburgh graduate student, one of these areas appears to be near the East Liberty bus station.

The report is titled “Measuring the Parking Characteristics of Transit Oriented Development” and it examines the use of large parking structures near the MLK East Busway station in East Liberty. It was written by a then graduate student at Pitt.

Three parking structures near the bus station were analyzed: the Target garages, the Eastside Bond apartment complex, and the Walnut on Highland apartment building. These garages, according to the study, are all considered a Transit Focused Development (TOD) because they are so close to a busy transit station, the East Liberty Bus Station, not to mention several other popular bus stops.

Data was collected from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. over three days in 2018: Tue 9 October, Thu 11 October and Sat 20 October.

The article’s findings indicate that all three stations oversized their parking structures by 30 percent.

“When you compare the actual usage to the built capacity of each TOD and the total study area, the usage rate is between 52% and 70% during the weekend rush hour and during the week, ”reads the report. This means that these TODs were at least 30% oversized at the time of construction.

Click to enlarge

Screenshot of the report

East Liberty Study Area Showing Transit Focused Development

This study adds context to a battle over parking spaces currently taking place during the redevelopment of Shakespeare Giant Eagle in Shadyside. The developers want to build 492 parking spaces in the planned grocery / housing complex located just meters from the East Liberty bus station.

Advocates want the developer to build fewer parking lots and have caused them to reduce the number of spaces to 550, but they believe that number could be reduced even further. Housing and transit advocates believe the money saved could be used to build more affordable housing or to pay for transit passes for residents of the new complex.

The developers disagree. John Clarkson of Greystar Real Estate Partners, who is working on the apartments for Shakespeare’s proposal, said CP in September that he recognizes that developers should build projects with less parking, but that in this case the demand is there.

“We don’t want to build more parking,” Clarkson said. “But for now, I would say we need a parking lot for this project. ”

The report also shows that there are already too many off-street parking spaces in this area.

Eastside Bond Garage has a total of 554 parking spaces. The garage is open to the public during the day and there are also a number of rented parking spaces for residents of the 360 housing units. Peak daytime use occurs between 6-9 a.m. and 6-11 p.m. During those times, usage was between 55 and 65 percent. On weekends, the peak usage was about the same.

This means that even at peak times there were still around 200 empty spaces in the garage which sits almost directly above the East Liberty Busway station.

Click to enlarge

Screenshot of the report

Use of the Eastside Bond car park

According to figures from the Port Authority, this station has 4,200 combined departures and stops (total number of passengers getting on and off the bus at the station) per weekday. This actually exceeds the number of weekday activations and deactivations at the First Avenue Downtown light rail station. Including all bus stops within a four-minute walk of Shakespeare’s development, including the bus station, more than 6,700 people get on and off the bus.

Laura Wiens of the local Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) organization wants developers to build less parking. She presents the study as proof of what her group advocates.

“In light of this, it becomes very clear that we are building too many parking lots,” says Wiens. “Especially right next to East Liberty Transit Station, the best transit area in town.”

Port Authority spokesperson Adam Brandolph said the authority was aware of the study because of its potential impacts on transit decisions and pressure from the authority to advocate for the TOD.

He says the Port Authority did not verify the numbers in the report to verify their accuracy, but the “finding supports our anecdotal evidence.”

According to the report, the East Liberty Target parking lot has 446 parking spaces used by public customers. Its peak usage occurs between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. and is between 49 and 52% on an average weekday. On weekends, peak usage jumped to 57-60 percent, and also occurred in the early afternoon. Even at its peak, there were well over 100 spaces available for parking.

Click to enlarge

Screenshot of the report

Use of the East Liberty Target parking lot

The Walnut on Highland garage, which is reserved for tenants of the two adjoining apartment buildings with a total of 194 units, contains 182 private spaces. Buildings are occupied at a rate of 97 percent, but only about 70 percent of parking spaces are used.

The report also examines on-street parking in the area near the East Liberty bus stop and notes that peak usage is around 77% on weekdays and 83% on weekends.

Wiens says future developments in the area should focus on housing density and try to limit the number of parking spaces built.

“It’s a great opportunity,” says Wiens. “We need more density. It will encourage more people to use [transit]. When you build more parking, you [give] incentive for more cars to come to the neighborhood.

Wiens also notes that there is a lot of money the developers are setting aside for parking spaces. A PPT article argues that Shakespeare’s developers could save $ 4.6 million if they reduced the number of parking spaces to align with the minimum zoning requirements at East Liberty, which is one parking space for two. housing units. (Shakespeare’s proposal is technically in Shadyside, where the minimums are higher, but the developers have convinced city officials to accept a gap to lower them earlier.)

CP Photo: Jared Murphy

The giant eagle of Shakespeare street

A UCLA 2014 study shows that surface parking garages required by parking minimums increase the average U.S. project cost by 31 percent.

Wiens says it makes financial sense and would be a boost to economic equity in the region if less parking was built at Shakespeare’s site, especially if the money saved was used to build more affordable units and / or provide residents with transit passes.

“When we talk about overbuilding hundreds of spaces, like in Eastside Bond and Target, it adds up to millions of dollars,” says Wiens. “There is so much wasted space. ”

She says this makes housing unaffordable for residents, which is only exacerbated by the fact that these units are close to frequent and good public transport, which is more frequently used by low-income people.

“This money should be used for free bus passes,” Wiens says. “If you have 30 people getting free bus passes, that reduces parking requests.”

Read the full report below.

Uncategorized

Michigan Theater in Detroit named one of nation’s coolest parking structures

by Deena S. Hawkins on July 17, 2019

The people of Detroit have always heard of the Michigan Theater and its unique parking lot. Today, national publications are also successful.

In a list compiled by architecture magazine Architizer and Looking4.com, the Michigan Theater was recognized as one of “10 Amazing Parking Structures Across the United States.”

Here is what the article from the old theater says.

Once a 4,000-seat concert hall and cinema – the black-tie event site for the world’s most prominent musical personalities – the Michigan Theater in Detroit now serves primarily as a parking garage. The impressive Neo-Renaissance building was constructed in 1926 and became famous for its decadence, accented with 10ft crystal chandeliers.

In 1977, it was emptied to make way for a 160-space parking lot to serve employees of the adjacent Michigan Building, which would have faced structural complications had the theater been demolished.

He is joined on the list by other structures in Miami, Kansas City and Chicago. But the Michigan Theater is the only building on the list that has been adapted as a parking structure – the other nine were all built for parking.

Historic Detroit also notes another interesting fact about the bridge.

“In a twist as sad as it is ironic, the theater was built on the site of the small garage where Henry Ford built his first automobile, the quadricycle. (The garage was taken down by Henry Ford and moved to his museum in Dearborn, Michigan.)

Uncategorized

Detroit Michigan Theater named one of 10 Amazing Parking Structures

by Deena S. Hawkins on July 16, 2019

Anyone who has parked under the decadent domed ceiling of what was once the magnificent cinema and theater in downtown Detroit knows that this is certainly a unique place to park their car.

Now, the people of Detroit have the chance to let the rest of the world know by voting for the old Michigan Theater as the most amazing parking lot in the country.

The garage has compiled a list of “10 Amazing Parking Structures Across the United States” compiled by Looking4.com, a comparison brand for airport parking, and Architizer, an architecture and design publication.

People will now vote between the finalists to choose a winner, which will be announced at the end of the summer.

The Michigan Theater Building on Bagley in downtown Detroit is seen on Tuesday July 15, 2014.

Other parking structures on the list include one in Lexington, Kentucky, which changes color, another in Seattle, Washington, which sinks into the ground and looks like a sinking ship, and another in Kansas City, Missouri, with 600 ceramic inserts that create a striking facade.

The Michigan Theater, located at 238 Bagley Avenue, opened in 1926 and was designed by brothers Cornelius W. and George L. Rapp. The auditorium of the theater was emptied in 1977 to add the parking garage.

The site is where rapper Eminem filmed a freestyle rap scene in the movie “8-Mile”.

Following:Detroit nonprofit burglarized for 3rd time in 6 days

Following:Detroit weather forecast for July 16, 2019

Parking spaces

Vancouver will gain 700 parking spaces

by Deena S. Hawkins on July 8, 2019

Downtown Vancouver is set to gain more than 700 parking spaces over the next three years, in a series of projects that includes corner parking on wide streets and partnerships with private companies to build parking garages.

The city’s parking strategy also includes getting people out of their cars – expanding public transit options, making downtown more walkable, and increasing parking rates.

The plan indicates an inherent tension in creating a parking strategy. How do planners weigh the immediate needs of drivers against the city’s long-term goal of reducing the number of cars?

“It really is a balancing act. We try to ensure that there are enough parking spaces available, convenient and easy to find, but not so much that it interferes with active uses. We don’t want a sea of parking lots that create dead zones,” said Chad Eiken, director of community and economic development.

During a presentation to City Council Monday evening, Parking Manager Steve Kaspan and Eiken presented the city’s six-point strategy to improve parking conditions in downtown Vancouver.

The plan includes maximizing on-street parking, increasing the supply of on- and off-street spaces where possible, increasing monthly and hourly parking rates, encouraging downtown businesses to reducing parking demand, improving visitor wayfinding and working with contractors to build parking structures.

Increase in supply

This summer, some downtown Vancouver streets wide enough to accommodate corner parking spaces will again be striped, replacing them with less efficient parallel parking for a net gain of about 80 spaces.

The change will add 29 parking spaces on West Evergreen Boulevard and 21 on nearby thoroughfares. Another 22 spaces will be added around King Street, and eight more spaces will be added in a short stretch of West 13th Street near Main Street.

Most of these spaces will be for employees who work at nearby businesses rather than buyers or short-term visitors. The work should be completed by the end of the summer.

“This project would definitely help with employee parking demand downtown,” Kaspan said.

A 121-space municipal parking lot, located just west of City Hall, is also scheduled to be completed this summer. The lot would house city employees, who pay $50 a month for permits. A limited number of monthly permit spaces would be open to the general public.

The city is also exploring the possibility of a partnership with the private sector that would turn empty land at 15th and Main streets into a temporary parking lot for use during construction of a new apartment complex at Providence Academy. The construction would displace approximately 176 private parking spaces, and the lot at 15th and Main could accommodate 126 of them.

In the long term, Vancouver envisions large-scale partnerships with private sector companies. A 740-space, seven-storey car park would be seen on Block 7 of The Waterfront Vancouver development, which is slated to open in late 2021.

“Everything is ripe for redevelopment.” said Eiken. “Now that the waterfront has some momentum, studies suggest the time is right to move forward.”

Another proposal, still in its infancy, would build a garage at Terminal 1, owned by the Port of Vancouver, and create more than 900 parking spaces.

In total, Eiken and Kaspan predicted that the city will add 1,067 parking spaces and lose up to 343 over the next few years.

Reduce demand

Beginning January 1, 2020, monthly public parking rates will begin to increase by $5 per year in an effort to bring city surface lot rates in line with private lot rates.

“If we have waiting lists – which we do – then the price is too low,” Kaspan said.

Another solution to reducing downtown parking demand comes in the form of fast electric vans that already contract with companies to transport employees to satellite lots.

The company Rethink Your Drive, or RYD, is launching an app this month and plans to start promoting public use of the service in August. While the company’s fleet of four vehicles would be busy during peak hours, the service would be free and open to the public at noon.

“During the day, as vehicles are available, it would be a free service and they would transport people to where they want to go downtown,” Eiken said.

The parking discussion is both philosophical and practical. While councilors agreed that the growing population of employees, visitors and residents need a place to park their cars, some wondered what prioritizing parking over other land uses would mean for the Vancouver character.

It’s madness, Councilor Ty Stober said, to think of parking as anything other than one of many tools to increase access.

“That’s about it, do I have access to get there?” Parking is one-way,” Stober said.

“I think we’re at a transition point here in the transport system preferences.”

Eiken agreed that the city is at a crossroads. But ultimately people have to get where they’re going, he added.

“We want the parking system to support a livable downtown, an active downtown that is also sustainable. We know that improvements need to be made to mobility and public transit to provide options for people,” Eiken said. “Right now, if you were to ask people how they get to work if they’re not driving, many would struggle to get from their neighborhood to downtown.

Parking facilities

REEF Technology provides versatile hubs for car parks

by Deena S. Hawkins on June 27, 2019

MIAMI-REEF Technology has announced a plan to transform parking lots and garages across the United States into versatile hubs. These hubs, located in the car parks, will be populated by companies from the REEF hub ecosystem, including Uber, DoorDash, GetAround and Nuro, and will offer services such as bicycle and electric scooter rental companies, on-demand aviation and peer-to-peer car rental.

The objective is to “perpetuate” the parking structures while meeting the needs of the city, according to REEF Technology.

Another offering in the hubs will be REEF KITCHENS, which has launched operations in London and Miami in response to growing demand for food delivery. REEF KITCHENS partners with local restaurants to provide faster delivery, with each kitchen center accommodating one to five restaurant brands. Restaurants can manage their operations directly or through REEF contract staff. Several hundred additional operational kitchens are expected to open in North America and the UK.

The company is also in talks with micro distribution centers.

REEF technology, formerly known as ParkJockey Global, is currently the largest parking network in North America with more than 4,500 locations. Backed by SoftBank Vision Fund and Mubadala Investment Co., the company has a network of smart parking real estate.

Parking facilities

REEF Technology unveils plan to transform car parks into versatile hubs for the on-demand economy

by Deena S. Hawkins on June 25, 2019

MIAMI – (COMMERCIAL THREAD) –REEF technology, the ecosystem that connects the world to your neighborhood, today announced its plan to transform parking lots and lots across the United States into thriving hubs for the on-demand economy. REEF Technology, formerly known as ParkJockey Global, is now the largest parking network in North America with more than 4,500 locations. Supported by SoftBank Vision Fund and Mubadala Investment Company (MIC), REEF will create technology hubs that will connect businesses, cities and those who live there, while enabling the efficient and frictionless movement of goods and services on demand.

With the rise of the sharing and on-demand economy, REEF sees the potential for future-proof parking structures while meeting the challenges of our cities: extreme congestion and resulting pollution, high costs for parking. business expansion and residents’ growing need for rapid delivery of goods and services. The REEF hubs will house a set of businesses and services specific to the needs of the neighborhoods, all of which provide solutions to the challenges that accumulate in our largest cities and take advantage of REEF’s proximity to the community.

“At REEF, we believe that a parking lot should be more than a place to store your car. On the contrary, it can be a hub for the community, connecting people with businesses and services that keep us all going, ”said Ari Ojalvo, co-founder and CEO of REEF Technology. “REEF will completely transform what people, cities and businesses can expect from parking lots, in the same way that the introduction of smartphone apps has completely changed the way we think about mobile phones. Accelerated urbanization has created a huge problem that needs to be addressed urgently, and hubs will bring immense opportunities for growth, experimentation and versatility to improve our communities.

“REEF transforms urban parking infrastructure into modern and technological logistics centers and thereby rejuvenates local economic dynamism,” said Michael Ronen, Managing Partner of the SoftBank Vision Fund. “The company creates opportunities to work with last mile delivery companies, such as Uber, DoorDash, GetAround, Nuro and others to align interests and create win-win situations for all parties involved.”

With the huge growth in on-demand food delivery, the company has created last-block and delivery-only REEF KITCHENS as a key component of hubs. Restaurants are partnering with REEF KITCHENS to quickly open and grow their businesses while providing more dining options and faster delivery at lower cost to customers. State-of-the-art kitchens are housed in exclusive containers, each accommodating one to five restaurant brands or concepts. Restaurants can manage their operations directly or contract with REEF to hire staff and prepare menu items only for delivery. REEF KITCHENS has launched successful operations in Miami and London with plans to open several hundred operational kitchens in major markets in North America and the UK

“The food delivery industry is experiencing explosive growth and opportunities,” said Aziz Ihsanoglu, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of REEF Technology. “Based on the success of our REEF KITCHENS in the UK and Miami, we are confident that restaurants and consumers will appreciate the opportunities created by our business. ”

In addition to kitchens, the REEF hub ecosystem includes several companies, with more than a dozen REEF partner companies at launch, bringing urban mobility hubs into city life. These businesses include electric bicycle and scooter rental companies, on-demand aviation companies, and peer-to-peer car rentals. In addition, the company is in advanced talks with micro-distribution centers and is creating ride-sharing buffer zones that reduce congestion, where drivers can also access services such as car service and maintenance within the city. hub.

“Through REEF’s smart parking real estate connected network, we are now offering proximity as a service to our partners – enabling them to reach customers in new ways and free up revenue streams for owners. Our technology platform can quickly adapt real estate to new uses by providing personalized interactions in real time for each person, vehicle and space, ”said co-founder of REEF Technology and senior vice president of product Philippe Saint -Just.

Ojalvo has assembled a team of global industry leaders to shape and oversee REEF, including former executives from Twitter, UberEats, Starbucks, Darden, Brinker, IBM and Westfield.

To learn more about REEF, visit: www.REEFtechnology.com

About REEF technology

REEF Technology is the ecosystem that connects the world to your block. Formerly known as ParkJockey Global, its goal is to transform parking lots and parking lots across the United States into thriving community centers. Supported by SoftBank Vision Fund and MIC, REEF will connect businesses, cities and those who live there, while enabling the efficient and frictionless movement of goods and services on demand.

Parking spaces

Millions of parking spaces could be left empty in the transportation revolution

by Deena S. Hawkins on May 31, 2019

If the future of personal transportation lies with scooters and self-driving cars which are more often than not on the move, this will leave many empty parking spaces open for new uses, such as redevelopment, food delivery centers or shopping centers. vehicle recharging.

Why is this important: The disruption of urban transport creates opportunities for innovative entrepreneurs who see the value of reallocating modest parking space in the digital age.

A number of companies are already reinventing the way parking space could be used …

1. ParkJockey: The Florida-based company’s ambition is to sell access to space to businesses such as ridesharing, car rentals, and food delivery.

To do this, it wants to sell an “operating system” (hardware and software) to garage owners who will turn their real estate into a service that customers can access by paying.
At the end of last year, ParkJockey acquired 2 large parking operators as part of a financing round led by SoftBank.

2. City storage systems: Better known as the new venture of former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, the company is also dealing with parking lot reallocation.

It is bought properties, including parking garages, that it will turn into commercial kitchens for delivery-only restaurants and other consumer services.

3. SpotHero: The company is focusing on a parking space reservation app (for human drivers), but it’s already thinking about the arrival of robot drivers.

He’s worked with many partners to upgrade some of their technologies to handle autonomous vehicles, which CEO Mark Lawrence says can have immediate benefits for human drivers as well..
“Every location we do [AV]“Ready today is a better experience for our consumers now,” says Lawrence. “We’ve done studies that show people are willing to pay more for one automated experience than another. “

During this time, some real estate developers are also considering a future without as much parking space.

AvalonBay Communities, which is working on a future residential complex in Los Angeles, has designed a large parking lot that they plan to convert for recreational use as a gym and theater, and even retail and dining spaces.
The owner of The Grove and other high-end malls is working with Google to potentially convert to more restaurants and stores, according to the LA Times.

Yes, but: Developers already have some tough decisions to make when it comes to their investments, which typically have a 30-year horizon as they juggle short and long term uses.

Construction costs for surface parking structures can cost $ 21,000 per space, and an additional $ 500 per year to maintain each space. During this time, Parking Fee an average of $ 2 an hour in the US, but can reach $ 33 for 2 hours of parking in New York.
And converting garages is expensive: in Pittsburgh, it costs $ 17 million to convert a 3-storey garage into more than 60 apartment units.

The bottom line: These companies may have to make big investments years before they know if they made the right bet.

Go further:

Uncategorized

Vail parking lots are free from April 22

by Deena S. Hawkins on April 20, 2019

Parking will be free at Vail parking structures starting Monday.
Justin Q. McCarty | Daily Special

VAIL – Free public parking reverts to the Vail Village and Lionshead parking structures starting at 6 a.m. on Monday April 22. This includes free overnight parking until May 24, when a $ 25 charge will be applied to discourage vehicle storage.

The summer parking program will run until October 7 and will include free access to structures during the day for all users as well as free public access to the new red sandstone parking garage on North Frontage Road. As an additional option, overnight parking in the Red Sandstone Garage will be available free of charge for up to 72 hours throughout the summer.

Parking passes issued for the 2018-2019 season, with the exception of Rose passes, will be exempt from overnight charges. Other exemptions include employees who work nights at Vail Village or Lionshead, as well as guests from lodges with limited on-site parking. Current pink pass holders who will be working night shifts during the summer are urged to contact their employer to make arrangements with the city parking pass office to obtain a parking pass for the summer without charge.

Value card holders will be able to use their passes for free daytime access to Vail Village and Lionshead parking lots this summer. If the vehicle is parked in either structure between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., a fee of $ 25 will be billed to the card. As in previous years, Value card holders will need to bring proof of eligibility to city parking offices in November for recertification.

For more information, call 970-479-2104 before April 19 or visit http://www.vailgov.com/parking.

Parking spaces

Administrators approve 1,000 new parking spaces with new structure – The Rampage Online

by Deena S. Hawkins on April 11, 2019

The Fresno City College community will hear which company will build the new parking structure that was approved by the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees at its April 2 meeting.

The district plans to use “Design Build” in the process of choosing a contractor. There is currently a bill that uses Design Build terms to help find a good contractor.

“Community colleges are permitted to use the Design Build procurement process through an assembly invoice, but [that assembly bill] has an expiration date of December of this year,” said Christine Miktarian, vice chancellor of operations and information systems for the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees.

Three separate contracts for an architect, a mechanical-electrical plumber and a parking designer were all awarded on April 2, in preparation for the release of board documents for a parking contractor.

“The contracts that are on the agenda are for the consultants who will put together our transition documents to be released for a request for proposal to design-build contractors,” Miktarian said. “We have not yet determined how we are going to do the basis for the attribution.”

She explained that the district typically chooses the lowest bidder when using a design bid invoice, adding that “through a design and build process, you can look at the contractor’s experience and his design that he will submit to us and the price.”

The April 2 meeting was primarily to “release the basic project specifications,” Miktarian said and that there “won’t be full construction plans yet.”
However, if construction is approved, it should take off “in early 2021 and be completed in late 2021, early 2022,” Miktarian said.

Most people who attended the April board meeting, including some members from the surrounding neighborhoods, expressed a preference for building the parking structure because it would reduce a lot of stress. A few speakers questioned the wisdom of spending college funds on parking structures rather than meeting the specific needs of their departments.

The district had polled many students and faculty on what they thought was most important before determining how the funding would be spent.

The Parking Study was part of the Facilities Master Plan which identified the structure as a primary focus. It was sent to Community College districts.

Other districts were spending “$30,000 per booth,” Mitarian said. FCC expects to spend just $12,000 per booth.

Parking garage

The Galaxy’s Edge Crowds – Orange County Register

by Deena S. Hawkins on March 28, 2019

Disneyland plans to open a new parking lot months ahead of schedule as summer crowds descend on the highly anticipated Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge despite a wetter-than-usual rainy season that hasn’t significantly slowed construction .

The 6,500-space Pixar Pals parking structure is expected to open between late June and late July, months ahead of the September opening of the new garage, according to Disneyland officials.

The new Pixar Pals parking structure under construction next to the Mickey and Friends structure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., on Monday, March 25, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The new Pixar Pals parking structure under construction next to the Mickey and Friends structure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., on Monday, March 25, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The new Pixar Pals parking structure under construction next to the Mickey and Friends structure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., on Monday, March 25, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

“We are thrilled to have made improvements to this,” said Disneyland Vice President Kris Theiler. “It’s currently planned for the end of July, but we are working very, very hard with the contractors. We are optimistic that we will be able to bring this forward until the end of June. »

Galaxy’s Edge opens May 31 for a “soft opening” reservation period only. Star Wars fans wanting to explore the new 14-acre themed land between May 31 and June 23 will need a Disneyland ticket and a free advance reservation that grants access to Galaxy’s Edge.

The new Pixar Pals parking lot is under construction next to the 10,000-space Mickey and Friends parking lot. A new pedestrian bridge connecting the two parking structures to Downtown Disney is expected to open in mid-September, Disneyland officials said.

Disneyland also plans to open 2,150 additional visitor parking spaces on the Toy Story grounds by the end of June. Visitors will pass through a new security bag check area on the Toy Story grounds before boarding buses to the main gate plaza between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

The Katella Cast Member car park will become the Bullseye visitor car park. Employee parking will be moved to the Pumba parking lot.

Toll lanes and additional parking spaces in the two garages will increase capacity by 50%, officials said. The upgrades will add 16 parking toll lanes, 33 security bag check lanes and electronic parking sensors in both structures.

The addition of the Pixar Pals Garage should drastically reduce the need to redirect cars arriving at the Mickey and Friends parking lot to the Toy Story parking lot, a time-consuming hassle that has plagued Disneyland visitors.

The new $100 million parking structure will feature six levels named after Pixar characters: The Incredibles (level 1), Coco (level 2), Cars (level 3), Monsters Inc. (level 4), Finding Nemo (level 5) and Inside. Exit (level 6).

The new parking lot improvements are part of a Disneyland initiative called Project Stardust, which is taking a comprehensive look at park-wide operations, infrastructure and crowd management with the goal of improving efficiency, traffic and access.

Parking garage

Six-story structure combines parking garage with street-level retail

by Deena S. Hawkins on September 14, 2018

A new six-story hybrid structure in New Orleans combines a 441-space parking garage with 27,000 square feet of street-level retail. Dubbed The Park, the 205,000-square-foot structure incorporates large prefabricated modules to create an aesthetic similar to the 19th-century warehouses prevalent in the city’s warehouse district.

The garage meets 50% outdoors Facade requirements for naturally ventilated parking structures and is made up of different widths of solid concrete and outdoor spaces to avoid the heavy grid of most garages. The design of the parking garage uses three prefabricated and integrally colored modules – parapet panels, structural beams and exterior panels – with five variations for each. The prefabricated panels on the two main street façades vary in size from 34 feet 10 inches in length to 41 feet in length, and are slick with strategically placed reveals for an added layer of detail.

Photo: Timothy Hursley.

See also: Helsinki Underground Art Museum opens to the public

The main entrance at street level changes from the industrial concrete of the arcade and marquee to a natural hardwood screen that lines up with the entrance. Steel canopies along Rue Girod offer merchants and pedestrians relief from the sun and rain.

Eskew + Dumez + Ripple designed the structure.

The main entrance to the Park Photo: Timothy Hursley.

Parking spaces

Des Moines has 83,000 households and 1.6 million parking spaces

by Deena S. Hawkins on July 13, 2018

Des Moines has seven times more parking spaces than people, according to a new study from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Research Institute for Housing America arm of the association reviewed parking inventories in Des Moines, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Jackson, Wyoming. He found a “large amount of parking”.

Des Moines has 1.6 million parking spaces, according to the study. This represents around seven parking spaces for each of the city’s 217,521 residents in 2017.

The report argues that cities have made “monumental investments in parking”. And he says the results come at a time when people are driving less and parking demand is declining.

Cars drive past a parking lot on Third Avenue in downtown Des Moines on Friday, July 13, 2018. According to a recent study, Des Moines has a large number of parking spaces.

In Des Moines, city leaders recognize that driving and parking behaviors are changing. In response, the city has exempted many projects from its minimum parking requirements on new developments. And a new change in the city’s zoning code further relaxes parking rules.

Following:

“My conclusion is quite basic: the investment in parking really exceeds the current parking demand, which is really interesting,” said Eric Scharnhorst, author of the report. “Because future demand will likely continue to decline. “

The study valued the parking infrastructure in Des Moines at $ 6.42 billion. He counted the total number of spaces in surface lots, residential driveways, on-street parking and private parking garages within the city limits of Des Moines.

Scharnhorst, start-up manager Parkingmill, says an oversupply of parking spaces means city leaders have the opportunity to rethink the uses of many dedicated parking lots, which are often found in desirable areas of the city.

“It’s just a really big opportunity in Des Moines. The occupancy rates are pretty low. But the inventory is really high,” he said. “Often the parking spaces are in very convenient places because you want to get to where you want to go. “

“We must take a step back as a city”

Scharnhorst’s study used a mix of high-resolution satellite images as well as data from property tax assessors, city departments and large institutions.

The study found that 83 percent of Des Moines parking spaces are in off-street parking lots and driveways; 10 percent are on the streets; and 7 percent are housed in structured off-street parking.

Of the five cities examined, Des Moines had one of the highest household-to-parking space ratios, with 19.4 spaces for each household in the city. Jackson had the largest with 27.1 places for each household and New York had the lowest ratio with 0.6 places for each household.

Philadelphia was houses 2.1 million parking spaces – 500,000 more than the 1.6 million stalls in Des Moines. With around 1.5 million residents, the city of Philadelphia is nearly seven times the size of Des Moines.

Larry James Jr., a real estate attorney in Des Moines who works with developers, said the numbers indicate a need to rethink the city’s approach to parking.

“We need to take a step back as a city,” said James.

He knows people are still complaining about parking, having trouble finding a spot on Court Avenue, or having to park three blocks from their East Village destination.

But it’s all relative: “The reality is that when you go to Jordan Creek Mall, you don’t think about walking three or four blocks when you go to the movies because you can see the front door,” he said. he declared.

James advocates letting the local market determine how much parking is required, rather than establishing “arbitrary” bylaws that impose minimum spaces in new developments.

He wants Des Moines to join the ranks of cities that waive parking requirements absolutely.

This is what the City has done in the city center where no minimum parking requirement applies. Yet, new projects are always offered with parking structures due to market demand, he said.

“That doesn’t mean we don’t need parking. We need it,” he said. “But let businesses figure out what they need.”

“The market will always dictate that there is parking”

Des Moines is working on building an urban infrastructure that is more cyclable and more pedestrianized. But cars are still king in the capital of Iowa.

“Hopefully there will be less demand and need to drive or park,” said Michael Ludwig, planning administrator for Des Moines. “But these are big ticket items. There is a lot of sidewalk space. There are a lot of streets that don’t have bike lanes. And in the meantime, people will still have to drive.”

But the city has already taken a new approach to parking.

Ludwig said developments are routinely exempt from minimum parking standards. This includes the new Soll apartment complex on Ingersoll Street.

And a new suite of zoning code changes propose to permanently reduce parking regulations.

Current code requires most new multi-family developments to include 1.5 parking spaces for each residential unit. The proposed new zoning code would reduce the requirements to one space per unit, Ludwig said.

Too much parking has real implications: it can drive up development costs (and therefore rental prices). And that can affect the stormwater drainage rate, Ludwig said.

“We think our current standards are too high, so we are proposing adjustments,” he said. “Whether or not there is political support from the community so that there is no minimum everywhere, I don’t know. “

That’s because many small businesses along commercial corridors are surrounded by dense residential neighborhoods, creating real parking and traffic problems, Ludwig said.

Whatever the city does, Ludwig doesn’t expect developers to abandon parking lots and garages anytime soon. Many grocery stores and big box retailers are already above the city minimum, he said.

“Just because you don’t have a minimum parking ratio doesn’t mean there won’t be parking,” he said. “The market is always going to dictate that there are parking lots. And they are always going to build parking lots.”

Uncategorized

The most innovative parking structures around the world

by Deena S. Hawkins on June 24, 2018

The most innovative parking structures around the world

Courtesy of looking4.com

The covered car park: a loveless structure that is as necessary as it is unpopular. It can be easy for architecture to reflect non-whimsical nature, but sometimes, in the midst of all the mediocrity, a beautiful design comes through.

Airport parking Looking4.com relaunched its World’s Coolest Parking Lot Award, first released in 2013, which showcases some of the most innovative parking structures from around the world. Below is the list of the 10 selected buildings. Which one do you think deserves to win the award?

Project descriptions via looking4.com:

Brisbane Airport Kinetic Parking (Australia)

Designed by American artist Ned Kahn, the exterior of this eight-story parking lot is made up of 118,000 suspended aluminum panels that appear to ripple when the wind hits it. The innovative design also provides natural ventilation for the interior.

Multi-storey Victoria Gate (Leeds, UK)

The bustling multi-story urban car park is located in Leeds’ Victoria Gate Shopping Center, valued at £ 165million, and is inspired by the architecture of the city’s history. The twisted aluminum fin cladding creates a box spring pattern emphasized by the shadows generated.

Parking Garagenatelier (Herdern, Switzerland)

This exclusive car park, designed by the Swiss company Peter Kunz Architects, has only enough space for eight vehicles. The concrete cubes are embedded in the sloping mountain side, creating a juxtaposition of nature and geometric concrete structures.

Saint Luc University Clinics (Belgium)

Made from natural materials, the parking lot is designed to be as welcoming as possible to visitors to the nearby hospital. The ‘canyon-wall’ offers an abundance of light, even in the basements, as well as natural ventilation for its 985 cars.

Parking AZ Sint-Lucas (Ghent, Belgium)

This open-concept car park is spread over the space of two buildings, each surrounded by white metal balustrades with thousands of small geometric perforations. Exclusively native flowers on different levels help brighten up the space.

Parking Quick Parking Morelli (Naples, Italy)

Located in the center of Naples, close to the main tourist attractions, the car park built inside an existing cave with a historic tunnel that connects 2 different parts of the city. The car park is built on seven levels and accessible by three tunnels.

2KM3 in Saint Gervais (Mont Blanc, France)

Underground parking with a striking difference, 2KM3 is dedicated to contemporary urban art. Its name acts as an abbreviation for the wall / ceiling space measurement given to a dozen international artists to decorate in their own unique styles (2,000 m³).

Sinking of a multistage ship (Seattle, United States)

The unique shape of this multi-storey car park, with bridges sloping in the opposite direction of the hill, gives it the name “Sinking Ship”. The four-story garage was part of a neighborhood revamp in the ’60s, in front of the Smith Tower and the old Seattle Hotel.

RAI Congress Center (Amsterdam)

With a capacity of 1,000 cars, the building also serves as a flexible space for conventions and exhibitions. A pair of 30-meter spiral ramps with blue LEDs around the curved edges illuminate the building with an eye-catching helix-shaped entrance and exit.

Al Jahra Court automatic parking (Kuwait)

With 2,314 spaces, this car park holds a Guinness World Record for “largest automated parking lot”. The bays designed by Robotic Parking Systems Inc. save more than 3 times the space of a normal parking lot, with a recovery time of the car of approximately 177 seconds.

Uncategorized

Waterproofing concrete parking structures: a comparison

by Deena S. Hawkins on May 28, 2018

All images courtesy of RJC Engineers

By James Cooper, P.Eng., LEED AP O + M
Owners, engineers and contractors involved in the design, operation, maintenance and restoration of parking garages and building podium decks should understand the role and importance of waterproofing systems in protecting these facilities. When there is a lack of attention to these systems, repair and maintenance costs increase and the expected life suffers.

By effectively protecting the structure and keeping waterproofing systems in good repair, homeowners can slow the rate of deterioration and allow safe and uninterrupted use of the building for an extended period of time. The protection of the structure also ensures the stability of the value of the asset by limiting deterioration and closures, and reduces long-term investment costs. On the other hand, the failure of waterproofing systems often leads to economic losses, including damage to vehicles of building occupants, costly structural repair costs, and lost opportunities during repair work due to the failure. closure of parking lots. A functional waterproofing system is therefore the first line of defense for any structure subjected to vehicle use and de-icing salts.

Understand your needs
Deciding to protect a structure with a waterproofing system is a simple and necessary step. However, determining the specific waterproofing requirements to meet the long-term needs of the structure is more difficult. It is important to understand the critical elements to look for in an effective waterproofing system.

Prevent leaks
The obvious purpose of a waterproofing system is to prevent the flow of water and dissolved salts into and through the structure onto vehicles or into the occupied space below. Careful attention and effective detailing at termination points, drains, pipe penetrations, cracks and joints is required.

*An example of deterioration of a thick waterproofing system on a flat roof.*

Prevent chloride (salt) from entering cracks
Almost all parking garage surfaces are concrete. With very few exceptions, concrete does one thing very well: cracking. An effective waterproofing system must therefore fill cracks, which will open and close due to temperature changes and cyclic loads over the life of the structure. If the system cannot continue to fill cracks, it becomes an easy way for moisture and chlorides to bypass a surface applied waterproofing system.

Provide a non-slip surface
Slip resistance is important for vehicles and pedestrians as they pass through a structure. The health and safety of users is negatively affected if a waterproofing system becomes slippery, when wet, or over time. Therefore, both initial and long term slip resistance mechanisms are required.

Provide a durable wear surface
A poorly designed sealing system can wear out with use or deteriorate due to specific environmental factors. Accelerated wear and deterioration can have a significant impact on performance and life. A waterproofing system must withstand the aggressive environment in which it operates, maintain adequate functionality and meet the required service life. Worn waterproofing can quickly lose its slip resistance, and deteriorated installations cannot effectively prevent moisture and chloride from entering the structure. Critical areas with increased vehicle load (for example loading docks, truck traffic areas and traffic aisles) often require more rugged designs to meet similar lifespans to other areas.

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Uncategorized

Santa Maria ordinance would establish ground rules for city parking structures | Local News

by Deena S. Hawkins on March 9, 2018

Santa Maria is preparing to crack down on bad behavior in the city’s car parks.

Santa Maria City Council this week approved the first reading of an ordinance to implement laws for city-owned parking structures.

“What this ordinance essentially does is establish ground rules for access to the garage,” said recreation and parks director Alex Posada.

The city has three car parks – all free – two of which are near downtown Santa Maria and the other near the Santa Maria Public Library.

In short, he said, the rules require someone to have a reason, like working, eating, shopping, or other related activities, to be in the parking lot.

In addition to serving shoppers and mall workers, the parking structures are used by employees of nearby office buildings and various people at the Santa Maria Court complex.

“It’s really a common sense approach to a situation that we’ve had for a number of years,” he said.

The city currently lacks applicable rules for activities in parking structures, including loitering and unwanted activities such as urinating in public, skateboarding, reckless driving and camping.

City staff reviewed the rules for parking structures in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo and took a similar approach to craft the new ordinance, according to Posada.

“This gives us another tool in our toolbox to perform execution actions in garages,” he said.

In addition, the ordinance will deal with persons parking large trucks in compact parking spaces not designed for such vehicles or otherwise occupying two spaces. The law defines compact spaces as those about 9 feet wide and 18 feet deep.

Tire marks left by drivers are among the activities in parking lots that Santa Maria officials hope to end with a new ordinance. (Photo by Janene Scully / Noozhawk)

Night parking will also be prohibited because it poses a problem for maintenance staff.

However, exceptions will be made with special permits issued to those who have offices or residences nearby.

In addition to issuing citations, the law would allow staff to issue warnings or inform people of the rules, Posada said.

A proposed restriction on people backing up in parking spaces also sparked debate. One of the reasons for requiring front-end parking is to allow police and park rangers looking for an expired vehicle registration to quickly spot the labels on the rear registration plate, Posada said.

City Councilor Michael Moats said drivers of large trucks typically return to the spaces.

“They will tell you that the reason they do it is when they pull out they can safely pull out, whereas trying to back up a large van when you have two other vans on either side. puts pedestrians at risk, ”Moats said. noted. “I really wonder if this is such a good idea.”

But city councilor Michael Cordero, a retired police lieutenant, disagreed, saying a driver backed up in a gap enters the travel zone in the wrong direction.

“I think we add to the danger of driving into the mall (parking structure) if we allow it,” he said.

Council members ended up banning parking where drivers return to spaces.

“I think you just need to do it the right way. There is a logic in going in with your headlights first because you are going to be more careful on the way out, ”said City Councilor Etta Waterfield, adding that most modern vehicles are equipped with rear view cameras for a better view.

Council is expected to adopt the new rules at the March 20 meeting, with the order taking effect 30 days later. Posada said city staff plan to educate users of parking structures on the rules before starting enforcement efforts.

– Noozhawk North County Editor-in-Chief Janene Scully can be reached at . (JavaScript must be enabled to display this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

Uncategorized

Permanent suicide fencing will be installed on Ann Arbor parking structures

by Deena S. Hawkins on January 8, 2018

To deter suicides by jumping or falling from parking structures in Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is further committed to building more permanent fencing on the roofs of parking structures in the city. Installation of the fencing began last fall when city officials noticed a pattern of suicide attempts or completed suicides by individuals jumping or falling from garages over the past three years.

Between November 2015 and December 2016, three people died and two were injured after falling or jumping from city parking lots. Further incidents occurred in September and October 2017, when two men fell from parking structures at South Fourth Avenue and East William Street. These deaths were considered suicides.

The project will be funded by fees charged to those who park their vehicles at city structures. The DDA board determined at a meeting last week that bids will be due by Jan. 16 and work should be underway by the end of the month.

City Council Member Kirk Westphal, D-Ward 2, described the importance of having the fence installed in the first place to help deter individuals from ending their lives.

“As council members, our first priority is public safety,” Westphal said. “As an urgent need for public safety, the advice we’ve gotten from mental health experts is that, while not foolproof, this temporary fence was a prudent strategy to help interrupt some people’s resolve. to commit suicide.”

According to Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA, temporary fencing was installed on the garages when the bid for the project cost $1 million more than expected. Contractor availability was also low during this time, resulting in more expensive estimates. As a result, the DDA Board approved a slice of chain link fencing on the structures rather than more permanent materials.

Pollay said city administrators hope to add fencing at other levels in parking structures, not just rooftops. She also said it was important to install the fences to better meet the needs of Ann Arbor residents.

“Perhaps it’s more important to focus on the needs of people in our community that aren’t being met,” Pollay said.

Some garages, like the Maynard structure, are already fenced. Pollay told the Daily in October that the structures that will be prioritized include the roof of the Fourth and Williams Streets structure – at the top of the list due to its sheer size – followed by the Ann and Ashley Streets structure, the structure of Fourth and Washington, the Maynard Structure, the Liberty Square Structure, and the Forest Avenue Structure. The DDA will also pursue other tactics such as signage and structure management.

After the deaths last September and October, city officials decided to take action on the temporary fencing. Matt Lige, a lieutenant with the Ann Arbor Police Department, was one such official who expressed initial frustration.

“I am frustrated with the volume of deaths in parking lots in the city of Ann Arbor,” he said at the scene of the October fatal fall. “I think it’s safe to say we’re all frustrated.”

The city also installed signage with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s phone number and other information about psychiatric services to deter individuals from committing suicide.

Structures owned by the University of Michigan do not have the same obstacles as structures owned by the city.

In an email interview, Stephen Dolen, the university’s executive director of logistics, transportation and parking, said options are currently being evaluated to implement similar deterrent methods to structures. parking lot belonging to the university.

“The Logistics, Transportation and Parking unit has worked with parking consultants to assess options, review the effectiveness, operational considerations and costs of adding certain types of additional preventative measures and this continues to be a current topic of discussion,” Dolen wrote.

Uncategorized

Permanent anti-suicide fencing will be installed on Ann Arbor parking structures

by Deena S. Hawkins on January 8, 2018

To deter suicides by jumping or falling from Ann Arbor parking lots, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is further committing to building more permanent fences on the roofs of city parking lots. Installation of the fences began last fall when city officials noticed a pattern of attempted or successful suicides by individuals jumping or falling from garages over the past three years.

Between November 2015 and December 2016, three people died and two were injured after falling or jumping from parking lots in the city. Further incidents occurred in September and October 2017, when two men fell from parking lots on South Fourth Avenue and East William Street. These deaths have been classified as suicides.

The project will be financed by fees charged to those who park their vehicles in the structures of the city. The DDA board determined at a meeting last week that bids will be due Jan. 16 and work is expected to be underway by the end of the month.

City council member Kirk Westphal, D-Ward 2, described the importance of installing the fence in the first place to help deter individuals from ending their own lives.

“As board members, our first priority is public safety,” Westphal said. “As an urgent public safety need, the opinion we got from mental health experts is that, while not foolproof, this temporary fence was a prudent strategy to help interrupt some people’s resolve. to commit suicide. “

According to Susan Pollay, executive director of DDA, temporary fences were put up on garages when the bid for the project cost $ 1 million more than expected. The availability of the contractor was also low during this period, which led to more expensive estimates. As a result, the DDA board approved the installation of chain link fencing over structures rather than more permanent materials.

Pollay said city administrators hope to add fencing at other levels in parking structures, not just on rooftops. She also said that it is important to install the fences to better meet the needs of the residents of Ann Arbor.

“Perhaps it’s more important to focus on the needs of people in our community who are not being met,” Pollay said.

Some garages, like the Maynard structure, are already fitted with fences. Pollay told the Daily in October that the structures that will be prioritized include the roof of the Fourth and Williams Street structure – at the top of the list because of its size – followed by the Ann and Ashley Street structure, the Fourth Street structure. and Washington, the Maynard Structure, the Liberty Square Structure and the Forest Avenue Structure. The DDA will also pursue other tactics such as signage and management of structures.

After the deaths last September and October, city officials decided to take action against the temporary fences. Matt Lige, a lieutenant with the Ann Arbor Police Department, was one of those officials who expressed his initial frustration.

“I am frustrated with the volume of deaths in parking lots in the city of Ann Arbor,” he said at the scene of the deadly October fall. “I think it’s safe to say we’re all frustrated.”

The city has also installed signage with the telephone number of the National Lifeline for Suicide Prevention and other information on psychiatric services to deter individuals from committing suicide.

The structures owned by the University of Michigan do not have the same barriers as the structures owned by the city.

In an email interview, Stephen Dolen, the university’s executive director of logistics, transportation and parking, said options are currently being assessed to implement deterrent methods similar to structures. parking lot belonging to the university.

“The Logistics, Transportation and Parking unit worked with parking consultants to assess options, review the efficiency, operational considerations and costs of adding certain types of additional preventative measures and this continues to be a current topic of discussion, ”Dolen wrote.

Uncategorized

Innovative floor seal solutions for parking structures

by Deena S. Hawkins on November 10, 2017

Do you notice the vibrations and noise as you walk through floor joints in one Parking Garage? In addition to these, traditional metal edged, mechanical motion joint systems have clear limits when the joint line and widths are variable or complex within parking structures. In addition, the sealing function for a gasket sealing system is very often a problem here. Floor joints in parking lot decks are really a major challenge both in new construction and in the renovation of existing structures.

Sika® FloorJoint PD and Sika® FloorJoint PDRS Prefabricated panel systems are the right solution for all these problems with their beautiful smooth appearance and noise and vibration reduction ability. These prefabricated carbon fiber reinforced polymer concrete panels fit seamlessly and virtually invisibly into the Floor seal joints and with resin coating systems and adjacent flooring. They are also ideally suited in difficult areas such as ramps.

The waterproofing of a floor joint is one of the key factors in the durability of the floor. When combined with Sikadur® Combiflex® SG sealing systems, these Sika® FloorJoint panel systems offer 100% waterproof movement joints.

How durable are tSika® FloorJoint panel systems? the STUVA The Cologne testing institute has special test equipment to simulate nearly 300,000 vehicles overtaking at 50 km / h, by truck tires weighing 10 tonnes. This test is far too severe to simulate a car park environment, but even when tested under these harsh conditions, Sika® FloorJoint PD and Sika® FloorJoint PDRS performed best and remained completely intact.

For more information, please download our latest Sika® FloorJoint brochure (https://www.sika.com/dms/getdocument.get/4b49580e-7f4a-3472-a23a-d9956f7620f0/innovative-sika-floorjoint.pdf).

About Sika

Sika is a specialty chemicals company that occupies a leading position in the development and production of bonding, sealing, cushioning reinforcement and protection systems and products in the construction and automotive sector. . Sika has subsidiaries in over 90 countries around the world and manufactures in over 160 factories.

Parking garage

What is driving the future of parking garage design?

by Deena S. Hawkins on June 29, 2017

The effort put into designing a parking lot will likely never be recognized in the same way as the work done to bring a sparkling skyscraper out of the ground. However, the structures that are present in most American cities serve a vital and practical need.

But basic parking is not so basic anymore, not least because municipalities and people who live near high traffic and congested areas insist that developers consider their projects in a way that encourages the use of public transport. or to camouflage them. so that they blend in as harmoniously as possible with the aesthetics of associated buildings and public gathering places.

Change is already underway

For example, Seattle has chosen to move development away from parking structures that overlook streets and sidewalks as well as office buildings, residential skyscrapers and hotels, according to Phil Greany, construction manager in Mortenson’s office. in Seattle.

Seattle is in the midst of a tech company-induced construction boom, and, according to Greany, these workers often want to live, work, and play in the same neighborhood, so cars and parking are a secondary concern. Amazon employees, for example, who live near company headquarters can walk to and from work instead of driving.

The city also heightened urban and pedestrian sensibility by encouraging developers to design with pedestrian access in mind and include features such as “parklets” where on-street parking would normally be located. Seattle encourages underground parking where possible, as well as a design that “camouflages” parking garages so they can blend in with the greenery that lines many streets, according to Greany.

On a related note, Al Carroll, executive vice president of the Southern California division of the McCarthy Building Companies, said he’s seeing increased use of parking “envelopes” for mid-rise multi-family residential buildings. . “The residential building wraps around the structure of the parking lot, hiding its exterior from view,” he said.

Carroll noted, however, that because the story-to-story height of each garage level should generally match the relatively lower story-to-story height of a typical multi-family building, the design is sometimes not as efficient as a detached house. common parking garage next to an office building or other commercial project.

However, some new trends in parking garage design – even mandates – are easier to implement than others.

Paul Commito, senior vice president of development at Brandywine Realty Trust, said city planners in Philadelphia, where the company built the city’s first raised park over a university area parking lot, prefer parking in basement.

The city wants its citizens to be less “dependent on parking” and requires developers of new parking structures to go through a special review process if they want to build a traditional aboveground facility, according to Commito.

“The only problem is that the urban environment makes the cost of using the basement with parking almost prohibitive,” he said.

Most owners, Carroll said, will try to keep the parking structure above grade when zoning and site conditions allow. “While integrating the underground parking into a mixed-use park above the [or] The installation of offices results in a much smaller building footprint requiring less land use, significantly increasing the cost of the underground parking component, which is already very expensive compared to above ground structures ” , did he declare.

According to Scott Desharnais, executive vice president of Moss Construction Management, soil type is another factor to consider when going underground with a parking lot. “With the new soil mixing technology, it has become more economically feasible to put underground parking. This has been especially important in dense areas where land is scarce,” he said.

Despite this, Desharnais said the deepest parking structures the company has seen are just two underground levels. “We could see basements lower in the future as soil mixing technology becomes more mainstream,” he said. “For now, on most large buildings that require a lot of parking, we will still normally see several stories above ground.”

Where sustainability comes into play

So how do you make these above ground concrete parking lots more durable and slightly easier to accept for forward thinking planners? Simply put, the developers are making them eco-friendly with things like electric car charging stations, green spaces, and solar power.

Commito said that due to the availability of a wide variety of transportation options in Philadelphia, the company’s Cira Center project, a mixed-use, transit-focused commercial project along the Schuylkill River, was able to transform the top of the complex’s parking lot into a park, as well as a stormwater management system and a green roof. The park opened about a year and a half ago and has “been shown to be well received,” Commito said.

Solar energy and electric charging stations go hand in hand in some of the car parks of the property development company DANAC. CJ Colavito, director of engineering for Standard Solar – which installed the solar panels on one of DANAC’s parking structures and parking lot – said solar is financially profitable for building owners, it doesn’t So it acts not so much in trying to make a parking garage look like better, but in economic sense.

Charging stations for electric cars, however, are another matter. “It’s a chicken and egg situation,” Colavito said. Employers may want to install them if they see their employees using them, but employees may not invest in an electric car until their employer installs a charging station in the parking lot. It’s not a money generator like solar power, he said, but rather a benefit to the public and tenants or workers in a building.

Cities and local governments also play a role in this, Colavito said, because green initiatives like solar power, storm water and charging stations sometimes come with large grants that justify their inclusion in a project. financially interesting.

What’s next for the design and construction of parking garages

So, what future for the parking lot?

“The trend we are seeing is that a greater proportion of the population is moving to cities [and] urban areas, ”Carroll said. This will force planners to take into account the increase in population and determine how these additional people will move through an increasingly dense area in the most efficient way possible.

“Public transit and driverless vehicles will certainly lead to some reduction in demand for structured parking,” he added, although driverless vehicle technology is still in the early stages of development.

Generation Y will also influence the demand for parking spaces. This demographic, Carroll said, doesn’t value car ownership as high as older generations, with many seeing it as a waste of time and resources. A significant portion would prefer to use public transportation or ride-sharing services, he said, allowing them to be social while commuting and leave the driving to someone else.

Some owners, he said, have anticipated the abandonment of parking garages and are considering designing parking structures with floor-to-floor heights and other design elements that will allow them to transform multi-family buildings, retail stores, offices and other types of mixed-use facilities – in case the demand for parking begins to drop.

Desharnais said his company has also seen the trend to reduce the number of stand-alone garages in favor of those that are integrated into a specific project. And with the help of car lifts, which allow two or three cars to be stacked in one space, the footprint of garages is also shrinking.

However, the most impacting change for the future of parking structures, Desharnais said, will come from cities and local governments. “Most municipalities still require a certain number of parking spaces for each residential unit,” he said. “In the future, if they relaxed this requirement, it could stimulate urban development and discourage people from driving.”

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Corrosion treatment of parking lot reinforcements

by Deena S. Hawkins on April 7, 2017

All images are courtesy of Hoffman Architects Inc.

by Steven J. Susca, PE
Parking garages are an integral part of the infrastructure of our country. Although they are prone to more deterioration than other types of buildings, their maintenance is generally not considered to be of primary importance to building owners or managers, who are often forced to prioritize problems. high profile facade or roof leaks. Yet deferred maintenance ultimately means costly repairs. One of the main problems associated with the deterioration of parking structures is the corrosion of built-in reinforcements.

Structural concrete used in parking structures is reinforced with steel rebars, which are embedded in the concrete to improve resistance to tensile and compressive stresses. Normally, the surrounding concrete protects this embedded steel from the corrosive effects of water and salts dissolved in the environment. However, breaches in concrete due to cracks, defects, thin covering, or poor consolidation of the concrete can allow the steel reinforcement to come into prolonged contact with corrosive elements. As steel corrodes, it expands, leading to further damage to the concrete, more water infiltration, and further corrosion in a self-sustaining cycle of deterioration. If not stopped early, the gradual nature of cracking and corrosion can eventually lead to a hazardous structure.

Fortunately, there are preventative measures that building owners, managers and designers can take to protect against the onset of this corrosion. For garages already showing signs of corrosion, various treatment options can stop the cycle of damage and restore structural integrity. Good design and construction practices are essential to preventing reinforcement corrosion, as are products and materials that help prevent corrosive elements from reaching flooded steel. The creation of favorable conditions which can overcome the electrochemical reactions inducing corrosion can also be of great help.

By identifying early signs of rebar corrosion and reacting quickly, building owners and managers can avoid or mitigate the costly and time-consuming repairs that typically result from uncontrolled deterioration of parking structures. (The rate at which deterioration progresses will accelerate over time.)

Corrosion of embedded steel reinforcement is one of the main causes of premature deterioration of parking lots, like the one pictured above.

How Corrosion Works
When steel is exposed to the acidic environment created by dissolved chloride salts and water, the effect is that of a giant battery. As oxygen diffuses through concrete, it reacts with water to form hydroxide ions on the surface of the steel, creating the cathode (that is to say negative pole of the battery).

To maintain electrical neutrality, an anode is formed through an oxidation reaction where positively charged iron ions migrate away from the rebar, leaving electrons behind and forming a pit in the steel. Iron ions travel to the cathode by means of an electrolyte solution in the pore structure of the concrete (usually composed of chloride salts dissolved in water). The remaining negatively charged electrons then travel along the bar to the cathode where the aforementioned hydroxide ions are formed by a reduction reaction.

Under the acidic conditions of the saline solution, the ferrous ions initially lost from the steel recombine with the hydroxide ions at the cathode to form hydrated ferric oxide (that is to say rust), which is deposited at the interface between the steel and the surrounding concrete. Without the presence of the electrolytic solution in the concrete, this reaction cannot occur.

As steel corrodes, it expands to eight times its original volume. The expansion forces cause extreme pressures in the concrete, which are eventually relieved when the concrete cracks. In turn, these cracks admit more water and chloride salts, speeding up the corrosion process, which leads to more cracks, and then more corrosion, in a gradual cycle of damage. Over time, the cumulative process reduces the cross section of the reinforcing steel, compromising the structural integrity of the parking structure.

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Downtown Long Beach parking structures are safer and cleaner, city report says • Long Beach Post News

by Deena S. Hawkins on October 21, 2015

After a city council request in August to continue work to improve the parking situation in the city center, an update on renovations and improvements to parking facilities showed a cleaner and safer system, as the city has increased its efforts in terms of personnel, security and maintenance.

Director of Public Works Ara Maloyan has revealed updates to downtown parking structures in recent months, including Lots A, B and C, which immediately surround the City Place shopping center. Security was extended to 24 hours a day, seven days a week instead of the previous model from Monday to Friday which only covered working hours.

Additionally, new signage, updated payment kiosks, and landscaping helped improve the exterior aesthetics of the structures, while increased staffing and cleaning schedules helped keep the interior clean.

The old pressure washing program provided for a quarterly cleaning, but has since been increased to once a month.

“This increased cleaning program is in line with the cleaning practices of the aquarium parking structure also managed by Central Parking,” said Maloyan.

Maloyan added that Central Parking, the city’s downtown lot management company, has added a “parking ambassador” to help with the customer experience, including arranging for escorting customers to their cars. during the evening hours.

“This Ambassador adds another pair of eyes and ears to the garage and looks after customers throughout the day,” said Maloyan. “The Ambassador assists customers with any issues they may have with the garage and is in frequent contact with Security at Platt, who patrols the garages.

The updates and improvements were initiated by a request for an initial study by council members in November 2014. First District Councilor Lena Gonzalez was joined by co-author Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal , to request the study and subsequent follow-up, delivered Tuesday evening.

Gonzalez applauded efforts to improve the downtown parking experience, including the recent incorporation of the city’s website to include information on lot locations, parking rates, and access to purchase. monthly permits. She said the city should always focus on marketing and making it known that downtown parking does exist.

“As a First city councilor and working in the neighborhood for six years, people will say ‘there is no parking in the city center’,” Gonzalez said. “I keep telling them that there is parking in the city center, you just have to pay for it in some cases.”

Funding for the improvements comes from a variety of sources, including excess meter revenue from newly installed smart meters downtown. City Council voted in December 2014 to allocate any excess meter revenue for the first two years to capital improvement projects for downtown parking improvements. So far, these revenues have provided approximately $ 70,000 in funds to pay for improvements, half of which would have been spent to pay for improvements already made.

It is estimated that the revenue generated by the parking garages themselves will offset the increased security and maintenance costs, but future capital investments may require the city council to allocate further funds to help finance them. Future lot improvements, including the inclusion of LED lighting, cameras, surface repairs and additional paint, are expected to cost over $ 500,000 per parking structure.

The city has partnered with key facility users like Molina Heathcare and others like Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA) to assess future needs in the improvement process. DLBA President and CEO Kraig Kojian said that over the past decade the dynamics of the parking situation have grown from just enough space to now ensuring an appropriate experience for the customer. Like Gonzalez, Kojian said the completed work is a good start, but more can be done to improve parking downtown.

“Vice Mayor, you might remember we moved this conversation to downtown parking from a lack of inventory 10 years ago, to now it’s more about the customer experience. ”Said Kojian. “It’s about marketing the asset that we have, it’s the first and last experience a customer can have when entering our downtown area. And for us, it is very, very important.

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7 Swing Parking Structures – Interior Design

by Deena S. Hawkins on October 20, 2015

Mostly sloppy solutions to a basic need, parking structures don’t get a reputation for being a thing of beauty. The good news is that a few architects are upping the ante, determined to make the ugly parking lot a thing of the past. The seven parking solutions here include a hospital garage that never looks alike, a house with a stunning gated parking lot that speaks to its architectural language, a tennis court that hides a Batcave-worthy car collection, and a facade diamond-shaped openings spreading the light like a lantern.

1. Company: Elliott Associates Architects

Project: Parking lot 4 for Chesapeake Energy Corporation

Location: Oklahoma City

Stand out: The fourth in a series of peerless car parks for Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Car Park 4 conceals nearly 1,500 parking spaces within a striking structure defined by colored tube lighting and aluminum extrusions. The white aluminum trellis seems to shift as you pass it, while a veil of aluminum stretched over structural concrete becomes a play of light and shadow. The entrance gates are distinguished by cheerful yellow. On the roof, cold cathode lighting illuminates structural columns rising to form an atrium colonnade, with a magenta glow visible for miles.

2. Company: Vardastudio

Project: Residence Desi

Location: Tala, Cyprus

Stand out: Surrounding a parking area, vertical wooden louvers provide shade and security to this hilltop home, in stark contrast to the whitewashed concrete bulk of the living space. Instead of a bulky addition, the parking area becomes essential to the language of the structure, which slopes down to soak up panoramic sea views to the south.

3. Company: Urban Studio

Project: Covered parking for Eskenazi Hospital

Location: Indianapolis

Stand out: A field of 7,000 angled metal panels with an east/west color scheme creates a dynamic facade system for the Eskenazi Hospital car park. Painted a deep blue on one side and golden yellow on the other, the metal panels vary in size and angle, and appear to shift and change color and transparency depending on the angle of the viewer. The result: a dramatic canvas that never looks quite the same.

4. Companies: Pohl Rosa Pohl (facade); Walter P. Moore (structural renovation)

Project: Garage Helix

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Stand out: Instead of demolishing this 1966 building, long considered an eyesore, local architectural firm Pohl Rosa Pohl designed a new facade based on a system of suspended, perforated steel panels. Each of the three layers has a different panel shape, with the two inner layers playing off the outer layer. At night is when the faceplate really comes to life, with the LED backlight changing color to display a theatrical light show. The LEDs can also be programmed for colors suitable for local events and holidays.

5. Companies: IwamotoScott Architecture with Leong Leong and artist John Baldessari

Project: Garage with city view

Location: Miami

Stand out: Challenged to create a ventilated parking structure without air conditioning for a mixed-use building that also included office and commercial space, IwamotoScott Architecture wrapped the main corner of the garage with a digitally fabricated metal screen. Folded aluminum modules create diamond-shaped openings for air. At night, the light spreads with a lantern-like glow.

6. Company: Molecule

Project: Wayne Residence

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Stand out: A traditional-style brick house hides a stylish parking area, suitable for a superhero, according to the architects, under a grass cover installed in the tennis court. Ceramic floor tiles and an illuminated ceiling grid create a Batcave-worthy backdrop for the owner’s car collection.

7. Company: 5468796 Architecture

Project: youCUBE

Location: Winnipeg, Canada

Stand out: Sometimes the best parking design is the one you can’t see. In this 18-unit development, vehicle access and parking for residents are discreetly integrated into a shared plaza—Poured concrete level that raises the wooden frame residences one floor above the ground. The construction of the plaza also allows for pockets of green space and small patios.

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Flexible parking structures as civic enablers | News

by Deena S. Hawkins on November 24, 2014

anchor

The flexible parking structure is located next to a colonnade under the adjacent Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuter rail line, which would be transformed into a pedestrian spine in the heart of downtown Rockville Center. (via urbanland.uli.org; Image: Useful Inc.)

First, parking structures should be used for longer periods of the day and for different purposes, both public and private. […]

Second, parking structures must be designed as flexible structures that can accommodate transitions from parking alone to a variety of other uses as parking ratios decline with mixed-use development and increased use of shared parking facilities and public transportation. — urbanland.uli.org

parking structures

Construction plan

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comments

Increase in supply

“We must take a step back as a city”

“The market will always dictate that there is parking”

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Change is already underway

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