12/25/2012

Parking Garage Safety or Nightmares


You know the scene: the pretty young woman walks into the parking garage late at night. The music gets scary and the tempo faster. There’s no one else in the garage and the only sounds are her footsteps echoing on the concrete. Shadows flash by as she walks past parked cars. Your brain is screaming, Don’t go there!” She makes it into her car…and only then sees the villain appear in her rearview mirror from the back seat.

Fortunately, it’s only a movie. But, why are parking garages the location of so many scary scenes in the movies? If it’s not the bad guy in the back seat, it’s the car that runs down someone in the parking garage. Or, it’s the gang that appears from the shadows. There are plenty of variations on the parking garage nightmare.

The answer to the question is as simple as it is obvious: parking garages are simply not comfortable places for many people. That’s why they make such a popular setting to play on the viewers’ fears.

Parking garages, by their nature, don’t provide a sense of warmth or security. No matter how well lighted; there are always many shadows. There are the unidentifiable echoing sounds and often a coolness. Row-after-row of cars and columns and the lack of visual references create a sense of disorientation. Add claustrophobia to this list. In many ways parking garages can induce the same feelings as going into a cave...not what most people care to do.

Compare all of this to a well lighted, street-level waiting area with windows and comfortable seats. Access is limited only to those with the right ticket. There’s the sound of humming machinery. However, that simply means your car is on its way to you. You’re waiting for your car in a facility with an automated parking system (APS) - like robotic valet parking.

With the APS, there are no shadows or dark corners. No searching for your car in an unfamiliar place. No strange echoes or uncomfortable feelings. And, no one has had access to your car, except you.

Look for moviemakers to stick with parking garages for their scary scenes. APS are apparently more suitable for heroes and villains to fight among the machinery (such as in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) while drivers and passengers wait safely and comfortably for their cars.

To learn more about the safety and security advantages of automated parking systems, contact your Skyline parking representative.

12/11/2012

Sustainable Car Parking Solutions

Sustainability is a concept that has crept into almost every aspect of daily life from transportation to toilet paper. It’s no surprise then that urban planners, designers and investors are also searching for ways to provide car parking space in a more sustainable fashion. Sustainability in this sense is commonly measured by criteria developed by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), BREEAM (British Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) and similar organizations.

Here are just some of the ways that automated parking systems (APS) contribute to meeting sustainability goals (most often compared to conventional parking garages):

Energy Efficiency & Carbon Footprint
  • Reduced greenhouse gas emissions (cars are turned off during parking and retrieval)
  • Reduces gasoline consumption (no searching for parking)
  • Reduced energy consumption during operation
  • Reduced energy consumption for construction

Waste & Wastewater
  • More manageable containment of waste (oil, dirt, debris, etc.) from cars
  • Significantly reduced excavation and construction waste
  • Construction from recycled steel rather than concrete
  • Reduced stormwater runoff

Environmental
  • Allows much more greenspace (smaller footprint)
  • Reduced “heat island” effect
  • Less impact on local “climate”
  • Easily accommodates electric vehicles

Societal
  • Less visual and aesthetic impact (smaller volume)
  • More readily handicap accessible
  • More security and safety for cars and pedestrians
  • More readily applied underground or under buildings
  • More easily located closer to destinations

Many sustainability efforts incur higher first costs and depend on lower O&M costs of a period of time to achieve financial neutrality or benefit. In numerous scenarios, an APS offers much lower first costs compared to a conventional parking garage.

Want to know more about sustainability and car parking solutions? Just contact your Skyline Parking representative.