The Design of Parking Garages Has Changed Over The Years
I find myself touring our many parking garages — to check how they are used, their condition and so on.
Our older garages are not space efficient at all. The buildings they replaced were considered “obsolete” for modern use but we know how to adapt old buildings to new uses. Old garages just languish.
The old spirals for ramps gave way to sloping parking decks to get you from level to level, this is what we still have today. I hope to see much more efficient parking systems here one day.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0iUPtjfByU
Parking like this would allow us to replace our above ground garages with…buildings occupied by humans. Some might say we have cheap land so there is no incentive to build more compactly. To that I’d say we have policies that have encouraged poor use of land. We need to change our policies so we use our core urban area more efficiently.
– Steve Patterson
And what does this cost? To build? To maintain? And, most importantly, to park in?
In round numbers, I assume $10K/space to construct surface parking, $20K/space for above-ground structured parking, and $30K/space for below-grade structured parking. I'd guess that construction costs for this system are even higher ($40K/space? $50K?), combined with significantly-higher operational costs (moving parts require more maintenance than static concrete).
While the example probably makes sense (unique, historic urban core), is there anyplace around here where this could be justified? Perhaps as a part of the arch grounds? And how do you plan to convince people to pay the necessary price premium? Over nearby, non-automated competitors? We're not Chicago or NYC. We don't pay $20 or $30 per hour, we just either walk a couple of blocks further or take our business to the suburbs.
Don't get me wrong, I find this to be an intriguing solution, and I've seen much-more-rudimentary solutions work (double-stacking individual spaces). But I'm also well aware of the limitations of any mechanized system, be they elevators, escalators or PC's. Denver's new airport had to delay their opening for nearly a year trying to get an automated baggage system to work. We can't even get people to park between the lines now, and some idiot took out a bus shelter yesterday driving while shooting up. I'm more inclined to fight the fight to require qround-floor retail in above-ground parking structures than I am to invest public funds in a Buck Rogers “solution” like this (because no one in the private sector could justify making the investment here) . . .
The old garage in your photo would make an awesome skate/bike park. Could add meeting space on the ground floor for lessons/safety classes.
The source of the youtube underground garage video is:
http://www.woehr.de/en/projekte/budapest_m730/index.htm