Structured Parking / Parking Garages

[Arlington]

Whether you consider yourself an auto-lover or auto-hater, you probably know that structured parking is "the future". So these humble structures turn out to be pretty important. I have a few questions:

1) Concrete vs Steel
What are the factors that determine whether a garage is built with concrete or steel framing?

2) Ramps
What determines how much ramp a garage gets?
- Flat levels with up/down in tight, circular, spirals (as at Logan's original Central Garage or this one at BWI

- Flat-ish levels with long, straight ramps either up the middle (Logan Terminal B) or on the side (Boston Common Garage) like most staircases we know.
- "All Ramp" where all parking spaces are pitched because the whole garage is one enormous ramp complex. (makes it hard to park, easy for your door to slam the next guy's door)


3) Circulation
One way or 2 way?
- One way is usually an narrow aisle with angled parking
- 2 way takes a wide aisle and has perpendicular parking

4) Free-Spot Electronics
Why don't more places use systems like BWI and DFW (ceiling censors to tell if a spot is taken and guiding user to the best open spot) These things are noticeable because we've probably been in 1 garage set up this way...but never since (any around Boston?)

 

[datadyne007]

1.) Pre-cast concrete all the way. Double Tees are standard in garage design now. It's the cheapest and fastest way.

2.) The capacity and footprint of the garage generally dictates the ramp arrangement and how many points of circulation there are. It's also based on how quickly the developer wishes to get people in and out of the garage ("level of service").

3.) 2-way is most common in typical garages. This maximizes capacity in most situations.

4.) Assembly Row's garages use Free-Spot Electronics

 

[hockey92]

One of the new garages at Assembly Sq. has the lights, that's the only one I've ever seen around Boston

 

[Matthew]

Future ... and past

There are some neat techno gizmos like Free-Spot that I'm surprised not to see more (more common on west coast I guess?) but for me the main engineering interests would be: if this is in an urban area, can we activate the ground floor and hide the storage use? And how can we best design garage space that can be optionally converted into habitable space in the future?

 

[cbrett]

Future ... and past

There are some neat techno gizmos like Free-Spot that I'm surprised not to see more (more common on west coast I guess?) but for me the main engineering interests would be: if this is in an urban area, can we activate the ground floor and hide the storage use? And how can we best design garage space that can be optionally converted into habitable space in the future?

Obviously incorporating mixed use and street-level development into garages is beneficial and commonplace, but why design with conversion to habitable space in mind? Car demand may decrease to some extent with transit expansion to the neighborhood of the garage, but would that really justify turning a garage into residential/office space? Is there precedence for this elsewhere?

 

[davem]

Car demand may decrease to some extent with transit expansion to the neighborhood of the garage, but would that really justify turning a garage into residential/office space? Is there precedence for this elsewhere?

Danker & Donahue in the back bay, and the post office square garage right off the top of my head.

 

[George_Apley]

One of the new garages at Assembly Sq. has the lights, that's the only one I've ever seen around Boston

It's a cool innovation, but doesn't always work as intended. At Assembly for example, they are using several spaces for storage, but aren't filled enough to trigger the light, so whereas I would normally skip Level 1 entirely, I spent extra time doing a lap of Level 1 only to find that the sign board lied [/rant]

Overall, it's a welcome feature though!

 

[jass]

- "All Ramp" where all parking spaces are pitched because the whole garage is one enormous ramp complex. (makes it hard to park, easy for your door to slam the next guy's door)

Thats the most space efficient, but also takes the longest to get in and out. Very popular for residential for just that reason.

 

[whighlander]

Thats the most space efficient, but also takes the longest to get in and out. Very popular for residential for just that reason.

I'm willing to bet the future will be robotic garages of some sort:

• revive the oldie of the all mechanical using a dolly system and an elevator
• the giant Pez dispenser -- used in Germany
• take advantage of robotic cars -- still a ways off
• ThyssenKrupp new Multi elevator that moves up-down & in the plane -- uses linear motor technology & inductive energy coupling -- no cables

from the ThyssenKrupp website:

December 1, 2014

ThyssenKrupp Unveils Revolutionary Cable-Free Elevator System, Allowing Multiple Cars and Horizontal Movement in Single Shaft... MULTI elevator system increases transport capacity and dramatically decreases elevator wait time, energy consumption and elevator footprint in buildings....utilizes linear motors in elevator cabins, along with horizontal shaft-changing cabin systems to increase capacity while reducing both the elevator footprint and energy consumption..... MULTI incorporates technology from magnetic levitation, a transportation system in which trains glide above a track, supported by magnetic repulsion and propelled by a linear motor. When applied to elevator cabins, it enables them to move in shafts in the same way trains move in rail systems, with various cabins per shaft and vertical as well as horizontal movements.
ThyssenKrupp expects the first MULTI prototype will be in testing by 2016

ThyssenKrupp laid the foundation stone for its elevator test tower on Tuesday afternoon. The tower, designed by renowned architects Helmut Jahn and Werner Sobek, is set to be completed by the end of 2016.... in Rottweil, Germany......This impressive structure will reach its final height relatively quickly, in the summer of 2015. After this time, very little will be visible from the exterior of the complex work going on inside. Shortly before the end of the construction work, the tower will be clad with the striking façade designed by its architects.

In all, nine test shafts for future elevator innovations will be ready for ThyssenKrupp’s research and development department. Three shafts, each of them with a height of 100 metres, will be dedicated to the new MULTI system....

Soon the test tower’s foundation will be established at a depth of approximately 32 metres..... The base plate is approximately 2 metres thick, consists of 680 cubic meters of concrete and 100 tons of steel. By its completion, the tower will weigh more than 50,000 tons... At a height of 232 metres, the tower will have its glass viewing platform. This public observation deck will provide a 360° view of the region around Rottweil and is set to become an attraction for tourists in Baden-Württemberg.....

ThyssenKrupp’s investment in the test tower of more than 40 million euros underlines the special importance of this region: Together with the elevator plant in Neuhausen auf den Fildern, currently being transformed into a technology park, and the Pliezhausen R&D facility, Rottweil and the test tower will form a centre of innovation for elevator technology

 

[JeffDowntown]

A large number of Robotic Parking Garages already exist.

Here is a company that specializes in them:
http://www.roboticparking.com/robotic_parking_projects.htm

 

[whighlander]

A large number of Robotic Parking Garages already exist.

Here is a company that specializes in them:
http://www.roboticparking.com/robotic_parking_projects.htm

Jeff -- in the short term we need to isolate the process of moving the vehicle to be parked to its storage place from the park and retrieve functions

In the longer-term [5 to 10 years?] as the car/small truck standard set of automated functions includes self-parallel parking and such -- the garage and the car will interact so that everyone will have robotic-valet parking

Unfortunately, today we have to lift the car off the ground and place it on a robotic dolly used to carry the car to where it can be parked

However, the core technology to realize efficient temporary storage of cars already exists.

Kiva Systems [wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon, headquartered in Reading]
http://www.kivasystems.com/has developed the ultimate robotic shelf system for a fulfillment warehouse -- all that is needed is to adapt the technology to carrying cars

 

[Arlington]

South Korea's petrol companies have the ultimate low tech solution: a Mylar balloon tethered near the "back" of every spot.

{EDIT} www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw9g9OVHdJI {link working}

Car pulls in; balloon string gets "kinked"as the bumper moved in; baloon gets pulled down to the cars hood/trunk level. Car pulls out; balloon string slackens; balloon rises to above roof level, visible to circulating spot-searchers (balloon is shaped like a downward pointing arrow With the word "here" on it)

 

[whighlander]

South Korea's petrol companies have the ultimate low tech solution: a Mylar balloon tethered near the "back" of every spot.

[there is a YouTube video but iOs won't paste the link]

Car pulls in; balloon string gets "kinked"as the bumper moved in; baloon gets pulled down to the cars hood/trunk level. Car pulls out; baloon string slackens; baloon rises to above roof level, visible to circulating spot-searchers (baloon is shaped like a downward pointing arrow With the word "here" on it)

Not saying anything here -- but -- if I recall they [S Korea] have different width parking spots for the ladies marked with a pink skirt