AUTOMATEDPARKING:STATUSINTHEUNITEDSTATES

ADVANTAGESANDCRITERIA

RICHARDS.BEEBE,DIRECTOR

PARKINGANDTRANSPORTATIONPLANNING

CONSULTINGENGINEERSGROUP,INC.

55E.EUCLIDAVE.,MT.PROSPECT,IL60056

USA

PRESENTED

AT

WORLDPARKINGSYMPOSIUMIII

ST.ANDREWS,SCOTLAND:JUNE25,2001

AUTOMATEDPARKING–THEENVIRONMENTAL

SOLUTIONTOTHEURBANPARKINGSHORTAGE

ADVANTAGESANDCRITERIA

GUIDELINESTOAUTOMATEDGARAGEDEVELOPMENT

?Thecurrentstate-of-the-artautomatedparkingsystems?Types

?Capacities

?OperatingSystems

?SiteAreaCriteria

?Financial/OperatingAdvantages

?LandAreaandSavings

?Operation’sSavings

?CostFeaturesofVehicle/PatronSecurity

?TimeandMotion

?EnvironmentalAdvantages

?ReducedMilesofInteriorTravel

?ReducedEmissionsProduction

?ReducedNoiseGeneration

?ReducedConstructionProductsandImpactsofConstructionActivity

?SystemApplications

?Location–FreestandingorInsideBuildings

?CapacityandStructureDesign

?UserPopulationsandSpecificNeeds

?TrafficandExteriorConditions

?TypicalInstallations

?AboveGround

?BelowGround

?SiteandOperatingStatistics

?MovementTowardSystemRecognition/CriteriaforDevelopment

?ParkingInterests

?PotentialUserInterests

?InternationalMediaAttention

?ProductPromotion

HISTORYOFMECHANICALPARKINGINTHEU.S.ANDITSSTATUSIN2001

INTRODUCTION

MechanicalparkingsystemswerefirstintroducedintheU.S.usingfreightelevatorsaboutthetimeofWorldWarI.Duringthe1920’sand1930’saseriesofotherpatentsweregrantedbutitwasnotuntilthelate1940’sthattheBowser,PigeonHoleandRotoParksystemsbecameoperationalandinstalledinnumerouslocations.Someoftheseearlysystemswereverticalelevatorliftmodulesthatplacedcarsonupperlevelsofastructuretobemovedbyattendantandothersmechanicaldevicesthatcouldmovevehiclesinto“slots”inaframeworkbuiltaroundacentralcorridor.Capacitiesrangedtypicallyfromlessthan100spacestomorethan600.Allofthese“earlydays”systemssharedcommoncharacteristic—theuseofasiteareamuchsmallerthantheareaneededforaconventionalgarage.Duringthenexttwenty-fiveyearsmanyofthesesystemsoperatedforuptotwentyyearsorso—afewremaininoperationtoday.Problemsrelatedtothetimelydeliveryofpatronvehiclesduelargelytoinoperativeelevatorandmechanicalsystemscausedmanyunitstobedismantled.Forthenexttwenty-yearstherewassomediscussionof“advanced”mechanicalgaragesystemsappearinginEuropeandAsia,butnomajorprojectswhichwereplannedonwereconstructedintheU.S.

Duringthepastdecadetheconstantdemandforparking,especiallyinlargeurbancenters,createdanewU.S.interestinthesehightechnologyforeignsystems—automated,computer-basedsystemsthataddedspeed,reliabilityandsafetytothebasicgaragetypesinventedfiftyyearsearlier.EuropeanandAsianmanufacturershavebeguntomarkettheirsystemsandestablishofficesintheU.S.SeveralU.S.firmsalsohaveenteredthemarketplaceandcreatedgreaterlocalinterestinAutomatedParking.SystemmanufacturersormarketersnowincludesuchnamesasTREVI,Klaus,Krups,Wohr,Robotic,APS,HKSystems,Stokes,AutoSpace,SkyParkingAmericaandothers.Some100oftheseprojectsarenowintheplanningstage.

SYSTEMADVANTAGES

Thereareobviousadvantagesforautomatedparkingfacilitiesinalmostanyurbanlocation.Significantreductioninlandarearequirementsmeansconservationoflandresourcesandsmallerbuildingbulkcubesandcosts.Automatedgarageoperationresultsinfarlowervehiclemilesoftravel,emissionvolumesandutilityservices.Reducedpersonnelandmaintenancecostshelptooffsetanyhigherper-spacecostofautomatedsystems.TheseadvantageshavecreatedalargescalemarketpotentialintheU.S.whichneedstobesatisfiedasquicklyaspossible.

Thefollowingbasicelementsofautomatedstructureconstructionpointoutsomeoftheseadvantages:

A.Developmental

1)Animportantconsiderationofautomated/mechanicalparkinghasalwaysbeenprojectcost.Forcomparisonpurposescostsmustreflecttotalcost,includingland.Thehighercostofconstructionofanautomatedsystemcanusuallybeoffsetbythevalueofthesmallerlandarearequiredforautomatedconstruction.Forexample,asitearearoughly100feetx120feet(12,000squarefeet)couldsupporta400spaceautomatedgarage.Aconventionalrampgaragewouldrequireasiteareaatleast120′x280′(or33,600squarefeet).Thecostofland,at$100persquarefoot,wouldequal$1,200,000fortheautomatedsiteversus$3,600,000fortheconventionalgarage.Thisdifferentialtranslatesintoaperspaceallowanceof$5,500fortheautomatedfacility.Thisisusuallytheprimaryfactorinestablishingtheneedfor,andinterestin,anautomatedgarage.Indenselydevelopedurbanareastheavailabilityoflargesitesforgarageconstructionhasbecomethenumberoneproblem.

2)Inadditiontothelandarea/costfactorthereareotherimportantreasonstoconsideranautomatedstructure.Theseincludetheprovisionofunusuallevelsofpatronandvehiclesecurity:(Thisitemisparticularlyappealingtoownersofexpensivevehicleswishingtoprotecttheirinvestment).Dependinguponlocation,securityissueswherepatronsdonotmoveinsideagaragecanbeaveryimportantconsiderationtobothownersandusers.Negativenoiseandvisualimpactsofconventionalgaragesarealsoeliminated.

3)Automatedstructurescanbebuiltintolargerbuildings,eitherabovegroundorbelowground,insignificantlylessfloorareaandwithinastructuralframeworkcompatiblewiththatoftheprimaryuse.Sincethereisnoneedforopenareasalongperimeterwallstoachieveventilationrequirementstheparkingfacilitycanbeenclosedbyanarchitecturalfa?adeonthoseexposuresvisibletothepublic,eliminatingthenegativevisualcharacteristicsofastandardgaragebuilding.

4)Thesenewsystemsofferanothergreatbenefittoownersandoperators.Becauseofcomputerizedcontrolandreportelementscompletegaragediagnosticreviewandwarningisalwayson-line.Anypotentialproblemisreportedatoncetoacentralcontrolstationwhereattentioncanbedirectedatoncetotheproblem.

B.Financial

1)Theprimaryfinancialbenefitofautomatedparkingisusuallythereductioninlandcost.Onthetheorythatanautomatedstructureusesaboutone-halfthelandarea,thecostsavingsinlandcanrangefrom100percentto400or500percentdependinguponthevalueofadjacentproperty.

2)Owneroroperatorsavingsmaywellbesignificantsincemanyofthesefacilitiescanoperatewithoutanystafforwithasingleattendant.

3)Securityaspectsofthefacilitytendtolowerinsurancecostsandmaintenance,exceptfortheautomatedsystemcomponents,isalsoreduced.

4)Insomelocationstheremaybeanaddedfinancialincentive.Thisistheclassificationoftheautomatedsystemasmachineryandnotasstructurewhichcanmateriallyreducepropertytaxburdens.

C.Environmental

1)ThereisakeenawarenessdevelopingintheU.S.ofenvironmentalhazardcreatedbyvehicleoperationincongestedareas.Vehicle-generatedsolutioncanbesignificantlyreducedbyreducingmilesoftravelinthegarage.Inatypical600spaceconventionalgaragewithtwicedailyturnoverupto300milestotravelareeliminatedeveryday.

2)Reductioninmilesoftravelequalsreductioninemissionssuchascarbonmonoxideandnitratesandoxidesofnitrogenwhichareconsideredmajorproblemsinmosturbanplaces.

3)Lessdisruptivebutequallyimportantenvironmentalissues,especiallyinanydenselydevelopedarea,includelightandnoisecreatedbyvehiclesmovinginto,throughandoutofaconventionalgarage.Theseelementsarealmosttotallyremovedbyuseofanautomatedstructure.

4)Anotherelementhereisthereductionintheamountofconstructionactivityanddisruptionduetothereductioninsiteareaandconstructionvolume.

CURRENTCONDITIONSINTHEU.S.

AnAutomatedParkingGaragewasstartedintheCityofHoboken,NewJerseyinJanuaryof1999.This320spaceprojectwasregardedasthefirstinalongseriesofnewautomatedgaragestobebuiltacrossthecountry.Atleast40to50garageswere“onthelist”forconstructionandHobokenwasconsideredthebeginningofanewerainparking—catchinguptothetechnologyinuseinEuropeandAsia.MorethanadozenU.S.andforeignmanufacturershavebeenreadytoselltheirproductsandconstructfacilities.

AseriesofdelaysandprojectcompletionproblemshavestoppedworkontheHobokengarageforthepastyear.Atthistimeitappearsthatthisgaragewillnotbecompleteduntilspringof2002.Thecomplexseriesofdelaysandproblemshasgeneratedconsiderableadversepublicityandapprehensiononthepartofmanypossibleclients.Nevertheless,thereisstillgreatinterestintheseautomatedgaragesthroughouttheU.S.TheadvantagesofautomatedparkingwillovercometheproblemsnowoccurringintheHobokengarage.

TheexperiencegainedinEuropeandAsiabymajorsystemmanufacturerswillbetheimportantfactorinstartingnewprojectsintheU.S.thisyearandnext.WewelcometheentrancetoourmarkoftheEuropeanandAsianmanufacturers.

Theinternationalautomatedparkingindustry,althoughsmallinnumberandwithoutdemonstrableU.S.projects,needstoovercomethecurrentconditionsandforgeanewunderstandingoftheadvantagesofautomatedsystemsandthebroadadvantagesandpracticalitiesoftheiruse.Theobjectivetodayistooutlineapplicationoptionsandtoestablishbasicprojectcriteriabywhichclientsandmanufacturerscanassuretheadequacyandfunctionalityoftheparkingsystemwheninstalled.

Understandingofthesenewsystemsfromseveralviewpointsistheessentialkeytoexpandingacceptanceandinstallation.Publicandprivateagenciesneedtobecomeawareofperformance,reliability,operationandmaintenancecostconsiderationsandpatronacceptance.TheautomatedparkingindustryhasformedatradegroupknownastheAutomated/MechanicalParkingAssociationtopromotethebenefitsofthesenewsystems.Thesubjectofautomatedparkinghasnotbeenwidelyrecognizedinthiscountryformanyyears,evenwithinparkinganddevelopmentindustries.Butthenewsystemsaretechnologicallyandoperationallyfarsuperiortotheunitsbuiltinpreviousdecades.Owners,builders,agenciesandpatronscanbeassuredofcost-effective,reliable,safeandefficientservicesatcompetitiverates.Asignificantresponsetothebenefitsofthesenewsystemsisalreadyforming,andusewillacceleraterapidlyasnationalawarenessofthecompellingreasonsfortheuseofautomated/mechanicalparkingsystemsgainsmomentum.

WeneedtoexploreandexpandtheincreasedconstructionofautomatedparkingfacilitiesintheU.S.Theadvantagesofthistechnologyarejusttoosignificanttopermitfurtherdelayintheirdevelopmentandconstruction.However,anumberofimportantlessonshavebeenlearnedthatneedtobeaddressedbyanyautomatedsystemmanufacturer.

APPLICATIONS

Inordertoproperlyplan,design,construct,manageandoperateanautomatedfacilityintheU.S.anumberofvitalissuesmustbeconsidered.Therefollowsasummaryoftheseparticularitems:

1.Theoretically,automatedparkingrequiresaboutone-halfthelandareaofaconventionalgaragetoservethesamenumberofvehicles.However,thistheoryhasseveralvariablessuchas:

Therequiredcapacityofthegarage

Availabilityofadditionallandforconventionalgarageconstruction

Costofadditionallandtofacilitateconventionalgarageconstruction

Garageuserpopulations,turnover,rates,accesspatterns

Parkingratesandanticipatedrevenuecomparedtocostsofgarageconstructionandoperation.

Projectcostsoftheautomatedfacilityversustheconventionalfacility,giventhetotalcostcomparisonpack

Thesimplefactthatadequatelandareaisnotavailabletoconstructaconventionalgaragedoesnot,inanyway,meananautomatedfacilitywillproveeconomicallyfeasibleinaparticularlocation.

2.Detailsofthepotentialsitecanbeverycritical.Foranautomatedfacilitygoodstreetaccessisessentialand,insomecases,multiplefrontagescanbethedifferencebetweenfeasibilityandfailure.Ifprimaryingressisfromamajorstreet,garagevehicleacceptanceratescanbeveryimportant.Longqueuelinesawaitingentryaffecttheacceptanceanduseofthefacility—moreimportantly,localpolicemayprohibitvehiclesstandinginthestreettogainaccess.Therearestandardratiosofentry/exitportalstogaragecapacitywithasub-setofdeterminantsbasedonstreettrafficpatternsandinteriorgaragespacelayoutsandvehicleacceptance/deliverytimes.Projectfeasibilitycanbeaffectedbystreettrafficoperationsandotherexternalfactorsadjacenttothegaragesite.Itis,therefore,essentialtofullyunderstandtheimpactsoftheseconditionsonthedesignofthefacility.

3.Thetrueandtotalcostoftheparkingfacility—boththeautomatedsystemandanyshellenclosurebuilding—mustbeproperlydefined.Thisleadstoanumberofquestionsconcerningtheproject,theprojectteamandtheprojectproposal.Forexample:

Istheautomatedsystemmanufacturerthecontractororasub-contractor.

Ifthesystemmanufactureristhecontractor(bidder)he/shemustsubmitallrequireddataandbidrealisticcoststoincludethetotalpriceofbidpackagerequirements.

Ifthemanufacturerisasub-contractorwillhe/sheprovideprojectcostdatatomorethanoneprimecontractor.

Inmostinstancesthecostofthesystemandthecostoftheshellbuildingshouldbeseparatedwithindividualunitcostsandpaymentschedules.

Detailsoftheowner’sprojectbidannouncementshoulddescribeallprojectcomponentsandcostissues,aswellasthetotalpackageofcomplianceitemsnecessaryforprojectacceptance.Biddersshouldreviewallbackgroundinformationandparticularlytheprojectplanningorfeasibilitystudies,tounderstandtherequiredrevenuestreamnecessarytofundtheprojectandcoverpotentialcosts,andthentosubmitrealisticbiddatathatcanensurefeasibilityofthecompletedgarage.

TYPICALINSTALLATIONS

WithintheU.S.thereareawidevarietyoflocationsandparkingfacilityneedsthatwillattracttheinstallationofautomatedparkingstructures.Thisvarietyofprojecttypesisoneoftheprincipalreasonswhythemarketisstrongforanumberofdifferentsystemmanufactures.

Someoftheprojectsnowbeingstudiedforautomatedparkingfacilitiesprovideaninterestingdirectoryofpotentialdevelopments:

?A400spacegarageonanL-shapedsite.Thegaragewillsupportatenstoryresidentialbuilding(120units)above.

?A164spacegaragetobebuiltundergroundaspartofthefoundationforatwelvestoryresidencetowers.

?An800spacegarageonthemainshoppingstreetinalargecity—halfofthespacesaretobeforshort-termparking.

?Two75spacegaragestobeconstructedinafivebuildingapartmentcomplextoreducetheamountofparkinginsideresidencebuilding.

?A3,000spacegarageaspartofalarge,mixed-usedevelopmentwithlong-termandshort-termparkingrequirements.

?A56spacegaragetoserveasmallresorthotel.

?A4,000spacegaragetoprovideon-sitestorageforrentalcarfacilityatalargeairport.

?A130spacegaragetostorenewvehicleinavehiclesalesagency.

SYSTEMCRITERIA

Therearetwodistinctsetsofprojectcriteriatobeconsideredintheprocessofconstructinganautomatedparkingfacility.ThefirstCriteriaPackageisdirectedtoensuringthatManufacturersaddressallcriticalcomplianceissuesanddefinesystemcharacteristicsasrequiredbytheprojectplansandspecifications.ThesecondCriteriaPackageisdirectedtopotentialOwnersasameansofensuringthatcontractorbidsubmissionscomplyfullywithprojectrequirements.Thesecriteriaareveryimportantinestablishingthedetailoftheproject;howitwillbedesignedandconstructed;howmuchitwillcost;howitwillbeoperatedandifitwillproducerevenuetoretireitsdebt.

MANUFACTURERCRITERIAPACKAGE

A.SystemDefinitionandOperatingCharacteristics

?Typeofsystem–pallet,comb,plateorother.

?Typeofframe/slotarrangementandframeconnectiontobuildingshelldetails

?Basicoperatingfeaturesofthesystem–technologydescription

?Basicoperatingspeedsforvehicleintakeanddelivery;elapsedtimeinseconds

?Systemuseofturntableorvehiclethruin/outmovementpatterns

?Entry/exitbaydetails

–Singing,signals,vehicle/pedestriancontrolsandalarms

–Capacity

–Designformats

–Pallet,plateorcombmovementthroughoutthegarage

–Elapsedtimeofvehicleintakemovementfrombaytocarriertoslot/fromslottocarriertobayforretrieval

?Averagecycletimein/outpervehicle

?Controlsystemfunctionsviasensors,camerasorotherdevicesandoversightofactualinternalparkingmaneuvers

?Testingschedulesandmaintenance/warrantyassumptions.

B.SystemDesignFeatures

?Redundancies

?Securitysystems

?Stand-bypower

?Sensors-motiondetection

?Weatherconditioning

?Componentcleaning–methodsandfrequency

?Diagnosticsandformofresponsetoservice/repairordersandalarms

?Sparepartsinventory,location,re-orderdetails

?Maintenanceinspectionprogram-schedules,procedures,reports

?Majorcomponentreplacementprogram

?Life-cycledataandcosts

C.SystemPerformanceStandards

?Definesystemdevelopment,priortesting,patients,etc.andcurrentstatus

?Describecompletedsysteminstallationswithdetailoftype,size,exactlocation,operatingfeaturesandowner/operatorreferences

?Describethesystemwarrantytobeprovidedwithpurchase

?Describesubsequentsystemmaintenanceagreementsandterms(one-yeartomulti-year)

?Describetypicaloperatingandmaintenancecostsforsystemandforper-spacecostcomparisonanalysis

?Describesystem-wideperformancetestingandacceptanceatcompletion

?Describesystemtrainingprogramandtrainingmanuals

?Describesystemoperationsmanualsandpatronuseinstructionmaterials

?Describepatronaccesscontrolsystemsandtotalsystem(patronuse)reportformatsanddetailorreporttransfertoowner

?Describeadministration,marketingandactivity/revenue/customeruseassistance;reporting—formats,responsibilities,techniques,finalforms.

OWNERSCRITERIAPACKAGE

A.ContracturalItems

?Checkplansagainstallapplicablecodesandutilityservicesrequirements.

?Checkplansforshellbuildinganderectiondetails,systemandsub-systeminterface,functionaloperationofthetotalsystemasaunifiedfacility.

?Checkoverallschedule,taskcompletiondatesandsign-offrequirements.

?Checkallcontractorreferences,sub-contractorreferences,equipmentsuppliersandmajorpartsdescriptionsandavailability.

?Checkbonds,insurancecoverages,contractlanguageamendmentsorexceptionsre:claims,performancestandards,auditing,payouts,etc.

?