Parking World

Parking Space for 700 Pounds Per Sq Foot

Well, it does have two doors, automatic, one for entry and one for exit. Plus it's located in tony Knightsbridge, London. It's managed by Harrods, and in addition to the £200,000 plus price tag, you pay and additional £710 a year management fee. For your money, you get the privilege of parking your Maserati, Ferrari, R8, or Aston Martin for 99 years. Read about it here.

I guess the price isn't so bad when you consider that flats (apartments) in the area are going for between £13.35 million and £24 million.

 

JVH

First World Parking

Developing nations want world-class facilities - malls, hotels, entertainment complexes - and so they should be providing first world parking. That should be part of the development plan from conception.

In this excellent article on Philstar.com, writer James Deakin talks about parking issues in Manila, stating "I will never understand how developers can spend billions of pesos on a first world project only to put in third world parking."

"When will these developers understand that you are only as strong as your weakest link?" Deakin says, after difficulty finding the right parking lot, and then wading through a flood to attend an event at an upscale casino nightclub. "You can have a Michelin 3 star restaurant, state of the art night club, boutique bars or whatever, but if your guests arrive soaked or sweaty after walking through flooded car parks and dealing with the seedy characters that love to hang outside casinos, it just dampens the whole experience."

 

Pete Goldin

Canadian Hotels Get Plugged In

Once again Canada is making progress with EVs. I am a supporter of electric vehicles, and I believe it is the future of transport. Furthermore, I feel the parking industry - both public and private - can have a significant impact on the adoption of EVs by providing vehicle charging stations. That's why I am excited about the news that Le Centre Sheraton Montreal, the Sheraton Centre Toronto and Coulomb Technologies have installed ChargePoint networked electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

Two charging stations at each hotel are available not only to hotel guests but to residents and visitors of Toronto and Montreal as well. This makes the Sheraton Centre Toronto and Le Centre Sheraton Montreal the first Canadian hotels to offer this service. I believe this is Montreal's first public charging installation, as well.

“With today’s unveiling of the charging stations we are reaffirming our commitment to greener travel,” says Tony Dunn, General Manager, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. “Both of our hotel properties are proud of a '4 Green Key' rating from the Hotel Association of Canada and we are focused on additional sustainable offerings.”

The ChargePoint EV charging stations are also convenient because they enable EV drivers to navigate to charging stations and detect charging station availability from any smart phone or web browser.

Behind the scenes supporting the project was Hydro-Québec, an active promoter of EVs in Canada.

 

Pete Goldin

"Free Parking" Not Effective

They figured it out in the UK Village of Kindell, why can't they in other places. Read about it here.

They were offering half hour free parking. The merchants found that people would stay in the store for half an hour then rush out. Shoppers weren't staying and doing what shoppers are supposed to do, SHOP.

The money quote:

Mr Keane said he believed parking prices were not a major factor in retail trade and the key issue was what a town or village offers.

Yep

 

JVH

Krakatoa Crackdown

Mumbai, India, could take a lesson from Jakarta, Indonesia, a city with similar parking challenges. The difference is that Jakarta's authorities are not going to stand for it anymore. This year, the City has conducted a major crackdown on illegal on-street parking, which turns congested streets into de facto parking lots.

Jakarta Globe cites a police survey showing that the number of illegally parked cars represent up to 30% of the 1.5 million cars on the roads each day. The Globe also reports that more than 100,000 parking tickets have been issued so far this year. 

Jakarta authorities plan to start towing as well.

Jakarta allegedly faces a lot more parking problems, such as corruption in the system and street thugs that control on-street parking, but a commitment to enforcement is a vital step in the right direction. The alternative, say some experts, is complete and total gridlock by 2014.

 

Pete Goldin

Look Out Below!

Apparently advocacy groups are against new space-age ufo-looking parking sensors embedded in the ground in Lane Cove, Australia, the North Shore Times reports. The sensors keep track of how long a vehicle has parked in a spot, and alert authorities when vehicles have overstayed their welcome.

The problem that advocacy groups have is that a pedestrian may trip on one or a cyclist may ride over one and fall. Now, I am all for protecting the public, but this seems a little too careful. I mean, if they are going that far, what about people walking into parking meters?

Click here to read the article in North Shore Times

 

Pete Goldin

Do the Maths!

Charlotte Williams is unemployed and lives in her father’s house. Her car is registered at her old address and so she cannot get a £30 residents permit to park where she lives. The cost of changing the address where the car is kept is the cost of the stamp, say 40p, so for less than £31 Ms Williams could park legally. Instead since 2008 she has opted to park illegally and she now owes about £11,000 in fines and fees.

Ms Williams is obviously a slow learner; she got five tickets in five days. The Council wants its money and has called in the bailiffs after writing to her no less than 381 times in an effort to get the 160 outstanding tickets paid.

Carmarthenshire council executive board member for transport Philip Hughes said: "It is unfair for the woman to get away with paying the fixed penalty notices. This is taxpayers' money. Other people who park illegally are expected to pay their fines." I agree.

So Option A: spend £31 and a few minutes of your time to be legal. Option B: don’t and get an £11,000 bill. The killer is that Ms Williams blames the Council for the situation "I can't believe that the Council have let it get to this stage. It's so stressful”, she said. No Ms Williams, this is all your own work.

 

Peter Guest