BY CHRIS PRICHARD AND MATT FEAGINS


vehicle identification (AVI) readers, and pay-on- entrance devices for events. This changing parking technology hasmade it easier forboth the user andthe operator. But to optimize this new technology, parking structure design must keep up with the pace of progress.


Considerations for Today’s Designs Today’s parking revenue control technology such as AVI and


pay-on-foot allows designers to eliminate or reduce the overall footprint of entrance/exit plaza(s). Because, in some cases, throughput can be nearly doubled over yesterday’s insertion or evenproximity cardsby the use ofAVI technology, the number of lanes can be almost halved for contract parker use. AVI also gives the designermore flexibility when it comes to


gate placement. Traditional card systems force the user to reach out the car window to access the reader. This requires that cars get properly aligned at the equipment or drivers will not be able to use itwithout getting out of their vehicles.AVI technologydoes not demand this manual step by the driver, thus allowing more flexibility of gate and drive aisle placement. Pay-on-foot technology also offers increased lane through-


put over traditional booth systems. Additionally, pay-on-foot machines and exit verifiers eliminate the need for cashier booths on the islands.This allows the islands tobe narrower indesign and reduces the dimensions of the exits. The potential downside to this system is that it may require turnout lanes to allow patrons who haven’t paid to re-circulate back through the garage, park and pay. If these turnout lanes are used, the length of the equip- ment lanesmust be almost tripled to allow the integration of this turnout. In addition, the placement of the exit verifiers becomes cru-


cial as vehiclesmust be allowed to easily reenter the garage’s traf- fic flow without having to back up in the lane. To add to the com- plexity of the design, the pay-on-foot stations themselves need to be strategically placed so that pedestrians can easily find them, and optimally, pass themas they go back to their vehicle. Thiswill help minimize the number of people who forget to pay before getting to their vehicles. Other design considerations must be taken into account.


Today’s IP addressable systems allow the garage to be controlled froma remote location, eliminating the need for an on-site park- ing office. An IT roomor electrical roomcan house the necessary server while all of the data are transmitted to a remote office off- site. The elimination of an on-site office allowsmore space in the garage to be utilized for parking. In addition, this often results in loweringmanpower needs and thus costs for the garage. When a parking office is desired, revenue control should be an important consideration in its design. It should have a separate


32 JANUARY 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


Garage Design Aid T


ODAY’S PARKING FACILITIES ARE BEING designed to accommodate state-of-the- art access/revenue control technology such as pay-on-foot machines, automatic


Photo © 2007Mark Scheyer


manager’s officewith a door that can be secured, aswell as a floor safewith a drop slot that can be accessed fromoutside the office. This will allow the manager to count cash and process


deposits out of public view, and the drop slot allows cashiers to deposit theirmoney into a secure safewithout having to enter the manager’s office. The office also should be located next to the garage’s primary exit point, in case the equipmentmalfunctions andmanualmeans have to be employed.


Designing for the Future With the ever-increasing speed and spread of high technolo-


gy, the future of parking and revenue control systems is almost unimaginable.We envision the cars of the future having built-in AVI systems to allowseamless interoperabilitybetween the needs of the garage and those of the overall transportation system.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67