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FOCUSARKING MANAGEMENT
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height is between 2 to 2.4 metres. structures due to inherent robustness There could be several reasons why
Thus, the volume per space is in of the structures and its components. automated structures have not become
the range of 44 to 68 cubic metres. However, in the case of automated more accepted. One possible reason is
For the same building volume, an parking structures. Redundancy of critical that local architects and facility owners
automated parking structure can elements such as lifts, motors, control may not be fully aware of the capabilities
thus accommodate more than twice systems is essential. In addition, manual of automated parking. There have
the number of cars as compared to a overrides of the main components are been cases where the requirements
conventional parking structure. also needed in case of systems failure. of automated parking were not
Land area and geometry Cost implemented in time during the planning
phase of the project and subsequently
In conventional parking, the width of Generally, the most important
a typical double-loaded parking module factor which determines the selection required major adjustments at a
later stage. The seriousness of these
is about 17 to 18 meters. Therefore, of type of parking structure is the adjustments may have prevented its
greatest efficiency is achieved if the cost. The capital costs include both implementation.
land geometry allows multiples of this civil and equipment costs. Cost of land
module. In addition, vertical circulation and the opportunity costs related to Another reason for lower acceptance
speed ramps as well as the external alternate land use are additional and of automated structures is apprehension
access ramps may take more than 25% may be significant. on the part of end users. Drivers
of the land area and which needs to be Suitability of Automated are generally reluctant to use a new
considered in the design. Parking Structures in GCC technology. There is a perception of
For certain types of automated contries lack of control of the vehicle after it is
handed over to the automated system.
parking systems, greater efficiency is The proportion of conventional and From our observations, presence of full
achieved if the land geometry allows automated parking structures varies time attendants at the parking facility
maximum number of tandem parking greatly between different countries. In appear to ease these apprehensions.
rows (usually 2 or 3) to be placed on Japan, there are 60 to 90 million parking Facility owners also have apprehensions
either side of the central aisle. Typically, spaces. Five to 10 million spaces are in and concerns about operations and
automated parking structures are more multi-story parking structures and out maintenance, retrieval times and
adaptable for irregular shaped land of which 1 to 1.6 million spaces are reliability and more importantly about
parcels when compared to conventional in automated parking structures. In the costs.
parking structures. other words, about 15 to 20% of the Based on current trends, potential
Number of entrances and exits total multi-story parking spaces are in for additional automated parking
In conventional parking structures, automated structures. structures exists in high-density,
number of entrances and exits are In Europe, out of 300 million parking urban areas where land availability for
determined by traffic flow analysis spaces, there are about 50,000 multi- parking is limited like Dubai, Abu Dhabi
including peak throughput volumes. story parking structures and 500 and other large GCC cities.
Depending on the number of floors, automated parking structures. Thus, An increase in awareness and
entrances and exits may be required automated parking constitutes only understanding of automated parking
at different floors for better access 1% of the total number of multi-story capabilities for end users and owners
and egress. For automated parking parking structures. may alienate many of the existing
structures, number of gates are In the case of USA, there are 250 concerns and apprehensions.
determined by the desired vehicle to 500 million parking spaces. Out of
retrieval time and throughput these there are about 45,000 multi- Future autonomous (self-driving)
requirements. In GCC countries, typical story parking structures and less than vehicles in GCC countries may have
desirable vehicle retrieval time is 2 to 5 50 automated structures. Automated an impact on the future of parking
minutes during normal periods and 5 parking structures thus constitute only needs, particularly in the dense part
of cities. Committing large structures
to 10 minutes for peak periods. Typical 0.1% of the number of multi-story in these areas to parking facilities
desired throughput time to empty the parking structures. may be on the decline or at least may
entire parking structure is 1 to 3 hours.
As seen above, the percentage of be questioned. Flexible design that
Safety and reliability automated parking structures is low allows today’s parking structures to be
Safety and reliability is not a matter of compared to conventional structures in transferred to a different use may be
primary concern in conventional parking most of the countries. in vogue.

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