Interchange: How mechanization can help cities rethink parking

"But there's nowhere to park!"

Providing parking for the public is a fact of life in our urban areas, and on the Interchange blog architect Shannon Sanders McDonald explores some of the mechanized options that can squeeze the most spots out of some tight areas.

While public parking has involved some form of mechanization since at least the 1920s, the development of software that can accurately track and predict throughputs allows for garages to be much more efficient - and smaller.

Fully computerized parking facilities can also eliminate the need for pedestrian accomodation, as there is no need for drivers or passengers ever to enter the facility.

To maximize the land use and to keep the entire structure's footprint from being a "dead space", some mechanized parking facilities have included ground level community meeting spaces, coffee shops, or restaurants.

In any event, the examples that McDonald cites are no Tower Place Garage/Fourth Street disasters.