“FOR DRIVERS LEAVING or retrieving their cars at a parking garage, it's a dream: no exhaust fumes, no strange nicks or scratches appearing on the fenders, no budding Mario Andretti squealing the tires around hairpin turns, no tip for the attendant.”

“automated garages can now be more price-competitive. According to the New Jersey Parking Institute, a trade association, a garage parking space in the state cost between $15,000 and $20,000 to build. "I think automated garages are cheaper [than traditional ones because you get more spaces for the land value," says Steven Monetti, president of the institute.”

“In Europe and Asia, the development history, traffic patterns, and parking ''culture'' are different, she said, and cities simply are not built to accommodate the hulking presence of a typical ramped structure. There are roughly 5,000 automated garages on those two continents”
''This is amazingly proficient use of space,'' commented Darius Sollohub, a New Jersey Institute of Technology professor who studies parking and urban land use. ''It may provide one of the solutions to the most important conflict in urban design: where do you put all the cars in environments where car volume is high and space is at a premium?''

“Although an automated garage is more expensive to build it typically takes only about half as much precious real estate as a conventional ramped garage to handle the same number of cars, or even more. That is why in European and Asian cities, the automatic garage was long ago anointed as the best solution, Mr. Sollohub said. “

“Urban land use specialists say that this sort of situation will continue to occur in congested American cities, and that automated parking could become a widely used option.”

“The garages can squeeze up to twice the number of cars in the same space as a conventional garage and don't require attendants. The automated valet, so to speak, will fetch your car in minutes. Parking has never been this easy”

The automated valet unveiled yesterday can neatly tuck up to 18 vehicles under the building, far too few to solve the state capital's notorious parking problems. But city officials and the new building's owner hailed it as a striking innovation that is the first of its kind in Maryland and the fourth in the country.... read more

It was in early December of 1997 that two 19th-century structures in downtown Annapolis burned to the ground - an event that was followed by years of controversy about the rebirth of the area's pricey real estate and the eventual sale of the property.

Today, however, construction is finally under way. As mandates from the U.S. National Park Service and the city's Historic District Commission (HDC) dictate, what is now known as 7 State Circle will have an old yet modern look, complete with offices, ground-floor retail condominiums and a parking garage that evokes images of a James Bond movie rather than harkening back to the days of colonial patriot Jonas Green...... read more

Benefits of the automatic parking system include: optimization of space utilization, security (vehicle and personal), convenience (all ground level access), lower garage owner's liability insurance, greater depreciation schedule, lower lighting and ventilation requirements (no cars driving around inside; no people go inside), and lower emissions and less pollution (clean parking system).

“The Unites States has taken a great leap forward in the parking department, with the opening of a fully automated parking facility.”

The influential American "Kiplinger Letter" said they expect automated parking to be so widespread as to be commonplace in the US by 2007.

“Instead of ramps, with entrance and exit lanes, the entrance to the garage is simplicity itself. The driver drives his or her car into one of several entrance bays at grade level, gets out of the car, keeps the keys”

“Because no one enters the garage itself, it virtually eliminates any danger of vandalism, scratches, dents or theft of a vehicle. And more importantly, it eliminates any threat of personal danger. No more having to walk around alone in a dark, dangerous garage looking for one's car, and the convenience of all ground level access. No more having to take elevators or walk up stairs with heavy parcels to search for one's car.”

“As one expert enthused: "Automated parking provides all the convenience of a valet service - without the valet, practically no wait, and no tip!"

“Fully automated garages offer computer-controlled parking and space-efficient stacking, which can fit twice as many vehicles as a conventional garage.”

Berkeley mayor favors automated parking facility
"If we pit the new facility in place, it would hopefully be funded by a self-supporting bond," Dean said, meaning the structure would pay for itself.”

"By eliminating that unnecessary space in the current parking structure, you can open up corner cafes and retail stores, making the community much more valuable," Kennedy said. "To me, it's a great idea."

"Get Out of my Space!"
It is a truth universally acknowledged that cars bring out the worst in people, turning a normally reasonable adult into an angry belligerent child the moment things cease to go smoothly. Part of the problem in Dubai is that with a diverse expat population from all over the world, the standard of driving seems to depend more on ethnic culture than on the Highway Code. Tensions on the roads should be eased when... read more here