How do you deal with too much parking?

It's a conundrum facing many Cities.  How do you get 85% occupancy when
there are less than 60% of all spaces actually being used?

This is a question I ask here in Christchurch, New Zealand.  The context
is that after the earthquakes, there are now a large number of vacant
sites, awaiting developments, that are being used as car parks.  There
are 1,500 cars parking in 2,700 private off-street sites (all open-air
lots) in the CBD as no buildings are open yet.  So how do you control
parking to 85% when there aren't enough vehicles to get past 56%?

 

 The answer is to break the city into zones and manage the occupancies in
the zone separately, then set a wider 'working' occupancy goal of about
60% to 85%.  Don't use too narrow a 'band' around the 85% target, as
it's almost impossible to achieve at this stage where there is a lot of
vacancy.  Zone management then gives you the ability to relocate
vehicles around the city by pricing to affect the local activity level
in that local zone, for the purpose of maximising the utilisation of the
parking resource.  You may be able to offer higher prices where there is
a PT choice (by removing supply), higher prices where there is over-use
such as on the western edge of the Christchurch CBD today.  You can also
start to remove spaces for the purposes of better landscaping or other
mode changes.

 

Gap Filler Project - Christchurch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We also know that we need to create and administer an operational system
that will be flexible enough, over time, to deal with the current
situation where there is too much supply; then change to a system where
the developments have occurred and we have a under-supply.

The final step if you like, is where the city is fully back to normal
and congestion is occurring and mode shift needs a bit of a boost, as
most cities require a mode shift in their transport plans these days.
To get the required mode shift, we may need to put in the plans that a
desire that public car parks are all managed to a guide of 85% but also
private car park resources (don't know how to enforce it yet) are also
managed to 85%.  That will see a large reduction in extra car parks, the
combining of car parks by neighbours and the use of car parks for other
uses.

That's the theory anyway.

 

Kevin Warwood

Starting All Over Again - Parking After an Earthquake

Hi all,

I promised I would include a video of my presentation to the Australian Parking Convention here so here it is.  Only its me doing it from home and not from the convention.

 

I have attached a couple of the videos I used as well to give you some perspective and context to what we are trying to achieve in Christchurch.

This video of the devastation of Christchurch is eye opening.  http://youtu.be/zFk7KnRALXk

The vision of the new Christchurch gives us some faith that the future is positive, even CERA is starting to understand how important parking is to a city in rebuild mode.

Its simple, parking supports 70% of all activity in a city.  To have parking support the rebuild of a city, parking must support 'economic growth or economic activity', to achieve that, parking must aim at full 'utilization' of parking spaces, of which the right fit of a 'modern parking methodology' and a 'modern parking technology' is vital.

Understanding what you have happening in the city is imporatnt.  You must be able to monitor the activity before you can respond with prices and restrictions in parking.  In Christchurch we develpoed a heat map of the activity.

I hope you all enjoy the video, but be aware its 30 minutes long so make a coffee to view it.

Happy holidays.

Kevin Warwood

If only ...............

You are put in a room with a few other suitably qualified people and you are given as many pieces of butcher paper and marker pens as you like. 

You are posed a question, “if you can re-build a city’s parking infrastructure with no resource restrictions, how would you go about it?”. 

So how would you start?

Canterbury hospitals set back years by quake

On top of this, there are two hospital car park buildings that are out of action, a total of about 750 spaces gone.

Canterbury hospitals set back years by quake.

LOIS CAIRNS

Quake damage at Canterbury hospitals could see patient services disrupted for several years to come.

The region's hospitals have suffered considerable damage as a result of the ongoing quakes and many key facilities need extensive repair work before they can resume operating at full capacity.

"We've got over 9000 hospital rooms that are damaged," Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) chief executive David Meates said. "There are already 17 buildings that we've vacated. The size and level of repairs will have an impact on services, but we're working through short-term options to try and make sure the community doesn't have any less access to care."

With repairs likely to take some years, Meates is warning the DHB could struggle to meet some of the health targets set by the government.

The performance of district health boards is rated against national targets set by the Health Ministry, with the results published every quarter so the public can see how their DHB is performing.

The latest results from the Canterbury DHB show that despite the upheaval of the last 12 months it has managed to achieve, and even exceed, a number of the targets but Meates has warned that tough times lie ahead and that it would become increasingly challenging to meet the targets.

In recent weeks, the CDHB had been forced to close the operating theatres at Ashburton Hospital and to find a temporary new home for the Child Health Oncology Centre, which had had a flow-on effect on the type of paediatric surgery that could be carried out.

The Parkside block at Christchurch Hospital, which contains 24 operating theatres and undertakes 20,000 operations a year, is going to be a building site for the next 18-24 months as extensive repair work is carried out.

Asked whether the DHB could contract out more of its services, Meates said it was already using most of the private sector's capacity. A number of innovative options for delivering care were currently being looked at and some key decisions were in the pipeline that would significantly impact on how health care services in Canterbury were delivered in the coming years.

"The biggest immediate challenge we've got at the moment is how we deliver services through this winter – that's one of the big challenges we're facing," Meates said.

- © Fairfax NZ News

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/6593845/Canterbury-hospitals-set-back-years-by-quake



One Year on from the Christchurch Earthquake

Today is Remembrance Day in Christchurch, 22^nd February 2012. 

Today, 1 year ago at 12.51pm, an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude, at a depth of a bare 5 km and centred 10 km south-east of the city centre of Christchurch, struck.  This followed the 7.1-magnitude 4 September 2010. 

The effect of the first earthquake was huge as a major earthquake had never occurred ‘under’ the CBD of a major city before.  The September earthquake had the effect of shaking everything, causing deaths, bringing down buildings, primarily of the unreinforced masonry or brick type and shaking to the foundations the local populace. 

 

The February earthquake, 1 year ago today, was more devastating.  It was lower on the Richter scale but much closer to the city, and had a 1.88g ground acceleration, a much more devastating earthquake.  This shake brought down buildings already loosened by the first shake and killed many more people.

 

Then on the 23^rd December 2011, two earthquakes or 5.8 and 6.0 struck again.  This time most of the damaged buildings sustained much more damaged and had more of a psychological affect on the populace.  So spare a thought today for all of those who lost their lives or were injured in the Christchurch earthquakes.

Please remember the people killed in Christchurch over the last two years.

Kevin Warwood

Car Park / Lot / Parkade Analysis

Advertisiment: 

Business Analysis Services offered to evaluate, cost and recommend new or existing car parks, from loss makers to additions to your portfolio.

I have been involved in car parking for many years from managing;

• Airports
• Hospitals
• Universities
• Toll Roads
• Multi-story car parks
• Large government departments
• Property companies
• Small car park contracts
• Operations
• Evaluation/feasibility

Also equipment set up, RFP and tender processes and new technologies.  I have also spent some time concentrating on improving loss makers and contract re-negotiation. 

Send me an email to kevin.warwood@gmail.com and we can discuss your needs. 

Kevin Warwood

Been a part of the post cyclone Katrina restoration in Parking?

Has anyone seen or been a part of the post cyclone Katrina restoration of New Orleans, particularly the parking infrastructure?

I am involved in the strategic rebuilding of the parking infrastructure and parking business in Christchurch in New Zealand after the earthquakes. I would be very interested in contacting people involved in any part of Restoration projects of a major disaster like Katrina.

Update from Christchurch - the changing parking habits of an earthquake ravaged city.

Well I thought that I should just give you all an update on how things are working out in Christchurch.

Christchurch is a lovely city with great amenities and community spirit, even if a lot of the assets have been damaged or destroyed by one of the many earthquakes.  You can feel why the Crusaders are the best rugby team in the world (outside of the All Blacks of course) because the whole region will get in behind them.  The inner strength of Cantabrians is not matched anywhere else I have been, as it is forged in a climate of moments of terror, instability, isolation, weather and family.  Being from a bigger city, I envy the balance between city and town that they have created.  It works.

To give you an idea of the current situation, I shop at the local supermarket, a block up from my house. It has an underground car park, as many of this type of supermarket has, and an open air car park out front. The open air lot is always jammed and the cars are parked down the streets these days. Even though there are 'cattle-stops' on the footpaths to hinder the removal of shopping trolleys, the people will still take their groceries down the street and risk some kind of retribution from the local shopkeepers trolley police, rather than park in an almost empty underground car park. Yesterday the open air lot was jammed and the underground car park had three cars, that I could see, in it. The largest mall in Christchurch, is the same. The cars are now parked up and down the streets surrounding the mall as a preference rather than park in the multi-storied building provided.

Like any business that has been supporting a regular customer base, as soon as the assets you use to service those customers are destroyed, the activity struggles as it cannot fund itself to provide a service or improve that provision of service until the funding comes back.  You have to pare the service back to a core that you can safely and economically provide and consolidate before you start to expand to what the city now requires.  But the city still has assets that can be used and how can you convince people to use the assets that you have if the don't want to use them?

It raises some interesting questions - how will we get people back into using multi-story car parks?  How do you get your customers to use underground car parks in the future?  How do you provide a service to your city that no one wants to use, but because the assets are there or will get repaired (speculating at this point as no decisions have been made that I know of), you know they will be under utilised in that form?  Should the funds be better spent elsewhere to provide that service in open air lots or on street parking services?  There are lots of questions to ask.

I was in a building in the Red Zone on the 22nd December 2011.  It was a bit of a recce to see what equipment in that building could be reclaimed and put into storage.  The building is written off and the car park was underneath.  It is a single floor under the building.  It was an eerie feeling as we used torches and headlamps to work through the booth rescuing everything from barrier arms and ticket spitters to toasted sandwich makers and staff radios.  We got most of what we wanted onto a trailer and left the area.  The next day, the 23rd Dec., we had a magnitude 5.8, 6.0 and two other sizable shakes.  You can understand why no one would want to go under a building anymore.

The challenge ahead is huge, not just to complete the demolition of the parking buildings that may be earmarked for destruction, but to build the provision of parking services back up so it can support a much needed increase in commercial and community activity, that must happen for the city to thrive again.  What that provision of parking services will look like, I am not sure yet as the community must have a say.  I do know that it will be a long road but one that must be travelled.

Kevin Warwood

Moving to Christchurch, New Zealand

Hi all,  we are shifting house this week, to Christchurch, New Zealand.  Yes, the city flattened by the two recent earthquakes.

I have taken up a role with the Christchurch City Council as the Parking Business Manager.

This will be a role that is strategic in nature and will be primarily set up to coordinate the new parking 'Plan' for Christchurch City and to bring the stcok damaged in the recent earthquakes, back online over the next few years.

This is going to be a great challange, to work in an area after a large natural disaster.

I will keep you all up to date with the progress.

Cheers

Kevin Warwood