Park and Ride. This is the North Hanley Metrolink Station. It isn't intended for pedestrian traffic, and isn't transit-oriented development. I don't drive, so I've never been there. A station on our public transit line is not worth visiting if you don't drive. Isn't that strange?
North Hanley Station occupies some good real estate though. It sits between the airport and a major university. It's the obvious place to put up airport hotels, office buildings for logistic companies, perhaps an expanded partnership between the university and the airport. South Korea is banking on the land adjoining their main airport on Yeongjong Island. This land at North Hanley may one day need to be used for more than parking. More developments may mean more parking needs too. The answer? Bigger and better parking garages.
In downtown St. Louis. There are many parking garages, and most are half-empty. A few years back, Webster University knocked over the historic Century Building to build yet one more parking facility so their students wouldn't have to walk an extra block. Half the major structures downtown are parking garages,
The city's major sports teams are downtown. If a stadium holding 70,000 people is to be filled up for a game, then about 50,000 cars need to be parked somewhere. Some are parked downtown. Some are parked out at the Hanley Park and Ride Lot.
Imagine the Cardinals, Blues, and Rams all playing on the same night. How would you find a parking space? America's Center holds regular conferences, Market Street has parades, and the Arch Grounds get the VP Fair? Downtown has been built and designed into the position of needing huge parking capacity for intermittant surges. At all other times, it is a ghost town.
For a city like NYC, driving in manhattan is a crazy idea. What urban planner would put a stadium there? NYC's Giants Stadium is way out in New Jersey where cars can park more easily.
Giants Stadium can hold 78,741. Busch Stadium holds 43,975. The Edward Jones Dome holds 66,965. The Kiel Center holds 19,250. St. Louis has smaller stadiums, but they're surrounding parking situation is drastically different.
There's an interesting post here comparing Busch Stadium to Miller Park in Milwaukee. Do note the difference in parking.
St. Louis has built its downtown into a driving destination, so parking issues must be resolved or more historic buildings will be demolished.
In thinking about parking garages, there are a few rules that might be considered.
1. They can't take up too much space. They're garages and not lots because space is an issue.
2. They don't need windows, so the facade options are nigh limitless. There's no excuse for an ugly garage.
3. They shouldn't be time-consuming. Driving around in them for 10 minutes is no good. Getting out and being stuck in them looking for an elevator is no good either.
4. If people walk in them, then they should be safe and clean. Often they suffer from horrible indoor air quality. The car should be kept safe too..
Now, looking beyond St. Louis to nearby Chicago
almost 1800 parking spots for 900 residences.
1. These two corncobs take up only about 3 acres of land.
2. These buildings are iconic and interesting. They lend an instant sense of placeness.
3. If you park up towards the top, you drive around and around forever. Getting out of the car will give you a nice view of the city though.
4. The cars here are kept pretty safe. The drivers just get out and take the elevator to their homes above. There's plenty of fresh air too.
This seems like a good design. It fails the 3rd rule though. It is just much easier to park on the street than to go around in circles looking for a parking spot inside a garage. There must be an easier way.
Ah, here we are in Seoul, South Korea. One parking space can hold about a dozen cars.
1. It takes up the space of about two parking spots.
2. It lends a certain cyber-punk quality to the landscape. Perhaps some people find it ugly.
3. Park, get out, walk away.
4. The car is safe, only you can get it back down.
This isn't a new concept.
South Korea and Japan have taken this to new heights though.
I hate to say it, but these towers lack imagination. Cars going up in the air are ugly and birds take roost, so a cover is called for. What kind of cover is this though? Unsightly! Do something creative.
St. Louis used to have a municipal water system reliant upon huge water pipes looming randomly throughout the city. Three still remain and serve as city landmarks.
Because the pipes were ugly, a facade was placed over them. Now they're iconic sources of pride. East Asian car elevators are covered with unimaginative facades. Putting some decorative elements on the outside could of great value to the surrounding city. I have no problem imagining the Compton Tower scaled up and full of cars. It'd be a simple feat.
The other option, if the citizenry doesn't want to see towers all over the place, would be to simplely sink the towers.
For downtown St. Louis, capacity could be greatly improved by digging up Market Street and sinking about twenty big cylinders in the road like the one in this image. On the street's surface, things would look normal, but thousands of cars could be parked underneath. Just pull into a parking spot, get out, and let your car safely disappear beneath the street.
A lot of people don't like the cylinder approach. The shaft in the middle is a bunch of wasted space. Other options exist.
Biking?
Washington DC just made a bold move for bike friendliness.
Really, this isn't new at all. Most Japanese cities are covered with bike depots like this. Still it is a big move for the US.
This bike station is important for DC's bike sharing system.
A bike sharing system relies upon bike depots across the city having bikes and open slots. Every citizen gets a card and pin number linked to their bank account. They swipe the card, put in their pin number, a bike unlocks, and they ride around for as long as they like paying a $1 or so for every hour after the free first half-hour. To avoid fines, riders are encouraged to just park their bike and get a different one.
With this system, there is no need for bike facilities on buses and subway trains. Turn in the bike before you get on the train or bus, and get a new one when you reach your destination.
With this system, nobody worries about bike locks and theft, because the bike share program will supply a bike and take care of it.
The only problem, is that bikes get damaged from time to time. Seats are stolen. Stations are exposed. Stations take up huge amounts of room too. Surely there's a way to protect the bikes and clear up side-walk space.
Wahhh!!! amazing.
Oh, Japan is on this too. 9400 bikes in one station... gulp.
Videos!
Now obviously a huge facility is only necessary in Japan. In a normal city, a simple corner of a building would be fine. It would take up the surface space of a couple big vending machines, and could be integrated into a building's foundation.
With a bike sharing system, there would be a great advantage to such a bike garage. Bikes are locked up and safe at all times. Broken or damaged bikes could be pulled out internally. A repair shop could be added to the bottom of the shaft.
Another bike sharing problem, which Barcelona has had trouble with, and the reason they have bikes moving all over the city on vans, is usage patterns. Some stations are always drained of bikes, and others are always full of bikes. In Barcelona, the bike racks at the beach are always full. When people get to the beach, they can't park their bike for lack of space. If they just park it just anywhere, the late fees will begin to add up. Bike riders are forced to ride around in circles looking for a rack with an open slot for their bike. This is why vans are always pulling bikes from the beach to free up slots.
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This entry has a reference to Compton Tower.
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