In Perth, the Motorcycle Riders Association is calling on the government to allow motorcycles and scooters to be able to park on public walkways in Perth city.

According to ABC online, they are calling for a trial policy similar to Melbourne, allowing motorcycles to park on footpaths and concrete public spaces, providing the vehicle is walked there, the vehicle is parked at least a motorcycle length away from buildings and the vehicle doesn't inhibit pedestrian access.

The MRAWA claims that the system would encourage motorcyclists to commute, which will ease traffic congestion especially at peak hour. In addition to this, they want extra free, all day parking locations to be scattered throughout the city.

Proposals are also under development for motorcycles and scooters to be permitted to use the emergency and bus lanes on Perth’s roads during peak periods.

The City of Perth, meanwhile, has ruled out any plans for footpath parking in the CBD, citing that 75,000 people walk into and around Perth’s CBD everyday; and that motorcycles parked in public spaces would cause obstruction to this free movement. Currently there is a report recommending an expansion and an additional 30 bays at the Mounts Bay Road parking lot due to go to council. If the report is approved, the Mounts Bay Road park will accommodate 102 motorcycles. 

Colliers International, in conjunction with Parking & Traffic Consultants, have released a white paper into CBD car parks in Australia.

The paper, entitled Australian CBD Car Parking – The Next Decade, examines the current trends and the expected future of car parks in Australia. With the number of car spaces in Australian CBDs increasing only marginally from 141,690 in 2006 to 153,400 in 2011, car parking is a finite product, with the supply of car parking expected to moderate over the next decade.

A key finding of the report was that the ratio of car parking to CBD workers is declining, along with the importance of parking relative to other forms of transport. Since 2005, proximity to public transport has remained the most important driver in attracting and retaining staff by tenants when choosing an office location and has steadily increased in importance over time.

Real estate and property yields for well-established commercial car parks are generally slightly above commercial buildings in the same price range in comparable locations, with a slight risk premium factored in to allow for increased uncertainty surrounding changes to Government legislation, casual parking as a discretionary spend which generally diminished in times of economic uncertainty, and a smaller market for car parking assets.

Parking & Traffic Consultants' own Managing Partner, Cristina Lynn, was a co-author to the report. Cristina said that with changes to technology and the cost of car parking on the rise, owners had to become more innovative in the services they provide. The benefits of new technology coupled with greater awareness of customer’s needs should ensure on going profitability and value maximisation for car park owners.

Click here to view the full white paper.

A recent paper published by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics has quantified an ongoing trend in Sydney – that drivers are driving less every year than the year before.

Since 2005, the average number of kilometres driver per year has been on the decline. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, in 1965, the average Sydney resident drove about 4000 kilometres a year. The figure advanced steadily past 6000 kilometres a year, by the late 1970s. By the mid-1990s, the average Sydney resident was driving 8000 kilometres a year. And by 2005, driving kilometres had crept up to about 8400 a quarter.

Since peaking in 2005, they have since slipped back to 1995 levels and are likely to stay for the next decade or so. The report shows that Sydney residents drive less than those in other capital cities. Residents in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth drive closer to 10,000 kilometres a year.

The NSW government announced last week that the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Convention Centre and Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour will be closed for three years while they are expanded or replaced under a $1 billion upgrade approved by NSW cabinet.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the precinct will be expanded with a view to having facilities that are equal or better than those in other Australian capitals.

New facilities are expected to include:

• An upmarket replacement for the Entertainment Centre with seating for at least 8000 people
• An increase in size of the Exhibition Centre from 25,000 square metres to 40,000 square metres making it Australia's largest exhibition space;
• A convention hall with capacity for more than 10,000 people which can host multiple events simultaneously making it the biggest such facility in the country.
• Dedicated banqueting facilities for 2000 people, almost double the current capacity.
• A hotel with at least 300 rooms

Meanwhile, the government has opened the door for residential apartments, shops and restaurants to be built on Darling Harbour parkland as part of the overhaul. State cabinet has approved a 66 per cent increase in the area of Darling Harbour where developers will relocate and rebuild exhibition facilities and public areas as part of an upgrade expected to cost about $1 billion.

Due to be demolished to make way for the redevelopment of Darling Harbour, Sydney’s monorail has seen significant debate over what should happen to the structure once dismantled.

Landscape architect David Vago has drawn up a plan to take inspiration from New York’s famous High Line (see our blog post about the High Line here!), and turn the tracks into an elevated boardwalk and cycleway. His proposal would involve a three to five-metre-wide deck across the track, creating a 3.6-kilometre public walkway through the central business district.

The High-Lane, as he calls it, could be used by joggers, cyclists, office workers, parents with prams and tourists. The existing pylons would become vertical gardens and Monorail stations would be transformed into pocket parks, cafes and gallery spaces, taking around 12 to 18 months to build.

All the government entities remain non-committal regarding the project, with some scepticism and concerns given the proposed demolition to make way for the Darling Harbour redevelopment. 

Airport car parks are huge business, with major airport hubs seeing car parking producing around $80 million to $100 million of revenue each year.

Recent results from the 2012 ACI Airport Economics survey shows that car parking now accounts for around 7% of global airport revenues and is the second biggest source of non-aviation related revenue (equal with real estate) after retail. In 2010, Denver International Airport (DIA), for example, made $118 million in revenue from car parking and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) saw its car parking revenues exceed $97 million.

An article published in Airport World examines what some airports are doing to maximise their revenues.

• Variable rates based on the location of the car park, the level of service provided, covered parking vs open air parking, and VIP or valet parking.
• Ensuring customer service is at the forefront of their business, making the experience as stress-free as possible. This can include the investment in wayfinding services, advance reservation programs and even loyalty-style programs for business passengers and frequent flyers.
• Parking innovation through their infrastructure and services, including online booking systems, and car finding applications on screens and kiosks directing them back to their parked vehicle.
• Pricing mechanisms such as discounted multi-day packages, or internet coupon offers.
• Upselling additional services, including valet services, oil change, car wash or general car inspection.
• A wide range of payment options including ticketless and credit card payment enabling greater efficiencies for customers and the airport.

The full article can be found on the Airport World site here. For any Spanish speaking readers out there, you may also be interested to read a presentation by Parking & Traffic Consultants’ Managing Partner Cristina Lynn, delivered on Airport Parking at the 1^st National Congress of Airports in Argentina, in November 2011. Click here to view her presentation on slideshare. 

A Suzuki Swift Sport ad has been banned in Australia by health and safety authorities, who believe it portrays irresponsible ‘hoon’ driving and linking speeding and dangerous driving with sex appeal.

Officials say the ad depicts unsafe driving by showing the car sliding about in a car park, and includes footage of hard acceleration. The complaint even goes as far to say that the car has its fog lights on in a multi-storey car park, which is against the Australian road rules. 

Near field communication (NFC) technology allows secure data to be transmitted from a device or object to exchange information or even conduct electronic transactions with a tap. The technology is already embedded in many chip credit cards, and mobile phone providers are moving to roll out handsets which are NFC enabled, allowing users to pay with the tap of a mobile phone. (For more information, refer to our previous Wayfinding Forum posts, ‘Mobile cashless payments by card and phone’, and ‘Google Wallet’s potential effect on parking industry infrastructure’).

Technology site ARN recently polled global mobile industry experts to find that eighty one percent expect that NFC technology will be widely used and adopted for mobile payments in two to five years time. Of these executives, 38 per cent believe consumer concern over security of personal financial information exchanged during mobile transactions is the leading obstacle to large-scale adoption of mobile payments.

They are not wrong, according to UK media site The Drum, which claims that research conducted by VoucherCodes.co.uk has found that most consumers don’t know about NFC technology, and 60% would avoid paying for goods and servies via their mobile even if they were able. A further 17% were interested in the technology but worry about how it works.

VoucherCodes has created a really interesting infographic which attempts to explain the NFC technology and quantify the results of their survey. You can view this in full size by clicking here or on the image below. 

The recent Queensland State election saw public transport policy as a key point of the campaign and an important issue for voters. The win for Labour has resulted in the first of their election promises becoming a reality: free travel after nine journeys a week.

To commence from July 1, the scheme will see commuters qualify for free travel after nine paid journeys a week. According to the Courier Mail, commuters stand to save as much as $667 a year from the policy. Other promises made that will benefit commuters include more frequent day services on the Ferny Grove line and a reduction in public transport fare increases.

Labour’s key public transportation policies included:

• Commuters will qualify for unlimited free trips after taking nine journeys on the bus, train or ferry in any given week, costing $55.7 million over four years.
• $19.15 million boost to the Translink Station Upgrade Program over three years, taking the investment to more than $137 million.
• $39.9 million to fund 95 new road upgrade projects over three years.
• $28 million for a North Brisbane Cycleway, secure bike parking spaces and regional cycling initiatives.

We definitely think that the tenth trip free policy is a good one for encouraging public transportation usage; provided that the public system works and is reliable!

An article published in the SMH recently explored what they considered a new phenomenon: parking space ‘squatting’, whereby drivers returning to their cars will sit in the vehicle to use their phones to talk, text or email.

On the one hand, it’s upsetting the normal ‘order’ of things – with the driver expected to vacate the in-demand space instead causing aggravation to other drivers looking for their own parking space. Following a driver back to their vehicle in a packed car park is now no longer a guarantee of securing the spot immediately.

On the other hand, however, safety advocates are pleased to hear that people are using their phones when the vehicles are stationary, saying that perhaps this is the first sign that attitudes are shifting around distracted driving. Driving and using a mobile phone without a handsfree unit is illegal in Australia, and more and more states in the US are banning drivers from texting, with private companies also forbidding employees to use their phone while driving. Drivers are instead pulling over to a safe place to talk, text and email.

It’s an interesting debate and it’s encouraging to see drivers adapting and becoming more conscious of safety. And besides, if the driver has paid for the time for the parking space, aren’t they entitled to use it in any way they wish?