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I've heard that a surprising percentage of trip time in the downtown core is spent looking for nearby parking. Having the car drop people off and drive away to

I've heard that a surprising percentage of trip time in the downtown core is spent looking for nearby parking. Having the car drop people off and drive away to park somewhere where parking is less scarce might not actually increase time on road. You could also greatly increase parking density in parkcades if all vehicles had autonomous parking. For example, it would be no problem to box cars in if vehicles could move on their own to let them out. I bet you could easily double parking density.

MBCook 8y ago
Plus some sort of vertical parking elevator starts to become much more reasonable. They already exist but when the whole thing is 100% automated including the car you could get more parking out of the vertical space then you do with a current garage.
- mikepurvis 8y ago
  It'll be possible to pack them way, way more tightly if a) the structure itself is able to move the cars around at will, and b) you can give it an estimate of what time you'll be back (or 30 mins notice for the "standby" option).
  - MBCook 8y ago
    Excellent point. I hadn’t even thought of all the driving lanes and ramps that you no longer need.
  - derefr 8y ago
    At that point, it's less of a parking structure and more of an automated valet service. You get out of your car and only your car enters. Taken to the limit of the idea, the whole parking structure could be entirely sealed to the outside, and maybe even evacuated or filled with a non-oxygenated medium (e.g. nitrogen) to prevent car fires and reduce rusting from long-term storage. Sort of like a modern grain silo.
    - slavik81 8y ago
      My line of thought started from, "what would the world be like if every vehicle had a built-in valet?" I think the design of commercial areas would change dramatically within a couple decades, even just from the effect on parking.
- UpshotKnothole 8y ago
  How much would such a system cost to build and maintain, and how safe would it be re: vagrants, children? You’d be able to handle more customers of course, but would it compensate for the costs?
derefr 8y ago
> For example, it would be no problem to box cars in if vehicles could move on their own to let them out. I'm somewhat uncomfortable with parking infrastructure that assumes that all the cars are working and "gassed up." If the car boxing mine in is left to sit in the parking garage for a few months (as might happen in, say, an airport's long-term parking lot), its battery will likely go flat and it'll be incapable of getting out of my way. Even having automatic standardized charger coupling for every parking space wouldn't really work, since the car boxing mine in could have just plain rusted. Current infrastructure doesn't have this problem: if the car beside mine can't get out of the garage on its own, that's between the garage and a tow truck, but is no problem of mine.
- slavik81 8y ago
  Valets already do this. They have all the keys, so they can park cars two rows deep. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valet_parking#Efficiency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valet_parking#Efficiency

MBCook 8y ago

Plus some sort of vertical parking elevator starts to become much more reasonable. They already exist but when the whole thing is 100% automated including the car you could get more parking out of the vertical space then you do with a current garage.

mikepurvis 8y ago
It'll be possible to pack them way, way more tightly if a) the structure itself is able to move the cars around at will, and b) you can give it an estimate of what time you'll be back (or 30 mins notice for the "standby" option).
- MBCook 8y ago
  Excellent point. I hadn’t even thought of all the driving lanes and ramps that you no longer need.
- derefr 8y ago
  At that point, it's less of a parking structure and more of an automated valet service. You get out of your car and only your car enters. Taken to the limit of the idea, the whole parking structure could be entirely sealed to the outside, and maybe even evacuated or filled with a non-oxygenated medium (e.g. nitrogen) to prevent car fires and reduce rusting from long-term storage. Sort of like a modern grain silo.
  - slavik81 8y ago
    My line of thought started from, "what would the world be like if every vehicle had a built-in valet?" I think the design of commercial areas would change dramatically within a couple decades, even just from the effect on parking.
UpshotKnothole 8y ago
How much would such a system cost to build and maintain, and how safe would it be re: vagrants, children? You’d be able to handle more customers of course, but would it compensate for the costs?

derefr 8y ago

> For example, it would be no problem to box cars in if vehicles could move on their own to let them out. I'm somewhat uncomfortable with parking infrastructure that assumes that all the cars are working and "gassed up." If the car boxing mine in is left to sit in the parking garage for a few months (as might happen in, say, an airport's long-term parking lot), its battery will likely go flat and it'll be incapable of getting out of my way. Even having automatic standardized charger coupling for every parking space wouldn't really work, since the car boxing mine in could have just plain rusted. Current infrastructure doesn't have this problem: if the car beside mine can't get out of the garage on its own, that's between the garage and a tow truck, but is no problem of mine.

slavik81 8y ago
Valets already do this. They have all the keys, so they can park cars two rows deep. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valet_parking#Efficiency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valet_parking#Efficiency