Jim Corbett, CAPP, Director of Studies with Walker Consultants, discusses pay-by-cell exclusivity.
Todd Litman, Executive Director at VTPI, discusses his new book: New Mobilities: Smart Planning for Emerging Transportation Technologies
An Interview with Vanessa Solesbee and a conversation about Estes ParkVanessa Solesbee, CAPP, CCTM, Parking & Transit Manager with Estes Park discusses Estes Park Parking.
An Interview with Peter Lange and a Conversation about Texas A&MPeter Lange, Associate Vice President at Texas A&M, discusses parking and transportation at Texas A&M.
Adaptive reuse–repurposing existing buildings for new uses–has been a topic of discussion in the parking and mobility industry for some time. Now, a traffic engineering and transportation planning company CEO says it’s time to really put words into action and repurpose old parking garages for low-income housing.
“Recognizing the success of these efforts [alternative uses of garages during COVID-19] and the growing homelessness crisis, enterprising operators are now lobbying planning and zoning boards in cities around the country to relax restrictions so that they can retrofit their under-used garages to provide affordable living space for families,” writes Wes Guckert on Smart Cities Dive.
He says when a full-out reuse project is impractical, housing “pods” can be inserted into garages, offering housing in areas where parking demand is dramatically down from a year or two ago and/or where parking minimums have been abolished.
Read the whole article here and then let us know on Forum: What do you think?
An Interview with Jeremy Zuker and a Conversation about WhereiParkPeter Deppe, CEO & Co-Founder of Kuhmute, discusses micromobility, last-mile delivery and Kuhmute.
An Interview with Jeremy Zuker and a Conversation about WhereiParkJeremy Zuker, Co-Founder of WhereiPark, discusses shared parking and WhereiPark.
An Interview with Cameron Guice of Cleanstreak and a Conversation about Pressure WashingCameron Guice, President of Cleanstreak, discusses Pressure Washing best practices.
An Interview with Reachel Knight And A Conversation About Convertible GaragesReachel Knight, CAPP, Business Strategy Coordinator for Calgary Parking Authority, discusses convertible garages.
By Scott Weiland
Ever wonder why it is raining inside your parking structure? Well, it is a sign that your parking structure needs attention. Water is the No. 1 cause of parking structure deterioration. Water-saturated concrete can freeze, expand, and spall. Combined with oxygen, water can also cause corrosion of the concrete reinforcing, accelerated by exposure to deicing salts. As reinforcing steel expands as it rusts, this process also leads to concrete spalling. Spalled concrete provides less cover or protection of the structure which leads to further (and accelerated) deterioration if not repaired in a timely manner.
The top level of your parking structure not only provides possibly the least desirable parking spaces, it also serves as the roof of the facility. Controlling water in the form of rain or melting snow at this level is the least expensive way to extend the life of your parking structure and minimize maintenance costs. Controlling the water runoff involves shedding water to drains as quickly as possible.
Ponding water is unacceptable as it saturates the concrete and leaks to lower levels. The installation of supplemental drains can easily and permanently address ponding. Urethane joint sealant at the top level is exposed to UV sunlight and tends to break down within a few years. The breakdown of this product leads to cracks in the sealant allowing leaks to the levels below. This leads to degradation at lower levels like that described above at the top level.
Therefore, it is important to visually inspect joint sealants annually and budget a portion of joint sealant replacement approximately every three years at the top level. Urethane joint sealant replacement will cost approximately $4.50 per linear foot but provides one of the best returns on investment when it comes to parking structure maintenance.
Given the accelerated rate of parking structure deterioration, this is cheap insurance against having to perform more expensive repairs in the future.
Scott Weiland, PE, is founder of Innovative Engineering, Inc. He will present on this topic during the 2020 IPMI Virtual Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, June 1-2, wherever you are. Click here for details and to register.