The Latest in Parking

Last week Cindy and I caught a ride to Roppongi Hills with some friends in their minivan. This gave us a chance to see how the parking system operates there.

When you arrive at the parking facility, which is underneath the mall and tower, you are directed into a small, garage-like room. There are two metal belts built into the floor sideways across the room. With the help of an attendant, you park so the front wheels rest on one belt, and the rear wheels on the other. You get out of the car, and lock it up.

You pass into an adjoining room. You can watch the room with your car through a large window. The attendant comes into the other room with you and punches a few buttons on a machine. The side wall of the garage starts to rise, and you realize the whole wall is an overhead door, with another room behind it. Once the door is up, the belts in the floor start up, and your car is carried sideways into the adjacent room. The wall door descends again, and you car disappears.

Your vehicle is now in the clutches of a robotically-controlled containment system. But they are kind, efficient clutches. The computer assigns your car an empty cube--just big enough to fit it--and a series of mechanical belts, tracks, and lifts carries it to its proper place on the rack.

The machine spits out a magnetic card, which the attend hands to you. When you return later to retrieve you car, you simply insert the card and the amount you owe for the parking. The machine directs you to the garage in which your car will appear. A couple of minutes later, the wall opens up, and your car slides back into view.

This kind of parking system is very expensive to set up, as you would expect. But it has a number of advantages. For customers, it's a time-saver. There is no need to search for a parking space. It's also safer; nobody can break into your car, and there is no risk of door dings or fender-benders. Furthermore, you can't forget where you parked.

For the system operator, there are real benefits as well. The parking cubes only have to be big enough to hold the vehicle--there's no need to allow room for doors to open, or to allow for headroom. And no space is wasted in access aisles and ramps. You can fit twice as many vehicles into this type of parking garage. Additionally, you can run it with a smaller staff--no need for valet drivers, tollbooth workers, or security people. It's a real win-win, in my view.