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| In too many places vehicles run the show when it comes to urban design. |
Reflecting on the allure of a pleasant downtown stroll in the fading days of late summer, a thought occurs; the quality of urban design sets the stage for crime or vitality.
Downtowns can draw people in for pleasant strolls or for traversing a no-man's land where drug dealers, hookers, and gang-bangers ply their trade with impunity in dark nooks and crannies.
In one way or another land uses are the key to urban safety and from what I saw this summer, success or failure depends on one particular type of land use - the surface parking lot.
PARKING LOT DESIGN
We obsess on the parking lot as though cars are old enough to want their own room. They are everywhere. By some estimates they comprise up to 30% of downtown land use. It's as though cars have their own vote in the urban household. And if you talk to developers and shop owners, they do.
Yet to anyone amendable to reason and unwilling to sing the praise of the status quo, most parking lots are shameful. They are under-lit (or over-lit), poorly designed and offer poor access controls (or fortress-like walls). They are perfect spots for crime. CPTED consultant John Roberts has written a passionate story about suburban parking lot crime in Target: Wal-Mart.
Similar risks exist in urban parking lots. The obvious design flaw is wayfinding. Wayfinding is an abysmal mess in most parking lots. Wayfinding is one of the easiest problems to solve. A few years ago Saskatoon planner Elisabeth Miller and myself created a design guidebook including 24 design recommendations for surface parking lots.
Here are a few other examples:
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| Wayfinding, made easy, across a surface parking lot in San Diega |
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| Parking lots need clearly designed access points - Saskatoon, Canada |
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| Pedestrian walkway in Saskatoon parking lot |
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| Covered walkway in Seattle - photo Marie Bailey |
3 Replies so far - Add your comment
Great to see Elisabeth and the City of Saskatoon highlighted in your post. Thanks!
You are welcome Shelley.
If you look to the archives in SafeGrowth you'll discover the exceptional work of both Elisabeth and Saskatoon have made numerous appearances on this blog over the past few years. Check these out:
http://safe-growth.blogspot.com/2012/04/lose-your-busses-lose-your-city.html
http://safe-growth.blogspot.com/2009/05/doin-it-right-on-wrong-side-of-town.html
http://safe-growth.blogspot.com/2010/10/visions-of-future-2010-ica-conference.html
Cloud Based Parking Management Software
Technology has a wide capacity to connect other people coming from different places. The techniques of technology are advance where one can analyse or understand how things work. It is used by many because of the possibility of making things and life easier. One advance feature of technology today, Cloud based parking management software used commonly by car owners that are in hurry looking for parking areas in which they can park their cars smoothly. It is used to provide specific and revolutionary software when it comes to parking safety. Not only car owners used this kind of software but traffic enforcers as well.
Cloud based parking management software is used by everyone and every time they caught someone trying to park illegally. Parking management, the very reason why they are using it. Certain companies and establishment are also using this one because they wanted to provide their customers with good parking space. The powerful and elastic use of cloud based parking management software is unstoppable and to deliver a maintainable parking management. Those in the higher position in the government such as politicians and different municipalities and cities, get the chance to use it. It is needed for municipalities and cities to acquire such kind of modern parking management software because it elevates the number of visitors in their data.
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More and more people are using this software for their own convenience. It makes them realize that all parking areas always involve of a disastrous problem when they try to park in places with smaller size. Be efficient and try connecting to this software. This software connects them to parking management in which they are in control of managing the parking space. Just install or download the software to be updated with the happenings when it involves parking management. Everybody would be happy if a well-managed parking areas in malls, hotels or even small establishments. Observing with this kind of parking management in areas with parking space, it allows serving them calmer. The software helps customers on how they will park effortlessly but it depends on the customer on how they will handle to have a well-managed parking spaces. Site: www.webparkingsoftware.com
email blast to tenants
Guest parking
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