What you guys think of an automated car park ? It takes up less space. If one was built in Dublin, it would reduce the need for large car parks . That space could then be converted into apartments etc.

41 comments

  2. I’d imagine the maintenance would be a nightmare. Doubt people would be too happy about having to queue to get their car back either.

    If you really want to free up space in the city for housing by removing car parks, then we just need to have fewer cars.

    I think both James Bond and Mission Impossible have done cool scenes with them though, so there’s that.

  3. They’re expensive to build, expensive to maintain, expensive to operate. All those costs would be passed onto the end user seriously limiting use against conventional carparks.

    Also, the bandwidth of the carpark itself (input and output rates) are significantly slower than a standard carpark.

    They’re cool and all, but realistically it’s super unlikely to be a runner in Ireland.

  4. C-architecture always has these incredibly expensive and stupid ways of packing more cars into a smaller space.

    Just improve public transport, cycling and walking so that everyone doesn’t need to drag a two tonne death machine with them everywhere they go. This was solved in the 70s, 50 years ago, but of course Ireland is still in the past relying on a third-world transport system.

  5. I’d go opposite, remove any parking spaces in city centre apartments and instead set up contracts with a car rental place to maintain a fleet of day rental cars in walking distance of all apts.

  8. I think we should instead be focused on different ways of getting people into the city centre. That would have all of the same benefits of this ridiculous thing.

  9. They’re far too complex and expensive to maintain to really be viable in Ireland. We all know how that would go here; Q-Park or whoever would buy the cheapest possible system and wouldn’t bother to pay for regular maintenance, and before long it would be breaking down on a regular basis and customers will be having to spend hours on the phone and waiting weeks to get their cars back (and they’d no doubt be billed for every second of that time and have to spend months disputing those charges, to boot). All that just to squeeze a few more cars into the same amount of space really wouldn’t be worthwhile, especially when our overall goal should be trying to *reduce* car traffic, not increase it.

  10. If cars are so important then just use park and ride systems, like they do in mainland Europe. Plenty of parking space, efficient public transport and car free (or less cars) in the city centre. I found it much more enjoyable than having any kind of giant expensive ugly car park that I’ve seen

  11. Too expensive and too prone to braking. Normal car parks are better, we aren’t that stuck for space in this country

  12. This is the most car-brained idea ever. Better to reduce car parks by having better public transport/walking/cycling in a city centre to reduce the need for cars and car parks.

  13. This is ideal for places where there is no rush demand for cars at particular times of the day, as the loading time and throughput is obscenely slow. The only place I know this is used is at the Volkswagen factory, because they need a place to store and sort a lot of lot of cars, but have a steady flow throughout the day.

  15. More buses, more bus drivers, buses that show up, buses that send out another bus if the route is full. We need busses not carparks.

  17. There is only one way to deal with too many cats,less cars.

    Spend that money on a free bus and itll be way better

  21. It would be completely pointless in Dublin. There is no shortage of space for buildings, that space is just used really inefficiently.

  22. It depends. How fast does it go? If say 70% of the users need their cars for getting to work, school run etc. can they all get their car quickly enough within that narrow, morning window? Same for coming home. How long do you have to queue to put your car in the machine? What happens if it breaks down? Who’s liable for the lost work hours, missed medical appointments, missed exams and the like?

  25. How about making cars less necessary all the time, so we solve the problem at the root instead of chasing after ever-complicating symptoms ?

  27. Hai lads what do you think of moon colonies? You eat six times as many chicken fillet rolls and not gain any weight.

  28. We need these for bikes, at least 3 or 4 in around the city centre, it would put an end to the scotes stealing and damaging peoples property.

  32. Okay. I’m sorry I brought up the idea. I just I see these things being used in India and Japan and Germany. I thought it would be useful given what Dublin is becoming.

  37. The Seán O’Casey Bridge has to be closed once a month for upkeep on the hydraulics, even though it probably only opens for boats a few times a year.

  38. I’d rather prioritize policies that get cars off the road completely, like investment in public transport and better urban planning.

    This seems like an overly complex project that probably wouldn’t even solve the problem it’s claiming to solve

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