Multi‑storey Parking | Mechanical Parking Structures Help Fengjie Residents Travel More Conveniently

“Sister, could you please retrieve the car from parking space 302 for me?” “Of course, Teacher Zhang.” Recently, in front of the mechanical parking garage on the east side of Qiaomuyuan in Fengjie County, a reporter observed parking‑garage attendant Sister Wang press the designated parking‑space number on the control panel. The vehicle then automatically descended to ground level according to the programmed sequence, and within just two minutes, the owner had completed payment and collected the car. Speaking to the reporter, the woman who retrieved her vehicle said with confidence: “Parking spaces at Qiaomu Square have always been extremely crowded, making it a real challenge to find a spot. Now, parking in this mechanical garage is convenient, and I don’t have to worry about passing vehicles accidentally bumping into my car and causing scratches—truly much more reassuring.”

According to reports, the mechanical parking structure on the east side of Qiaomuyuan has a footprint of 136.68 square meters, with seven above-ground levels and a total of 50 parking spaces. It can be operated in either automatic or manual mode. In automatic mode, ground-level spaces can be accessed directly when the equipment is stationary; for non‑ground‑level spaces, users must enter the space number via the control panel or swipe a card, have the vehicle moved to the ground level, and then perform the parking or retrieval operation. Once the vehicle has been parked or retrieved, the system is reset by pressing the reset button.

The mechanical parking garage on the east side of Qiaomuyuan has been in operation since January 2019. Currently, the parking fee is RMB 3 per hour, with a maximum charge of RMB 26 for a single stay of up to 24 hours. Notably, the garage offers two distinct parking space dimensions: floors one through three accommodate vehicles no larger than 5,300 mm (length) × 1,900 mm (width) × 1,850 mm (height), with a weight limit of 2,000 kg; floors four through seven are designed for vehicles no larger than 5,300 mm (length) × 1,900 mm (width) × 1,550 mm (height), also with a weight limit of 2,000 kg. Parking lot attendants will assign spaces appropriately based on vehicle size.

In addition, in 2017 our county initiated construction of five parking garages—located to the east of Qiaomuyuan, north of the Archives Bureau, west of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, inside the former Municipal Law Enforcement Team on Shaoling Road, and at Yinliping’s jointly-built housing complex. With the exception of the Yinliping garage, the other four have now been completed. The two mechanical parking garages at Qiaomuyuan and Shaoling Road, offering a total of 173 spaces, began operation in January 2019; the six‑story mechanical garage north of the Archives Bureau, with 38 spaces, opened in August 2019; and the garage west of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, providing 319 spaces, commenced service on October 10, 2019. These four parking facilities, comprising 530 spaces, are managed and operated by the County Urban Management and Law Enforcement Brigade, which has deployed dedicated fee collectors working around the clock in three shifts to oversee parking‑fee collection. The smooth operation of this series of parking structures has, to a certain extent, alleviated the longstanding parking shortage in the surrounding areas.

“Mechanical parking garages are an important tool for our county’s urban area to improve the parking environment and standardize urban management. They have received strong support from leadership and high public attention. Although they have been in operation for only a short time, there are still some areas that require improvement,” said a responsible official from the County Urban Management Bureau. “Going forward, we will optimize service and management, enhance智能化 capabilities, and ensure that these mechanical parking facilities better serve the public. At the same time, we urge all citizens to cooperate fully with on-site parking fee collectors and park in an orderly and compliant manner.”