Nanjing has unveiled a “Ferris Wheel Garage” to tackle the city’s parking shortage!

Release date:

2019-05-10 15:54

Source:

Zhihu

Parking scarcity has long been a major challenge in China’s urban development. To make better use of limited land, cities typically build parking facilities underground. However, this approach has a significant drawback: during the rainy season, these underground lots are prone to flooding. Has no one considered alternative solutions? Abroad, a wide array of innovative parking methods has emerged, many of which incorporate cutting-edge technology. Recently, Nanjing in China has also introduced a new type of parking solution.

The three-dimensional parking garage resembles a… “The Ferris Wheel” parking system features gondolas spaced at regular intervals; vehicles are parked inside these gondolas and move as the garage rotates. Each “Ferris Wheel”–style automated parking structure stands about 20 meters tall, with seven levels and 12 vehicle bays, capable of accommodating 12 cars. A pair of such structures can store a total of 24 vehicles. When the system is activated, vehicles are conveyed by roller tracks in an elliptical loop. To retrieve a car, the vehicle can be rotated to the lowest level, allowing it to be accessed within one minute. According to user feedback, this innovative parking system reduces the time required for vehicle storage and retrieval to roughly one-fifth of that needed by conventional garages.

Moreover, the “Ferris wheel”‑style automated parking system boasts a high level of safety. The parking‑garage elevators are governed by a control system that ensures a moderate lifting speed of 4.1 meters per minute. In addition, each suspended basket is equipped with grooves and vertical posts; when a vehicle enters, its tires lock into the W‑shaped grooves and posts, generating substantial friction. Even in inclement weather, wet or slippery vehicles cannot slide out of the basket.

This “Ferris‑wheel‑style parking garage” in Nanjing was designed to address the chronic shortage of parking spaces and the difficulties residents face in finding a spot in the old city district, and it has won widespread approval from local residents. It is expected that, before long, similar “Ferris‑wheel‑style parking garages” will be rolled out in major metropolitan areas, helping motorists tackle the persistent challenge of parking.

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