page_title: Automated parking system
section_title: Space saving
hierarchical_section_title: Automated parking system / Space saving
caption_attribution_description: English: Entrance of an automated parking system in Bologna, Italy.
context_page_description: An automated parking system is a mechanical system designed to minimize the area and/or volume required for parking cars. Like a multi-story parking garage, an APS provides parking for cars on multiple levels stacked vertically to maximize the number of parking spaces while minimizing land usage. The APS, however, utilizes a mechanical system to transport cars to and from parking spaces in order to eliminate much of the space wasted in a multi-story parking garage. While a multi-story parking garage is similar to multiple parking lots stacked vertically, an APS is more similar to an automated storage and retrieval system for cars. The paternoster is an example of one of the earliest and most common types of APS.
  APS are also generically known by a variety of other names, including: automated parking facility, automated vehicle storage and retrieval system, car parking system, mechanical parking, and robotic parking garage.
context_section_description: All APS take advantage of a common concept to decrease the area of parking spaces - removing the driver and passengers from the car before it is parked. With either fully automated or semi-automated APS, the car is driven up to an entry point to the APS and the driver and passengers exit the car. The car is then moved automatically or semi-automatically (with some attendant action required) to its parking space.
  The space-saving provided by the APS, compared to the multi-story parking garage, is derived primarily from a significant reduction in space not directly related to the parking of the car:
  Parking space width and depth (and distances between parking spaces) are dramatically reduced since no allowance need be made for driving the car into the parking space or for the opening of car doors (for drivers and passengers)
  No driving lanes or ramps are needed to drive the car to/from the entrance/exit to a parking space
  Ceiling height is minimized since there is no pedestrian traffic (drivers and passengers) in the parking area, and
  No walkways, stairways or elevators are needed to accommodate pedestrians in the parking area.
  With the elimination of ramps, driving lanes, pedestrians and the reduction in ceiling heights, the APS requires substantially less structural material than the multi-story parking garage. Many APS utilize a steel framework (some use thin concrete slabs) rather than the monolithic concrete design of the multi-story parking garage. These factors contribute to an overall volume reduction and further space savings for the APS.
caption: Entrance of an underground automated parking system in historic center of Bologna, Italy.
exif: {}