Parking Structures – Modular Elevators Meet Demand – Getting ahead of the curve is important in any construction development or building project. Depending on the particular area and whether you are talking about urban or suburban parking, current trends are moving toward slowing the creation of new parking spaces overall.
Some developers, seeing the possibility of lessening demand, have engineered the possibility of future alternative uses into their parking garage design. Incorporating elements like increased headroom and eliminating the slopped floors, in an effort to create a “flexible use” structure.
They attribute the burgeoning drift to many factors. It is anticipated that the Millennial generation’s reduced desire to own personal vehicles, expanding ride sharing opportunities, increasing focus on public transportation and the promise of self-driving cars will reduce the need for the overall amount of dedicated parking space.
With the current climate, are we on the cusp of urgently needing more parking despite the apparent trends listed above?
With the current outbreak of Covid-19 and its ability to be transmitted in many urban settings and dealing with abuse of public transit by the homeless population, some are re-examining personal transportation as a growing alternative. Public transportation being a germ factory is not new despite this particular strain of the Corona Virus. In the 2008/2009 flu season in London a study was conducted by BMC Infectious Diseases seeking to answer the question, “Is public transport a risk factor for acute respiratory infection?” The answer from the report is, “Recent bus or tram use within five days of symptom onset was associated with an almost six-fold increased risk of consulting for acute respiratory infections.” In a nutshell public transportation seems to increase transmission of viruses.
Really? They needed a study for that? So if reduced public transportation occurs the need for efficient, fast, multi-level parking development in both the urban and suburban areas is or will shortly be needed. Personal car use may rise and parking needs increase.
Keep in mind that with parking, it is not about the overall spaces. It is about where the spaces are. We have plenty of parking spaces in the United States. About 500 million parking spaces (an estimated 3,590 square miles) serve this nation of nearly 326 million people, according to Andy Cohen, co-chief executive of the architecture firm Gensler. He predicts car ownership will peak around 2020 and then start to decline, with more Americans relying on some form of ride-sharing rather than owning their own vehicles by the year 2025.
That was before the Corona Virus stole headlines and people’s lives. Before comfort levels with ride sharing and public transportation began changing. Ride sharing, when analyzing the data, may not be the panacea some had predicted to alleviate long-term parking woes.
Just prior to the virus’ big splashy headlines and justified concerns Bruce Schaller, New York City transportation consultant, saw parking trends differently from others by examining actual car ownership. In his report The New Automobility he concluded that ride sharing has had the opposite effect intended and promised by many. He said, “vehicle ownership has increased in cities where Uber and Lyft are most heavily used…Moreover, the rate of vehicle growth substantially exceeded population growth in five of the eight cities (Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago).”
Then we get to the virus and it is not just paranoia. Consumer Reports as of May 8th, 2020 acknowledges problems with public transportation, ride sharing and taxi cabs regarding possible transmission. The list of suggested ways to avoid the virus when traveling includes renting a car and then cleaning it yourself, always wearing a mask when driving or riding, requesting only vehicles with glass separating the passengers from drivers or even just packing sneakers and walking. Not very practical. Besides, how do you clean your rented car before driving it?
So with car ownership on the rise despite other alternatives, and virus fears in the forefront of people’s minds, it seems that the need for multi-level parking will not stay flat or decrease but only increase in years to come. Not the predicted result many futurists had hoped for. Now to be clear there is nothing wrong with designing parking space that can be more easily repurposed or adapted in the future. That makes perfect sense especially when considering self-driving cars that can park themselves inches apart requiring less space. Although not a reality today, it may be within the life span of a building project. Forward thinking is important.
However, there will be a new normal when it comes to transportation and thereby parking space. The solution will eventually evolve, but parking will not diminish in the near future. One thing is for sure, the data reveals that car ownership is not subsiding due to ride sharing options and with “social distancing” becoming a standard phrase in our lexicon the mentality of individual travel or traveling as a family unit may become more of the norm, not less as anticipated. You may need more parking solutions faster.
So why is the modular elevator part of the parking solution for projects today and the possible increased projects soon to come? Because they are high-quality, commercial elevators that are durable and have elements specifically designed for parking structures. They also have pre-engineered drawings that can be inserted into plans, manufactured and trucked to the job site and installed.
Modular Elevator Manufacturing removes elevators from the critical path and reduces the headaches of coordination between trades. They are a solution for any low or mid-rise parking structure. If you have a current project for a parking structure or any other building between two and seven stories just click the button below to get a Fast Track budget number.
Modular Elevators Improve Coordination – One thing I am missing right now is baseball. It is my favorite sport and I love to argue stats, history and of course which players are the best of all time. Does the list include Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Cy Young, Hank Aaron or all of them? Should we add more recent players like Jeter, A-Rod, Pujols, Trout or Ichiro? And what do you do with Bonds?
Anyway in my estimation, as a baseball purist, I hate the over-weighting of the long-ball in the discussion. Homers are fun to watch, but if time savings were really that important couldn’t they just cut out the overly dramatic trot like they did pitching four balls for an intentional pass? What I really like, instead of guys swing for the fence despite guys having two strikes, is the ballet that takes place on the diamond with a man on first and there is a drive up the middle. Will they turn-two? It takes perfect coordination.
Recently, when placing an elevator at a job site, the point of perfect coordination came up with the project manager. He said that you would not believe how easy the modular elevator made the entire project and how smooth things went because they went with MEM (Modular Elevator Manufacturing).
This was one of those projects that traditional elevator companies shied away from due to the way the shaft was integrated into the design. The project manager was a bit worried as it was his first modular experience. In the past he dealt with the elevator getting installed by a totally different company than the crew that builds the hoistway. This time it was all under the umbrella of MEM and the coordination between hoistway and elevator was perfect.
Because a modular elevator is a manufactured shaft to the dimensions and specifications of the project with the elevator components already installed it must be perfect, and is. In the factory, hand in glove or perfect coordination must and does take place with the buttons, car, rails, wiring and even hall calls factory installed in the horizontal shaft. It is like a well choreographed dance like a double play in baseball and it brings to mind the poem about the best known combo in baseball history a “Trio of bear cubs,” “fleeter than birds.”
Tinker – The hoistway is always perfectly square and plumb unlike their conventional counterparts. It is manufactured out of tough steel with an exterior sheathing and inspected for quality daily. It is the foundation and where everything begins.
To Evers – The hoistway is seamlessly passed down the line. Inside the rail placement is spot on and the car is aligned absolutely correct every time. The use of templates and jigs ensures a smooth ride and tolerances you will never see with a stick-built hoistway. The factory process makes all the components installed with ease and grace. Unlike the conventional process were the elevator car and components are built inside a cramped hoistway.
To Chance – The elevator is sent on to the job site and craned into place in a couple hours ready to be turned on when power is available. Each step is like the perfect double play with the team anticipating each others moves, perfectly timed.
But smooth coordination of the hoistway and elevator into one component is just the tip of the iceberg. In a building project any number of trades has to be managed and directed. It is a massive and costly undertaking to bring together all of the elements. There are dozens of workers and companies to schedule and then coordinate. The manager of this particular project said that the modular elevator helped with this too.
The modular solution removed the elevator from the critical path and simplified the project in a myriad of ways. There was no huge storage space required for crates of elevator parts and mechanic’s tools. No weather concerns delaying the elevator portion of the build. When the elevator was craned into place, it was done. All it needed was power to be brought to life in a matter of days not months.
It makes pulling the right strings easier for the management team, because there are simply fewer strings to pull.
One can argue the merits, qualities and contributions of particular baseball players forever. Who really was the greatest of all time and who deserves to be on a top ten players list? It depends on who you ask. Also what team you pull. Even what position you played growing up on bright summer days in little league or the sandlot has an influence. The stats can be used to bolster one over another and so the argument never really ends. That is part of the charm of America’s pastime. But with modular elevators, the debate is over.
There is only one conclusion. Modular elevators are the absolute best vertical transportation solution for any low to mid-rise project. And there is only one company that has the experience, proven record and quality that makes it the obvious choice. MEM. If you have a project in mind and would like to get a thumbnail number just click the button. You will receive a free, Fast Track quote. There is no doubt it will be a grand slam.
Elevator Babies – It was hard to resist putting a photo of my 6 month-old granddaughter in this article, but I didn’t because that would be way too much bragging and she is too young to be internet famous…at least among our 20,000 readers. But while holding her in my arms I got to thinking about how wonderful being a newborn is. No responsibilities; cry you get food; cry you get changed. Babies get to enjoy a short period in their life when knowing nothing is part of the job description and it is adorable. Sleep, eat, and be held is pretty much the day in a nutshell.
When it comes to the elevator business however, being a neophyte is far from wonderful or adorable. Elevators, need I remind people, are serious. They are costly, have thousands of parts and if they are improperly built they can be dangerous to the riding public. They are the largest and most complex moving component of a building. Knowing nothing about elevators or being elevator babies, but then selling them anyway is not cute or adorable; it is a hazard that can cost time, money and potentially cause injuries. But, that is exactly what you can get if you choose to call the wrong elevator company for a bid or project.
Modular elevators are just the same as stick-built in that regard, especially when you are talking about time and money. We all know that modular building is a wave that has already crashed the old-fashioned way of doing business’ party. It is the best option for any mid-rise building needing vertical transportation and will continue to be in the future. They are simply faster and better. But, if you are not careful, there might be an amateur on the other end of the phone line, selling you up and guessing at rules and regulations. After all when you call a modular elevator company you expect they are the experts in not only modular buildings, but elevators as well, but that is simply not the case if you call the wrong one.
One of the modular companies in particular out there that sells a cheap variety of modular elevator purports to be elevator experts. They are far from it and when you know the facts it can be a bit scary trusting a sales team that has no real experience. When I say no, I mean no. Three out of four of the sales team has a combined total of elevator or modular experience of less than a year. Yes, I said combined. My granddaughter has more experience being a baby than they do individually when it comes to elevators or modular units.
But it doesn’t stop there. The Quality Control Manager and Production Manager had no experience in modular building or elevators before coming to that company. Think about that for a second. The person that is supposed to be checking on quality has never checked for quality in the elevator business. In other words, watch out! Beware! Someone selling you an expensive piece of equipment and checks for quality and production that has a direct impact on your construction timeline has little knowledge beyond pushing the up or down button.
The person you are speaking to on the phone is not who you think it is when it comes to real world experience. They maybe elevator babies!
The good news is that there is an alternative to going to the nursery for elevator and modular advice and information. This is important to know as modular elevators are the future of construction.
MEM (Modular Elevator Manufacturing) is that knowledgeable alternative that has been producing elevators longer than any current modular elevator company and measures their experience in decades, not months. They have been there, done that time and time again when it comes to construction, modular building and elevators.
If you have gotten a quote from another company…give them a call before it is too late or if you have any questions about the benefits of modular elevators or how modular can make your life easier, I would recommend that you contact Hugo Beltran hbeltran@tlshield.com at MEM. You can also get started on your project by clicking Fast Track Quote. They are a company with experience that can give an honest, fair assessment of your needs.
Babies, especially my granddaughter, should be in the arms of someone that loves them, not on the phone dolling out sage advice about elevators like they are all wise through experience that does not exist.