Nutty retro car parking

[MK2VR6]

Whilst poring over my latest copy of PC, I couldn't help but notice a photograph of 'Shoe Lane Car Park' in London.
Mechanical lift parking to save space? Nuts!
Does it still exist then? Can't find much on Oogle, apart from some lawsuit business of a chap who was injured there in the seventies....

And a nice period photo of an accident in Shoe Lane in '76

[30psi]

Yeah the entrance is below a pub called the cartoonist. I used to work across the road up to 4 years ago.

Saying that, an NCP carpark is there, never knew it was like that though?

[Andy Camaro]

surely if it is still in the same guise its not a self park as that would be an interesting explanation to mr insurance co.

there is a merc garage or smarg garage on the M4 heading into town before the junstion of the A460 and they have a similar parking arrangement but then it is a showroom

[pauldaf44]

If you read closer in PC it says that that setup only lasted a few months untill it was changed into a conventional multistorey

[disasterbus]

there are still lots of those type of garages in New York

[joda]

www.parkmatic.com/dfp.htm



there is a book here at work of a german maker who does them under ground!!

[joda]

found a section:

[30psi]

Yeah in NY they have some, here's one I spotted below. I was tempted to wait and watch for a car to be brought down but the missus isn't in to cars and got bored waiting after 20 secs. She looked at me like I was mental

[Roobeh]

^^ going to new york in feb, will be keeping an eye out for one. wanted to see on in action for years. allthough i'm pretty sure they're long term and you get a certain time to collect your car (after people below you have left).

[v8ian]

I worked in Shoe lane for 12 years in the late 70/80s, and I never knew it was there, i even drank in the cartoonist!!!, I used to park in the Smithfield market rotunda, which was just as bizarre, It was a underground station for transporting goods and passengers from Smithfield when the underground was steam powered, If you peered thru the broken fences at the end of some of the bays you could be surprised by trains rushing past at touching distance, also the source of the railway line that never existed, In recent years, only used by the MOD, They denied it existed, the lines could be seen in farringdon Station going underground, and went under the Thames, I think its now the line that runs from Croydon up to Watford and beyond

[generally01]

I saw a small scale version in L.A.


Cool car park by route9autos.co.uk, on Flickr

I'm pretty sure it was valet parking and you left your keys with the attendant incase the car parked above yours needed out before you were back.

[jamesp]

i deliverd a few cars in london with the same arrangement for parking each flat had 2 bays like a 4 post ramp but they wearnt allowed to work on the cars on the ramps .........

had to ask realy lol

[robinmasters]

Personally, I think it's much cooler the other way up:



Looking during construction:



All you see above ground:



See www.trevipark.co.uk/after-intro.html for more.

Totally automated; you drive onto the platform, and it lowers your car down then spits it out into an empty space. Very cool.

Having said that, if I had my own underground carpark I'd want to drive out myself, through a cave. With a 'road closed' sign that folded down as I approached. Like Batman.

[tri]

Parked in one of these in London about 8 years ago.. can't remember exactly where it is though, I'll check and come back

[PandaSelecta]

plus being underground, its perfect as a nuclear bunker ;D

[Adam]

Quite a few of them in Tokyo as well. You drive into a building, get out and your car disappears! I'd be a bit nervous that the wrong one would come back and my lovely Nissan GTR would suddenly be a Suzuki Wagon R....

[427]

The office block up on the main road near home has about 6 of those ones line in the LA photo above. Didn't really slove much of the parking problem around the office but they look cool!

[Fiat Daft]

isn't there one in liverpool?

[damionp]

There is one in Leeds in the city center

[skinnylew]

pretty cool. I remember seeing the smaller versions advertised as driveway solutions: Cardok



I would be tempted to have a whole secret underground garage connected to it so you drive the Porsche in and come out in something different facing the other way lol