A new, LEED Silver Certified apartment complex in Southeast Portland includes all the expected eco-friendly bells and whistles. But The 20 on Hawthorne will also include the nation’s largest automated car parking system. Check it out in the video below:
According to a press release about the new building from developer Gerding Edlen, the “puzzle parking” system stores cars on “trays” that move up and down and side-to-side. “This system allows for 29 cars to be parked in an area that would typically only accommodate 10.”
It’s also easy to use. Residents simply swipe a card and 30-40 seconds later their car is ready to go.
Sounds like a neat system and it’s great that Gerding Edlen is making more efficient use of space. But this makes me wonder if a local developer will one-up The 20 on Hawthorne and install an automated bike parking garage. Never heard of that? Check out this video from Tokyo:
Space to park bikes will become more of an issue as bike usage rates continue to climb (ask anyone who’s been to Amsterdam), especially at dense housing complexes. I can definitely imagine a local developer installing one of these some day soon.