The book PARCHEGGI - Soluzioni per la sosta nelle città italiane (CAR PARKS - Parking solutions in Italian cities), published by the editor Dario Flaccovio and presented in September 2007 at the Congress organized by the European Parking Association (EPA) in Madrid, deals with and examines technical and operational facets of parking including the organization, operation, planning and construction of public car parks, either on-street or multistorey and paying special attention to Italian cities.

The authors are Andrea e Marco Roli - the principals of Studio Roli Associati in Modena   - who have specialized in the planning of public and private multistorey car parks over the past twenty years , and Marco Medeghini , an engineer and manager of Brescia Mobilità Spa , who is also   vice-chairman of AIPARK and regarded as a person of great experience in the field of parking and car park management.

This book (at second edition in 2009) is intended for use by car parking professionals, building contractors and public administrators. The aim of the authors is to assist in the resolution of various problems facing the urban parking industry, using the complex situations offered by Italian cities as an example. In doing so, historical, geographical and town planning aspects have all been considered. This has resulted in up to date, accessible and complete reference book relevant to all car parking professionals and lay persons alike.

As Joan Font Alegret, chairman of EPA, has pointed out in the foreword « this book... fills a vital gap and will not only be of great use to many professionals in the sector and other people, companies and entities interested in these concepts, but will open the way which will allow us to fairly evaluate the strategic importance of this service and better approach the problems of the sector and find lasting solutions ».

« I doubt that up to now a study has existed which covers the different aspects related to parking so widely and thoroughly. It not only deals with the concept of parking in isolation as the construction and exploitation of the service, but encompasses many other important related effects such as urban mobility, the evaluation of demand, the environmental impact and legal and economic aspects. This is complimented with an interesting analysis of the different types of parking, from the surface to the mechanised, going through all the modes existing in the market ».

THE AUTHORS

Andrea Roli, graduated in 1974 as Civil Engineer at Bologna University, has specialized in car park design. Member of the committee of AIPARK and of the European Council of Parking Experts of EPA, he has participated in the UNI-CEI Commission for Control and Operating of Parking, and has been the Italian representative in the CEN Parking Management Working Group for standardization of car park regulations. He has attended as speaker to several congresses on parking and currently writes in national and international specialized magazines.

Marco Roli, after his graduation as Civil Engineer at Bologna University, has been working in partnership with his brother Andrea in Studio Roli Associati (Modena, Italy). Member of AIIT since 1988, he has published several articles on the subject of car parks and parking, both in Italian and in international magazines. He has worked with his brother to the project of some of the most relevant multistorey car parks built in Italy, amongst which the underground car park VIII Agosto Square in Bologna, that run in 2001 for the EPA Parking Award.

Marco Medeghini, graduated in 1988 as Civil Engineer at Milan Politecnico, is the manager of Brescia Mobilità and managing director of Sintesi, both public companies operating in the field of transport and mobility. He is vicepresident of AIPARK and contract professor of Project financing at Brescia University. He has been in charge of the planning and construction of many multistorey car parks, amongst which the Ospedale Nord car park in Brescia that won in 2004 the AIPARK Award as best Italian car park. He acts as parking consultant for several Italian Council boards.

Several pictures illustrate tha various aspects concerning the planning of multi-storey car parks. Special care has been drawn in the study of the aesthetic aspects, very important for their insertion in the architectural and cultural environment of Italian cities.

CONTENTS

Part one - Parking organization

1. Urban mobility and parking

2. Definitions

3. Parking organization and regulation

4. Parking demand and offer

5. Environmental obstacles to the realization of car parks

6. Organization of on-street parking

7. Parking plans

8. Private car parks

Part two - Off-street car parks

9. Elements common to all car parks

10. Open-air and modular car parks

11. Multilevel car parks

12. Structural characteristic

13. Parking devices and equipment

14. Mechanized car parks

15. Fire safety in car parks

16. Construction phase

Part three - Operational and administrative aspects

17. Car parks construction costs

18. Operating requirements of off-street car parks

19. Car parks economic management

20. Economic and financial plans for car parks

21. Public car parks built with private funds

22. The Italian summary of car parks built under concession

23. Conclusions

second part  >>

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