Hoboken, N.J., is a 1-square-mile city tightly packed with row houses. It’s home to more than 40,000 residents, and parking is one of the city’s major challenges. To alleviate the problem, the Hoboken Parking Authority and a contractor named Robotic Parking created the Hoboken Garden Street Garage Automated Parking System. The garage, which opened in October 2002, is the first of its kind in the United States. The structure sits atop a 100-square-foot lot and stands 56 feet high. According to the National Parking Association, a surface lot of that size could accommodate 25 to 30 automobiles. A conventional, four-story garage can hold anywhere from 80 to 100 vehicles. The Robotic Parking system holds 312.The parking process begins when a vehicle approaches the facility. A sensor inside the garage is activated by an Automated Vehicle Identification card, similar to an E-ZPass or Fast Lane tag, and a green light flashes above an open bay. The bay door opens, signaling the driver to enter, and once inside, to follow simple positioning instructions on a marquee in the bay. Once the car is properly positioned, the driver takes the keys, slides an ID card to signal departure (which then prompts a number and bay assignment) and leaves.From there, the driver goes off, and the car…well, the car goes up. When the vehicle first pulls into the garage, it’s positioned on a steel pallet. Once the driver leaves, a computer-operated carrier retracts the pallet inward and turns it 180 degrees so the car is facing outward when the driver returns to retrieve it. An elevator then lifts the pallet to an upper level, where it’s shifted onto another carrier and moved laterally to an open bay. When the driver returns and slides the card again, the process is reversed, and the car is delivered within minutes. Darius Sollohub, a New Jersey Institute of Technology assistant professor who studies parking and urban land use, says automated garages are particularly useful in dense city areas. “The greatest advantage of these garages is the space saving,” he says, “and the Garden Street Garage is a perfect example.” Related content opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe