In Slaný, an automatic parking house has started operating

Slaný (Kladensko) - An automatic parking garage, operated by computers, started today in a trial operation in Slaný, Kladensko. Drivers drive onto a hydraulically raised platform, pay a fee, and the machine takes the car up to a floor and parks it in a free spot. The construction of the facility with a capacity of 149 spaces cost over 86 million crowns. It is the fourth automatic parking garage in the Czech Republic, said Dušan Kotajný from the company that provided the parking technology, to ČTK.
     The unique parking garage is located at the corner of Palackého and Třebízského streets in the urban conservation area. The city justifies the construction of the parking garage due to the lack of space in the center, where the parking system has changed this year because of it. In particular, the number of resident spaces in Masaryk Square and its surroundings has been reduced, which has been freed up for regular drivers. The parking garage is intended mainly for long-term parking and residents.
     The city will be paying for the construction according to Mayor Ivo Rubík (ODS) until 2017. He expects that revenues will exceed operational costs with approximately a quarter occupancy of the parking garage. According to him, the investment could be recovered in seven years. The parking garage will now operate in a trial phase for two months, during which the speed of the computer system will be adjusted, for example. Currently, according to Rubík, cars will exit in two to four minutes; in the future, drivers are expected to be processed in one minute.
     According to Kotajný, the greatest advantage of the parking garage is its environmental friendliness, as drivers turn off their engines immediately upon arrival. Allegedly, no one will have access to the cars. The building is, according to him, controlled from a central location, and in case of a malfunction, the service organization is directly in the city. "Any malfunctions will manifest in the first two months," Kotajný added. Similar parking garages exist in Ostrava, and another one is being built in Brno. The company reportedly provided technology for the parking garage in Bratislava, and there is interest in the technology in Russia or Turkey, according to him.
     The parking garage in Slaný has been discussed for many years and has even become a topic in the recent municipal elections. Some residents and politicians dislike its modern appearance, considering the construction unnecessary or megalomaniacal. There has been consideration of a parking garage for some time in nearby Kladno, whose mayor came to see the opening. "I'm not sure if this system is ideal for places where a lot of people need to be processed at once," Dan Jiránek (ODS) told ČTK. According to him, the city would prefer the construction in places where people come sporadically for specific events, such as hockey matches.