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Partnership optimises spaces & convenience

Q-Park Haus Postplatz, Dresden

With FAY projects GmbH

When it comes to developing a property, the focus is naturally on its primary use. Whether this be retail, hospitality, commercial or residential, or even a combination, parking spaces will always be needed. However, provisions for parking are often an afterthought. This is particularly reflected in the way stairwells and lifts are designed and constructed around the building’s primary use. When the attention shifts to parking, the typical developer wants to squeeze in as many parking spaces as possible.

Parking facilities, dedicated or otherwise, designed in this way are frequently unmanageable or only offer limited convenience for users.

Thanks to our expertise, Q-Park is best placed to advise project developers and landlords on all aspects of designing, constructing and managing parking facilities. By working in partnership with you, we can optimally plan or re-plan parking facilities for your property, whether above or below ground.

Q-Park stands for ‘Quality in parking’, something we live up to by engaging qualified planners and civil engineers who bring years of experience to your project. We want to get the most out of every car park. This includes ensuring that our car parks:

  • are easy to navigate;

  • feature good car park design and traffic flow;

  • comply with regulations;

  • are clear, safe and simple for pedestrians;

  • are secure and transparent;

  • provide priority spaces for vulnerable visitors;

  • are fitted with energy-efficient lighting.

This quality is reflected in our distinctive Q-Park style. Customers are already familiar with us as Q-Park is present in many German cities and other European countries. The Q-Park house style stands out with its brand colours and familiar black parking pads, defining the ample parking spaces. Customers also appreciate our clear signage for guidance and orientation throughout our parking facilities.

Q-Park is particularly acclaimed for the support it gives to project developers during the planning phase, and in particular when drawing in the parking spaces. We believe that car parks should offer a convenient route for traffic to follow, yet we must also comply with official regulations.

This means there are several points to consider, including:

  • minimum parking space dimensions;

  • aisle widths and space for parking manoeuvres;

  • minimum turning circles for vehicles;

  • ramp gradients.

Q-Park also helps project developers decide:

  • the best position for the access and exit barriers;

  • where to place payment machines;

  • where to position curbs so they won’t damage wheels and hubcaps;

  • where to place parking spaces for vulnerable people and blue badge holders;

  • on the most appropriate security measures and their positioning, including CCTV and emergency call points;

  • how to minimise collision damage to cars.

Involving Q-Park design experts in the early phase of the planning process means you can influence parking space design and traffic management before construction commences.

As part of the Haus Postplatz project development in Dresden, Germany, FAY Projects GmbH successfully built an underground car park in partnership with Q-Park, which opened in 2019.

Here is the optimised planning process in a nutshell, with sketches and quick scans to illustrate.

The first step was to analyse the traffic flow and draw in the turning curves. In this phase potential collision points were identified and initial optimisation suggestions incorporated. The next step was to focus on the details.

The architect had envisaged adding bicycle parking places in the recesses around the car park. However, this would have meant that cyclists would be distributed throughout the underground car park, and bicycle traffic would mix with car traffic. The solution was to provide a single dedicated point for bikes, where they can now be conveniently stored in an enclosed shelter on Level -1, near the entrance and exit. For the building’s residents, there are still separate bicycle storage facilities in secure areas, behind the public underground parking spaces.

The original plans included a second barrier on Level -2 for long-term parking only. This would have considerably limited short-term parking capacity, particularly because not all long-term parking spaces are occupied 24/7. Thanks to Q-Park’s planning, the area in Level -2 was made available to all car park users, eliminating the need for a second barrier system and the associated costs.

In the initial plans, the access barriers would be placed immediately after the entrance at Level 0. This would have meant positioning them in a bend and on the ramp. In addition, the planned widths were very narrow and difficult to negotiate for motorists. The Q-Park design experts recommended placing the barriers on Level -1. This simplified the barrier construction as it would be flat, and facilitates matters considerably for motorists as their vehicles are horizontal at the barrier.

In addition, aisle widths throughout the underground car park were revised and the parking space layout improved. To create additional parking spaces, overlaps were created between adjacent parking spaces for blue badge holders, which each have a width of 3.50 m. This is a practical use of space because it is unlikely that people will get in or out of adjacent vehicles at the same time and require the full width for loading/unloading.

Floor markings were also designed to help customers navigate the parking facility safely.

Dead ends were replanned so vehicles could flow freely as one-way traffic. This meant losing two parking spaces, but these were compensated for elsewhere.

Customer access to the stairwells and payment machine areas was streamlined, secured and signposted. The payment machines were also relocated so they are no longer adjacent to cars and bicycle lanes.

All of this has resulted in an attractive, high-value underground car park.

It has been a terrific achievement thanks to close cooperation between all project partners. FAY as the project developer, Q-Park as the parking operator and the city of Dresden as the city authorities were able to find a common solution that offers convenient parking to customers.

Q-Park is grateful to all the project partners once again, especially the FAY planning team.

Ralph Esser, Managing Director of FAY Projects GmbH said, “With Q-Park as a highly professional car park operator and competent partner for our Haus Postplatz joint project, we were able to generate huge added value. Especially during the project execution phase, we were able to benefit greatly from Q-Park’s many years of experience and profound expertise. We could count on Q-Park’s proven quality in parking. These and, of course, the economic benefits formed the ideal foundation for partnership-based cooperation. We at FAY wouldn’t hesitate to work together with Q-Park again on projects in the future.”

Would you like to find out more about our Haus Postplatz project in Dresden? Or are you looking for support with redeveloping your car park?

Our experts are happy to advise and support you. Please get in touch or leave a comment.