0 Garage Space will be Transformed by Rise of Autonomous Cars

This is a true shift on how our relationship with our car will change in the upcoming years. The concept that you will drive to work and your car will park itself amongst its peers, without the vast amount of vehicle circulation space that our current public garages demand, is real and is coming to a garage near you.

Boston garage

Credit: Bisnow

From Bisnow:

Researchers predict Americans will own fewer cars within the next 20 years as automated vehicles become ubiquitous on American roadways, and developers are already preparing for the shift in future projects.

Some developers in urban centers are cutting out garages altogether to make units more affordable. Others are turning to automated parking lifts, which reduce the square footage needed per car by about 80%. These automated lots cost less to construct and can be easily repurposed if parking demand falls.

0 Seaplane Commute from Boston-to-NYC?

Seaplane at a dock

Credit: BetaBoston

Logan Airport and South Station might soon compete with a dock in Boston Harbor for New York bound travelers.  If Dan Wolf, CEO of Cape Air has his way he will be offering NYC travelers trip via seaplane.

Cape Air CEO Dan Wolf says that he’d like to start flying seaplanes “within the next two years”… Wolf says that the trip from Boston’s waterfront to a seaplane dock on the East River in Manhattan would take about an hour and fifteen minutes, eliminating the travel by taxi or car to and from the airport in each city, not to mention lengthy security lines. “We’d like to start by doing four trips a day in each direction,” Wolf says, using a single-engine Cessna Caravan that seats nine passengers.

You can read the complete article on the Boston Globe’s BeteBoston site.

0 Boston Parking: A Growing Challenge for Hub Commuters

boston garage closed

Credit: The Boston Globe

How long does it take for you to find a parking space or have you given up.  My father would say, as he combed the Financial District for the coveted spot, you have to believe.  Believe that there is a spot for you.  Well, for those that don’t follow that model, they have found that getting that spot is nearly unattainable.  I rely on the T and Uber, during prime time and use the believe method for early morning meetings.

A recent Boston Globe article indicates that the daily plight for Boston commuters is only worsening. “Boston’s current parking crunch is the product of conflicting ambitions. City planners placed parking caps on downtown and South Boston years ago, hoping to reduce pollution and encourage the use of public transportation, while mayors and developers pressed for business and residential expansion…James Gillooly, interim commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department, estimates about 3,000 spaces have been eliminated in the Seaport area over the past several years, as offices, condos and hotels have replaced open lots…’As this neighborhood grows,’ said Gillooly, “there will be spaces that used to be used by people in the financial district, who now have to come up with a new strategy of how to come and go from work.’’

More information on Boston’s transforming parking landscape is posted on The Boston Globe’s website.

0 Commuting to Boston: the reality of Mass. Pike Traffic

Mass Pike commute in to Boston

Credit: wikimedia.org

I meet with evolving, growing companies each day, looking to house their corporate office in Boston  Commutes are a factor of life in our city, and to-date, I have yet to see a company avoid Boston due to commutes.  Our infrastructure needs to be maintained and upgraded and yes it is frustrating, but I will continue to traverse the Pike, leaving earlier in the morning to beat the rush.

The BBJ offers the following for context:

“The toll-paying commuters lost two lanes last August (one each way) as much-needed repair began on the Commonwealth Avenue bridge. This is no minor inconvenience: The project, a $22 million job, is supposed to take two years….The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has been trying to soft-sell this traffic travesty, and they recently produced a heap of data using a real-time traffic tracking system indicating that the average inbound delay is about 10 minutes during rush hour. Although the data doesn’t jibe with most motorists’ experiences, even 10 extra minutes adds some 2,500 minutes a year to the average motorist’s commute, or 5,000 minutes (or 83 hours, or two full work weeks) over the life of the bridge repair project.”

0 Smart Parking Meters Coming to Boston

Parking meters in Boston

Credit: Boston Globe

Do you have a $10 roll of quarters in your car for the City of Boston parking meters?  If not, you’re not alone.  Boston’s new app would take the place of change and allow you to pay with your smart phone.

According to the Boston Globe, “the city’s Transportation Department is developing a smartphone application that would eliminate the scramble for cash, by using an iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry to pay for a metered parking slot. ‘Two things people have in their pockets: They have a credit card. And they have a cellphone,” interim Transportation Commissioner James Gillooly said. “We aspire to have everybody use a credit card or pay by phone.'”

Additional details on Boston’s smart parking initiative, jump over to the Boston Globe’s website.