Posted by admin pci,Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The latest results from Davis Langdon’s construction sentiment survey suggest that a strong resurgence in the property and
construction industry is unlikely over the course of the next year; an effect
that will likely be compounded by recent global market shocks adding to the
sense of investor unease.
Davis
Langdon’s projections show sustainability ranked number one in terms of
opportunities for the industry over the next five years. Idealistic sentiments
were paired with the necessity of real-world practicalities, including the
ability to promote the long term cost and benefits of a sustainable built
environment.
Further
prominent risks for industry confidence include the effects of further upheaval
in global markets – a very real risk given recent local and overseas
volatility. Respondents also identified the ongoing struggle the industry faces
with financing projects – which is not expected to disappear anytime soon as
the financing environment forms a ‘new norm’ post-crisis.
Key findings from the report:
- A strong resurgence is unlikely in the property and
construction industry over the next 6 to 12 months
- Skills shortages and cost concerns are re-emerging
but finance remains the number one industry obstacle
- Sustainability was ranked the number one opportunity
for the industry over the next five years as respondents advocated pragmatic
and long term thinking
- Risks faced by the industry include failing to adapt
to a carbon constrained future, financing difficulties and ongoing stress in
global economies
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Posted by admin pci,Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Following our recent post on the establishment of the
Car Parking Advisory Committee to review changes to the car parking provisions
(refer to our previous article here), Canberra is the latest Australian city to be
reconsidering their minimum parking requirements.
Developers
are offering lower priced residential units and less traffic congestion in
return for fewer car parking spaces on housing projects in inner suburbs.
According to The Canberra Times, Hindmarsh, a residential developer, will cut
the price of new units if allowed to provide 32 fewer car park spaces in a
201-unit medium-density project in Woden Town Centre. Hindmarsh wants one
parking space for every unit and flexibility to meet market demand, and claims
that the reduction in parking spaces will help change peoples’ attitudes
towards private car ownership and support Canberra’s Sustainable Transport
Plan.
The ACT Greens and Property Council back the move, saying people should not be
forced to pay for parking they don’t need. The resulting saving of around
$30,000 to $40,000 per space would be reflected in a reduced price for the
units passed on to the buyers.
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Posted by admin pci,Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The City of Bendigo is considering following
Melbourne’s lead and introducing electronic parking monitoring technology.
According to the Bendigo Advertiser, the proposed system uses license plate recognition
technology to electronically ‘chalk’ vehicles, automatically detecting vehicles
that have overstayed the time restrictions in the area.
The technology is part of several recommended
amendments to the parking strategy for The City of Bendigo, including increased
parking fees, that are currently being considered by Council.
We actually posted about this technology back in 2009
when it was first being considered in Australia. For a walk down memory lane,
you can read more on our post ‘Drive-by chalkings’ here.
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Posted by admin pci,Thursday, August 25, 2011
Los Angeles has now followed San Francisco’s lead and
has approved a pilot program that will adjust the cost of parking based on
demand at various times throughout the day and the duration that motorists stay
within each parking space.
The program, called ExpressPark™, will use sensors and other technology to
monitor around 6,000 sidewalk parking meters and 7,500 spaces in public parking
facilities. Rates will change based on demand, adjusting to rise or fall by no
more than 50%.
According to the LA Times, the City of Los Angeles plans to launch the project in
September, and hopes to see the variable parking rate system commence from
April 2012.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation states
that its goals are to increase the availability of public parking spaces and
decrease traffic congestion and pollution, testing the ways technology can help
the achieve these goals.
ExpressPark™, one component of the Los Angeles
Congestion Reduction Demonstration, is set to operate from Spring 2012. The program includes real-time
parking guidance systems, mobile applications, upgraded parking meter
technology, and integrated parking bay sensors.
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Posted by admin pci,Thursday, August 25, 2011
Following from our previous post, the LA Times Cartoonist Ted Rall has provided his projection of what the future of the
dynamic pricing system could have in store. The full cartoon is published below, or you can view on the LA Times site here.
Thank you to Donald Shoup for sending this to us this
week! We hope you enjoy.
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Posted by admin pci,Thursday, August 25, 2011
Last week, we published excerpts from an article
written by Chris Rissel, Professor of Public Health at University of Sydney, about
the Melbourne bike sharing scheme. One of Rissel’s arguments was that the low
uptake of the bike sharing schemes in Australia was in part due to the
mandatory helmet laws, going on to suggest that that health benefits from the
scheme are much higher than risks relating to not wearing helmets.
This week we have come across a study published by the
British Medical Journal that supports Rissel’s theory, claiming that bicycle
sharing schemes actually save lives. Our thanks to Good.is for the article.
The widely used bike sharing scheme in Barcelona,
Bicing, was started in 2007 and after only two years had more than 180,000
citizens enrolled (11 percent of the city population). Since many of the people
who participated in the program were likely new bikers transitioning from
driving, the BMJ study examined the net impacts on public health resulting from
a significant citywide shift to biking from driving. The researchers measured
the health outcomes and mortality risk associated with changes in residents'
amount of physical activity, chance of accidental injury, and exposure to air
pollution.
Examining data provided by the city of Barcelona and
Bicing's management company, the researchers determined that despite increased
risk of injuries and exposure to air pollution from biking (yes, even cycling
has some negative health effects), the increased physical activity still
decreased the overall death rate. This was across a range of scenarios tested
to account for variations in data, with a net health benefit almost always
observed for the Bicing users.
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Posted by admin pci,Thursday, August 25, 2011
While recently working on a project in Broken Hill one
of our consultants, Kelvin Worthington, spotted this great example of a value
add service. While getting your car washed you can have your pooch washed at
the same time!
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Posted by admin pci,Thursday, August 18, 2011
Victoria’s Department of Planning and Community
Development (DPCD) has established the Car Parking Advisory Committee 2011 to
review proposed changes to car parking provisions in the Victorian Planning Provisions
and planning schemes.
According to the Property Council of Australia, the
proposed changes made by the DPCD are based on the recommendations of a final
report compiled in January 2008 by a separate advisory committee following an
enquiry into the existing car parking provisions.
The review is considering reducing the legal number of
spaces per dwelling from two to zero in dozens of activity zones of Melbourne,
as well as halving car park requirements in many residential, entertainment and
business centres outside those zones.
News.com.au claims that the review’s aims are to
reduce reliance on cars and encourage other ways of getting around, such as
public transport and bicycles, and comes as Melbourne’s population continues to
increase rapidly.
The DPCD has made the 2008 advisory committee report
and the draft proposed provisions available on its website which you can view here.
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Posted by admin pci,Thursday, August 18, 2011
Called ULTra, or Urban Light Transport, the pods are a
self-driving, electric-powered pods which can carry four to six passengers plus
cargo and travel 25 miles per hour using laser sensors to find their way along
a 1.2 mile paved "guideway”.
According to GOOD.is, passengers press a button to
start the vehicle and indicate their destination. The system is cheaper to
install than light rail, and at 5 feet wide, the guideway is narrow enough to
be accommodated by many city streets.
Although, according to ULTra's website, Heathrow might not be
the only place to enjoy these pods. Planners in San Jose and Mountain View,
California, Tysons Corner, Virginia and Calgary, Alberta, among other cities,
are all considering their own ULTra systems.
You can watch a video of the pods in action below:
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Posted by admin pci,Thursday, August 18, 2011
We recently published an article entitled ‘Why is Melbourne’s bike sharing scheme underperforming’, which explored a range of
possible reasons as to why the sharing scheme is seeing underutilisation and
lower than projected rider numbers. One of the reasons suggested was the
compulsory helmet laws.
An article published on The Conversation on August 9
by Chris Rissel, Professor of Public Health at University of Sydney, explores
bike sharing schemes, both in Australia and around the world. Rissel suggests
that Australia’s relatively low uptake, compared to the rest of the world, is
likely due to both a combination of poor cycling infrastructure and the
requirement for users to wear helmets.
There are 50 bike stations and 600 bikes situated
around the Melbourne CBD. Melbourne Bike Share is designed for short trips,
which is why the first 30 minutes are free to subscribers (who pay $50 a year).
Trips lasting longer than two hours can be expensive.
While figures on usage of the Melbourne and even the
Brisbane bike sharing schemes are hard to come by, Rissel suggests that based
on the available information the uptake is about 10% of comparable programs in
London or Dublin.
Only the Australian schemes still require users to wear helmets. Mexico City (last year), and Israel (just last week) have
repealed their adult helmet legislation, in part to make their bicycle share
schemes viable. Should Australia make helmets non-compulsory? Rissel suggests
that health benefits from the scheme are much higher than risks relating to not
wearing helmets and therefore their mandatory use should be reconsidered.
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