Industry News

X-tra Hassle is Price of Vanity Plate - December 2009

Personalised number plates are a way of showing off. However, the US motorist who owns a car with the eye-catching registration number ‘XXXXXXX’ may be having second thoughts about his.

So far Scottie Roberson, 38, has run up parking penalties to the tune of $19,000 (£11,000) in the town of Birmingham, Alabama. The odd thing is that Roberson has only ever been to the city once, and did not recall receiving a ticket on that trip.

On investigation, he discovered that parking patrol officers in the city enter seven Xs when they issue tickets to cars which are not displaying a number plate. These then generate notices which end up on his doorstep in Huntsville, Alabama. The mix-up has led to Roberson receiving as many as 10 tickets in a day.

Birmingham traffic engineer Gregory Dawkins says the city may change the system to keep Roberson from receiving more tickets. He says: “Maybe we just need to leave that part blank altogether.“

Roberson bought the vanity plate to recall his time as a builder of custom cars under the nickname Racer X. Maybe Scottie could customise his number plate, adding an extra X!

from Parking Review

Steel Can Be a Speedy Solution - December 2009

The concept of creating parking decks which can be erected when needed and taken down when not is growing in popularity. Demountable car parks enable additional car parking to be provided on a temporary basis to meet seasonal demand, such as over the Christmas trading period, or at locations where a car park may be needed for some time but ultimately redeveloped, as is common at hospitals and airports.

TopDeck is a modular steel parking deck that can either stand over existing parking or over land used for other purposes such as storage yards. Examples have been erected by BAA at Gatwick Airport and a BMW dealership in Newcastle.

TopDeck managing director Ian Darlington said: “Being a demountable system it can also be used on a temporary basis to replace spaces out of commission during refurbishment or the construction of new facilities.

“The system has been designed for speed of erection. A 100-space deck can be in use in five days, minimising disruption to normal facilities. A TopDeck usually consists of a number of standard size modules, each just over 16 metres long and 2.4 metres wide. Each module has hinged legs that are swung into position on site, locked into place and height adjusted for terrain. The water-resistant, anti-skid grit coat deck is already in place as are the BS 6399 compliant safety barriers.”

Bespoke modules can be designed and built to fit the specific requirements of individual sites. “These allow the finished deck to fit around almost any obstruction or access requirement,” said Darlington.“Modules are available to rent or buy which means that TopDeck is a particularly flexible option where capital investment is restricted.”

TopDeck is a brand of HS Road, which is a grouping of Hill & Smith subsidiary companies involved in road related products such as Berry Systems car park safety barriers, Mallatite lighting and Varley & Gulliver gantries as well as Hill & Smith [...continue]

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