One of the fundamental elements used in logistics is the warehouse. Parking lots can also be treated in this way, especially those intended for passenger vehicles. Their specificity, however, lies in the fact that, unlike traditional warehouses whose task is to store batches of products in appropriate conditions on their way to the end customer, the “storage” of parked cars is simultaneously the goal and the fulfillment of the service requested by customers, who are drivers, rather than just one of several stages that a product goes through in the distribution process.
A very important issue from the point of view of logistics and economics is the control of efficiency and the planning of the use of resources owned by a company or institution. If, as a result of observations, it turns out that a certain part of the assets is unused or underutilized, actions should be taken to rationalize the use of available resources, and consequently, to increase revenue.
The article presents a similar approach to the issue of using large parking areas. It discusses how to measure, among other things, the streams of vehicles entering and leaving the analyzed area and parking accumulation. Driver preferences regarding the choice of appropriate parking zones in the case of multi-zone parking lots were also examined, both for free and paid parking. The results obtained from the empirical studies were the basis for creating simulation models that reproduce vehicle traffic and verify the initial assumptions regarding changes that could occur after adopting the proposed modification of traffic organization in the designated area.
Location of the research object
The studied campus of the Cracow University of Technology on Warszawska Street has a unique location. It lies in the immediate vicinity of the historic Old Town, the railway station, and the bus station. At the same time, it is adjacent to the main roads leading towards Warsaw and Katowice. This means that it can become an attractive parking space not only for university staff and students, but it can also earn money by making free spaces available in the future during less busy periods, such as summer holidays, winter breaks, holidays, weekends, etc., to residents of Krakow, tourists, tour groups, people visiting the city on business, etc.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 5/2004.