Officials from Robotic Parking Inc., the contractor hired to install the computer software and automated features at the automatic parking garage at 916 Garden St., say the innovative but long-delayed facility could open in June.
Officials from Robotic said Tuesday that their portion of the work is almost complete. “The garage is 98 percent finished,” said Robotic Executive Vice President Peggy Guignon. She said that only the final testing of the computer software and mechanical apparatus remains before the garage is a fully functioning automated parking facility.
The facility will be the first of its kind in the country. A series of computer-operated elevators and pulleys will move 324 cars into assigned parking spaces.
Robotic, founded in 1994, says it will try to alleviate parking problems in crowded facilities across the country once the garage in Hoboken is running. Several other countries already use automatic parking, and Robotic’s founder, Gerhard Haag, once worked on garage facilities in Germany and decided to bring the idea to the United States.
But the project at 916 Garden St. is currently almost three years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget. In one of the more recent setbacks, according to Guignon, the increase of local residents working at home over the last seven months has caused an increase in radio frequency interference with the wireless networks that help run the garage. It required changes to the radios in the garage that send and receive information.
Now, the Hoboken Parking Authority (HPA) and Robotic believe they see the light at the end of the tunnel.
On April 29, the contractor is scheduled to begin final “acceptance testing,” Guignon said. This process will last between five and seven days. It is a significant milestone in the building’s construction. During that time, Robotic will have the opportunity to prove to the Parking Authority and the project’s insurance company that it has fulfilled all of its contractual obligations, such as the computer system and mechanical devices picking up cars and delivering them to an empty spot.
According to Guignon, 21 different cars will be used for the tests.
The garage, when finished, will be five stories high and have different levels for different sizes of cars.
Preparation through May
If the contractor passes the acceptance testing and the mechanics are up to par, the next step is for the HPA to prepare for the garage’s opening.
“If the acceptance tests pass, then we can enter into the training and preparation phase,” said Daniel DeCavaignac, the chairman of the HPA’s facilities committee, Wednesday. “We expect that to last through the majority of May.”
According to DeCavaignac, there are several issues that must be taken care of before the garage is ready to open. The HPA operators who will man the site 24 hours, seven days a week must be staffed and trained. There will always be one HPA operator on duty and one Robotic employee present at the garage. It will also be linked to Robotic and General Electric in case of problems.
DeCavaignac said that security, safety, and environmental issues will have to be addressed before the building opens to the public. The building’s sprinkler system must be tested, the facility must pass all construction inspections, and it must receive a certificate of occupancy. The HPA also needs to test the garage’s backup power supply and ensure that the building has adequate lighting.
Recently, neighbors have voiced concerns that the moving parts in the garage may be too loud. Before it opens, the HPA must test the site to ensure that the noise level does not create a nuisance, DeCavaignac said. He said Wednesday that he believes the garage will operate quietly.
“They have been running the garage at full force for the past month and we have not received a single noise complaint about the garage,” DeCavaignac said.
After environmental, safety, staffing and security issues are resolved and the Hoboken Parking Authority is confident that their automated garage at 916 Garden St. will open, the board will have to decide which residents will have access to the 324 parking spots.
According to HPA Commissioner Daniel DeCavaignac, there are approximately 350 names left on a waitlist from the last time it was opened in October of 2000. The HPA will send them a letter inquiring if they are still interested in the spot. If they do not return that communication, their name will be purged from the list.
Once those names are purged, the HPA will reopen the list to fill the remaining spaces. DeCavaignac said the target date for reopening the list will be the end of May. Once that list is reopened, residents will be able to call the HPA to get on it.
DeCavaignac added that the anticipated cost per spot is going to be $200 per month. There will be no daily parking. – TJ