THE design of the modern multi-story urban garage, commonly built of reinforced concrete, is based largely on arrangements for the vertical movement of individual cars at higher speed than prevailed in the garages of the older types, or the vertical movement of a greater number of cars at the same speed, according to the author. Basic considerations affecting the design are location, type of district, capacity, and method of vertical movement. Location on a main thoroughfare is advocated. The location in several typical districts, such as retail-shopping, office-building, hotel and club, theater and amusement, and middle or high-class residential, are discussed in connection with the several classes of patronage and their bearing on design and equipment.
Proper size is best determined by a careful survey of the available garage-business load, giving full weight to such factors as trend in change of character of the district, proposed widening of or changes in adjacent streets, proposed new buildings that will furnish garage revenue, existing garage facilities, possibility of erection or enlargement of other garages, and likelihood of changes in traffic regulations. Other factors to be considered are the height to which car owners will be willing to drive up ramps, traffic capacity of the street or streets feeding the garage, and number and separation of car entrances and exits. Thought should be given also to the possibility of enlarging the garage laterally or vertically. Shape of the plot and its boundary by at least two streets, each having a width of not less than 45 ft. between curbs, are important. Two general methods of vertical movement of cars are analyzed, one by elevators and the other by ramps.
Development of ramps has been a prominent feature in the last 10 years. Types of interior and exterior circular ramps and two-way-traffic straight ramps, and the d'Humy type of garage construction having floor levels on one side intermediate with the opposite floor levels, with connecting ramps of small gradient, are described.
Three important considerations when laying-out a garage design are the saving of time of customer and garage operator, comfort of customer and operator, and prevention of dissatisfaction of either. Each of these layout factors is analyzed. Structural materials, fire protection, heating, lighting, water supply, drainage, door types and locations, and other details are analyzed also, as well as conditions influencing gasoline storage and the filling of car tanks, and the location of the repair-shop, the tire service, the accessory department and the office and waiting-room. Details of equipment for gasoline, oil, washing, merchandising, tire repairing, battery service, greasing service, and emergency service are stated. Personnel problems and other garage-operating problems are also treated.
The discussion of the paper deals in the main with ventilation and the use of ozone-gas machines to obviate danger from monoxide gas, the harmful effect on brake-linings of the use of soap-and-kerosene mixtures for washing automobiles, leakage of oil from pressure oil-dispensing outfits having flexible metal-hose, and how to keep an accurate check on the quantities of oil dispensed. A liquid gage for checking the contents of storage tanks is described, and types of ramp are illustrated and explained in considerable detail.
