underground car park
An underground car park or ramp car park is a parking space for vehicles - usually for cars - below the surface of the earth.
An underground car park in a simple form is a single car park in the basement area of a house, which is equipped with a suitable incline (so-called granny car park ). In most cases, however, an underground car park is an underground parking lot with several parking spaces . A parking fee usually has to be paid for parking a vehicle in public underground garages. Underground car parks are often created below buildings in order to avoid high land costs for necessary replacement parking spaces for vehicles above the surface of the earth. However, an underground car park can also be located under a green area or under a multi-storey car park . The structural requirements for an underground car park are laid down in the Garage Ordinance. Every German federal state except Berlin has its own regulation.
With increasing traffic density, parking problems first appeared in the 1950s. In Switzerland , the first large underground car parks were built in Bern and Lausanne in the mid-1950s.
Furnishing
It is not uncommon for underground garages to have several floors below the surface, so-called parking decks , which are usually reached via ramps and passenger lifts . There are usually one or more stairwells and emergency exits. Special form: parking ramp
In the case of small and one-story underground garages, access can often also be via a footpath or stairs next to the access ramp. For security reasons, most public underground car parks are monitored by video cameras . In modern systems, an occupancy detection is usually installed that shows the user how many parking spaces are still free. This is often also linked to a parking guidance system. In some underground car parks there are special parking spaces for women ; These are often located in easily visible places, mostly near stairwells and elevators, or near the security guards, and are usually particularly well monitored by video cameras.
Underground car parks are occasionally equipped with so-called multiparkers. There are many different types of multi-parkers, for a wide range of requirements, which turn one parking space into at least two. Parking on a multiparker is called multiparking.
Safety measures
In order to avoid excessive exhaust gas pollution, especially on the lower floors (risk of carbon monoxide poisoning ), ventilation shafts with fans are available.
Most authorities and insurance companies require a sprinkler system and a fire alarm system . In the event of a fire, the smoke gases must be able to escape quickly. Therefore, special smoke outlets may have to be installed. Escape routes must be clearly and clearly signposted. Emergency lighting must be available for escape routes and stairwells .
Underground garages as shelters
In the 1960s and 1970s in particular, underground car parks were also designed as shelters , so-called multi-purpose facilities, which were intended to protect the population in the event of a war. These multi-purpose systems can usually be recognized by the thick-walled doors with special locks that are located at the parking deck entrances. Special seals and ventilation systems can provide temporary protection against contamination by NBC weapons , and in older systems against pressure waves of up to several bar . According to Section 7 of the Civil Protection Act , there is a general ban on changes to existing systems in Germany.
Web links
- Photo report about a fire in an underground car park in the residential area, Innsbruck, 13./14. July 2016 orf.at, July 14, 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ Underground parking for vehicles . In: Motor vehicle technology 8/1956, p. 316.