MODERN PARKING AREA

Southland Times, Issue 23123, 13 February 1937, Page 14

MODERN PARKING AREA

NEW ACCOMMODATIONIN LONDON The following description of what she termed a “super parking station” in Piccadilly, where from 1000 to 1500 cars can be accommodated at very short notice, is given by a former resident of Auckland now living in London:— “The station occupies five floors of a large modern building, and special lifts quickly transfer cars from one floor to another. In the very busy periods, for instance, from six o’clock to midnight on Saturdays, it is necessary for the driver to give the attendant some indication of the time he will call for his car. It is then ticketed and parked in such ■ a position that it can easily be withdrawn at the appointed time. Sometimes it happens that seventy or eighty cars have to be removed before one car can be extricated, through the driver returning before the appointed time. “Apart from the special facilities for the cleaning and overhauling of cars, there is a splendid, and somewhat novel ‘service’ available to patrons of the parking station. This comprises the services of an excellent valet, and the use of well-appointed bathrooms, restaurant and bar. After a long and tiring journey it is possible to emerge from the station quite refreshed in every way. There is also a well-stocked shop on the premises, where anything from an evening dress stud to a balloon tyre can be bought The speed at which cars are handled as they come in is simply amazing, and it is very easy to imagine the scene on London’s Saturday night, when there is an endless stream of cars of all descriptions pouring in and out again until the small hours of the morning.”