I don’t like The Columbian’s acceptance of the proposed automated parking garage talked about in “In our View” (“Planned automated parking garage smart step,” The Columbian, Nov. 13). You need to put a little more thought into it instead of an oh-goody- goody reaction.
What about the morning rush to get in your car to get to work? There is no way it would work fast enough to satisfy a herd of folks already dreading the commute.
The Columbian talked about the success of automated garages in some Middle Eastern countries where gas is almost free. With the trend in the Northwest and the United States toward the eventual replacement of gas-driven cars for electric powered ones, who will plug in our neatly stored EV vehicles and pay for their power?
The money saved on less lighting and ventilation would be overshadowed by the power used to move heavy autos in and out.
Technology for the sake of technology is not always a solution. Underground out-of-sight parking like they have at Vancouver Center sounds like a better solution that even architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable would approve of as long as we need our cars.
