Transoft Solutions Launches ParkCAD 3.0
05 June 2007
LATEST RELEASE PROVIDES USERS A MORE INTUITIVE APPROACH TO PARKING LOT DESIGN
Transoft Solutions Inc., developers of advanced applications for the engineering and architectural design community, has announced the latest version release of its revolutionary parking lot design software, ParkCAD 3.0.
Proven in tests to be over 70% faster than traditional design methods, architects, drafters, and engineers can design, test, and edit parking lots in minutes for improved parking needs analysis and to quickly evaluate scenarios to maximize parking yield. ParkCAD 3.0 functions within both AutoCAD and Bentley's MicroStation platforms.
The first ParkCAD version shipped from Transoft just three years ago: so how will this new release improve the way parking lots have been traditionally designed?
Michael Frost, Product Manager at Transoft Solutions, addresses this subject: "ParkCAD 3.0 is the result of client feedback from earlier versions. We've worked hard to integrate ideas of earlier adaptors and expert advisors. We're very excited (as are our early focus groups) about the new release of ParkCAD 3.0 with SmartLOT (Layout Optimization Technology). This new release contains considerable application enhancements requested from our user base to make the application more robust and to allow ParkCAD to be beneficial throughout the life cycle of the project rather than just early stage designs."
"Our newly defined SmartLOT process delivers a combination of functional abilities such as dynamic lot editing, site setup, and automatically updated lot parameters to help with what designers need a parking lot to be: pedestrian friendly, traffic flow accommodating, functional, and easily maintainable for a minimal cost," said Chris Milne, lead program developer of ParkCAD.
When asked about some of the standout features in ParkCAD 3.0, Mr Frost replied, "In the past year, there's been a profound move towards overall responsibility for costs with many design consultants. We spotted this trend from discussions with our clients that the need was there to provide them with a viable solution. Therefore, in my opinion, the most significant enhancement is the new quantity takeoff reporting feature which provides parking object quantities with cost estimates that can be dynamically tied to the geometric design.
"ParkCAD 3.0 lets the user become more competitive by allowing them to concentrate on the important design jobs that bring the revenue in and not having to waste time laying out different parking lot configurations," concluded Mr Frost. "It's very satisfying being able to work on a tool that gives users such a complete advantage over having to manually draw out each parking stall or row."
Today many of the largest global engineering and architectural firms employ a version of ParkCAD to layout and configure lot sizes containing anywhere from 20 to 1,000 parking stalls. Since the beginning of the year, Transoft Solutions has seen a 25% increase in ParkCAD sales as more and more architects and engineers are exposed to the product.
PARKCAD 3.0 ENHANCEMENTS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
Powerful Reporting Capabilities:
- Quantity Take-Off Reporting.
Details linear footage areas and quantities of parking objects (islands, stalls, etc) with costs assigned for estimates. For example, designers can specify the amount of paint needed to be laid down for a given stall and then generate a cost report based on parking stalls painted on a per-area basis. - Stall Count Reporting.
Enhanced reporting to include quantities and percentages of standard, accessibility, and user-defined stalls. - Improved Parking Needs Analysis
SmartLOT Applies to the design process with which users can employ to test various parking area scenarios and configurations for parking needs analysis before generating and finalizing layouts. This will ensure maximum parking capacity in the available areas while accounting for convenience and safety factors.
Increased Efficiency:
- Accessibility Parking.
Includes Accessibility Standards (ADA) allowing for percentage requirement calculations and stalls placed with ISA symbol and access aisles. - Heads-Up Display.
For dynamically updated parking stall counts allowing users to determine optimal row alignments to maximize parking yield. - Federal Standards.
Comes complete with parking guidelines (from ITE, ULI and other governing bodies) in an easily accessible database for use in parking area development. - License Checkout. Checkout network seats from company workstation onto portable laptops for out of office work or client presentations.
Dynamic Editing Abilities:
- Edit Lots.
Existing lots can be updated to match ongoing changes to boundary geometry. - Parking Exclusion Area.
Users can specify areas where no parking should be generated. Ideal for structures, drive aisles, landscape area, and entrance/exit placements. - Site Setup.
Users can select rows and lots for Accessibility Parking percentage requirements. - Distribute Aisle Space.
Excess drive aisle space can be evenly divided across all parking rows using one typical dimension for the lot. - User-Defined Stalls.
Create custom stall standards and assign symbols/colors for specially designated user defined stalls.
ABOUT TRANSOFT SOLUTIONS
Creativity. Reliability. Originality.
These are the ideals that Transoft Solutions, Inc. has incorporated into the development of its innovative CAD-based software for the architectural and engineering design community. Established in 1991, Transoft Solutions provides the tools which help users better plan, assess, and evaluate their intricate design projects. Transoft Solutions is headquartered in British Columbia, Canada.
