Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/403

 Popular Science Monthly

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��as the isles of safety for pedestrians in our most-congested city thoroughfares.

These island platforms are a special feat- ure. Each car has its own island platform, which is made of concrete, integral with the floor. Each platform is ten feet long, forty-nine inches wide and four and one- half inches high, with a rounded, but slightly pointed end facing the aisle. The cars are arranged in two long rows with an open runway between for entrance and exit.

As each car en ters the aisle it is backed up until its rear wheels strike the curved end of the platform. This serves to guide the vehicle automatic- ally into its stall, with the platform situated longitu- dinally beneath the

car, and its edges almost touching the insides of the front and rear tires. As the platform is of sufficient height to prevent the car from mounting it when backing up, each vehicle is automatically placed in its proper position, and will be pre- \ ented from running in any other

��The island platforms are arranged in long rows, as shown in the accompanying illus- tration, and are placed so that there are fourteen inches of clear space adjacent to the vehicles. This is sufficient to allow each car to back into or run out of its stall without disturbing the cars next it. The platforms, being inside of the car wheels, do not prevent jacks being used in the clear space between vehicles to lift the wheels off the floor for the removal of tires. A small concrete bumper, about tw-o feet long,

���Two-way concrete ramps take the place of elevators. The ramps are twenty feet wide, permitting one line of cars to go up and another to go down at the same time without danger of collision or other mishap

six inches wide and six inches high, is provided behind each of the clear spaces between the islands at the rear, to serve as stops for the rear wheels of the cars.

This garage, which is being built by one of the large automobile concerns in New York city, is four stories in height, with a total floor area of 205,000 square feet; of which 164,000 square feet will be given over to the ac- commo- dation

���garage will be the largest structure of its kind in the world. The garage will have a res- taurant and clubroom for chauffeurs and will offer every personal convenience to owners

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