As the population density increases and land becomes a scarce commodity, having open areas set aside solely for parking becomes increasingly difficult. As a result, the need for efficient parking garages becomes paramount. Anywhere large numbers of people congregate for work, business or recreation vehicles need to be accommodated.

As with all public facilities, personal security needs to be provided. The design of the parking garage lends itself to unique challenges in protecting the public. Parking garages by nature of their design have a mix of large open areas and small confined spaces. Surveillance, access control and emergency intercoms are critical to protection for the public.

Parking garages require multiple CCTV cameras strategically placed throughout the facility to provide surveillance. The inherent nature of this type of structure, distance between cameras and monitoring locations make fiber optic transmission the optimal transmission medium. Although other mediums such as wireless might be considered, the benefits to using optical fiber for this type of application are many. They include high bandwidth, longer distances, secure transmission and reliability.

In the recently completed parking center at the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tenn., optical fiber was chosen as the preferred medium. The eight-floor, 676-space garage was the first part of a five-phase hospital expansion. In addition to the garage, the project includes a five-story medical office building and a walkway that connects the parking garage and the main hospital. The parking garage CCTV system is part of an overall integrated security solution that SimplexGrinnell is providing to help protect life and property at the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. The solution includes analog CCTV, access control and emergency telephones throughout the campus, as well as an advanced security command center and a comprehensive service agreement to keep the systems in top working order. Integrator SimplexGrinnell made the decision to use optical fiber throughout the entire facility.
SimplexGrinnell’s Joe Trowbridge was the project manager and he turned to Dave Downard of Vihon Associates of Tennessee to recommend a solution for their surveillance and monitoring challenges for the parking garage phase of the project.