Should "on street" parking spaces be delineated ?

[Justin Smith]

Parking is a massive problem for some people.

 

I rarely think about it. There is ample on street parking here, I also have a car in the garage and could put one of the drive if I needed too (although blocking in the garage, so I rarely do).

 

Self driving cars will be here in 5 to 10 years, this will alter the parking problem hugely, perhaps even causing a large drop in the personal ownership of cars.

For example, I pay £5 to park in town if I decide to drive, I could send a self driving car home for less than that though!

And a large part of the cost of a taxi is the labour. Remove the labour, taxi gets considerably cheaper, so I could take a self driving uber to work on some days, might cost me no more than the tram!

 

On street parking isn`t a problem for me where I live, but is for many. e.g. where I used to live. But even if parking isn`t a problem at home, what about when you go somewhere ? The problem I had in the opener was at work, or rather, near my work.

 

---------- Post added 01-03-2017 at 13:26 ----------

 

In the past I've parked up between two long cars.

 

When I've come back the big cars have gone and smaller ones taken their place.

 

So it looks like all three of us have taken lots of space where you might have got four cars in, but that wasn't the case.

 

I said that in the opener. The only people who patently have no excuse are those at the ends of the bays. I think it unfortunate when I see a half car length gap, that, in conjunction with "inefficient" parking further down may well mean someone can`t park. There`s a bloke round the corner from my shop who insists on parking his car bang outside his house, but his house is right near the end of the parking bay. So that leaves a half cars length of unused space, it`s selfish really.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Justin Smith

[Eater Sundae]

Well lower might be more useful in terms of parking. As far as I am aware, having level access to the house precludes building houses on top of garages for example.

 

There are plenty of modern houses with integral garages at ground level, and most of the accommodation on other floors.

[Cyclone]

On street parking isn`t a problem for me where I live, but is for many. e.g. where I used to live. But even if parking isn`t a problem at home, what about when you go somewhere ? The problem I had in the opener was at work, or rather, near my work.

 

---------- Post added 01-03-2017 at 13:26 ----------

 

 

I said that in the opener. The only people who patently have no excuse are those at the ends of the bays. I think it unfortunate when I see a half car length gap, that, in conjunction with "inefficient" parking further down may well mean someone can`t park. There`s a bloke round the corner from my shop who insists on parking his car bang outside his house, but his house is right near the end of the parking bay. So that leaves a half cars length of unused space, it`s selfish really.

 

Unless there was a moped or motorbike there earlier.

 

How can he park near the end of the parking bay, when there are no bays marked?

[Justin Smith]

Unless there was a moped or motorbike there earlier.

 

How can he park near the end of the parking bay, when there are no bays marked?

 

If it`s a pull in type bay, like on Langsett Rd, the end of the bay is the end. In the case of the poor parker I was referring to, it isn`t a parking bay as such, but the double yellow lines start, so effectively that is the end is the "parking bay".

A motorbike may have been there, but, I`d warrant, not in the great majority of cases.

 

---------- Post added 01-03-2017 at 13:38 ----------

 

There are plenty of modern houses with integral garages at ground level, and most of the accommodation on other floors.

 

Then you don`t have level access. Something I`m very much aware of because our house is a three level design and I`ve got a sore knee at the moment.....

[Cyclone]

You'd not have level access if the garage took up the entire ground floor...

[Berberis]

The other day I was unable to park in the bay I usually do, that`s fair enough, it`s first come first served. But what was a bit frustrating was that many of the parked vehicles were parked with big gaps (just too small to fit my car into ! ) which wasted at least two spaces in the bay, and the bay isn`t even that big, 10 cars ? However, when this happens, the only vehicles which are definitely to blame are those on the ends*, because, for those in the middle, you don`t know how the previous vehicles (which are no longer there) were parked. I reckon if everyone parked reasonably well a good 10% more parking spaces would be available. The question is if bays had marked out spaces would it achieve that ?

 

I`m not saying bays should be delineated, I`m just putting it up for discussion.

Oh, and can we have a driving thread which doesn`t degenerate into personal attacks.....

 

* Vehicles on the ends should always be parked right up to the end, if they`re half a car`s length off it they`re wasting space.

 

Yes. I have said it before about Sheffield City Council. Outside my old address people would park leaving just shy of a cars space between them and the next car or the double yellows. These cars could be there for days, meaning they took up approx 4 cars space for 2 cars.

[Eater Sundae]

You'd not have level access if the garage took up the entire ground floor...

 

Yes, but not every house needs level access. So where level access is not required, we can build higher and incorporate a garage in a comparatively small plan area.

[Justin Smith]

Yes, but not every house needs level access. So where level access is not required, we can build higher and incorporate a garage in a comparatively small plan area.

 

More and more people will need level access (and a downstairs loo....) as the population ages. It could mean the difference between having to move home (just when you`re not in the best physical / mental position to do so) or not.

Am I right that a downstairs loo is now a planning requirement ?

[Obelix]

Am I right that a downstairs loo is now a planning requirement ?

 

That's my understanding. (well strictly it needs to be at access level)

[Justin Smith]

Because it's space would need to accommodate even the largest car, so say a pickup truck at nearly 6m. Average car is around 4.5m so you'd be wasting 1.5m in each bay which is actually 33% so the 10% is possibly an underestimate.

 

I must admit I thought this logical, and possibly still do. But there is one thought nagging away at me, if it`s true that one can get more vehicles parked in a given area if they`re left to fend for themselves (to allow for different size parking spaces for different size vehicles) why are all car parks marked off into bays ?