Skip to main content

Call for new standard for parking space sizes

YourParkingSpace.co.uk, the UK’s car parking marketplace, is calling for the introduction of SizeMark; a new parking industry standard designed to ensure that car parking spaces are large enough to accommodate modern motor vehicles. The move is needed, it claims, after research showed that while parking spaces have remained approximately the same size over the last 60 years, some vehicle models have grown by more than 20 per cent in width. Backed up by a recent survey by the AA, the result revealed that
February 6, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
YourParkingSpace.co.uk, the UK’s car parking marketplace, is calling for the introduction of SizeMark; a new parking industry standard designed to ensure that car parking spaces are large enough to accommodate modern motor vehicles.

The move is needed, it claims, after research showed that while parking spaces have remained approximately the same size over the last 60 years, some vehicle models have grown by more than 20 per cent in width. Backed up by a recent survey by the 1459 AA, the result revealed that more than half of motorists have suffered damage to their car when parked in a car park over the past 12 months, meaning that many drivers are now shunning traditional car parks in favour of more spacious private driveways.

Growing vehicle size is a significant issue for car park owners and drivers alike. Today’s Mini Cooper is 24 per cent wider than the 1959 original; the 1683 Honda Civic is 18 per cent wider than the first model launched back in 1973; the 994 Volkswagen Golf is nearly 12 per cent wider than its original 1974 version; while the current 278 Ford Fiesta is 10 per cent wider than the original 1976 version. According to the 6982 Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, in 2013 more than 400,000 new cars were registered in the UK from the luxury, MPV or dual purpose segments, which typically include much wider vehicles.

Harrison Woods, managing director of YourParkingSpace.co.uk, believes that the solution could be new guidelines regarding the minimum recommended size of a parking space, proposing a SizeMark standard as an ideal solution. “It’s time that the industry introduced a recommended minimum parking space size so that drivers know what to expect. Our proposal is to introduce the SizeMark standard, where all car parks that meet this minimum size are awarded an instantly recognisable SizeMark badge to help drivers minimise damage to their cars.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Volkswagen chooses TomTom
    February 12, 2015
    TomTom has announced a multi-year agreement with automobile manufacturer Volkswagen Group to bring its traffic service to their cars across Europe, beginning with Audi and Volkswagen. TomTom is a major supplier of traffic information, with one of the most extensive bases of real-time GPS probes in the world, detecting the actual traffic situation on all roads. According to the company, recent industry benchmarks and awards prove that TomTom Traffic covers more jams with fewer false alerts than its comp
  • Tighter emission regulations proposed for London
    December 3, 2012
    London's congestion charge could be tightened in 2013, if new emission recommendations are accepted by mayor Boris Johnson that could see just electric cars escape the levy. Around 19,000 vehicles, mainly those with small diesel engines, currently escape the levy as their engines emit less than 100 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre. From July 2013, emission levels could be cut to less than 75 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre; at present only some hybrid and all-electric cars achieve that level. Own
  • The steep drop in fuel prices and its effect on transportation in India, US and UK
    February 17, 2016
    Industry insight from Steer Davies Gleave notes that increases in oil production and lower projected global demand growth for crude oil have contributed to declines in fuel prices, beginning in June 2014 and falling 70 per cent to the lowest point in January 2016. However, the impact of changing fuel prices is not uniform across transportation modes. For instance, in India, retail fuel prices have declined by only 20-25 per cent as a result of the central government increasing the excise duties to shore
  • Intersection management, cooperative infrastructures - what next?
    February 1, 2012
    What do recent vehicle recalls mean for future cooperative infrastructures? Anthony Smith takes a look. As ITS industry stakeholders converge on Amsterdam for the 2010 Cooperative Mobility Showcase, an unprecedentedly wide range of technologies will be on display demonstrating what might be achievable in the future from innovations based on Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications.