Parking

Lecture notes in Transportation Systems Engineering

3 August 2009

Overview
Parking is one of the major problems that is created by the increasing road
traffic. It is an impact of transport development. The availability of less
space in urban areas has increased the demand for parking space especially
in areas like Central business district. This affects the mode choice also.
This has a great economical impact.

Parking studies
Before taking any measures for the betterment of conditions, data
regarding availability of parking space, extent of its usage and parking
demand is essential. It is also required to estimate the parking fares also.
Parking surveys are intended to provide all these information. Since the
duration of parking varies with different vehicles, several statistics are used
to access the parking need.

Parking statistics

Parking accumulation: It is defined as the number of vehicles parked at

a given instant of time. Normally this is expressed by accumulation curve.
Accumulation curve is the graph obtained by plotting the number of bays
occupied with respect to time.
Parking volume: Parking volume is the total number of vehicles parked at
a given duration of time. This does not account for repetition of vehicles.
The actual volume of vehicles entered in the area is recorded.
Parking load : Parking load gives the area under the accumulation curve.
It can also be obtained by simply multiplying the number of vehicles
occupying the parking area at each time interval with the time interval. It is
expressed as vehicle hours.
Average parking duration: It is the ratio of total vehicle hours to the
number of vehicles parked.
Parking turnover: It is the ratio of number of vehicles parked in a
duration to the number of parking bays available.

This can be expressed as number of vehicles per bay per time duration.

Parking index: Parking index is also called occupancy or efficiency. It is

defined as the ratio of number of bays occupied in a time duration to the
total space available. It gives an aggregate measure of how effectively the
parking space is utilized. Parking index can be found out as follows

(1)

To illustrate the various measures, consider a small example in figure 1,

which shows the duration for which each of the bays are occupied(shaded
portion). Now the accumulation graph can be plotted by simply noting the
number of bays occupied at time interval of 15, 30, 45 etc. minutes ias
shown in the figure.

Figure 1: Parking bays and accumulation

curve

The various measures are calculated as shown below:

Parking volume= 5 vehicles.

Parking load = = = 2.75 veh hour.

Average parking duration = = 33 minutes.

Parking turnover = = 0.83 veh/hr/bay.

Parking index = = 45.83%

Parking surveys
Parking surveys are conducted to collect the above said parking statistics.
The most common parking surveys conducted are in-out survey, fixed
period sampling and license plate method of survey.

1. In-out survey: In this survey, the occupancy count in the selected

parking lot is taken at the beginning. Then the number of vehicles that
enter the parking lot for a particular time interval is counted. The
number of vehicles that leave the parking lot is also taken. The final
occupancy in the parking lot is also taken. Here the labor required is
very less. Only one person may be enough. But we wont get any data
regarding the time duration for which a particular vehicle used that
parking lot. Parking duration and turn over is not obtained. Hence we
cannot estimate the parking fare from this survey.
2. Fixed period sampling: This is almost similar to in-out survey. All
vehicles are counted at the beginning of the survey. Then after a fixed
time interval that may vary between 15 minutes to i hour, the count is
again taken. Here there are chances of missing the number of vehicles
that were parked for a short duration.
3. License plate method of survey: This results in the most accurate
and realistic data. In this case of survey, every parking stall is
monitored at a continuous interval of 15 minutes or so and the license
plate number is noted down. This will give the data regarding the
duration for which a particular vehicle was using the parking bay. This
will help in calculating the fare because fare is estimated based on the
duration for which the vehicle was parked. If the time interval is
shorter, then there are less chances of missing short-term parkers. But
this method is very labor intensive.

Ill effects of parking

Parking has some ill-effects like congestion, accidents, pollution, obstruction
to fire-fighting operations etc.
Congestion: Parking takes considerable street space leading to the
lowering of the road capacity. Hence, speed will be reduced, journey time
and delay will also subsequently increase. The operational cost of the
vehicle increases leading to great economical loss to the community.
Accidents: Careless maneuvering of parking and unparking leads to
accidents which are referred to as parking accidents. Common type of
parking accidents occur while driving out a car from the parking area,
careless opening of the doors of parked cars, and while bringing in the
vehicle to the parking lot for parking.
Environmental pollution: They also cause pollution to the environment
because stopping and starting of vehicles while parking and unparking
results in noise and fumes. They also affect the aesthetic beauty of the
buildings because cars parked at every available space creates a feeling
that building rises from a plinth of cars.
Obstruction to fire fighting operations: Parked vehicles may obstruct
the movement of firefighting vehicles. Sometimes they block access to
hydrants and access to buildings.

Parking requirements
There are some minimum parking requirements for different types of
building. For residential plot area less than 300 sq.m require only
community parking space. For residential plot area from 500 to 1000 sq.m,
minimum one-fourth of the open area should be reserved for parking.
Offices may require atleast one space for every 70 sq.m as parking area.
One parking space is enough for 10 seats in a restaurant where as theatres
and cinema halls need to keep only 1 parking space for 20 seats. Thus, the
parking requirements are different for different land use zones.

On street parking
On street parking means the vehicles are parked on the sides of the street
itself. This will be usually controlled by government agencies itself. Common
types of on-street parking are as listed below. This classification is based on
the angle in which the vehicles are parked with respect to the road
alignment. As per IRC the standard dimensions of a car is taken as 5 2.5

metres and that for a truck is 3.75 7.5 metres.

Parallel parking: The vehicles are parked along the length of the road.
Here there is no backward movement involved while parking or unparking
the vehicle. Hence, it is the most safest parking from the accident
perspective. However, it consumes the maximum curb length and therefore
only a minimum number of vehicles can be parked for a given kerb length.
This method of parking produces least obstruction to the on-going traffic on
the road since least road width is used. Parallel parking of cars is shown in
figure 2.

Figure 2: Illustration of parallel parking

The length available to park number of vehicles, L =

30 parking: In thirty degree parking, the vehicles are parked at 30 with

respect to the road alignment. In this case, more vehicles can be parked
compared to parallel parking. Also there is better maneuverability. Delay
caused to the traffic is also minimum in this type of parking. An example is
shown in figure 3. From the figure,

For vehicles, L = AC + (N-1)CE =5.58+(N-1)5 =0.58+5N

Figure 3: Illustration of 30 parking

45 parking: As the angle of parking increases, more number of vehicles
can be parked. Hence compared to parallel parking and thirty degree
parking, more number of vehicles can be accommodated in this type of
parking. From figure 4, length of parking space available for parking
number of vehicles in a given kerb is = 3.54 N+1.77

Figure 4: Illustration of 45 parking

60 parking: The vehicles are parked at 60 to the direction of road. More
number of vehicles can be accommodated in this parking type. From the
figure 5, length available for parking vehicles =2.89N+2.16.

Figure 5: Illustration of 60 parking

Right angle parking: In right angle parking or 90 parking, the vehicles
are parked perpendicular to the direction of the road. Although it consumes
maximum width kerb length required is very little. In this type of parking,
the vehicles need complex maneuvering and this may cause severe
accidents. This arrangement causes obstruction to the road traffic
particularly if the road width is less. However, it can accommodate
maximum number of vehicles for a given kerb length. An example is shown
in figure 6. Length available for parking number of vehicles is = 2.5N.

Figure 6: Illustration of 90 parking

Off street parking

In many urban centres, some areas are exclusively allotted for parking
which will be at some distance away from the main stream of traffic. Such a
parking is referred to as off-street parking. They may be operated by either
public agencies or private firms. A typical layout of an off-street parking is
shown in figure 7.

Figure 7: Illustration of off-street parking

Example 1

From an in-out survey conducted for a parking area consisting of 40 bays,

the initial count was found to be 25. Table gives the result of the survey.
The number of vehicles coming in and out of the parking lot for a time
interval of 5 minutes is as shown in the table 1. Find the accumulation, total
parking load, average occupancy and efficiency of the parking lot.
Table 1: In-
out survey
data
Time In Out
5 3 2
10 2 4
15 4 2
20 5 4
25 7 3
30 8 2
35 2 7
40 4 2
45 6 4
50 4 1
55 3 3
60 2 5

Solution

The solution is shown in table 2

Table 2: In-out parking survey solution
Time In Out Accumulation Occupancy Parking load
 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
5 3 2 26 65 130
10 2 4 24 60 120
15 4 2 26 65 130
20 5 4 27 67.5 135
25 7 3 31 77.5 155
30 8 2 37 92.5 185
35 2 7 32 80 160
40 4 2 34 85 170
45 6 4 36 90 180
50 4 1 39 97.5 195
55 3 3 39 97.5 195
60 2 5 36 90 180
Total 1735

Accumulation can be found out as initial count plus number of vehicles

that entered the parking lot till that time minus the number of vehicles
that just exited for that particular time interval. For the first time
interval of 5 minutes, accumulation can be found out as 25+3-2 = 26.
It is being tabulated in column 4.
Occupancy or parking index is given by equation For the first time
interval of five minutes, = 65%. The

occupancy for the remaining time slot is similarly calculated and is

tabulated in column 5.

Average occupancy is the average of the occupancy values for each

time interval. Thus it is the average of all values given in column 5 and
the value is 80.63%.

Parking load is tabulated in column 6. It is obtained by multiplying

accumulation with the time interval. For the first time interval, parking
load = 26 5 = 130 vehicle minutes.

Total parking load is the summation of all the values in column 5 which
is equal to 1935 vehicle minutes or 32.25 vehicle hours

Example 2

The parking survey data collected from a parking lot by license plate
method is s shown in the table 3 below. Find the average occupancy,
average turn over, parking load, parking capacity and efficiency of the
parking lot.
Table 3: Licence plate parking
survey data
Bay Time
0-15 15-30 30-45 45-60
1 1456 9813 - 5678
2 1945 1945 1945 1945
3 3473 5463 5463 5463
4 3741 3741 9758 4825
5 1884 1884 - 7594
6 - 7357 - 7893
7 - 4895 4895 4895
8 8932 8932 8932 -
9 7653 7653 8998 4821
10 7321 - 2789 2789
11 1213 1213 3212 4778
12 5678 6678 7778 8888

Solution

See the following table for solution 4.

Table 4: Licence plate parking survey solution
Bay Time Time
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)
15 30 45 60 15 30 45 60 Turn over
1 1456 9813 - 5678 1 1 0 1 3
2 1945 1945 1945 1945 1 1 1 1 1
3 3473 5463 5463 5463 1 1 1 1 2
4 3741 3741 9758 4825 1 1 1 1 3
5 1884 1884 - 7594 1 1 0 1 2
6 - 7357 - 7893 0 1 0 1 2
7 - 4895 4895 4895 0 1 1 1 1
8 8932 8932 8932 - 1 1 1 0 1
9 7653 7653 8998 4821 1 1 1 1 3
10 7321 - 2789 2789 1 0 1 1 2
11 1213 1213 3212 4778 1 1 1 1 3
12 5678 6678 7778 8888 1 1 1 1 4
Accumulation 10 11 9 11
Occupancy 0.83 0.92 0.75 0.92 2.25
Columns 1 to 5 is the input data. The parking status in every bay is coded
first. If a vehicle occupies that bay for that time interval, then it has a code
1. This is shown in columns 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the table corresponding to the
time intervals 15, 30, 45 and 60 seconds.

Turn over is computed as the number of vehicles present in that bay for
that particular hour. For the first bay, it is counted as 3. Similarly, for
the second bay, one vehicle is present throughout that hour and hence
turnout is 1 itself. This is being tabulated in column 10 of the table.
Average turn over = = 2.25

Accumulation for a time interval is the total of number of vehicles in

the bays 1 to 12 for that time interval. Accumulation for first time
interval of 15 minutes = 1+1+1+1+1+0+0+1+1+1+1+1 = 10
Parking volume = Sum of the turn over in all the bays = 27 vehicles
Average duration is the average time for which the parking lot was
used by the vehicles. It can be calculated as sum of the accumulation
for each time interval time interval divided by the parking volume =

= 22.78 minutes/vehicle.

Occupancy for that time interval is accumulation in that particular

interval divided by total number of bays. For first time interval of 15
minutes, occupancy = (10 100)/12 = 83% Average occupancy is

found out as the average of total number of vehicles occupying the bay
for each time interval. It is expressed in percentage. Average
occupancy = = 85.42%.

Parking capacity = number of bays number of hours = 12 1 = 12

vehicle hours
Parking load = total number of vehicles accumulated at the end of each
time interval time = = 10.25 vehicle hours

Efficiency = = = 85.42%.

Summary
Providing suitable parking spaces is a challenge for traffic engineers and
planners in the scenario of ever increasing vehicle population. It is essential
to conduct traffic surveys in order to design the facilities or plan the fares.
Different types of parking layout, surveys and statistics were discussed in
this chapter.

Problems

1. The parking survey data collected from a parking lot by license plate
method is shown in table 5 below. Find the average occupancy, average
turnover, parking load, parking capacity and efficiency of parking lot.

Table 5: Licence plate: problem

Bay Time
0-15 15-30 30-45 45-60
1 1501 1501 4021 -
2 1255 1255 1255 1255
3 3215 3215 3215 3215
4 - - 3100 3100
5 1623 1623 1623 -
6 2204 2204 - -

Solution

Refer table 6.
Table 6: License Plate Problem: Solution
Bay Time Time
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)
15 30 45 60 15 30 45 60 Turn over
1 1501 1501 4021 - 1 1 1 0 2
2 1255 1255 1255 1255 1 1 1 1 1
3 3215 3215 3215 3215 1 1 1 1 1
4 - - 3100 3100 0 0 1 1 1
5 1623 1623 1623 - 1 1 1 0 1
6 2204 2204 - - 1 1 0 0 1
Accumulation 5 5 5 3
Occupancy 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.5

Column 1 to 5 is the input data. The parking status in every bay is coded
first. If a vehicle occupies that bay for that time interval, then it has a code
1. This is shown in columns 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the tables corresponding to the
time intervals 15,30,45 and 60 seconds.
 Turn over is computed as the number of vehicles present in that bay for
that particular hour. For the first bay, it is counted as 2. Similarly, for
the second bay, one vehicle is present throughout that hour and hence
turnout is 1 itself This is being tabulated in column 10 of the table.
Total turn over in all the bays or parking volume= 2+1+1+1+1+1 = 7
vehicles Average turn over = =1.17

Average duration is the average time for which the parking lot was
used by the vehicles. It can be calculated as sum of the accumulation
for each time interval time interval divided by the parking volume =

= 38.57 minutes/vehicle.

Average occupancy is found out as the average of total number of

vehicles occupying the bay for each time interval. It is expressed in
percentage. Average occupancy = = 75%.

Parking capacity = number of bays number of hours = 6 1 = 6

vehicle hours
Parking load = total number of vehicles accumulated at the end of each
time interval time = = 4.5 vehicle hours

Efficiency = = = 75%.

Bibliography

Prof. Tom V. Mathew 2009-08-03