The size of car parking spaces?

The Continental Op

Are there any regulations that apply to how big or small car parking spaces need to be for planning permission to be granted?

The reason I'm asking is that I can park around my local town and shops like Lidl and Aldi have spaces that are 2.3 - 2.4 meters between the lines and parking is easy. Then there are the councils car parks which you have to pay for and the distance between the lines (middle of line to middle of line) is less than 2 meters. 2 meters is really really tight. I should dig it out, I have a picture somewhere on my phone of a large car parked perfectly between the lines with millimeters to spare, with wheel arches added it filled the space.

What I am thinking is that planners would insist on 2.3 - 2.4 meters for planning permission yet because they are under pressure to provide more parking spaces (having removed a lot of on street parking) made their own spaces much smaller.

10-10-20

The regulation of maximising profit per M^2, I would guess.

I think that the only regulation in that regard is around the ratio of disabled spots overall. Sure look at any car-park with structural pillars within - some of those spots where the pillar stands must be less than 2m from pillar to the middle of the line.

zell12

The normal minimum parking bay size for right angle parking is 2.4m x 4.8m. There are recommendations for public spaces and Dublin City Council say minimum width of less than 2.4 m.

Gumbo

Normally about 2.4x4.8 in residential housing.

Ive seen 2.5x5 for commercial sites.

i very much doubt you’ve been in parking spaces that are 2m wide. A modern car would barely fit in!

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119406102#Comment_119406102

I keep a tape measure in the car for measuring timber. I've got it out a couple of times when I've been p!ssed at how close the cars are parked in a certain car park. Each time the measurement from the middle of each line was just less than 2m, 1.95m iirc but I'll check again next week.

Just found the picture I was on about so I'll get it off the camera, cover up the number and post it in a minute.

12 element

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058256647/the-size-of-car-parking-spaces

What are you driving?

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119406162#Comment_119406162

Only a focus it just about fits but a decent car won't.

The Continental Op

Sometimes I'm glad I don't own a merc, but there is only barely room for something like a focus provided very one has parked squarely within the line and you know the never happens

I'm sure some expert will be able to say how wide that merc is so we can be sure about the distance between the lines.

Lumen

I'm no Merc expert but if that's a mid 2000s CLS the width without mirrors is 1872mm.

I used to rent a garage that was so narrow I needed to climb out the window of the old BMW estate I parked there, and I was a skinny fecker then.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119406197#Comment_119406197

Ok I take back my previous comment. They look small.

They also look to be on private land so the landowner is squeezing every last inch for spots. Look to be under the regulation size.

Is it paid parking?

What Merc is it?

If you left the Reg I could check but an S Class is 2109mm wide.

HeidiHeidi

The Merrion Centre carpark would be a prime example of this - the spaces are ridiculously tight there, with pillars intruding into every third space. I only drive a Mini and I hate it!

Lumen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119407010#Comment_119407010

an S Class is 2109mm wide

That's with mirrors. It's 1954mm without.

I think that style of tail lights (single cluster attached to rear wing) was ditched in the late 2000s.

After that they adopted a split light cluster and then more recently a light bar.

I reckon that space is 2m wide with the Focus being about 180mm narrower than the Merc.

magicbastarder

2m would be a fairly typical width for an average size car these days (with mirrors)

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119407010#Comment_119407010

What is annoying is that its a Council car park. Car check tells me its a Mercedes-benz S SERIES S 350L Bluetec

magicbastarder

we should not be building car parks to fit S class mercs, to be fair.

busunderer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119407704#Comment_119407704

okay Joseph

Dr Turk Turkelton

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119407704#Comment_119407704

Agree entirely. Should be at least big enough to fit my Range Rover.

unkel

I had a loaner car Tesla Model X for a few weeks recently. I kid you not, sometimes the car was parked on both white lines beside it. It seems car parking space sizes in Ireland are still based on the tiny cars we had back in the 60s and 70s

Even today's tiniest cars have at least double the volume of their predecessor from a few generations ago

zell12

UK - Parking space sizes haven't increased since the 1970s but today's cars are up to 55% bigger

Parking guidelines haven’t changed in 50 years, with the requirement for public bays to be 2.4m wide by 4.8m long.

The British Parking Association says that these dimensions are 'neither minimum nor written in tablets of stone' and councils and car park operators are free to designate their own bay measurements. It remains the most common size used to ensure a maximum volume of parking spaces. 

sydthebeat

Car parking size requirements for most local authorities

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119407814#Comment_119407814

After using the car park with the sub 2m space 2.4 meters seems like luxury with masses of room. That still leaves 20cm either side of that merc and 40cm to another merc (or other 2m wide car) if two park nicely between 2.4 meter lines.

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119407826#Comment_119407826

Well my point here all along is that local authorities make up their own rules when it suits them. In this case they needed to say they had loads of space in this particular car park because they took spaces away somewhere else. The need for spaces is even greater now since covid as the concil have removed more on street parking to allow for outside spaces for cafes and take aways.

MakersMark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119407704#Comment_119407704

The begrudgery is strong in this one.

Lumen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119407905#Comment_119407905

I don't begrudge anyone driving a taxi if they choose to.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119407905#Comment_119407905

the ad hominem is strong in this one.

Atlantic Dawn

The size of parking space does influence where I shop, I avoid where possible somewhere that will likely result in the car being door dinged by every car parking next to mine due to the spaces being too small. I do like the LIDL spaces in their newly opened/refurbished stores.

magicbastarder

i'd keep quiet about that, all the S class and range rover owners will flock to those lidls and take up all the spaces.

Lumen

From a planning perspective it might make sense to make the size of the spaces proportional to the distance from the shop.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119408158#Comment_119408158

Or maybe we should get those who choose to drive oversized barges or tanks to pay a little bit extra to cover the costs of the extra space they take up?

magicbastarder

just thought this was tangentially related.

https://twitter.com/WorldBollard/status/1553659528402567170

The Continental Op

I hated the video until the cop hit it - but we are going a little off topic. That video is worth its own spot in the Motors forum.