I've been working on some materials for EDINA for use with their new OS MapStream product for the last few days.
One of the tasks focuses on the issue of off-road parking, which is a problem in some cities.
There are obviously environmental and aesthetic consequences to this, which change the nature of neighbourhoods where it happens on a large scale.
There is also an issue with some developers building garages to the smallest specification they can, in order to save costs on materials. As some cars are bigger than the average, some cars apparently won't actually fit in garages - or they go in but you can't open the doors...
I asked my Twitter network what they did....
Of 15 people who had a garage, only 1 person parked their car in it (and they live in New Zealand), the others parked it on their drive or the street (with a fairly even split as to where...)
Of 7 people with no garage, they were mostly parked on the street or in communal parking areas as they were flat dwellers, with a few using a drive.
Several people owned more than one car.
One of the tasks focuses on the issue of off-road parking, which is a problem in some cities.
There are obviously environmental and aesthetic consequences to this, which change the nature of neighbourhoods where it happens on a large scale.
There is also an issue with some developers building garages to the smallest specification they can, in order to save costs on materials. As some cars are bigger than the average, some cars apparently won't actually fit in garages - or they go in but you can't open the doors...
I asked my Twitter network what they did....
Of 15 people who had a garage, only 1 person parked their car in it (and they live in New Zealand), the others parked it on their drive or the street (with a fairly even split as to where...)
Of 7 people with no garage, they were mostly parked on the street or in communal parking areas as they were flat dwellers, with a few using a drive.
Several people owned more than one car.
Comments
In our patch, recent housing developments have been built, and more planned, with lower specifications for car parking, on and off individual dwellings, to discourage car ownership (and in anticipation of the post-oil economy) and to generate more use of public transport. This includes 'smart-buses' and park and ride schemes. In keeping with this approach, they have also preferred shared-space zones to lower traffic speeds and improve the public realm. This has had mixed results.
On the matter of garages, local planners no longer include any garage space in their calculations for the spaces required for domestic and visitor parking. The simple reason is, as you have reported, no-one uses their garage for car storage.
Finally, there is no right to park a car on the public highway.