Overspill parking
Encyclopedia
Overspill parking is the parking
of vehicle
s beyond the main area provided for the purpose. It can occur because provided parking space
s are insufficient for demand or considered unsatisfactory for some reason. Additional official parking may be provided for an event, or at some distance from the intended destination.
Overspill car parking may simply be parking further away from a place than desirable or in some circumstances it may involve unauthorised or anti-social parking such as double parking
, parking on verges or on sidewalk
s and can on occasions create difficulties for others.
Available parking may be insufficient, unsuitable or otherwise undesirable (on the basis of cost for example). Parking may be limited because the urban form historically made little provision for the parking of private vehicles, or because the transport authority zoning
policies consciously limit the provision of parking spaces to discourage car use. Overspill parking is commonplace near shops
, schools, hospitals, sports grounds and train/metro stations and at other locations that attract people and vehicles. Commuters
prevented from parking for the day close to train stations may resort to parking elsewhere, for example on side streets, verges or other locations.
Overspill parking may conflict with other road users including other motorists, emergency vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians and members of various vulnerable groups including the blind
, wheel-chair users and people with small children. Vehicles parked on grass, authorised or not, can turn the area to mud in wet weather and parking on sidewalks can cause damage and additional maintenance/repair costs. Such cases may prompt preventative action.
, raised planters, and other Street furniture
to prevent parking on footways.
Restrictions can limit parking to particular times of day, for limited periods of time, and may discriminate among users. Examples include residential zoned parking
, disabled parking bays
, metered bays
, and no-parking restrictions.
In a referendum in Amsterdam
in 1992 the population voted for reducing the level of parking provision in the city.
creates additional parking during busy summer periods.
Living Streets in the United Kingdom runs a 'Campaign for combat pavement parking' suggesting various things that people can do to reduce the problem.
Voluntary or compulsory 'Car Exclusion zones' around schools at school drop-off/collection times are used to create a more attractive environment for pedestrians and discourage parents from using cars to schools where there is insufficient space to accommodate them.
Streetfilms has produced a number of videos highlighting the issues, highlighting the benefits to pedestrians if the issue is addressed and approaches that can be adopted.
for what it saw as a 'do-nothing' attitude to the problem and said that the government "must grip the problem of pavement parking once and for all and ensure that it is outlawed throughout the country".
Parking
Parking is the act of stopping a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied for more than a brief time. Parking on one or both sides of a road is commonly permitted, though often with restrictions...
of vehicle
Vehicle
A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....
s beyond the main area provided for the purpose. It can occur because provided parking space
Parking space
A parking space is a location that is designated for parking, either paved or unpaved.Parking spaces can be in a parking garage, in a parking lot or on a city street. It is usually designated by a white-paint-on-tar rectangle indicated by three lines at the top, left and right of the designated area...
s are insufficient for demand or considered unsatisfactory for some reason. Additional official parking may be provided for an event, or at some distance from the intended destination.
Overspill car parking may simply be parking further away from a place than desirable or in some circumstances it may involve unauthorised or anti-social parking such as double parking
Double parking
-Parking parallel to a car already parked at the curb:"Double parking" can refer to the usually illegal practice of parking a vehicle to the side of a row of vehicles that is already parked next to the curb...
, parking on verges or on sidewalk
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
s and can on occasions create difficulties for others.
Available parking may be insufficient, unsuitable or otherwise undesirable (on the basis of cost for example). Parking may be limited because the urban form historically made little provision for the parking of private vehicles, or because the transport authority zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
policies consciously limit the provision of parking spaces to discourage car use. Overspill parking is commonplace near shops
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, schools, hospitals, sports grounds and train/metro stations and at other locations that attract people and vehicles. Commuters
Mixed-mode commuting
Mixed-mode commuting refers to the practice of using two or more modes of transportation. The goal of mixed-mode commuting is often to combine the strengths of various transportation options.-Mass transit:...
prevented from parking for the day close to train stations may resort to parking elsewhere, for example on side streets, verges or other locations.
Overspill parking may conflict with other road users including other motorists, emergency vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians and members of various vulnerable groups including the blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, wheel-chair users and people with small children. Vehicles parked on grass, authorised or not, can turn the area to mud in wet weather and parking on sidewalks can cause damage and additional maintenance/repair costs. Such cases may prompt preventative action.
Reaction
Policy makers may choose to accept overspill parking as inevitable, they may choose to provide more parking spaces or may introduce legislative or physical measures to control the places where vehicles can be parked. Design elements may include Bollards, high kerbs, railings, benchesBench (furniture)
A bench is a piece of furniture, on which several people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials. Many benches have arm and back rests; some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In public areas,...
, raised planters, and other Street furniture
Street furniture
Street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed on streets and roads for various purposes, including traffic barriers,...
to prevent parking on footways.
Restrictions can limit parking to particular times of day, for limited periods of time, and may discriminate among users. Examples include residential zoned parking
Residential zoned parking
Residential zoned parking is a local government practice of designating certain on-street automobile parking spaces for the exclusive use of nearby residents. It is a tool for addressing overspill parking from neighboring population centers...
, disabled parking bays
Disabled parking permit
A disabled parking permit, also known as a handicapped permit, disabled placard, disabled badge and "Blue Badge" in the European Union, is displayed upon parking a vehicle carrying a person whose mobility would be otherwise significantly impaired by one or more of age, illness, disability or...
, metered bays
Parking meter
A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and...
, and no-parking restrictions.
In a referendum in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in 1992 the population voted for reducing the level of parking provision in the city.
More parking spaces
The relevant authority will sometimes attempt to provide additional parking opportunities and direct users to those facilities. Consideration was given to overspill parking when Chelsea Football Club was developing the 'Chelsea Football Club Academy' on days when the reserve team were expected to play there and the popular seaside town of SouthwoldSouthwold
Southwold is a town on the North Sea coast, in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the North Sea coast at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is around south of Lowestoft and north-east...
creates additional parking during busy summer periods.
Information campaigns
Many transport authorities run campaigns to highlight the costs and inconvenience of overspill parking.Living Streets in the United Kingdom runs a 'Campaign for combat pavement parking' suggesting various things that people can do to reduce the problem.
Voluntary or compulsory 'Car Exclusion zones' around schools at school drop-off/collection times are used to create a more attractive environment for pedestrians and discourage parents from using cars to schools where there is insufficient space to accommodate them.
Streetfilms has produced a number of videos highlighting the issues, highlighting the benefits to pedestrians if the issue is addressed and approaches that can be adopted.
United Kingdom
The House of Commons Transport Select Committee published a report on 'Parking Policy and Enforcement' in June 2006. The report acknowledged that the problem of parking on pavements and in particular parking outside schools, hospital entrances and on corners, junctions and bus stops was "a large one and that a major effort would be required to enforce the law". It criticised the Department for TransportDepartment for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
for what it saw as a 'do-nothing' attitude to the problem and said that the government "must grip the problem of pavement parking once and for all and ensure that it is outlawed throughout the country".
Further reading
- Planning Policy Guidance 13 Official UK planning policy covering the issue of overspill parking.
- East of England Spatial Strategy Includes Regional transport Strategy which outlines the official parking strategy for the East of EnglandEast of EnglandThe East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...
. See policy T14. - P0110Parking.pdf - A comprehensive summary from the perspective of a pedestrian advocacy group in the UK (Living StreetsLiving StreetsLiving Streets is an organisation which advocates for the rights and interests of pedestrians and aims to 'create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk'...
). (registration required)