Eight Surprising Facts About Parking

Fun facts and interesting trivia about parking, including shocking statistics, world records, and unusual stories. Here are eight of our favorites.

1. The Average Car Spends 94% of Its Time Parked

According to Go City Wide’s research, cars spend 94% of their lifetime parked, which explains why parking is a major industry with advanced technology.

2. People Spend 17 Hours a Year Looking for a Parking Space

It is a surprising fact that an average person spends around 17 hours a year searching for a parking space. Moreover, it is estimated that parking search traffic contributes to one-third of inner-city traffic, resulting in 1.3kg of CO2 emissions per search. 

These statistics clearly indicate that municipalities and parking operators should invest in smart parking technology to curtail the amount of time and emissions generated during parking search, which is equivalent to almost a full day of a year.

3. ‍68% Of Land in Cities Is Devoted to Parking Spaces

In residential areas, approximately 35% of land is used for parking lots. However, in urban cities and non-residential areas, the percentage of land dedicated to parking ranges from 50-70%. In the US, there are 8 parking spaces for every car, as reported by Bloomberg. This means that the country has over 2 billion parking spots for about 250 million cars, resulting in an oversupply of parking spaces. 

Parking minimum regulations are partly responsible for this oversupply, as they enforce a minimum number of parking spaces for every square meter of a building. If these minimums are addressed and innovative parking solutions are implemented to optimize available parking spaces, a significant amount of land could be utilized for other purposes.

4. The World’s Largest Parking Complex

West Edmonton Mall, which is the largest shopping center in North America, has the biggest parking lot in the world. The parking complex has the capacity to accommodate a whopping 20,000 cars, while an adjacent lot can hold 10,000 more. 

On the other hand, the largest underground car park, with 6,652 parking spaces spread over three levels, is located at the LIVAT Shopping Center in Daxing, Beijing. Additionally, Kuwait has the largest automated parking facility, with enough space to park 2,314 cars.

5. The World’s First Multistory Parking Garage

The first-ever multistory car park, which was able to accommodate 100 vehicles, was opened at 6 Denman Street in central London in 1901. This facility had seven floors which were used to make the most efficient use of the available space. It is quite evident that parking garages have come a long way since then and are now able to use the available space much more effectively.

6. The World’s First Parking Meter

On July 16th, 1935, the first parking meter in the world, known as the Park-O-Meter No. 1, was installed in Oklahoma. The credit for its invention goes to Carlton Cole Magee, who was the Chairman of the Traffic Committee in Oklahoma City. The device was a mechanical clock that was fixed to a pillar and used to count down the remaining time after a coin was inserted. Initially, it charged $0.05 per hour for parking.

7. The World’s Loneliest Parking Meter

Winters, California is a small town with a population of 7,000 people. Interestingly, the town has only one parking meter, which is surrounded by 100 free parking spaces. This parking meter is famously known as “the lonely parking meter” and was supposedly installed as an April Fool’s prank to address the challenge of finding available parking.

In Winters, parking remains unenforced, and visitors or residents only use the parking meter as a novelty to show their children how an old-fashioned parking meter works. Despite this, the meter generates $100 per year, which is used to fund the Independence Day fireworks. As a result, the lonely meter has become a beloved feature of the town.

8. 45% of All Car Accidents Causing Physical Damage Occur Whilst Parking

According to a study conducted by Mercedes-Benz, 45% of car accidents that result in physical damage occur during parking and maneuvering. Moreover, research by Allianz indicates that 8 out of every 10 such accidents happen when people are leaving their parking space or maneuvering. 

These statistics emphasize the need for a well-designed parking lot equipped with adequate protection products and surveillance technology.