While many people spend time driving and parking each day, many consumers don’t know the specifics behind parking lot design, traffic, and the statistics involved. Whether you’re a parking business owner or a driver looking for a parking space, it’s helpful and entertaining to learn some of these statistics. Here are five interesting car parking facts you never knew.
Time Spent Hunting for Parking Space
Did you know that the average person spends 17 hours looking for parking spaces per year? Searching for parking spaces is time-consuming, especially in busy cities. This process wastes both time and fuel.
Emissions Generated From Parking
All this time spent looking for a parking spot generates hundreds and thousands of pounds of CO2 emissions each year. In fact, 30 percent of wasted fuel comes from drivers looking for parking. All this time spent looking for parking spots adds up, especially when you consider how many people search for parking each day.
Parking Lots Dominate City Spaces
Parking lots take up about 50–70 percent of land in urban areas. Even in residential areas, parking lots and facilities account for about 30–35 percent of space. As parking lots expand out to meet consumer needs, they may encroach into green spaces, residential areas, and other valuable land. Fortunately, more businesses and cities utilize parking lift systems to expand their lots and facilities up instead of out.
Parking Lot Collisions
Did you know that parking lot collisions make up 20 percent of all vehicle accidents? This is due to busy traffic conditions and difficulty maneuvering. In fact, most parking lot accidents take place when drivers back up and leave their parking spots or when maneuvering around them.
World’s Largest Parking Centers
The largest car parking lot in the world is associated with the West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping center in the world. This lot is in Edmonton, Canada and contains spaces for 20,000 vehicles! It also has an adjoining area to hold 10,000 more spaces. Other sizable facilities include an automated parking facility in Kuwait, which holds 2,314 cars using parking lift systems. The LIVAT Shopping Center in Daxing, Beijing contains over 6,000 spaces!
Now that you know these five interesting car parking facts, you can use them to improve your own parking facilities. For example, you may be interested in expanding your parking lot with parking lift systems instead of using more land. At Harding Steel, we offer systems for a wide range of businesses and facilities.