If you are one of those who tries to land in the exact middle point of a parallel park - leaving equal amounts of room at either end of the space - you aren't making the best use of the space, according to new research from the University of Sydney.
Photo: RNZ / Edward O'Driscoll
Spurred on by their "anonymous neighbours whose parking inspired this work", Professors Emily Moylan and Benjy Marks from the School of Engineering say the best way to parallel park and make optimal use of space is to park either at the front or the back of the space, not in the middle.
"When you get your car in and do the maneuver to pull in and its time get your car in park, you should choose to put your car all the way to the front of the space or the back. You dont want to park your car in the middle of the space."
The reason for this, according to the research, is that by parking in the front or the back, people are eventually able to create enough space to park two cars.
This leads to doubling the parking capacity, leading to more land that can then be used to build parks, playground, schools, anything else instead of more car parks, said Moylan.
She said sometimes people park in the middle as a strategy to give themselves extra wiggle room on their way out, or when they are unsure of other people's parking skills.
This is however a short-sighted strategy, she adds.
"It only works for that immediate set of cars that are parked in front or behind you."
She said once a car leaves from its spot in the park, if parked in the middle, it usually leaves dead space that could be used to fit two cars.
"While it depends on a lot of other factors, including the car and kerb size, but if you are talking about a residential parking, if you park on one side or the other, you can get two cars in there. If you park in the middle, it's only a one car space."
With Auckland Council seeking feedback on its new parking strategy that will see three percent of Auckland roads losing their street parking, there may be more benefits from learning to parallel park.
As Professor Moylan said, "If we park our cars more efficiently, it means you are also more likely to find a spot."
