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Parking Minimums – One Size Fits All?
Jan
We don’t just talk about parking bollards, you know. Sometimes we talk about just parking, or just bollards. Today is the former.
What are parking minimums? A parking minimum is a government mandated number of parking bays a building is required to implement upon its design. It impacts apartment blocks, shopping centres, strata parking, you name it. The requirement extends to all private commercial and residential properties and is generally dictated by Local Council policies.
The logic behind parking minimums is that as we build our cities, so we would build into them the appropriate designation of accessible parking, thus shaping our cities effectively for everyday usage.
On its surface and from a city-planning perspective, this seems highly sensible. Why then did Waverly Council quietly abolish parking minimums back in 2018 – with no fuss or no bother?
It turns out, parking minimums have always been a somewhat controversial topic. As the parking shortage has worsened across New South Wales and indeed the world, so the conversation surrounding the efficacy of parking minimums has reignited. How many parking bays will solve the problem and can anyone put a number to it?
Property developers have long argued that parking minimums are expensive and ineffective at solving the parking issue. Some urban planners have bolstered these claims by suggesting that while some parking is required, less of it may in fact promote more cycling, walking and public transport usage.
Of course, there is also a large consensus that the rampant parking shortage may be exacerbated as time continues with the removal of parking minimums. There is also the necessary question surrounding disability parking and the future of electric vehicle charging bays – where do they fit into the equation?
Parking minimums are raising the question of whether there is a one-size-fits all approach or whether they should exist on a case-by-case basis. In any event, it is clear that if they are to fall away, a new solution will certainly be required to help alleviate the parking shortage that has Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and other major metros in a chokehold.
Our parking bollards most often see use in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, and it is no coincidence these are the most densely populated areas. Frustrated clients come to us with the dilemma of congested parking in their locale resulting in a surge of unauthorised parking.
While the debate rages on with councils, city planners and property developers, you may as well protect your parking spot in the interim. Our automatic parking bollards are what we most commonly recommend for this particular issue.
