Parking Improvements

On-street parking in urban areas is associated with several safety problems.

These include

parked vehicles blocking the sight distance of pedestrians, or of drivers entering an intersection
vehicles blocking through traffic while trying to enter/exit a parking space
conflicts with cyclists (e.g. a car door opened into the path of a cyclist)
through traffic colliding onto a parked vehicle or trapped in the kerbside lane which ends suddenly due to parked vehicles.

Several treatment options are available.

Converting angle parking to parallel parking

Sight distance to approaching traffic is blocked by other parked vehicles where drivers are required to back out of angle parking spaces onto a road. Changing angle parking to parallel parking allows drivers to drive forward to leave the parking space with a clearer view of traffic.

Carriageway narrowing

In busy shopping streets, the carriageway can be narrowed, and a clear distinction made between the space for through traffic, and that for parking vehicles (including space for manoeuvring).

Parking bans

Occasionally on-street parking needs to be removed for safety reasons. This is usually achieved by erecting appropriate parking restriction signs, but in some cases may require the installation of physical devices such as bollards.

Benefits

Implementation issues

Benefits

Adequate on-street parking can help to improve pedestrian mobility and safety through the removal of vehicles that are causing an obstruction by being parked on the footpath.
Carefully designed on-street parking provision may reduce crashes, including those involving pedestrians.
The provision of appropriate on-street parking can help to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.
Can reduce the potential for sideswipe or rear-end crashes.
Converting angle parking to parallel parking may provide extra road space if required.

Implementation issues

The Star Rating Demonstrator is a freely available tool with the iRAP online software, ViDA. With the Star Rating Demonstrator, it is possible to explore the impact that this Safer Roads Treatment has on risk.

United Nations Global Road Safety Targets

Treatment Summary

Costs	Low to medium
Treatment life	5 years - 10 years
Potential casualty reduction	10-25%

Case Studies

Examples of related Case Studies
Road Safety – Catalogue Of Case Studies
Collection of reports on the investigation of severe road crashes in the web site of France’s Bureau of Investigation for Accidents of Surface Transports
Fortaleza Cares: Prioritizing Safer Access to Albert Sabin Children’s Hospital

Related Images

Back-in angle parking with sign providing guidance - New York, USA. Image credit: Unknown
Curb buildout to narrow pedestrian crossing width and creating parking space in Kyoto, Japan. Image credit: iRAP
Illegal parking on a footpath in Beijing, China. Image credit: iRAP
On-street angle parking, New York State, USA. Image credit: Unknown
On-street angled parking, Australia. Image credit: Unknown
On-street parallel parking provision, Australia. Image credit: Unknown
School safety improvements. Image credit: Asia Injury Prevention Foundation
Traffic calming in Chile. Image credit: Monica Olyslagers
Village main street with on-street parking in Hawaii. Image credit: Monica Olyslagers