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On-street parking: Effects on traffic congestion

Article  in  Traffic Engineering and Control · January 1999

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 A STUDY INTO ON-STREET PARKING: EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC
CONGESTION
by
Saad Yousif and Purnawan
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, United Kingdom

This paper describes the characteristics of vehicle manoeuvres when entering or leaving on-street
parking. Those manoeuvres are often ignored by traffic engineers in the design process and the
evaluation of traffic management schemes. However, they can contribute to the cause of
congestion especially when traffic volumes are high. Two types of on-street parking behaviour
have been observed on two sites within the Greater Manchester Area. These include legal and
illegal on-street parking. The first type may include parallel on-street parking and angle parking.
This study shows that on-street angle parking has more potential to create congestion than that of
parallel parking.

Introduction
On-street parking in city centres is an attractive facility for drivers. However, the availability of
such parking facilities may affect the capacity of the highway and be a contributory cause in the
high number of road traffic accidents as well as having other direct or indirect effects on other
issues such as the use of public transport, business, environment and property values[1]. Studies[2,3]
have shown that the design of on-street parking often influence the road capacity if parking
locations are not selected and controlled in a careful manner. Inappropriate parking can cause
severe delays especially on busy roads resulting in a stop-start situation to the traffic flow. London
is one of many cities that has these problems which can be alleviated by the implementation of
what is called “Red Route” which mainly aims at controlling parking in those busy roads[4].

Most previous studies have taken into account the reduction in road width to accommodate for on-
street parking and its effect on reduction in road capacity. Hobbs [3] reported the influence of the
physical use of road space, parking manoeuvres and opening of car doors on increasing delay.
Studies in Nebraska, USA[5] indicated that on-street angle parking is more hazardous than that of
parallel parking. The main reason is the lack of adequate visibility for the driver during reversing
manoeuvres. However, all of these studies have not explicitly considered the effect of parking
manoeuvres as a cause of congestion.

In the process of design and evaluation of traffic management schemes, vehicle manoeuvres
entering and leaving parking stalls are often ignored. This may be attributed to the relatively short
periods of time required for such manoeuvres and the localised interaction with the traffic stream
seems to be insignificant. Thus, with the increase in the frequency of parking and with increasing
traffic volumes, this becomes a potential cause of congestion.

Data Collection
For this study, data have been collected within the Greater Manchester Area. The parking types
that have been observed were divided into legal and illegal on-street parking. Legal on-street
parking includes parallel on-street parking and angle parking. Illegal on-street parking means that
vehicles are not parked in the legally designated parking locations on the road. The sites that have
been chosen are on relatively busy roads serving retail and commercial activities. Two sites have
been selected; one on Church Street and the other on Bolton Road. Firstly, parallel on-street
parking (together with illegal on-street parking) situated on a one-way road. Secondly, on-street
angle parking located on a two-direction road. Table 1 shows the characteristic of the parking
stalls and other details related to the two selected sites.

Table 1: Characteristic of the parking stalls and road carriageways

Legal Illegal
Parameters Parallel on-street Angle on-street On-street parking
parking parking
Layout locations
C
w w
a w
wr w
w
C
Road/street Church Street Bolton Road Church
a Street
Parking stall size (cm x cm) 210 x 610 (2x270) x 410 r-
Parking angle to the curbs 00 900 -
Road width - w (cm) 2 x 460 2 x 340 2 x 460
Direction of travel One-way traffic Two-way traffic One-way traffic

In order to identify the details of the characteristics of parking manoeuvres, surveys were
conducted in the selected sites for more than 7 hours in each location with the use of video
cameras. Data recorded from the sites are extracted using video playback to observe the detailed
behaviour of vehicle parking manoeuvres. Observations have shown various manoeuvring
characteristics dependent upon the parking condition as summarised in Tables 2 and 3. Table 2
shows relevant details related to entering manoeuvres while Table 3 gives details for those leaving.
The detailed behaviour of vehicle parking manoeuvres such as parking types, patterns and times are
given in Tables 4 to 7. The influence of parking manoeuvres on traffic flow is also noted. The
complete parking manoeuvres (i.e. entering or leaving) were measured from the centre of the lanes
to the parking stalls. For illegal parking, this is measured from the centre of the lane to the place
where the vehicle stops (or vice versa).

Data Analysis and Results

Parking types and manoeuvre patterns
Three types of on-street parking have been observed in this study as follows:
- parallel on-street parking (legal)
- on-street parking (illegal)
- angle on-street parking (legal)

Parking manoeuvre patterns are the movement associated with vehicle entering or leaving the space
used for parking (i.e. stalls for legal parkings and parking spots for illegal ones). The pattern of
parking manoeuvres are influenced by several factors such as, type of parking, direction of travel
(i.e. one-way or two-way traffic), presence of other parked vehicles, driver manoeuvre preferences
(i.e. reversing or not reversing to park or unpark) and traffic conditions (i.e. low, moderate or high
flows). There are other factors which may influence vehicle parking manoeuvres, but are not
considered in this study. These may include vehicle type, size of stalls and clarity of stall
markings. For illegal parking, no fixed spot on the road is used. Drivers normally park at a slight
angle to the curb, either in an empty space or in front of/at the back of another illegally parked
vehicle.

For entering manoeuvres, Table 2 does not include information on Pattern II for the illegal
condition, the reason is because of the very small “sample size” related to this case.
In the case of angle parking, the manoeuvre patterns are different from those for the parallel
parking (legal or illegal). The manoeuvre patterns are more influenced by the position of the
vehicle on the adjacent lanes before entering the parking stall or the desired direction of travel after
leaving the stall. Therefore, it was decided to limit the manoeuvre patterns in the case of angle
parking to Patterns I and II only, as shown in Tables 2 and 3. Both of these patterns involved
reversing when leaving the parking stall. Other manoeuvre patterns were observed where drivers
reverse to get in the parking stall, however such cases were ignored because of their very small
sample size.

Table 2: Entering manoeuvre patterns for the various parking conditions

(This Table should be read in conjunction with Tables 4 and 6)
Parallel on-street parking
Conditions Pattern Pattern Pattern Pattern
I II III IV
In front of a parked vehicle 
At the back of a parked vehicle 
Between two parked vehicles  
Reversing to park 

Illegal on-street parking

Conditions Pattern Pattern Pattern Pattern
I II III IV
In front of a parked vehicle 
At the back of a parked vehicle 
Between two parked vehicles 

Angle on-street
parking
Conditions Pattern Pattern
I II
Travel in adjacent lane before parking 
Travel in other lane before parking 

Table 3: Leaving manoeuvre patterns for the various parking conditions

(This Table should be read in conjunction with Tables 5 and 7)
Parallel on-street parking
Conditions Pattern Pattern
I II
Low traffic flow 
Moderate/high traffic flow 

Illegal on-street parking

Conditions Pattern Pattern
I II
Low traffic flow 
Moderate/high traffic flow 

Angle on-street parking

Conditions Pattern Pattern
I II
Travel in adjacent lane after parking 
Travel in other lane after parking 
Table 4: Entering manoeuvre times for parallel (legal) and illegal on-street parking
Entering time manoeuvre (second)

Pattern I Pattern II Pattern III Pattern IV

Type of Total
parking

Mean St.Dev Sample Range Mean St.Dev Sample Range Mean St.Dev Sample Range Mean St.Dev Sample Range

Parallel
on-street
parking 4.2 1.1 7 3.2-6.1 21.2 12.2 26 2.3-55.2 7.7 9.8 23 3.2-49.9 3.4 1.2 12 2.2-6.2 68

Illegal
On-street
parking 4.5 1.6 13 3.0-8.0 6.3 2.7 16 3.3-12.9 4.4 1.5 37 2.1-8.5 66

Table 5: Leaving manoeuvre times for parallel (legal) and illegal on-street parking
Leaving time manoeuvre (second)

Pattern I Pattern II

Type of Total
parking

Mean St.Dev Sample Range Mean St.Dev Sample Range

Parallel
on-street
parking 6.3 2.5 63 2.3-15.2 5.5 2.0 10 4.0-10.1 73

Illegal
On-street
parking 5.1 3.2 38 2.4-18.1 3.9 2.4 5 3.7-5.8 43

Table 6: Entering manoeuvre times for angle on-street parking

Entering time manoeuvre (second)

Pattern I Pattern II

Type of Total
parking

Mean St.Dev Sample Range Mean St.Dev Sample Range

Angle
on-street
parking 4.9 4.2 96 2.1-42.2 4.9 1.0 48 3.4-7.8 144

Table 7: Leaving manoeuvre times for angle on-street parking

Leaving time manoeuvre (second)

Pattern I Pattern II

Type of Total
parking

Mean St.Dev Sample Range Mean St.Dev Sample Range

Angle
on-street
parking 9.6 5.2 121 4.2-45.6 11.8 3.8 20 6.0-21.6 141
Parking manoeuvre times
Parking manoeuvre times are the length of time required by vehicles to enter or leave the parking
spots. These times are mainly influenced by the manoeuvre patterns as described earlier. Other
factors may be related to vehicle type, driver’s capability and size of parking stalls.

The mean, standard deviation and range for manoeuvre times for the different cases considered in
this study are as shown in Tables 4 to 7. Tables 4 and 5 show that in most cases there are no
significant differences in the means between legal and illegal parking manoeuvre times for the
individual patterns. Similar means are also observed between the different patterns (ranging
between 3.4 and 7.7 seconds) except those for Pattern II (i.e. entering between two vehicles in a
reversing manoeuvre) where the mean value is much higher (i.e. 21.2 second).

The variations in the values for standard deviations between legal and illegal entering manoeuvre
times show no significant differences, except those for Pattern III. No values for Pattern II are
available for comparison. The standard deviations for entering manoeuvre times are relatively
small for Patterns I and IV compared with those for Patterns II and III. This could be attributed to
the difficulties facing some drivers trying to reverse and park between two already parked vehicles
(i.e. Patterns II and III). For the cases of leaving manoeuvre times, the two patterns which are
considered do not involve parking between two parked vehicles, and the values for standard
deviations obtained from these cases are also relatively small.

Similar conclusions can be made when considering the values for the range in each of these cases
as shown in Tables 4 and 5.

For the case of angle on-street parking presented in Tables 6 and 7, the means for entering
manoeuvre times in both patterns are similar (i.e. 4.9 seconds). Those leaving require a relatively
higher manoeuvre time (i.e. between 9.5 and 11.8 seconds). This can be explained by the fact that
leaving manoeuvres involve reversing into the main road and sometimes visibility is limited caused
by the positioning of adjacent vehicles in the stalls. The values for the standard deviation for both
entering and leaving range between 1.0 and 5.3 seconds. The values for entering are in general
lower than those for leaving when each pattern is considered individually.

In general, Tables 4 to 7 show that all of entering and leaving manoeuvres that involve reversing
require longer “manoeuvre time” than those without reversing. For entering manoeuvres to park
between two parked vehicles, manoeuvre times are relatively higher (i.e. more than five times in
some cases).

Frequency distribution of manoeuvre time

The frequency distribution of both entering and leaving manoeuvre times for the three types of
parking are shown in Figure 1.

Entering Manoeuvre Time Leaving Manoeuvre Time

100.0 100.0
90.0 Parallel 90.0 Parallel
80.0 80.0
IIlegal IIlegal
70.0 70.0
Frequency (%)

Frequency (%)

60.0 Angle Angle

60.0
50.0 50.0
40.0 40.0
30.0 30.0
20.0 20.0
10.0 10.0
0.0 0.0
0.0 - 5.0 5.1 - 10.0 10.1 - 15.0 > 15 0.0 - 5.0 5.1 - 10.0 10.1 - 15.0 >15

Interval of Entering Manoeuvre Time (second) Interval of Leaving Manoeuvre Time (second)

Figure 1: Frequency distribution of entering and leaving manoeuvre times

The Figure shows that for the parallel on-street parking (legal), entering manoeuvre time exists
within a relatively wide range of times with the highest frequencies in the interval 0-5 seconds,
while the leaving manoeuvre time for this type takes place mainly in the range 0 to 10 seconds with
relatively similar frequencies. For the illegal on-street parking, both entering and leaving exist
mainly in the range 0 to 10 seconds with the highest frequencies in the interval 0-5 seconds. When
considering the case for angle parking, the entering manoeuvre time is mainly in the range 0 to 10
seconds with the highest frequency in the interval 0-5 second. Longer times are required for
leaving manoeuvres with the highest frequency in the interval 5.1-10 seconds.

The mean () and standard deviation () for entering and leaving manoeuvre times for parallel,
illegal and angle on-street parking are calculated. The calculations are based on the assumption
that all entering/leaving manoeuvres are gathered together in one group (i.e. one for entering and
another for leaving). These calculations suggest that the values for the mean () for entering
manoeuvre times for parallel, illegal and angle parking are 11.7; 4.9; 4.9 seconds respectively, and
those for leaving are 5.6; 5.1; 9.9 seconds, respectively. The corresponding values for the standard
deviation () are 12.1; 2.0; 3.5 seconds (for entering) and 2.4; 3.0; 5.1 seconds (for leaving). The
results show that for entering manoeuvres, the longest mean times (i.e. 11.7 seconds) relate to
parallel parking (legal), while those for leaving (i.e. 9.9 seconds) relate to angle parking.

The results from the current study are somewhat different from those reported by O’Flaherty[6],
based on a previous work by Johnson[7] in 1960. It was suggested by Johnson[7] that angle parking
may cause relatively less delay to moving traffic, since the critical manoeuvre for parallel parking
(in this case, reversing to enter a space) takes longer than the critical manoeuvre for angle parking
(in this case, leaving the space). The results showed that the average driver required 12 seconds to
back out of an angle bay and proceed ahead in the traffic stream (compared with approximately 10
seconds in the current study). Whereas for parallel parking the average driver required 32 seconds
to back into a bay and be clear of the adjacent traffic lane (compared with approximately 21
seconds in the current study). It should be noted that the study by Johnson[7] was carried out before
vehicles with power-steering became commonplace which could have a significant effect on
making the parking manoeuvres easier. Other factors which could influence the average parking
manoeuvre times are: vehicle size; type of vehicle; size of stalls; weather conditions and visibility.

Potential implications of parking manoeuvres on moving traffic

Although the previous section shows that illegal parking manoeuvre times are relatively shorter
than those for legal parking, this does not suggest that the effect on moving traffic is less. Illegal
parking behaviour is random in space and time. This may result in temporary congestion caused by
the reduction in the available road width and the possibility of the sudden reduction in the speed of
moving traffic.

For legal parking, entering manoeuvres to the parking stalls can create relatively more problems to
the moving traffic compared with leaving manoeuvres. Drivers entering parking stalls normally
force the moving traffic to either reduce the speed, swerve or sometimes stop. However, when
drivers are leaving the stalls, they normally wait and choose an acceptable safe gap in the moving
traffic, which in turn may only result in a slight effect to the moving traffic.

The potential effect on moving traffic caused by on-street parking may arise when the levels of
traffic flows are moderate to high, for example, during peak hours. Entering or leaving parking
manoeuvres could create temporary bottlenecks and cause congestion as there are only relatively
small gaps available in the moving traffic stream to allow drivers to gradually adjust their speeds in
a safe manner or to give way to those trying to park or unpark.
 Angle parking with reversing manoeuvres requires not only longer manoeuvring times, but
relatively more road space to complete the manoeuvre, causing more congestion. Also, the
accident potential, as reported by O’Flaherty[6], is relatively higher than that for parallel parking.
Therefore, angle parking may be considered as less favourable when compared with parallel
parking, and considerable care should be exercised when it is utilised. On two-way traffic where
angle parking is utilised (as in the case of one of the sites chosen in this study) the effect of
reversing manoeuvres can be adverse on both directions of travel.

Conclusions
Three types of on-street parking are examined in this study. They are parallel (legal), parallel
(illegal) and angle parking (legal). Different parking manoeuvre patterns have been observed.
These patterns are influenced by many factors including the type of parking, direction of travel,
presence of parked vehicles, driver manoeuvre preferences and traffic conditions.

All parking manoeuvres which involved reversing to park or unpark required, on average, a
relatively longer time to complete the manoeuvre. Reversing manoeuvres may only be required
when entering a parking stall between two parked vehicles in the case of parallel parking.
However, when parking at an angle, reversing is always required. These manoeuvres may be a
contributory factor to causing temporary bottlenecks in the moving traffic which may result in
causing operational problems such as congestion, delay and possible accidents. The increase in the
frequency of such manoeuvres could exacerbate these operational problems especially when traffic
flow levels are moderate to high. Therefore, such manoeuvres should be avoided, wherever
possible, by including any necessary changes to the design of on-street parking facilities. This may
be accomplished by avoiding angle parking and utilising the road space in a way so that parallel
parking is used instead. For parallel parking, stalls should be designed to provide sufficient
manoeuvring space for parking vehicles by possible marking arrangements to create adequate gaps
between the different stalls. This could result in reducing the need for reversing manoeuvres or
possibly reducing the manoeuvre times required for reversing.

References
[1] Chick, C. [1996]. On-Street Parking: A Guide to Practice. Landor Publishing, London.
[2] Kimber, R.M. [1984]. The Effects of Wheel Clamping in Central London. Transport and Road Research
Laboratory, TRRL Laboratory Report 1136, Crowthorne.
[3] Hobbs, F.D. [1979]. Traffic Planning & Engineering. Pergamon Press, London.
[4] Turner, D. [1999]. Red Routes and Parking. Parking News No.174 April 1999, pp.16-19.
[5] Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). [1992]. Traffic Engineering Handbook. Fourth Edition. James, J.L
eds. Prentice Hall New Jersey, pp204-238.
[6] O’Flaherty C.A.[1986]. Highways – Traffic Planning and Engineering. Volume 1, 3rd Edition, Edward Arnold,
London.
[7] Johnson, B.K.[1960]. Angle vs Parallel Parking-Time and Street Width Required for Manoeuvring. The Institute
of Transportation and Traffic Engineering, Berkeley, California.

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