Why widening parking spaces is not the answer to carspreading

With more and more larger cars on UK roads, pressure on that humblest of public goods - the parking space - is growing. A typical on-street parking bay measures 1.8 metres wide and 4.8 metres long, yet in 2024 over half of new cars sold were either too wide or too long to fit in such a space.

The consequences of such carspreading are greater congestion as large cars struggle to find parking spaces, and antisocial behaviour like pavement parking.

In response, some motorists reportedly back widening parking spaces to accommodate larger cars and SUVs. Colchester council has already begun doing exactly this at high cost to the local authority.

But is this the answer? Well, no.

Simple geometry dictates that if you increase the size of parking bays within a road of fixed size, you inevitably reduce the number of parking bays available. This will clearly not make parking easier and will only add to congestion and pavement parking, and squeeze the available space for sustainable transport.

Further, accommodating wide and long SUVs will only encourage more people to own and drive them within towns and cities, contrary to what is needed to reduce congestion, and improve road safety and air quality.

Ultimately, the ‘parking predicament’ caused by carspreading invites us to reflect on what our streets are really for, and whose needs are being met. Cars and parking spaces already take up a disproportionate amount of public space in towns and cities. It is not uncommon for 90% or more of urban kerbside space to be dedicated to parking, for example. Other road users - those walking, wheeling and cycling - are relegated to narrow pavements, all too often obstructed by parked cars.

This is space that could be repurposed for urban trees and planters, parklets and community spaces, cycle parking, bus stops or any number of other, useful public amenities. Lambeth council in London is a trailblazer in this regard with its award-winning Kerbside Strategy to re-allocate 25% of on-street parking to sustainable uses.

Instead of encouraging further carspreading, our manifesto encourages local councils to dissuade people from driving large cars and SUVs altogether through the use of weight-based parking surcharges and restrictions on SUV advertising.

With SUV sales expected to reach 75% of new car sales by 2027, and an increasing Americanisation of the UK car market, we need to rapidly draw a line in the sand. And that line should remain 1.8 metres from the kerb.