Have you ever arrived at a shopping mall or supermarket and wondered why the parking spaces are so small? The feeling that you can barely fit the car and that opening the doors is a challenge has become increasingly common.
This problem arises from a combination of obsolete regulations and the significant growth in vehicle size.
But the real issue is that in recent years, cars have experienced a considerable increase in size, while most parking spaces have not kept up with the same rate of expansion.
This mismatch between vehicle size and available parking space has created a number of problems and frustrations for drivers.
Obsolete regulations and small parking spaces
One of the main reasons behind this dilemma is the lack of updated municipal regulations related to parking space dimensions. In many cases, these regulations have not evolved despite the increase in vehicle size.
The minimum dimensions are roughly equivalent to the overall length of many current cars, leaving very little additional space to open the doors comfortably. As a result, drivers have no space to park comfortably.
Differences in municipal regulations
Several cities in the country have regulations that have become obsolete in relation to the size of modern vehicles. Differences in parking space dimensions in various cities may be related to the age of their regulations.
For example, Barcelona, like Madrid, has established minimum dimensions of 4.5 meters in length and 2.2 meters in width for parking spaces since 1998. In Valencia, these dimensions have been maintained since 1994. Malaga, on the other hand, updated its regulations in 2011 and established parking spaces of 5 meters long and 2.5 meters wide.
The Impact on Drivers and Automakers
The steady growth in vehicle size over the decades has also played a role in this problem. Car models that used to be more compact in the past have experienced a significant increase in size in their most recent generations.
For example, the iconic Volkswagen Golf has grown from 4.04 meters in length in its second generation (1983) to 4.28 meters in its eighth generation (2019). The Seat Ibiza has followed a similar trend, growing from 3.64 meters in its first generation (1984) to 4.06 meters in its fourth generation (2017).
Automakers, in their quest to offer more interior space and comfort to drivers, have contributed to the increase in car size. This has led to modern cars taking up considerable space in parking spaces designed according to the old regulations.
