The hidden parking spots nobody uses

Australians are paying for $6 billion worth of parking spaces they don’t need, a new study has found.

Research from RMIT University found that 20 percent of households in apartment blocks were not using all the parking allocated to them, while 14 percent found their allocation inadequate.

Based on earlier estimates by Committee for Sydney that each parking spot has a value of $100,000, the team concluded that’s $6 billion worth of unused space. 

The study conducted in collaboration with the University of Western Australia surveyed more than 1,300 apartment residents in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Lead researcher Dr Chris De Gruyter from RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research said the study shows regulations mandating parking allowances according to apartment size needed review. 

In Victoria, for example, every two-bedroom apartment must be allocated at least one parking spot while apartments with three or more bedrooms are required to have at least two parking spaces.

“We found in our study that people living in larger apartments tend to have an oversupply of parking because of this policy, which means they’re paying for a space they’re not using,” Dr De Gruyter said. “This oversupply is not just an inefficient use of space, it is exacerbating housing affordability issues.  

“Meanwhile, apartment households with an undersupply of parking are forced to park on the street, competing with visitors in the area.” 

Dr De Gruyter says the solution is to ‘unbundle’ parking spaces to give residents the flexibility to choose as little, or as much, parking space as they need.

“We can choose the number of bedrooms we want in our homes, yet we have no say in how much parking we need,” he said. “We want people to have the option to choose not to have parking instead of it being imposed on them. Similarly, those who wish to have additional parking can have this.” 

Allowing residents to choose more or less parking space as required has flow-on effects, Dr De Gruyter said.

“Unbundled parking is going to help with housing affordability, reduce car use and on-street parking issues,” he said. “We’re also going to see better health for residents as there will be more physical activity due to more public transport use, and better air quality from less car use.”