When Eliza Hiscox left Australia in 2010, the Holden Commodore was the nation’s best-selling vehicle. When she returned from Germany 12 years later, twin-cab utes and giant SUVs were the kings of the road.
“I was really shocked that mostly people were buying SUVs, particularly families,” she said.
Eliza Hiscox and her Nissan Micra in a crowded car park.Credit: Penny Stephens
That common sight – SUVs and pick-up trucks spilling out of parking bays – has prompted Standards Australia to propose making car parks longer to accommodate them.
The group has been inundated with responses to its idea of increasing the length of parking bays by 20 centimetres, to 5.6 metres. It has received more than 1200 confidential submissions from community groups, governments and others, and will announce its decision shortly.
Last year, only one traditional passenger car, the Toyota Corolla, was among top-sellers. The rest were SUVs or utes.
“Whereas an SUV used to be a five-seater, very large vehicle, there are now subsections of SUVs, which are small, medium, large, extra-large,” said Dom Megna, who has done plenty of advertising of large cars.
Standards Australia is proposing to increase parking bay length by 20 centimetres to accommodate the largest cars.Credit: The Age
“You can kind of have it all with a bigger car. You can have all the space you wanted, you never have to worry about not fitting Nana in the third row or the extra kids on the way home from sport, and you don’t have to look like a dag.”
Governments are responding to the popularity of big vehicles. South Australia recently became the first jurisdiction to announce that any new home with two or more bedrooms must have at least two off-street parking spaces large enough to accommodate SUVs. In Melbourne, Yarra City Council is still considering the idea of increasing parking fees for twin-cab utes and large SUVs.
But shopping centres and road safety experts are warning against the idea of expanding parking bays, which would apply to all new off-street parks. This includes airports, office buildings, shopping centres, municipalities, hospitals, public and private car parks, and domestic properties.
The Shopping Centre Council of Australia said its data showed even the biggest vehicles could fit in its parking bays. It said lengthening parking bays could lead to fewer car parks, more congestion as two-way passages become one-way, and less space for pedestrians.
“As Australia’s largest operator of parking facilities, our experience tells us that Standards Australia’s proposal is a ‘solution’ in search of a problem,” said chief executive Angus Nardi.
Road safety expert Dr Milad Haghani said gigantic cars should only be granted bigger parking bays if owners were forced to pay more in registration or parking for the damage their cars impose.
Australia was in the grips of a “vehicle size race” in which people chose bigger cars because they felt unsafe in a small vehicle surrounded by SUVs, he said.
Three large utes pack into a Melbourne CBD car park on Thursday.Credit: Joe Armao
Big cars are far less safe for everyone but the occupants, said Haghani, associate professor at the University of Melbourne.
“In collisions where there are significant weight and size disparities, they pose a significantly higher risk of death and injuries to the occupants of other vehicles. The relative risk is multiple times higher in collisions with vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists,” he said.
Car park expert Dr Elizabeth Taylor said if the change went ahead, it would be slow but expensive for developers, particularly of inner-city housing. “It all adds up to a larger car park, which is already a huge amount of land and cost,” said Taylor, senior lecturer in urban planning and design at Monash University.
Phillip Mance sells dozens of RAMs and Chevrolets a month, mostly to retirees and builders. He said ultra-heavy vehicles sometimes get a bad rap, but customers needed them to tow caravans and boats.
Road safety expert Dr Milad Haghani says big cars should only get bigger car spots if their owners pay more for registration or parking.
“You get the odd person who buys it because it’s cool and it looks good. But more than 70 per cent of the trucks I sell are used for a purpose,” said Mance, joint managing director of Alan Mance RAM in Footscray.
Mance said RAM drivers can fit into car parks by carefully choosing where they park.
Urban planner Dr David Mepham said huge cars should be banned from car parks where they pose an impediment to people accessing adjacent cars.
“Just think: if you’re an older person, you typically have less mobility, typically want to be able to open your door to get into your car. If [I’m] parking my SUV next to you, you can’t do that. That’s just wrong,” he said.
Standards Australia is not proposing a change to the width of car parks, which range from 2.4 metres to 2.6 metres.
Urban planner David Mepham argues car parking policies need a major rethink. Credit: Justin McManus
Mepham said the private sector should provide separate, more expensive car parks for colossal cars.
“What may happen is Wilson or Secure Parking will say, ‘There’s a market here’, and build a car park for these cars. Parking would be more expensive because it accommodates fewer cars, and they’re heavier.”
Meanwhile, while Hiscox understands the appeal of supersized cars, they also make her feel vulnerable, and she finds them difficult to park. Instead, she has opted for a Nissan Micra – one of the smallest cars on the road, and just $65 to fill up.
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