‘Can’t even fit a HiLux’: Photo of Victorian street exposes worrying new trend
A photo of a suburban street in Victoria has exposed a worrying new trend that’s driving Aussies mad. Here’s the surprising reason for the influx of parked cars.
Australia’s taste for big cars could be to blame for an increasingly troubling “phenomenon” in residential developments that’s leaving streets congested and rendering garages moot.
A photo shared online showed a housing estate in Victoria with cars parked on both sides of the street – despite “almost all” of the homes featuring a double-car garage.
“One does wonder what people are actually using their garages for,” the social media user wrote.
“Went to turn down this street today and seen (sic) this. There was no obvious party or anything going on. Drove down and almost all the houses had a double-car garage.
“What the hell are garages for anymore?”
Other Australians were quick to share they were experiencing similar situations in their own neighbourhoods – with many suggesting garages were now used to house “anything but cars”.
“When I was a lass, homes had yards where you could put large sheds or even extra garages so you could store all your sh*t,” one woman wrote.
“Modern yards are too small, so the built-in garage becomes a storage area. Add onto that which most garages today are f***ing tiny. Barely able to fit two sedans or even hatchbacks.”
Another agreed: “I live in one of these new areas and the garages are tight but people refuse to put their cars in them or even on the f***ing driveway. If your (sic) not using your garage use the damn driveway at least. I’m a firm believer that the space adjacent to your property out the front is your own personal ‘guest’ parking.”
“Around here all the old houses are getting knocked down and developers are putting 3 or 4 townhouses on each block,” someone else said.
“All of which get planning approval as ‘single family dwellings’ which only need 1 parking spot. Then they’re bought by investors who let them out to 4 housemates who all have their own car. Everybody involved – the developers, the planners, the council – all knew this was going to happen, because it’s happened to every other lot on the street too. Nobody cares.”
One user suggested the congestion was likely down to “adult kids living at home because they can’t afford to buy or rent their own property – so if you are a family of 4, 2 (cars) in the garage and 2 on the street”.
‘We’re simply building the wrong homes’
Car dependency, young adults living at home longer, consumerism and lifestyle are among the “many reasons” for this “phenomenon”, Western Sydney University Professor of Urban Management and Planning, Sebastian Pfautsch, told news.com.au.
According to the latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) report, 54 per cent of men and 47 per cent of women aged 18 to 29 still live under their parents’ roof – indicative of the lack of affordable housing opportunities for young people amid the broader cost of living crisis.
Professor Pfautsch referred to the latest census data, which revealed the majority of homes in Western Sydney have between three and four bedrooms.
“I expect the same is the case in the outer ring zone of any capital city in Australia,” he said.
“Also (in Western Sydney), the largest increase in bedrooms (per house) from 2016 to 2021 was in the four-bedroom category – but the average occupancy is under three people, basically a one-child family. We’re simply building the wrong homes.”
Though land sizes have gotten smaller, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) previously found housing floorplans were “largely unchanged”.
“Australians are building similar sized houses with smaller yards,” the ABS said.
“This reflects a combination of factors, including increases in land cost, a greater proportion of new houses being constructed in urban infill locations, and more two-storey houses that maximise living space on smaller lots.”
Garages ‘can’t even fit a HiLux’
In South Australia, Premier Peter Malinauskas announced last month his government would look to increase the size of parking spaces in garages for new residential builds in the state.
The proposed bill, which will go through community consultation before it is introduced in parliament later this year, is aimed at accommodating for increases in population and housing density. If passed, garages in new dwellings would need to be at least 6 x 3.5 metres – half a metre bigger than current standards require, and large enough to accommodate big cars and dual-cab utes.
“I think currently the regulation allows for developers to build new properties with garages that are frankly just too narrow,” Mr Malinauskas told ABC Radio Adelaide in January.
“You can’t even fit a HiLux or a four-wheel drive in them and that just doesn’t make sense given that’s where such a significant proportion of the new sale car market in Australia comes from.”
Our nation’s preference for SUVs and large cars is well established. With the exception of the Toyota Corolla, according to Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ statistics the 10 most popular cars in Australia last year were SUVs or utes. Ford’s Ranger ute, which took out the top spot, measures roughly 5.4m in length and 1.9m in width.
In 2023, Standards Australia recommended increasing the length of off-street car parks by 20cm to accommodate the shift toward bigger vehicles. Since 1993, the average size of a street or public lot car space has been 5.4m long and between 2.4 and 2.6m wide.
If Australians insist on owning big cars, however, they must “accept” residential kerbs will be full as result, author of Rethinking Parking and urban planning expert Dr David Mepham told news.com.au.
“Drivers are typically territorial and intensely emotional about their right to park, and tend to feel entitled to cheap/free and easy parking,” Dr Mepham said.
“Domestic and commercial/public car parks and garages have been designed and built to the same specification for several decades reflecting the size of most cars.
“If people want to own a very large vehicle then they must also accept restrictions on where they can park. If they want to use the garage to store stuff or as a playroom they should accept the problems with parking outside or on the street.”
Under Mr Malinauskas’s proposal, developers would also need to provide a minimum number of car parks based on a home’s number of bedrooms.
“If you’re doing a subdivision, or whatever it may be, and you’re having a home with two bedrooms or more, then you’re going to have to have two car parks,” the Premier said.
South Australian Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia has refuted the proposal, telling ABC Radio that “all that is going to do is drive up property prices”.
“At the same time, it’s not actually going to force people to put their cars in that garage, it’s just going to cost more to build a home in the first place,” Mr Tarzia said.
Dr Mepham raised a similar point. In general, any increase in the size of a parking space would mean a dip in the number of spaces themselves – either on the street, in a parking lot or in a public parking garage.
“That, in turn, increases the cost of providing each parking space,” he explained.
“Car park structures or basements at the destination have been built to a specification that assumes average vehicle width and depth. That doesn’t change just because someone built a larger garage at the trip origin.”
Particularly for older or less able-bodied people, Dr Mepham said there is “a need to restrict larger vehicles from accessing public car parks where they restrict others getting in and out of their cars”.
Solution ‘not possible’ without major change
As for what it will take to combat the problem, Prof Pfautsch suggested improvements to public transport services and the “adoption of a low carbon lifestyle”. The latter would have the dual benefit of reducing both the number of vehicles on the road and carbon emissions per capita.
“This will not be possible when operating multiple cars and living in very large homes,” he said.
Given the kerb “is a public space”, Dr Mepham said, “local authorities are obliged to manage that significant public space resource to realise its highest and best use and in the public interest”.
“Kerb space can be regulated and policed to ensure reasonable turnover, or, if drivers are competing to park on that space, then council should charge drivers to access that space and use that income for public space or street improvements.”
Originally published as ‘Can’t even fit a HiLux’: Photo of Victorian street exposes worrying new trend
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