Parking lot

A parking lot is a big, open space.

It is made for cars to stay. Most lots have a hard, flat floor.

Some lots are even built under the ground. Some places have special spots for people with disabilities. These spots help everyone use the lot easily.

Many lots use machines to help drivers pay. These machines can help people find a spot. Parking lots are a big part of our cities.

A parking lot is a cleared area for vehicles.

Most lots have a hard, flat surface. Some are built deep under the ground.

Cities use many rules for parking. Some cities have parking minimums. This means buildings must have a set number of spaces. Other cities want more walking. They might use parking maximums to limit spaces. This helps people use buses or bikes instead. In the United States, some spots are for people with disabilities. These are called accessible spaces.

New tools help drivers every day. Many lots use a boom gate. This is a long bar that blocks the way.

Drivers take a ticket to lift the bar. They pay a fee before they leave. Some lots use sensors to find empty spots.

These sensors sit above each space. They tell drivers where to go. Some people even use apps on phones. These apps help find or pay for a spot.

A parking lot is a cleared area meant for vehicles.

People call them car parks in British English. These areas usually have a durable or semi-durable surface. Most lots are found in cities or suburban areas where cars are common. Large places like shopping malls and sports stadiums often have huge parking lots. Some lots are built deep under the ground.

These paved surfaces can cause water pollution because they do not let water soak in. To help with heat, many areas now require landscaping like trees to provide shade.

Many modern parking lots use technology to make driving easier.

One common way is using a boom gate, which is a long bar that blocks the path. A driver presses a button at a machine to take a ticket. This action raises the barrier so the car can enter. To leave, the driver must pay a fee at a booth or a machine. If the fee is not paid, the barrier will not lift. Some large airports even let drivers swipe a credit card at the entry to save time.

People have used different ways to pay for parking for a long time.

In 1954, the first automated parking lots were built. Drivers could use a magnetic key card to enter and exit for a monthly fee. Today, many people use mobile apps on their smartphones. An Israeli company called Pango was founded in 2007 to help with this. Their app lets users find and pay for metered parking. Another app called Streetline helps drivers find open spots using their phones.

There are many rules about how many spaces a building must have.

Some cities use parking minimums, which require a set number of spaces for each building. Other cities use parking maximums to encourage people to use buses or bikes. In the United States, every state requires some spaces to be reserved for people with disabilities. These rules follow the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines. Some cities, like Austin in Texas, have removed parking minimums to help build more housing.

Smart technology helps drivers find their cars and empty spots.

In indoor lots, sensors above each space can tell if a car is there. The Santa Monica Place mall in California uses cameras to help find lost cars. Some drivers use GPS on their phones to remember where they parked. In some places, people even use a system called inertial dead reckoning. This uses phone sensors to guess where a car is parked based on turns and movement. These tools all work to make the experience of parking much smoother.

A parking lot, also known as a car park, is a cleared area designed for vehicles.

These areas usually feature a durable or semi-durable surface. They are major features in cities and suburban areas where cars are the main way to travel. You will often find massive lots at shopping malls or sports stadiums.

While they provide convenience, these large paved areas can impact the environment. They often act as sources of water pollution because their surfaces are impervious. This means water cannot soak into the ground, leading to runoff. To help, many areas now require landscaping to provide shade and reduce heat islands.

Modern parking lots use complex systems to manage how people enter and exit. One common mechanism involves a boom gate, which is a long barrier arm. At the entry, a driver presses a button on a ticket machine. This action provides a ticket and raises the barrier to allow entry. To exit, the driver must present the ticket and pay a fee. If the payment is not made, the boom gate will not lift. This forces the driver to use an intercom or return to a pay station. Some large airports use credit cards at the entry terminal to automate this process further.

There are several ways to handle payments and manage space.

Some lots use automatic pay stations where drivers pay before returning to their cars. In certain regions, such as Hong Kong, drivers pay at a dedicated cashier's office called a shroff. Other systems use parking meters for individual bays. In some cases, a one-way spike strip is used to ensure drivers pay an attendant before exiting. Mobile technology has also changed the process. An Israeli company named Pango, founded in 2007, created an app for finding and paying for parking. Another app, Streetline, helps drivers locate open spots and uses a phone camera to help them find their car later.

Urban planning involves specific rules called parking minimums and maximums. A parking minimum is a policy that requires a building to have a certain number of spaces. For example, a store might need spaces based on its floor area. Developers and advocates sometimes criticize these rules. They argue that large lots can disrupt the walkable urban fabric. Some people even call these large paved areas "parking craters" or "parking deserts." To encourage walking or public transit, some cities use parking maximums instead. Austin, Texas, became the largest U.S. city to abolish parking minimums as of November 2, 2023. This was done to encourage biking, transit, and more housing.

Legal rules for parking vary depending on the location.

In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines mandate reserved spaces. Each state's Department of Transportation sets the required ratio for these disabled parking spaces. In Sweden and Denmark, there is a distinction between street parking and private land. A violation on a street is a traffic crime that leads to a fine. A violation on private land is treated as a contract violation involving a check fee. In the United Kingdom, the police investigate accidents on public land, but they have no legal obligation to investigate accidents on private land.

Technology also helps drivers find their vehicles in large or indoor lots.

Many indoor lots use sensors above each stall to detect if a car is present. The Santa Monica Place mall in California uses cameras to monitor occupancy and help find lost cars. Drivers can also use GPS or Wi-Fi signatures to remember where they parked. Some advanced smartphone apps use a method called inertial dead reckoning. This process uses sensors to detect turns and movement to infer a car's location. These technologies, along with adaptive lighting and indoor positioning systems, create a more efficient experience.

Understanding parking lots requires looking at both economics and infrastructure.

A 2015 study in the United States showed significant cost differences between types of lots. Constructing a surface lot costs about $1,500 per space. In contrast, an underground lot costs about $25,000 per space. Professor Donald Shoup estimated in 2023 that the U.S. has between 700 million and 2 billion parking spaces. This averages out to between 2.5 and 7.0 spaces for every single car. These numbers show how much land and money is dedicated to vehicle storage in modern society.