Navigating Tight Carparks in Bigger and Bigger Cars

An expert gives tips on how to drive up long and narrow ramps, and park in a small lot without stress

- Tham Yuen-C

Bad parking ranks high among motorists' pet peeves, but the blame may not always be on the driver. Take Shaw House, located at the junction of Orchard Road and Scotts Road. The carpark in the building, which was constructed in the 1970s, is notorious for its frustratingly tight parking spaces.

Spaces often sit empty not because they are unwanted, but simply because most cars cannot physically fit into them. For instance, sections marked out for three parking spaces in reality cannot accommodate three vehicles side by side, and there is often one lot left empty.

And even if skilled drivers manage to squeeze their cars in, exiting their vehicles will prove nearly impossible.

It is no surprise that Shaw House frequently pops up in online forums as one of the trickiest carparks to navigate.

Based on rules set by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), there are two key considerations for the design of carparks. There is a minimum number of lots building owners need to provide, depending on whether it is a residential or commercial building, and whether the building is in the city or a more suburban area.

Then there is also the layout of the parking space. The Parking Places (Provision of Parking Places and Parking Lots) Rules stipulate that the minimum dimensions of a carparking space must be at least 2.4m wide and 4.8m long and, for parallel parking, 5.4m long.

These dimensions have remained largely the same in decades. Yet, cars have got bigger over the years.

Today, cars such as the Toyota Camry, at 4,920mm long, breach the minimum length required by LTA for a carpark lot. A Honda Civic saloon is now more than 4,660mm long, growing 200mm in 20 years.

Meanwhile, a Tesla Model Y is 2,129mm wide with side mirrors extended, leaving a tight squeeze of just 15cm on either side for drivers and passengers to get out in smaller parking spaces.