National Day is well behind us now, but that should not stop us from celebrating something that we all routinely take for granted.
And this is something so obscure that you’d not realise it, unless you happen to enjoy going through tons of legal government literature. But we can all enjoy the result – carparks that are ever safer, and more spacious.
We cannot deny that carparks built before the 21st century are now showing their age. Brand-new SUVs/MPVs are facing difficulties slotting comfortably into their lots. Though it is through no fault of the architects of the past; they probably had no idea that cars would eventually weigh more than 2 tonnes and measure more than 5 metres in length.
True Test of a Driver’s Skills
Navigating the MSCPs of HDBs built before the year 2000 is an uphill battle – literally. Turn too late while on a slope and you could end up trading paint with a wall, or worse, another car. Meanwhile, reversing too far in could result in dented rear bumpers or smashed rear windows. This comes as some carparks lack wheel stoppers and have low-hanging metal beams, reducing the available height clearance for the rear of your car.
Once parked, you might not even be able to get out as there’s a thick concrete wall blocking the driver’s door. My list of complaints could continue, such as huge blind spots and insufficient lighting, but we must understand that there’s nothing we can do about old carparks. It’s tough for physical infrastructure to adapt to a rapidly changing world.
Laying the Foundation
In April 2011, the LTA launched the 2nd edition of its “Code of Practice (COP) on Vehicle Parking Provision in Development Proposals”. Compared to the 1st edition released in 2005, there was an entirely new chapter titled “Good Practices” that aimed to give building stakeholders tried-and-tested ideas of how to design operationally friendly parking spaces.
Several years later in 2019, another revised edition of the COP was released, with additional illustrations on good practices and suggested designs for mechanised parking systems. In it, 13 “Good Practices” were included, such as:
- Installing carpark availability signs
- Avoiding dead-end aisles
- Providing splay corners at bends/turns
Most architects have seemingly heeded the advice in these handbooks, as parking in the carparks of newer malls and housing estates are considerably easier with wider lots and aisles.
Reaping the Rewards
Some commercial and residential carparks have gone above and beyond to serve the wants of drivers. At malls like Jewel Changi Airport, the demarcation of parking lots utilises more than just solid lines. Instead, two solid lines joined together at both ends (resembling an ice cream stick) divides the lots.
With this extra buffer space, drivers are allowed more room for error when parking, while passengers will have an easier time getting into and out of cars. The risk of losing your car is also eliminated with touch-enabled directories that show you where it is parked by keying in its registration plate number.
At some BTO projects completed within the last decade, efforts were made to link the MSCPs to the residential blocks. This means that residents only have to take a single elevator trip to the floor that their car is parked on. Where space permits, some BTO projects like Tenteram Peak and Hougang Capeview utilise spiral ramps, which make going up several floors quickly much easier.
Learning to Appreciate the Finer (and Smaller) Things in Life
In a fast-paced society like ours, we rarely have the time to slow down and saviour the finer (and smaller) things in life. Legislation has been put in place to ensure we have less friction in our day-to-day lives, and the updates to the carpark building code is one such example.
We can expect more of such carparks to be built in the future, thanks to the recommendations by the LTA. Without their official guidance, carparks will continue to pain those trying to squeeze their oversized SUVs down narrow spaces clearly built for cars of a different era.
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