Effects of On-Street Parking in Urban Context: A Critical Review

On-street parking is a common form of parking, known for its efficiency in terms of land use and convenience to motorists as it allows them to park their vehicles nearer to their destinations. On-street parking has some benefits as well as drawbacks which also keep varying depending upon circumstances. Today, urban transport planners are facing difficulties and want to know where and when on-street parking should be allowed confirming that benefits are overweighing its drawbacks. Again, if it is allowed, query comes whether it should be a parallel parking or angled. Before allowing or restricting on-street parking, one should need to delve into different corollaries of it. In this background, the present article is an attempt to review global state-of-the-art covering various consequences of on-street parking, positive and negative, in urban road context and further explores how and up to what extent these are effective. After an extensive review, this study has arrived at the conclusion that on-street parking should be restricted along major streets. It can be allowed on minor streets as it has the potential to provide a safer environment for road users in that context. When allowed, on-street parking should be parallel, not angled, because later is hazardous in all respects. The study also recommends the prohibition of on-street parking near some specific locations like designated pedestrian crossing, intersection, school etc.