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8 2.1.5 Parking Behavior in Two-Hour Spaces Introduction As described above, the two-hour parking spaces are under stress, with occupancy above 85% for much of the day. This suggests that the two-hour spaces are: · fulfilling the intended role of short-stay visitor parking, but are too few to meet demand; or · attracting more than the intended market (possibly including commuters); or · a combination of both of these. These spaces were therefore analyzed in more detail, to understand which of these explanations is correct. Some important technical issues must be understood in order to interpret the results: · Because the survey was undertaken hourly, the length-of-stay calculations are only approximate. For example, a vehicle that was recorded in the 9 AM and 10 AM count cycles (at around 9:30 and around 10:30) might have stayed for nearly three hours (8:35 through 11:25) or barely one hour (9:25 through 10:35). The vehicle is therefore assumed to have stayed approximately two hours. In this case, we cannot say for certain whether or not the vehicle overstayed the two-hour limit. · Vehicles recorded in three consecutive counts will almost certainly have overstayed. For simplicity, these are referred-to as Definite Overstays. Because of slight variations in the counting cycle, it is theoretically possible that such a vehicle was parked legally. For example, a vehicle parked from 9:30 to 11:29 might have been recorded at 9:32, 10:30 and 11:28 – thus parking legally but appearing as a Definite Overstay. This possibility can be regarded as having a negligible impact. · The survey was only undertaken during the restricted hours, and all data refer to this period. For example, a vehicle recorded for the first time in the 5 PM count cycle is recorded as staying about one hour or less, but in reality it might have stayed all evening (entirely legally). · Some people recorded as overstaying may have had a disability permit. Turnover Table 2.3 summarizes the turnover – that is, the number of vehicles which used each space during the day. At one extreme, 25 spaces (9%) had eight vehicles during the course of the day. At the other extreme, eleven spaces (4%) had just one vehicle during the day (mostly due to one person parking all day, rather than lack of use) and two spaces (1%) had no observed use at all. Most spaces, however, saw four, five or six vehicles during the day. The average turnover was 5.3 vehicles per day. Table Table Table Table 2222....3333: Turnover Distribution (Tw: Turnover Distribution (Tw: Turnover Distribution (Tw: Turnover Distribution (Twoooo----Hour Spaces)Hour Spaces)Hour Spaces)Hour Spaces) Number of different vehicles in the space during the dayNumber of different vehicles in the space during the dayNumber of different vehicles in the space during the dayNumber of different vehicles in the space during the day 0000 1111 2222 3333 4444 5555 6666 7777 8888 9999 TotalTotalTotalTotal Spaces 2 11 8 15 44 50 71 38 25 1 265 %1%4%3%6%17%19%27%14%9%0%100% Length-of-Stay Table 2.4 summarizes the length-of-stay – that is, how long a vehicle remained parked each time. Overall, approximately two-thirds of vehicles stayed about an hour or less. At lunchtime and in the early afternoon, more than three-quarters of vehicles arriving at that time stayed about an hour or less. These short stays are exactly what the two-hour spaces were intended for, so the high percentages are good news unless commuters are shuffling their cars (see below).