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Parking in densely populated urban areas: residents' experiences and attitudes

Survey objective

The ANWB aims to keep mobility accessible to all Dutch people, so that everyone can travel carefree and enjoyably. A key focus of this mission is improving the parking situation for residents of (large) cities.

The research objective is to identify how residents of densely populated urban areas experience parking policy, particularly in their own neighbourhoods.

Management summary

Residents regularly experience difficulties finding a parking space

Residents of (highly) urbanised areas regularly experience difficulties finding a parking space in their neighbourhood. Only half indivate it is easy to find a parking space in their own neighbourhood, and a quarter even adjust their car use and daily routine to cope with the pressure on parking spaces.

Residents cite the following causes in particular:

• shortage of parking spaces (38%)

• visitors from outside the neighbourhood (27%)

• visitors to local amenities, such as shops or restaurants (21%)

• company vehicles parked in the neighbourhood (25%)

For most residents, simply providing more parking spaces is not a solution to parking problems. The key issues for residents in parking policy are quality of life and green spaces, paid parking, and safety.

Green spaces just as important as parking spaces

Although parking space remains important, residents are also strongly committed to green spaces and quality of life. Almost half (48%) believe that green spaces should play an important role in the design of urban neighbourhoods, compared to 43% who consider sufficient parking spaces to be the most important factor.

Notably, many car owners are willing to make concessions. For instance, 44% say they are willing to walk a bit further to their car if it means the neighbourhood becomes greener and more liveable. Yet only 20% currently feel genuinely involved in local parking policy.

Residents' involvement

Residents would therefore like their local authority to work with them to find tailored parking solutions at street or neighbourhood level. They want greater involvement and better information from the local authority when it comes to parking policy.

Parking survey

Download the translated parking survey here.

Click here for the ANWB news article and link to the original survey.