2024-10-07 11:06:28
The current trend to reduce private vehicle traffic in urban centers is a reality in Spain. Cities have limited space on their surface and this has led to the establishment of road traffic restrictions and the reduction of streets in favor of pedestrians.
However, according to experts, the minimization of space for vehicles and the limitation of parking, together with the trend of increasingly wider large cars, are starting to pose a risk to habitability.
“Autobesity” is the term that refers to an increasingly widespread challenge affecting mobility in cities. This word describes the potential problem posed by the fact that cars are increasingly larger (SUVs), “stealing” more space in the already limited city car parks and generating more pollution. Cars are getting 1cm wider every 2 years and SUVs are becoming more common in urban areas.
This in itself does not represent a problem, explain the urban mobility experts at EasyPark, but it becomes a challenge for the accessibility of citizens when, in a context in which cars continue to grow both in width and length, parking spaces in surface areas are not scaled down to accommodate the new vehicle fleet. The average width of new cars increased from 177.8cm to 180.3cm (according to T&E research).
Cars are getting bigger and that affects cities. If cars are larger, but parking spaces are not offered based on their size, it means that there are fewer and fewer parking spaces available and streets are increasingly narrow in the heart of cities.
The average width of vehicles has grown by 2.5 cm in just 5 years. Furthermore, the SUV market represents almost half (46%) of global car sales, which means that sooner or later cities will have to take matters into their own hands on this issue. In Paris, for example, Parisians voted earlier this year to make drivers of SUVs pay higher parking fees than smaller vehicles. The rate takes into account the weight and dimensions of the vehicle. This measure not only serves to manage the limited space of the city of Paris, but also to address air pollution problems caused by the predominance of motorized traffic.
Cars for urban use are getting bigger and bigger
The most popular SUVs country by country
Spain: Hyundai Tucson
Italy: Jeep Compass
Slovakia: Škoda Kamiq
Portugal: Peugeot 2008w
Czech Republic: Škoda Karoq
Austria: Tesla Model Y
Slovenia: Volkswagen T-Cross
Belgium: Tesla Model Y, BMW X1
Sweden: Volvo XC60
Finland: Toyota RAV4
France: Peugeot 3008 Peugeot 3008
Germany: Volkswagen Tiguan Volkswagen Tiguan
Denmark: Tesla Model Y Tesla Model Y
Norway: Tesla Model Y Tesla Model Y
Netherlands: Tesla Model Y
United States: Toyota RAV4
In Spain, the volume of SUVs continues to grow and represents 15% of all cars (European average), surpassing the barrier of 5 million large vehicles circulating on our roads. Furthermore, the best-selling SUV in Spain is the Hyundai Tucson, in contrast to the popularity of the Tesla model, which dominates the European market. Switzerland (19%), Belgium (18%) and Norway (17%) are the European countries with the greatest presence of SUVs.
«Each city has a different structure and faces its own challenges. With the growth of cars, cities run the risk of compromising the liveability of cities by increasing pressure on already limited spaces. Meeting the needs of an ever-evolving fleet of vehicles requires infrastructures that are effective in traffic management and based on both technology and data. Making informed decisions on how to address this trend while maintaining habitable spaces for both drivers and pedestrians will be key to securing the future of urban mobility,” explains Jaime Requeijo, general director of EasyPark Spain.
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