How does a vehicle’s width relate to the parking stall width?

In a basic self-park scenario, a standard stall measures 8 foot and 6 inches wide. An average car’s width is 6 foot 6 inches. Therefore, if a car parks in the center of the space, they should have 1 foot of room on either side. When two cars park side by side, their combined gap becomes 2 feet between the vehicles.

A car door opening clearance is approximately 20 to 24 inches. Adjacent parking spaces share this clearance while vehicles are parked. When a parking space is adjacent to a built wall or structure, a common practice is to add an additional foot of width to the typical parking space size.

*Federal, State, and Local codes govern most of these requirements and should be thoroughly investigated. Data presented herein should be considered guidelines only.  For more specific information and assistance with implementation of these guidelines, please contact THA Consulting, Inc. via email at info@tha-consulting.com