Big vehicles put shoppers in parking squeeze

"You can't see," said Plymouth resident Tim Cipriani on a recent afternoon outside Independence Mall in Kingston. "You kind of poke out [of a space] and, hopefully, someone will see your back-up lights and yield."

Cipriani said his PT Cruiser, which is about 17 inches shorter than an Excursion, can be difficult to locate, never mind maneuver, in lots increasingly dominated by large SUVs and pick-ups. Like many other motorists, he has discovered that backing out of a space during the holiday shopping blitz can make a scramble for $29.99 DVD players sound relaxing.

"Parking lots are dangerous places," said Patrick Donovan, Hanover's town planner. "You don't get a lot of deaths, but there are a lot of fender-benders and bumps."

The problem seems to be simple math: While more people are driving larger vehicles and the volume of traffic increases annually, most parking lot dimensions have not been expanded. But mall officials say getting in and out is not risky business, and local planners oppose more spacious parking because they say asphalt devours open space and increases erosion through storm water run-off.

The solution to the space crunch, officials say, will probably involve technology -- such as video cameras and sensors mounted on bumpers -- and improved public transportation in auto-dependent suburbs.

The lack of uniform size regulations complicates the issue. Retail parking space sizes are set through local bylaws, and vary throughout the area from about 18 feet to 20 feet long, and 8 1/2 feet to 10 feet wide.

Most Hanover Mall spaces are 10 feet by 20 feet, and each row is separated by a 24-foot access lane (a common width), Donovan said.

Independence Mall uses the same measurements. "In the late '70s and early '80s, a lot of smaller cars were being purchased because of the gas crunch," he said. "Many towns reduced the size of their parking spaces. Hanover did not believe the smaller cars were going to last."

Ed Callahan, Hanover Mall manager, said he has not heard protests about SUVs and trucks clogging parking, though "during the holiday season people get a little more confused and occasionally can't find their cars."

At South Shore Plaza in Braintree -- which has about 7,500 spaces in two parking garages and open lots on 109 acres -- the standard space is 8 1/2 feet by 18 feet, said Peter Lapolla, Braintree town planner. That is about 3 inches too short for a Chevrolet Suburban, 5 inches less than a Chevrolet Avalanche, and 10 inches less than an Excursion. All three vehicles are about 80 inches wide, which leaves less than a foot on each side, not including mirrors.

"Our spaces might be a little small because the cars keep growing," Lapolla said, "but we haven't had many complaints." He said a more significant hazard is created by drivers who "circulate looking for a space that's close to the building."

South Shore Plaza responded to a request for an interview with an e-mail message from assistant marketing director Dan Raio. "While we do not set aside special sections for larger vehicles, we do urge all drivers to park within the designated lines," Raio said. He also asked drivers to be "as patient as possible while waiting for a parking spot."

Most of Burlington Mall's 5,800 spaces are adequate -- 9 feet by 18 feet -- according to town planner Tony Fields. They have been that size for a "pretty long time," he said. But as late as the 1990s, it was not unusual for developers to propose projects that included spaces for compact vehicles. Fields said it was a lingering effect of the 1973 oil embargo.

"Today, I need to create a new category -- a percentage of spaces for SUVs," he said.

Janette Fennell, president of the nonprofit organization Kids and Cars, said she is more concerned with measuring safety than spaces. But accident statistics for malls are hard to come by because they are private property, and some accidents are not reported to police, Fennell said.

Fennell supports legislation filed by US Representative Peter T. King, a New York Republican, that would require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to collect more data on auto-related incidents. "Right now, it has to be a crash and it has to happen on a highway or a public road," she said. Her group also urges the use of cameras, enhanced mirrors, and "rear sensors that talk" to improve back-up visibility and safety. Such equipment is available on some vehicle models and is sold separately by various companies.

Mall parking is "less safe than it used to be because of the size of the vehicles," Fennell said. A driver attempting to back out of a space must move through a blind area that can extend 10 feet to 50 feet behind a vehicle, she said.

The number of drivers contending with blocked vision in tight spaces is increasing, too. According to the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 204 million personal vehicles were registered in the United States in 2001, up from 193 million in 1995. In August of this year, the Department of Transportation reported that there are more registered vehicles per household than there are drivers (1.9 vehicles for every 1.8 drivers).

Roger Lotz, a spokesman for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in Washington, said many of those vehicles are heading to the mall. According to the bureau's 2001 National Household Travel Survey, 45 percent of daily trips were made for shopping and errands; 15 percent were for commuting. The survey also found that more trips are made between noon and 1 p.m. (7.4 percent) than between 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. (5.5 percent).

"You're talking about people trying to get out of work to run errands. That means they are looking for parking," Lotz said.

SUVs, vans, and light trucks accounted for about 39 percent of registered vehicles in 2001; in 1995 they made up about 32 percent of the national fleet.

"We are doing more trips at the wrong time, and those big cars are fighting with all those little cars," Lotz said. "It's simple volume."

Getting shoppers to leave their cars at home is Kingston Town Planner Thomas Bott's preferred strategy. Although the number of parking spaces at Independence Mall (4,108, by his figures) is based on the amount of retail space, when the mall wanted to expand a couple of years ago, town officials cut a deal: They would not require additional parking if the mall agreed to donate $50,000 to the local public bus system, which offers limited service. Bott said the parking would have required land-clearing and prevented more water from draining into the ground naturally.

"You don't necessarily need to build a facility for peak use," Bott said. "Christmas is one of the few times you're going to use all the spaces. They lay empty the rest of the year, but you have to treat the storm water every time it rains."

Lotz said statistics show that Americans want to drive anywhere, any time they choose. "I don't want be the Scrooge in all this," he said, "but it's not going to get any better at the mall because we want to shop on a daily basis."

And though smaller vehicles may never again rule the roads, Ford has announced that its mammoth Excursion will be discontinued next year.

A Ford spokeswoman called it "a business decision." Nick King, Internet sales manager at Quirk Ford in Quincy was more direct. "They are too big," he said. "That's the problem."

Mark Pothier can be reached at mpothier@globe.com.