Car Parking This activity provides work with area dimensions measurement (yards/metres) proportion/ratio scale drawings percentages money time This activity provides opportunities to: carry out surveys and obtain primary data make comparisons produce graphs and charts analysing sourced data use appropriate mathematical formulae show all mathematical workings to justify results. Page 1
Scenario: When learning to drive one of the skills you must learn is how to park a vehicle into a confined space. Parking can occur in two main areas : a specially designed car park, or on-street parking. This activity will help you to work out dimensions and see how learning to park a vehicle requires practise and skill. You have to identify a large open car park in your area (i.e. supermarkets, cinema, town centre, railway station, out of town shopping mall etc.) that is easily accessible. For the purpose of this activity you need to be able to carry out some initial primary data research at a convenient time when the car park is less busy. Page 2
Task 1: Draw a scale ground plan to show the shape and dimensions of the car park. Record all the measurements on the plan and show them in yards and metres. Explain how these measurements were obtained. How many car parking spaces are there? What are the measurements of each parking space? Are there identified spaces for other vehicles (e.g. coaches, motorcycles, disabled driver vehicles etc)? Page 3
Are any spaces of different dimensions? How many? For what purpose? What is the area of one car parking space? E.g. 4feet x 8feet What is the area of one car parking space? Indicate on your ground plan above the sections of the car park not used for parking spaces. What proportion of the overall area is marked out for parking spaces? What proportion of land is not used for parking spaces? Work out the ratio between the two: What percentage of land is not occupied by vehicles? Page 4
Task 2 There should be an opportunity for you to carry out surveys of the use of this car park. One survey should be at busy times (which may be weekends) and one at quieter times, so that an average of the use can be determined. Survey periods should be for a minimum of one hour at a time. This primary research data should then be analysed and graphical evidence produced to illustrate your findings. Is there a time constraint on the length of time people may park? If so, how long is allowed? Is there a parking fee charged? If so, how much per hour? How many vehicles enter the car park during your survey? Try to note how many of these that enter also leave during the time of your survey: What is the average length of time that vehicles are left on the car park? On this basis, how many cars, on average, could use this car park on any one day? If it is a pay and display car park, carry out a random sample survey of the vehicles and see how many hours drivers have paid to park their vehicles. Page 5
Task 3 From the data researched for Task B, and the estimated usage of the car park that this provides, work out how much this car park would earn for the local council from the parking fees charged, or consider the possible income if a parking fee was introduced for this car park, if one does not exist. Carry out research of other pay and display car parks in your locality and charges made at attended car parks. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Car park location Hourly rate charged P&D/attended Work out the average hourly/daily rates charged for car parking Using this average charge, work out the potential average income per hour for the chosen car park, using the busiest and quietest survey periods for comparison. What is the average income per day that this would indicate? Based on this average, what could be the potential income from this car park over a year? Page 6
Task 4 There is a stretch of road close to your house that is to be marked out with parking spaces. This task is to work out how much space would be needed for each space. The parking spaces have to be able to take the longest vehicle and allow space to manoeuvre into and out of the space. Choose ten different cars/vans and find out the longest and shortest of these. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Make of vehicle Overall length overall width Carry out research by pacing out marked parking bays on nearby roads. Work out the actual length of your pace and convert that measurement to yards and metres. What is the overall length of a standard road-side parking bay? What is the length of the longest vehicle likely to park? How much space is allowed for movement of the vehicle? Page 7