– When we get home, we have to put the baby in the baby seat before we park the car. We can’t take the baby out and open the door at the same time. Stian Gurendal and his roommate Johanne Auran Pettersen didn’t think the parking space belonging to the apartment they bought on Reppe in Trondheim was so tight. – When we buy a product, we expect it to be proper. Then it turns out that it is not proper. The car they drive is not particularly large. Even so, parking is tight. They have to lean the car against the wall to get out on one side, and for the neighbor to park. It is tiring, think Johanne Auran Pettersen and Stian Gurendal. Photo: Grete Thobroe / news More disputes More and more people are experiencing the same thing. Many builders do not take into account the need for space, and therefore new housing complexes are still being built with parking spaces that are too narrow for today’s cars. – When the cars get bigger, the parking area must also get bigger. Instead, we see that more and more people end up in disputes over parking spaces in housing complexes. That’s what Anders Kirkhus, senior advisor at Sintef, says. In recent years alone, professionals from Sintef have been called into around twenty court cases, where the parking spaces are too tight. Common to the disputed cases is that the parking spaces are undersized in relation to the size of the cars. Developers often use the Norwegian Road Administration’s standard for car size as a basis. It has not changed since the 1970s. The car fleet in Norway has changed significantly since then. The cars sold in Norway are larger than before, which developers should take into account when planning the parking area in a block of flats, says senior adviser Anders Kirkhus at Sintef. Photo: Mikkel Moxness / Sintef Increased sales of large cars – We have kept statistics on the 140,000 new cars that were sold in 2020 and the 175,000 that were sold in 2021. The survey shows that we are buying bigger cars than before. They are not necessarily longer, but they are wider and heavier, says Kirkhus. Previously, the cars had rear-wheel drive and a spacious engine compartment, which made it easier to turn the front wheels. Now the norm is front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, and a fully crammed engine compartment. – This makes it more difficult to turn the front wheel, and the cars need more space to manoeuvre. Sintef with new recommendations Sintef is therefore in the process of revising the instructions on parking spaces in the Byggforskserien, where they recommend the size of parking spaces. Building regulations state that the layout must be adapted to its function. – This is very general. The construction research series explains what this can mean in practice, and provides useful recommendations for those who build, design and manage buildings in this country. Today, it is recommended that a parking space is 2.5 meters wide. Sintef is now considering increasing this to 2.6 metres. If the wall or column is close to the car park, it must be even wider to be functional. – The function of a parking garage must be that you can park a normal car, and get in and out of the car when it is parked, says Kirkhus. Lawyer Elling André Lillefuhr believes that the Planning and Building Act should ensure that residents of housing complexes are guaranteed parking spaces that work. Photo: Grete Thobroe / news Penalties There is great pressure on areas, and occasionally technical installations are added that change the original plans. It happened in the housing complex at Reppe in Trondheim. – Here compulsory fines have been given by the municipality because the planning is illegal. It doesn’t work. That’s what Elling André Lillefuhr, lawyer at Legalconsult Advokat AS, says. – In this place, they have one meter too little due to a pillar blocking it, and a wall. It should have been 5.60 metres, and they only have 4.60 metres. The residents have entered into a settlement with the developer, and received a price reduction as a result of the problems in the parking garage. The state administrator later revoked the completion certificate, and the developer must pay compulsory fines until measures are taken to ensure better parking. Tor Sommervold is not giving up, and hopes the developer will provide better parking conditions in the condominium. Photo: Grete Thobroe / news Clinging to the wall – Several of the doors cannot be opened in this car park. It is difficult to turn around, and some people have to back the car out of the garage. In the event of an explosive fire, this will be fatal, says Lillefuhr. Tor Sommervold is a neighbor of Stian Gurendal and Johanne Auran Pettersen. So far he has managed to park without scratching the car’s paintwork. – I have a good neighbor who is good at driving and who leans right up against the wall. So I’ve saved so far. There is a few centimeters of clearance from the pillar when the car is parked. The rear door cannot be opened. – I thought about it when the car was new, because it can quickly become an old car if you drive it wrong…
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Can’t get into the car with the baby – the parking space is too tight – news Trøndelag
