3 parking lots, but only room for 2 – the squeeze at Singapore’s older car parks

For residents who use the car park regularly, navigating these tight spaces has become something of a science.

Ms Jeannie Loo, 39, typically takes two manoeuvres to negotiate one of the ramps safely. After successfully making the turn in one go several times, she had become complacent on one occasion and ended up scratching and denting her car.

The financial consultant paid about S$400 (US$312) to repair the dent and paint her car.

Ms Loo still uses the multi-storey car park, but said she now drives slowly and takes more time to manoeuvre her way through the ramps. The open-air car park is an alternative, but one she would rather avoid.

“It comes with bird poop, leaves and twigs … The hot sun is really what I want to avoid.”

Other residents are less willing to take their chances on the ramps, she said. Some who fail to find a space on a lower level would reverse out and park in the open-air area instead of continuing upwards.

Making the lots larger may not provide a straightforward solution either.

Ms Loo said repainting them to create wider spaces would mean having fewer lots on each level, potentially forcing more motorists to travel higher up the multi-storey car park – and negotiate more of the ramps they already find difficult.

At Pandan Valley, which has four multi-storey car parks, CNA found narrow ramps and tight turns between levels. One ramp measured about 2.8m across, with visible scrape marks on the pillars beside it. There were also similar marks found on the pillars at other ramps.

Under LTA requirements, the minimum clear width for a single-lane ramp or accessway for cars is 3.6m on a straight section and 4.2m on a curve.

When contacted by CNA, Pandan Valley’s estate management team said it had not received any feedback about the car park since it took over five months ago.