Concord, Manchester and Portsmouth all have RPP programs in place. Concord’s zones are in residential
neighborhoods abutting the main downtown core and State Capitol complex. Manchester's RPP are in
residential neighborhoods near commercial districts and were established by City Council in collaboration
with Mayor. Portsmouth recently completed a pilot program in one neighborhood and is studying
expansion of the program into adjacent areas.
Of the communities studied, only Meridian, Idaho appears to have no regulations pertaining to the use of
on-street parking at any time. This is curious as Meridian has a higher population density than Nashua and
comparable housing density, median income, and driving share. Conversations with the representatives
from the city’s Police Department and Department of Community Development indicate that competition
for curbside parking in limited by abundant development of off-street parking facilities adjacent to every
land use per local zoning code, However, both officials noted that parking is becoming a constant issue as
Meridian continues to grow and densify and that they anticipate having to institute greater regulation in
the near future to govern use of curbside assets.
As noted previously, Albany and Ann Arbor allow for free overnight parking on downtown streets without
a permit, but both cities also have RPP programs in place for residential districts abutting those
downtowns. In addition, both Albany and Ann Arbor have aggressive metering programs in place for on-
street parking outside their RPP zones during daytime hours to compel turnover. Enforcement of these
regulations in both cities is rigorous and fines are substantial for violations.
DIMENSIONAL CONSIDERSATIONS
Any manner of on-street parking, regardless of regulations and rules, can only exist if there is adequate
space along the roadway to allow for parking and safe passage of traffic. As a general rule, parking spaces
are between 8 and 9 in width and travel lanes are between 10’ and 11’ in width, so for a one-way street
with parallel parking along just one side, a minimum roadway with of 18’ to 20’ is required. Changing the
angle of the parking stalls, adding additional lanes of travel, and/or adding parking along both sides of the
roadway will further increase the dimensional requirements for roadway width.
The structure of the roadway along its length also will impact how many vehicles might be parked along
a particular length. As a general rule, there must be at least 20’ of contiguous, uninterrupted space along
the curb to accommodate one parallel parking space. Both the minimum width of a parallel parking space
and its length are determined by the typical vehicle width and length, plus allowances for lateral
clearances to open the vehicle’s door without interrupting flow along the adjacent travel lane on the
driver’s side, reasonable clearances between the vehicle and the curb on the passenger side, and
clearances to allow for the movement of vehicles in and out of each space. Studies of U.S. vehicle sales
over the last two decades have shown that the majority of all vehicles on the road across the country are
6.5’ wide by 17.5’ long or smaller. These dimensions represent the 85" percentile vehicle size of all
vehicles in operation within the United States which is consistent with a large SUV such as a Ford
Expedition or Chevrolet Suburban.
The linear run of contiguous, uninterrupted space along the curb will define how many vehicles may be
parked along that block face. At block face with 100’ of uninterrupted, contiguous curb can conceptually
park up to five vehicles based on a standard of 8’ x 20’ per space. In actual practice, the block face may
only support more or less vehicles depending on the size of each vehicle and the skill of each driver. In
urban centers where parking spaces are not individually delineated, vehicle sizes are smaller than the 85"
