Older Singapore car parks struggle as vehicle sizes grow, leaving some lots unusable
Narrow parking lots and tight ramps at older Singapore developments such as Shaw House, Beauty World Centre and Pandan Valley are causing difficulties for drivers of larger modern cars. The minimum lot width of 2.4m, which applies only to new developments since Jan 2024, is increasingly inadequate f
Drivers of larger modern vehicles face a growing squeeze at some of Singapore's older car parks, where parking lots built decades ago are too narrow for today's cars. At Shaw House along Scotts Road, blocks of three lots hemmed in by walls often leave the middle space unusable once two cars are parked, and even when a third vehicle fits, doors cannot open. The building, constructed in 1958, has some spaces measuring less than 2.3m wide, while others barely reach 2.4m — the current minimum for a regular lot, which applies only to new private developments and redevelopment proposals from January 2024.
The problem is driven by the steady increase in car dimensions. In Singapore, the width of the top-selling car model grew from 1,780mm for the Toyota Corolla Altis in 2015 to 1,925mm for the BYD Sealion 7 last year. Brussels-based Transport & Environment found that the average width of new cars in Europe, some of which are sold here, has been rising by about 0.5cm a year. Under the current standards, a regular lot must be at least 2.4m wide and 4.8m long, with an additional 300mm of clearance required next to a wall or column — a rule not applied retrospectively.
At Beauty World Centre on Upper Bukit Timah, pillars eat into lot space, forcing some shoppers to avoid the basement car park altogether. Ms Wai Mun Yong, 38, who visits a few times a week for her son's enrichment classes, said she now walks from home rather than drive her Tesla Model Y. When she does drive, she sometimes goes to an open space on the first floor to buckle in her children. Ms Karen Hsu, 50, who drives a Bentley, said she often has to go to a higher level or park elsewhere. CNA found lot widths at Beauty World varied from about 2.4m to 2.8m.
At Pandan Valley, a condominium built in 1977, drivers face not only narrow lots but also tight ramps and turns. One ramp measured about 2.8m across, well below the LTA's minimum clear width of 3.6m for a straight single-lane ramp and 4.2m on a curve. Mr Alvin Lam, 34, damaged his car on a protruding structure during his first visit, costing RM3,000 (S$941) in repairs. Ms Jeannie Loo, 39, scratched and dented her car after becoming complacent on a ramp, paying about S$400 to fix it. She said some residents reverse out and park in the open-air area rather than navigate the ramps.
Some older developments have tried to create more room by reconfiguring their lots. Katong Shopping Centre, built in 1971, has redrawn some three-lot blocks into spaces that now accommodate only two cars, with the original markings still faintly visible. Similar changes have been made at Orchard Rendezvous Hotel, which said it did not have the historical information to confirm the before-and-after dimensions. The LTA said it regularly reviews its parking layout standards, including design simulations that account for vehicle dimensions and manoeuvring requirements.
