Parking turnover is the number of different vehicles that use a parking space over a given period, usually a day. The turnover rate is calculated by dividing the number of vehicles that parked during the period by the number of spaces.
A garage with 500 spaces that serves 1,500 vehicles in a day has a daily turnover rate of 3.0. Turnover is closely tied to dwell time: short stays mean high turnover, and long stays mean low turnover. A commuter facility might turn over once a day; a retail or restaurant curb might turn over eight or more times.
Why it matters
- Capacity. High turnover lets a modest number of spaces serve many customers, which is the point of short-term curb parking near businesses.
- Revenue. For transient parking priced by the hour, turnover multiplies the revenue a space can earn in a day.
- Design. High-turnover facilities need more comfortable geometry, more entry and exit capacity, and clearer wayfinding. See levels of service.
- Planning. Turnover and duration studies show whether a supply problem is a shortage of spaces or long stays occupying them. See parking utilization studies.
How it is managed
- Pricing that rises with demand or duration encourages shorter stays where turnover matters. See dynamic pricing.
- Time limits, enforced consistently, on the curb.
- Separating long-stay parkers, such as employees, into facilities designed for them.
The Parkonomics view
Turnover is the quiet multiplier in parking. Before adding spaces to a busy district, measure who is parking and for how long. Often the cheapest new capacity is a price that moves all-day parkers off the spaces that should turn over.
Related terms: Dwell Time, Transient Parking, Parking Utilization Studies, Dynamic Pricing, Short-Term Parking, Parking Occupancy