Singapore’s older car parks leave some drivers squeezed as vehicles grow larger

Singapore motorists at three older car parks are struggling with narrow parking spaces and tight turns, according to an investigation published by Channel News Asia on 10 October 2026. CNA measured spaces and spoke to drivers at Shaw House, Beauty World Centre and Pandan Valley. The findings matter because today’s larger cars must use facilities built decades ago, while current parking requirements do not automatically apply to those existing developments.

The site visits document particular difficulties, rather than the frequency of the problem across Singapore. At one location, a space could be hard to use even when it appeared vacant; at another, pillars restricted the room available to open doors. Residents at Pandan Valley described careful manoeuvres on its ramps. CNA’s report does not establish a nationwide failure rate or announce a citywide retrofit plan.

What CNA measured at Shaw House

At Shaw House, built in 1958, CNA measured some parking spaces at less than 2.3 metres wide. Others reached about 2.4 metres only when measured to the outer edge of their boundary markings. The car park has groups of three spaces between walls; when two cars occupy a group, the remaining space can be difficult to use. A car may fit within it while leaving too little room for its occupants to open their doors.

Nevin Ho, who visits Shaw House for films or a nearby gym, told CNA that people driving him there often head to upper floors where fewer cars are parked. Passengers may get out before the driver parks. His account illustrates how the number of marked spaces can differ from the number drivers can conveniently use when adjacent vehicles are present.

Pillars and ramps create different problems

Another shopper, Karen Hsu, told CNA that if she cannot find a suitable space at Beauty World Centre, she may try a higher level or a nearby car park. Those choices carry a practical cost for drivers: finding a marked space is only one part of parking if the surrounding pillars leave too little room to get in or out.

Pandan Valley, built in 1977, has four multi-storey car parks, according to CNA. Its report described narrow ramps and tight turns between levels. Resident Jeannie Loo said she normally makes one ramp turn in two manoeuvres. She told CNA she scratched and dented her car after trying to take it in one move and paid about S$400 for repairs. That is her account of one incident, not a measure of crashes at the estate.

How the older spaces compare with current rules

The Land Transport Authority told CNA that current standards require an ordinary parking space to be at least 2.4 metres wide and 4.8 metres long. A space beside a wall or column needs another 300 millimetres of clearance to allow a car door to open comfortably. CNA reported that requirements revised in January 2024 apply to new private developments and redevelopment proposals, rather than retrospectively to existing developments built to earlier standards.

LTA’s July 2025 development guide also specifies a minimum 300-millimetre gap between adjacent perpendicular spaces, so both can be occupied when cars protrude or are not parked fully within their markings. For car ramps or accessways, the guide gives minimum clear widths of 3.6 metres on a straight single-lane section and 4.2 metres on a curved one. These provisions describe the current design framework; the available reporting does not establish which historical rules governed each older car park.

Larger models add to the squeeze

CNA compared Singapore’s top-selling car models in two years: the Toyota Corolla Altis, at 1,780 millimetres wide in 2015, and the BYD Sealion 7, at 1,925 millimetres wide in 2025. The comparison shows a difference between those models, not a measured increase in the average width of every car on Singapore’s roads. CNA also cited a European new-car size analysis by Transport & Environment; that analysis does not measure Singapore’s vehicle fleet.

CNA reported that some spaces at Katong Shopping Centre have been redrawn from a three-car arrangement to accommodate two cars, but could not establish when or why the change was made or its effect on overall capacity. LTA told CNA it regularly reviews parking-layout standards, including simulations of vehicle size, manoeuvring and room for occupants to enter and leave cars. Whether other older sites will change their layouts remains unclear from the reporting.