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The next time you're hunting for a parking spot, mathematics could help you identify the most efficient strategy, according to a recent paper in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics. It's basically an optimization problem: weighing different variables and crunching the numbers to find the optimal combination of those factors. In the case of where to put your car, the goal is to strike the optimal balance of parking close to the target—a building entrance, for example—without having to waste too much time circling the lot hunting for the closest space.
Paul Krapivsky of Boston University and Sidney Redner of the Santa Fe Institute decided to build their analysis around an idealized parking lot with a single row (a semi-infinite line), and they focused on three basic parking strategies. A driver who employs a "meek" strategy will take the first available spot, preferring to park as quickly as possible even if there might be open spots closer to the entrance. A driver employing an "optimistic" strategy will go right to the entrance and then backtrack to find the closest possible spot.
Finally, drivers implementing a "prudent" strategy will split the difference. They might not grab the first available spot, figuring there will be at least one more open spot a bit closer to the entrance. If there isn't, they will backtrack to the space a meek driver would have claimed immediately.
[...] Based on their model, the scientists concluded that the meek strategy is the least effective of the three, calling it "risibly inefficient" because "many good parking spots are unfilled and most cars are parked far from the target."
[...] "On average, the prudent strategy is less costly," the authors concluded. "Thus, even though the prudent strategy does not allow the driver to take advantage of the presence of many prime parking spots close to the target, the backtracking that must always occur in the optimistic strategy outweighs the benefit." Plenty of people might indeed decide that walking a bit farther is an acceptable tradeoff to avoid endlessly circling a crowded lot hunting for an elusive closer space. Or maybe they just want to rack up a few extra steps on their FitBit.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/09/to-find-the-best-parking-spot-do-the-math/
(Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 27 2019, @01:10PM (13 children)
I use the "look across the lot as you're pulling in to it" strategy. Works like a boss.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Gaaark on Friday September 27 2019, @01:30PM (5 children)
I use the park far away but its under a tree in the shade method.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 27 2019, @02:24PM (2 children)
I use the "park far away from the idiots" strategy. No door dents.
My wife parks between two Mack trucks and wonders why she can't open the doors.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Nuke on Friday September 27 2019, @06:25PM
I use the "park far away as possible from the front door" stategy.
I don't want, or at least I want to minimise :
1) Crowds around me
2) Door dents
3) Cars parked next to me obstructing my door opening and loading
4) Shopping trolleys scraping past my car
5) People watching me eat my sandwiches in the car
6) People seeing what I have got in my car
7) Security guys around the building doorway noticing I'm just parking, not actually going into their shop
8) To act like an academic study assumes I act.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 28 2019, @01:05AM
I use the "park in the handicapped spot with my legal permit and then get yelled half the time at because I don't use crutches" strategy.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Snow on Friday September 27 2019, @03:12PM (1 child)
I avoid trees.
Bird shit, stickies from leaves in the spring, leaves in the fall. All hazards of parking under a tree. Plus, in the winter (AKA 75% of the time), the sun will help warm the car.
I'm not sure what part of Canada you are in, Gaaark, but I am envious that you had a warm enough summer to require shade for your car.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday September 27 2019, @04:10PM
Somewhere lost in Southern/Eastern Ontario.
Maybe.
I could be lying.
But I'm not.
But can you be sure.
:)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Friday September 27 2019, @01:37PM
Or maybe sometimes the math is right, but the solution won't work [slashdot.org].
(Score: 5, Funny) by Pslytely Psycho on Friday September 27 2019, @03:21PM (4 children)
I tried that method.
Unfortunately I can't see over the top of the large trucks.
Unfortunately I can't see over the top of the SUV's.
Unfortunately I can't see over the top of the full size cars.
Unfortunately I can't see over the top of the compact cars.
Thank (insert sky daddy of choice here) I can see through the shopping carts. Well the metal ones anyway.
Finding my car is the reverse .
Fortunately it's bright red so I do eventually find it.
Dammit. I high centered on a pack of cigarettes again.....
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 27 2019, @04:03PM (2 children)
Mid-life-crisis-mobile, eh? What flavor?
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday September 28 2019, @08:34AM (1 child)
Exactly. It's a '95 Vette. Now if I could just get my wife to go along with the 20 year old girlfriend aspect, life would be perfect....(:
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday September 28 2019, @07:11PM
She's just being narrow minded. Trade her in on a 95 model too.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 27 2019, @04:36PM
You drive a Barbie car Ken?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 27 2019, @06:12PM
Hear! Hear!
Amazing how much smoother life is when you pay a little attention to your surroundings.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Bot on Friday September 27 2019, @01:46PM
Here in Italy, the strategy is to park as close to the destination as possible, so to be able to run screaming some excuse at the officer who is about to issue a ticket.
There is also a prudent strategy which involves circling the area looking for policemen before parking.
The legal parking spots? You can't park there as you will be surrounded by the illegals. Unless you want to move the car away at 2am.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 27 2019, @01:52PM (5 children)
The study is limited. It only factors in one goal for their strategy. When I park, getting closest to the door isn't even in the top three. The top goal is to find a spot where someone won't door ding me when they get in/out of their car. The next goal is a spot where I can get in/out of my car easily. The third goal is finding a spot that is best for the weather (shade in the sun, for example). How long it takes to walk to the door of the shop is of no concern. I like exercise.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday September 27 2019, @02:06PM (3 children)
> The top goal is to find a spot where someone won't door ding me when they get in/out of their car.
You need these: https://www.amazon.com/Door-Guard-Magnetic-Protector-Protection/dp/B0182JDD54 [amazon.com]
(Score: 2) by Snow on Friday September 27 2019, @03:15PM (2 children)
I'd rather have the door dings than those ugly things on my car.
The picture has them on a Jeep Patriot. If anything, the paint from other cars that scrape off on your doors will increase the value of that car...
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday September 28 2019, @01:44AM (1 child)
What? You don't want to preserve the beauty of your car by desecrating it?
Do you remember the car bras that went viral many moons ago? Every BMW and Porsche owner had one. In fact, I think they only made them for BMW and Porsche. Something about marketing.
(sorry to any BMW or Porsche owners here- I like them and most of their owners.)
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday September 28 2019, @07:12PM
Saw a lot of the sportier Nissans with them too out on the east coast.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Informative) by richtopia on Friday September 27 2019, @02:27PM
Admittedly, this optimization study could be applied in similar situations elsewhere. When I first started reading the summary, I thought the researchers were looking for a car analogy of some computer science problem, but alas, it was actually just a car problem.
For me, the externality is the safety associated with parking lots. I wish there would be a way to redesign parking lots so humans and cars do not need to cross paths directly in-front of the store. In my parking strategy, I follow the meek strategy in part to avoid the front of the lot with the high foot traffic. I also am in my 30s with long legs so I typically can get to the store faster than a car crawling through the foot traffic.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by srobert on Friday September 27 2019, @01:57PM (9 children)
I prefer to take one of the first available spots. I back in to the space (or maybe get a pull through). That makes it easier to see traffic when leaving. The lot far from the target is less crowded. Those two factors reduce the probability of an accident. Circling the lot looking for a spot feels stressful to me. Walking across the parking lot does not.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday September 27 2019, @02:54PM (7 children)
Sorry, this is america, walking is for the weak. STRONG TOUGH MEN set in their heated SUV seats for as long as possible and use their muscles as little as possible
(Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 27 2019, @04:06PM (6 children)
No, the tough, strong men are the ones in pickups with tool beds and a company name or logo on the side. SUVs are the modern incarnation of the station wagon; they're for soccer moms.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday September 27 2019, @04:40PM (5 children)
Congrats on the BrandTM
(Score: 4, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 27 2019, @05:02PM (4 children)
Ain't about brand, it's about utility and observation. Guys who need a truck and a shitload of tools and spend enough time using them both to warrant the cost overwhelmingly trend towards not being fake little pussy wannabes.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Saturday September 28 2019, @01:41PM (3 children)
Contrasted with guys with F350s with glistening chrome, a spotless cargo bed, and no toolbox mounted up near the cab?
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday September 28 2019, @07:19PM (2 children)
Exactly. Personal trucks should have no back seat, an eight foot bed that you can carry a full sheet of plywood in, and scratches/dents. Work trucks may not need a tool bed but should at least have a coffin box up by the cab for tools. Scratches and dents are optional on work trucks, depending on the boss.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Saturday September 28 2019, @10:35PM (1 child)
Many years ago working an awful job at a hotel front desk I got screamed at by some guy about someone parked "illegally" by his shiny beloved truck. We shared a parking lot with a night club and parking on Friday and Saturday nights would be crowded, essentially any parking regulations were suspended from 11 pm to 3 am those nights. I went out to see the problem. Was he blocked in? No. Was he planning to go anywhere that night? No. The entire reason for his rage was that someone walking through might be diverted by the "illegally" parked vehicle to pass too close to his vehicle and the front corner of his left front fender might be scratched by someone's belt buckle if they turned to the left to squeeze by (they would have to have a pretty large girth and big belt buckle, that's for sure). Seriously, that is exactly what he complained about. I'm afraid I did not make him very happy, but he is lucky I didn't go to the tool shed, grab a sledge hammer, and hammer his front fender to a shape that would allow plenty of room to get by...
(Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday September 28 2019, @11:53PM
I'm sorry, sir. It appears you're entirely too big of a pussy to own a pickup truck. The local Hyundai dealer will be along shortly with your replacement.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday September 27 2019, @03:03PM
Pull throughs are great and I look for that if a shady area isn't available: but unless its Christmas, there's usually any spot you want available as long as you don't mind exercise.
Its funny: fat people want the closest spot so they can buy their 'diet' pop and chips and wonder why they're fat, whereas you see thin people walking and getting the exercise...
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Barenflimski on Friday September 27 2019, @02:22PM
I must be meek because I pull into the first spot available. I'd rather spend my time walking the extra 8 car widths.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 27 2019, @02:46PM
You may park closer on average, but you won't be parking for long because you were late one time on a big sales meeting, lost the sale, and got your ass fired.
(Score: 2) by Snow on Friday September 27 2019, @03:18PM (1 child)
Now that I'm a dad, I LOVE the reserved parking for preggos and parents. I always take advantage of those spots. Plus they are usually beside handicap spots, so I can hug the handicap line and get a little extra room to open the doors.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 27 2019, @05:45PM
I park in the handicapped spot. Because I'm actually handicapped. The only time I don't park in the handicapped spot is when the handicapped spot is far away from the place I'm actually going to, and there's a normal spot in front of the place I'm going to. (This happens at strip malls a lot; they'll put the handicapped spots all at one end of the long row in front of the strip of stores, and of course I usually have to go to somewhere at the other end.)
Of course usually I'm just parked in front of my home, because I don't go anywhere I don't absolutely have to.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by cmdrklarg on Friday September 27 2019, @03:20PM (1 child)
I park further away by choice, so I can avoid door dings as much as possible. I'm also not in need of less walking. :)
Answer now is don't give in; aim for a new tomorrow.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by istartedi on Friday September 27 2019, @04:21PM
I scrolled down for this. I knew somebody had to be thinking that too. Not only do we get more exercise and fewer door-dings, we also aren't stressing about getting that close spot. They should study it though. There's always that possibility that far-space choosers have some underlying condition on average, and that we're going to die young, LOL. That's how these studies always go, but I generally ignore them because stressing about all those studies can't be good... just don't smoke crack while flying a wing suit, and you'll probably meet or exceed the life expectancy for your demographic.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 1) by CheesyMoo on Friday September 27 2019, @03:23PM
If they could ever figure out how to route the traveling salesman effectively, maybe they (*COUGH*he*COUGH*, the salesman) could find a place to park.
http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/tsp/ [uwaterloo.ca]
(Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Friday September 27 2019, @05:12PM (1 child)
Given that there is so much variation in traffic density versus available parking, how can these guys possibly expect these broad strategic generalizations to be taken seriously?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 27 2019, @09:15PM
In academia, it's publish or perish. These guys got published in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics. That means they survive for another few semesters.
What is published doesn't have to make sense or be taken seriously. It just has to be published. (It didn't hurt that one of the authors, Sidney Redner, was a past Editorial Board member of the Journal that it was published in.)
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Friday September 27 2019, @07:14PM
Sometimes I have even parked across the street, and crossed the street on foot, twice, to avoid having to sit in the car at a long red light.
Sure wish there were tunnels or bridges for pedestrians.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday September 27 2019, @08:25PM
I don't drive round and round. That's stupid. I wait at the corner for maybe five minutes at the most.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by chewbacon on Saturday September 28 2019, @01:10AM
Those who park up front and those who park by the cart return.