Urban parking
problems are frequently described as shortages of parking space. This is to say
that the location, accessibility and temporal usability of parking supply may
be as important as its aggregate amount. This study examines the spatial
relationship between designated public parking supply and motorists parking
demand in Phase I of the Federal Capital City (FCC), Abuja, Nigeria. A
mixed-method design combined a survey of 384 motorists, field observation,
spatial assessment and an inventory of designated public parking facilities.
Descriptive statistics, district-level comparisons and spatial interpretation
were used to identify patterns of supply, demand pressure and parking-location
choice. Seven designated public parking facilities covering 17.92 ha were
identified. The Old Parade Ground accounted for 34.54% of the inventoried
parking area, while smaller market-oriented facilities were associated with
high-activity commercial locations. On-street parking was the most common
reported parking location (31.5%), compared with 20.3% for designated
lots/garages; sidewalk/pedestrian-area parking accounted for 22.7%,
unauthorized green-space parking for 11.5%, and double parking for 6.0%.
Seventy percent of reported parking occurred in the morning and afternoon,
while 72.1% of respondents parked at least twice weekly. The evidence indicates
a spatial mismatch between where formal parking land is concentrated and where
motorists seek convenient access to destinations, particularly in
high-intensity commercial and administrative areas. The paper therefore
operationalises mismatch as an empirically supported spatial misalignment. The
findings support demand-responsive parking planning, improved pedestrian
connectivity, better information, shared/managed parking, and district-specific
management rather than uniform expansion of parking supply.
Keywords: Parking Supply; Parking Demand; Spatial Mismatch; Parking Accessibility; Motorist Behaviour; Public Space; Abuja; Nigeria; GIS; Urban Planning.
