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If you are new to working in the parking industry or have recently taken over your organization’s parking program, you might be wondering what people mean when they refer to on- and off-street parking.

On-street Parking 

On-street parking refers to available parking spaces for vehicles on a street within a designated area. Many municipalities across Canada provide on-street parking to the public, which can be within residential or commercial areas. If a paid parking regulation is in place, on-street parking is usually managed and controlled using a combination of parking meters, parking enforcement services, and parking signage that outlines the regulations and instructions for the paid on-street parking area.

Although some on-street parking operations may not have paid policy in place, there will usually be regulations that stipulate certain hours that vehicles can be parked on the road or how long they can park. Such regulations are controlled by the municipality and enforced by parking or bylaw officers.

Off-street Parking

Off-street parking refers to available parking spaces for vehicles within an enclosed parking lot or garage. Parking lots can be owned by a municipality, government organizations or privately owned.  If the parking lot has access and control regulations in place, they may vary from a paid parking system or reserved parking for permit holders, customers, tenants, visitors, or a mixture of both. There are various access and control solutions for parking lots, ranging from parking meters, gated parking systems, mobile payment apps and much more. 

So what are the main differences between on- and off-street parking? We’ve summarized them for you:

• Location: Exactly how it sounds, on-street parking for vehicles is on the side of a road. Off-street parking is the opposite; parking is provided within a parking lot.

• Equipment options: For paid parking regulations, access and control systems for on-street parking systems cannot be managed by gated parking equipment, whereas off-street parking can benefit from a full suit of parking technologies to manage their access and control.

• Enforcement: Since on-street parking systems with regulations are subject to an honour system, parking enforcement services must be in place for control.

References

Bray, J. (2020, August 31). On-Street vs. Off-street Parking Systems: Permits and Enforcement [web log].

Donatucci, A. (2021, January 26). Regain Revenue with Flexible Permit Options [Web log post]. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from

McKenty, C. (2020, July 24). A New, Common Form of Access [Web log post]. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from

James Bray
Senior Proposal Writer, Precise ParkLink