MANAGEMENT OF OFF-STREET PARKING FACILITIES IN AKURE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Akure like most Nigerian towns has experienced rapid increase in population in the recent years, and this has led to the increase in demand and numbers of vehicles in the area. Parking is an essential component of the transportation system because vehicles must park at every destination in order to avoid the increasing problems on street parking and road traffic in the society. Structured questionnaire was designed to elicit information from the users of offstreet park on their socio-economic characteristics and management performance. Interview was conducted on the Head of agency (Led Guard Company) in-charge of the off-street parking facilities on their statutory roles towards the management and regulation of parks in the study area. The Global Positioning System (GPS) device was employed to take the coordinates of all the offstreet parking facilities to show their spatial locations.The study revealed that, Adedeji Park with average parking index (efficiency) of 77.20% has a high-volume capacity when compared with its use, while Sammy Park with average parking index (efficiency) of 52.34% has a medium volume capacity when compared to its use. Also, (MKO Abiola) Democracy Park and NEPA Park with average parking index (efficiency) of 40.83% and 28.35% respectively has a low volume capacity when compared with its use. Hypothesis test showed significant relationship between income of parks user and choice of parks used in the study area.The institution responsible for the monitoring and controlling of traffic in Akure was not effective in the discharge of their duties. It is recommended that the Institution be adequately equipped with financial resources, working materials, man power development and capacity building for their effectivenes