Impact of Unregulated Parking Behaviors on Street and Sidewalk Infrastructure: Investigating Residential Districts with Apartment Zones in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

In the 21st century, Saudi cities have witnessed a high rate of private car ownership, averaging 1.38 vehicles per family. This has significantly increased demand for parking in residential areas, leading to unregulated parking behaviors that negatively affect street and sidewalk infrastructure. Although some research has been conducted in Saudi Arabia on illegal parking in commercial streets, research on unregulated parking in residential streets remains underexplored. This study investigates the impact of unregulated parking behavior on street and sidewalk infrastructure in residential districts with apartment zones in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, determining the extent to which current sidewalk strips have been modified to extend on-street parking, create front setbacks for parking, and provide access to ground-floor private parking and residential building entrances. We selected six typical apartment building zones and mapped parking behavior through direct observations, processing collected data through ArcGIS. Our findings reveal negative impacts, resulting in significant parts of sidewalks, front setbacks, and streets being used for parking, thereby creating unhealthy and unsafe residential areas for walking and other physical activities. This study offers a comprehensive understanding of the unregulated parking problem and its subsequent impact on residents’ quality of life, particularly in terms of walking accessibility and safety.