Parking Information

  1. Back-in Angle Parking Pilot
  2. West Center Street Parking

The City of Moab will be installing a back-in angle parking along 100 South, west of Main Street, as a part of the 100 West Infrastructure Improvements Project. This pilot project, located just off of Main Street, will include 15 back-in angle parking spaces. The change will greatly improve safety and visibility for drivers, as well as for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Back-in Angle Parking 100 West Street Diagram

What is Back-in Angle Parking? 

Back-in angle parking is a traffic engineering technique intended to improve the safety of on-street parking. It is sometimes referred to as reverse-angle or reverse-diagonal parking. The basic concept is similar to standard 45-degree parking, but instead of pulling forward into a space, drivers back into the angled stall.  

How does back-in angle parking work? 

Back-in Angle Parking sign w text


Why Back-In Angle Parking?

Back-in angle parking has multiple safety and operational benefits for all road users, such as: 

  • When leaving the space, drivers have an unobstructed view of traffic and can enter the traffic stream directly. This allows eye contact and verbal or non-verbal communication between exiting drivers and other users. In comparison, drivers using traditional head-in angle parking often have difficulty seeing motor vehicles and bicycles in the roadway, resulting in traffic delays and increased risk of collision with other road users.
  • When vehicle doors are open, occupants are able to enter or exit the vehicle from the sidewalk without obstruction. This is particularly beneficial for children, as the open car doors also discourage movement toward the road.
  • Positions the back of the vehicle to the sidewalk, enabling easier access to the trunk.

According to pedbikeinfo.com, some cities that have installed back-in angle parking include: Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Vancouver in Washington; Portland and Salem in Oregon; Tucson, Arizona; Austin, Texas; Salt Lake City; Indianapolis; Washington, DC.; Pottstown, Pennsylvania; Wilmington, Delaware; and Montreal, Canada. Tucson tracked data for bicycle-car crashes before and after installing back-in angle parking, and found an average of three to four crashes per month with front-in angle parking compared to zero reported bicycle/car crashes for the four years following implementation of back-in angle parking.

See a map of cities with back-in angle parking.