Normal Parking Spaces

A study by civil engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, estimates that there are 2 billion parking spaces in the U.S.  If all of those spaces were combined, they would occupy an area the size of Massachusetts. The estimate includes paved spaces (public as well as private, such as your driveway parking) and uses the assumptions that there are 8 parking spaces for each car and that there are 250 million cars in the country. (There are probably other factors involved, in case you're doing the math.) What I find interesting is the statement that there are "500 million empty [parking] spaces in the United States at any given time." Remember that the next time you are looking for a parking space!

I don't know how many parking spaces there are in Normal, but I'm sure somebody who works for the Engineering Department in Normal could come up with an estimate. Are there really 8 spaces per car?  Let's see, one for work, one for the Post Office, three for shopping (groceries, clothing, books), one for the bank, one for medical/dental appointments, and one for home. Yes, 8 spaces for my car!