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<br />The city of San Diego's municipal code requires that shopping centers provide five <br />parking spaces for every 1,000 feet of gross leaseable floor space. That's the national <br />recommended ratio, as well. <br /> <br />That number, in theory, should accommodate pretty dramatic traffic levels, said <br />Robert Dunphy, a senior resident fellow for transportation at the Urban Land <br />Institute in Washington, D.C. <br /> <br />Malls today seek to have enough parking to handle the number of shoppers that <br />come at the "20th highest hour on the demand curve." <br /> <br />In short, only 19 of the 4,000 hours that a mall is open during the course of a year <br />see more customers. And it takes about five spaces per 1,000 feet of leaseable space <br />to handle demand for that 20th hour, he said. <br /> <br />It would be impractical, Dunphy said, to create enough parking to handle the <br />busiest hour. The mall would look empty the rest of the year, and that's not good for <br />business, either. <br /> <br />A number of things can throw this formula out of whack. Streets leading to the mall <br />may not be designed to handle the same traffic. Therefore, those streets get backed <br />up. <br /> <br />Shoppers, Dunphy and others said, understand that the holiday season brings out <br />the hordes. So they have greater levels of patience. It's all part of the holiday <br />experience. <br /> <br />Julia Hambleton of Allied Gardens wasn't flustered, even after searching for about <br />15 minutes for a parking space Sunday at Fashion Valley. She had a look of <br />accomplishment on her face. <br /> <br />"Y ou have to accept it. " <br /> <br />\\Victoria\CommDev\Economic Development\Christmas Crush Is On,doc <br /> <br />3 <br />