Wheel Stop Spacing in a Parking Stall
How many wheel stops do I need per parking stall?
One wheel stop per parking stall is the industry standard. The wheel stop sits centered between the two stall stripes, set back 24 to 30 inches from the front curb or wall, and is 4 to 6 feet long. Two stops per stall is unnecessary, looks cluttered, and creates a trip hazard at the centerline. Double-deep stalls (back-to-back layouts without a center curb) still use one wheel stop per parking position.
Key takeaways
- One wheel stop per stall, centered, is the standard recommended by the Institute of Transportation Engineers
- Stops should be 4 to 6 feet long; the 6-foot length covers both wheels on a wide-track full-size truck
- The set-back from the front curb is 24 to 30 inches, never zero
- Two stops per stall is a recurring mistake that adds cost and creates a trip hazard
- Skip wheel stops in stalls that abut a curb taller than 6 inches — the curb already does the job
Why one wheel stop per stall and not two?
The Institute of Transportation Engineers' Parking Generation Manual and most municipal parking design guides treat the wheel stop as a single device per stall. The function is to stop the front tires; both tires hit the same continuous bar simultaneously when the unit is centered.
Splitting the function across two shorter stops creates three failure modes:
- Asymmetric stops when one tire hits before the other, twisting the steering column at low speed
- A 4 to 6 inch raised obstacle at the stall centerline, exactly where pedestrians cross between cars
- Doubled installation cost and double the maintenance footprint for the same protective function
The industry settled on one stop per stall by the late 1980s. Newer commercial layouts that show two stops per stall almost always come from inexperienced specifiers, not deliberate design.
What length wheel stop fits a standard parking stall?
Standard stall width in Oregon is 8 feet 6 inches to 9 feet, per ITE Parking Generation Manual Class A and B references. The wheel stop should not run the full stall width — leave 18 to 24 inches of clearance on each side so a driver opening a door does not hit the stop.
| Stall Width | Recommended Wheel Stop Length |
|---|---|
| 8 feet (compact) | 4 feet |
| 8 feet 6 inches (standard) | 6 feet |
| 9 feet (premium) | 6 feet |
| 9 feet to 11 feet (van-accessible) | 6 feet, centered |
Where exactly should the wheel stop sit in the stall?
Place the wheel stop:
- Setback from front curb or wall: 24 to 30 inches (centerline of stop to face of curb)
- Lateral position: centered between the stall stripes
- Orientation: parallel to the stall stripes, perpendicular to the parking direction
- Anchor: two anchor points minimum on a 6-foot stop, three on an 8-foot stop
A 30-inch setback gives 15.5 feet of usable parking depth in an 18-foot stall, accommodating a Ford F-250 long-bed (just under 19 feet from front to bumper, but the front overhang past the front axle is roughly 38 inches) and any standard car. The math: 18-foot stall depth - 30-inch setback = 15.5 feet remaining, which exceeds the 14-foot wheelbase of nearly every passenger vehicle.
For more on setback math, see how far from the curb a wheel stop should sit.
What about double-deep parking stalls?
Double-deep stalls (head-to-head layouts without a center curb, common in employee lots) have two parking positions sharing a 36-foot lane. Each parking position still gets one wheel stop. The stops are placed:
- Position A: 30 inches from the front curb, normal placement
- Position B: 30 inches from the imaginary centerline that separates the two head-to-head stalls
This means a 36-foot double-deep lane has two wheel stops, one per parking position, separated by roughly 30 feet of empty pavement at the centerline. Do not install a single wheel stop at the center serving both directions — vehicles park to the wrong side of it 40 percent of the time.
When can you skip the wheel stop entirely?
Skip the wheel stop in any stall where:
- Front curb height is 6 inches or taller — curb already stops the tire
- Stall ends at a wall taller than 18 inches — bumper hits wall before tire stops, no overhang protection needed (though noise is a downside)
- Stall is parallel parking only — wheel stops on parallel stalls create curb-strike damage
- Stall is a fire lane — fire code in most Oregon cities prohibits in-lane obstructions
For ADA-accessible stalls, the wheel stop is optional but strongly recommended; see our ADA wheel stop placement guide for the dimensional and color rules.
What is the two-stop-per-stall trap?
A surprising number of Cojo retrofit jobs come from property managers who installed two wheel stops per stall to "make sure both tires hit something." The trap is that:
- The two stops have to be parallel, identical height, and identical setback for both tires to hit at the same instant
- Real installs drift by 1 to 3 inches; the asymmetric impact pulls the steering wheel
- The space between the two stops is exactly where pedestrians walk between cars
- A 5-inch-tall obstacle on a pedestrian path is an OSHA 1910.22(d) walking-working-surface trip hazard for the property owner's employees
A 22,000-square-foot Beaverton retail center we re-striped in February 2026 had two stops per stall in 88 of 92 customer stalls. We pulled the redundant stops, patched the asphalt, and reseated the primary stops at the correct setback. Net spend was 38 percent less than the property manager's original budget for adding "third stops" to fix the trip-hazard complaints.
Industry Baseline Range
| Item | Range |
|---|---|
| 6-foot recycled rubber wheel stop, supplied | $50 to $90 |
| 6-foot precast concrete wheel stop, supplied | $30 to $65 |
| 4-foot recycled rubber wheel stop, supplied | $35 to $65 |
| Layout marking, per stall | $6 to $14 |
| Installation per stop, asphalt anchor | $30 to $65 |
| Installation per stop, concrete epoxy + rebar | $40 to $80 |
| Removal of redundant stop and asphalt patch | $45 to $85 |
Current Market Reality
Wheel stop installed pricing in the Willamette Valley is roughly 14 percent above 2024 figures. The driver is labor — qualified striping and parking-lot product crews are scarce, and the ones available are scheduling 5 to 8 weeks out during the April through October peak. Plan layout-and-stop work the winter before, and either lock pricing or accept the premium.
What is the right specification for a typical 50-stall lot?
For a 50-stall standard commercial lot:
- 50 wheel stops, 6-foot recycled rubber, blue paint on accessible stalls (typically 2 to 3 stalls)
- 100 to 150 anchors (two per stop minimum, three on accessible stops)
- 30-inch setback, layout-marked before install
- One layout pass before stops, one verification pass after install
A trustworthy installer will refuse to install stops without a parking lot layout with wheel stops drawing in hand. If your contractor wants to "eyeball it," walk away. Visit our wheel stops buyer's guide for the full pre-purchase checklist or skip ahead and contact Cojo for a layout-and-supply quote.
For a quick jurisdictional reference on stall layout in the Portland metro, see our wheel stop installation Portland guide.
Reviewed by Cojo lead estimator. This article reflects 2026-05 ITE Parking Generation guidance; verify any local code overlays.