Marc Cinq-Mars, Leah Dow, Mike Janik, & Darcy Watt

Future-Proofing Parking

Underground parking is becoming obsolete.

Current planning policies promote developments with a mix of uses and in urban areas and the parking requirements for these developments are largely achieved by underground parking.

Car ownership is declining.

Existing policies must be modernized to reflect the shrinking need for parking; the city’s existing underground parking be repurposed and how can planning policy will aid in this transformation.

A

B

Existing structured parking facilities can be used for other purposes.

Planning framework should respond to the decline demand for parking and allow for adaptive reuse.

Declining CarOwnership

Bold Ideas

Autonomous Vehicles

Millennial Values

Increased Density

Cost of Car Ownership

Rideshare Services

Environmental Concerns

Robust Public Transit

Increased Walkability

Commutes by Car in Toronto

201646%

202124%

Common Parking Typologies

Ramp Spiral Switchback

Underground parking structures with flat floors, removable spiral ramps, and a minimum 4.5 metre ceiling height will allow for the greatest variety of future uses.

4.5m Min

3.0 - 4.5m

Garage floors are flat and levels are connected by central ramps. Cars park in the flat areas, while the middle of the floor plates on each level are interrupted by ramps, making this parking typology less amenable to adaptive reuse. Column placement may also impact what types of uses can go in these spaces.

Garage floors are flat and connected by a spiral ramp. Cars park on the flat surfaces of the garage and the spiral ramp can be removed for the adaptive reuse of the parking structure. This typology is the most expensive to construct and is therefore least common, but it is ideal for adaptive reuse. Column placement may also impact what types of uses can go in these spaces.

Cars move between levels on ramps, which also serve as the parking surface.There are no flat floors in this type of parking garage. It is the most efficient in terms of space and also construction cost, but it is not easily repurposed for other uses because of the lack of flat floors. Column placement may also impact what types of uses can go in these spaces.

02

Physical Changes: proposed structural changes for the construction of new underground parking facilities.

03

ConditionalCompatibility

UpgradeRequired

Incompatible

Legend:

Compatible

PotentialFutureUses

4.25m

2.65m

2.65m

2.65m

We chose 548 King Street for our case study because it is a new mixed-use building with several levels of underground parking, one of which is currently vacant and blocked off.

The building’s commercial parking is ideal in illustrating underground adaptive reuse as the parking garage features flat floors connected by spiral ramps.

If we can provide a feasible way to adapt these spaces through standardized construction practices, we can readily implement these changes elsewhere.

Vacant Lot

L1

L2

L3

L4

Commercial Lot

Commercial Lot

Commercial Lot

548 King StreetFashion House Condos

04

Policy Changes

Demonstration Plan: a proposed phased implementation of new mixed-uses for 548 King Street’s underground parking.

Allow permitted CRE uses as future uses within underground parking facilities.

Incorporate underground parking standards for parking facilities in the Tall Building Guidelines to optimize potential addaptive reuse.

Relax parking minimums for residential towers to account for a decreasing parking demand in urban centres.

2

31

Self-StorageFacility

P1

HydroponicFarming

P2

Micro Warehouse

P3

Phase 4: requiring significant structural changes, community spaces grant people the opportunity to work and organise together for the benefit of their communities.

Phase 3: requiring significant structural changes, hydroponic farming within urban centres increases food security and makes efficient use of scarce land.

Phase 2: requiring moderate structural changes and upgrades, industrial workspaces in urban centres fulfill a previously unmet need.

Phase 1: requiring the fewest structural changes and upgrades, self-storage is a growing industry that is only expected to rise in urban centres.

Community SpaceP4