Parking Lot Design

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Ingress and Egress

• Number of Parking Spaces

• Size of Parking Spaces

• Accessibility

• Aisle Width

• Pedestrian Circulation

• Special Vehicle Access

• Off-Street Loading Area

• Waste Disposal

• Drainage

• Landscaping

• Lighting

Ingress and Egress

The means of entering and leaving the site

• Regulated by state and local governments• Width• Slope• Drive radius• Pavement composition

• Encroachment permit

Ingress and Egress

• Discourage through traffic

• Rule of thumb

• Less than 5000 vehicles/day use single 2-way

drive or two 1-way drives

• Align new drives with other access drives

• Local regulations

• Distance from corners and other drives

Number of Parking Spaces

• Dictated by local codes

• Dependent upon use of the building

• Example requirements

©iStockphoto.com

Size of Parking Spaces• Parallel

• Most difficult to access• Avoid if possible

• Ninety-degree• Most spaces per area• Typical size: 9 ft x 18 ft or 19 ft• More difficult to access than angles• Not recommended for short term parking

• Angled • Size varies according to angle• 60 degree parking most common

Accessibility

• Accessible parking required

Accessibility

• Size of accessible parking spaces

Accessibility

• Size of accessible parking spaces

ADA ABA Accessibility Guidelines

Aisle Width

• Dictated by local codes

• Two-way aisle is preferable

• Typical two-way aisle is 24 feet wide

• May be less for one-way traffic

©iStockphoto.com

Pedestrian Circulation

• Separate pedestrians from traffic• Provide accessible route to entrance from

parking, public transportation, and adjacent buildings

Typical walkway widths• 3 ft wide for one-way • 5 ft wide for two-way

©iStockphoto.com US. Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration

Pedestrian Circulation

• Align parking spaces for easy pedestrian movement

TM 5-803, Site Planning and Design courtesy Department of the Army.

PREFERRED PERPENDICULAR ALIGNMNET PARALLEL ALIGNMNET

Special Vehicle Access

• Plan for access for special vehicles that may access the site• Fire engines• City buses• School buses• Tractor trailers• Garbage trucks

• Research required road widths, turn radii, and parking

©iStockphoto.com

Off-Street Loading Area• Plan for access for loading and

unloading of products and materials

• Best practices• Locate loading area away from traffic• Locate loading area out of view

• Check local requirements

©iStockphoto.com

Waste Disposal

• Plan for dumpster and garbage truck access

• Best practice – Screen dumpster from view• Fence• Wall• Landscaping

• Check local regulations

©iStockphoto.com

Drainage

• Traditional design slopes pavement toward storm drains

• LID techniques• Reduce impervious surface

area• Permeable pavement• Permeable paver blocks• Drain to adjacent buffers,

strips, and swales• Drain to nearby

bioretention areasCourtesy the Environmental Protection Agency

Landscaping

• Improves aesthetics

• Building base landscaping

• Provides shade

• Parking screen (buffer)

• Parking islands

©iStockphoto.com

Lighting

©iStockphoto.com

• Improves safety

• Often required by local regulations• Provides light to illuminate property but

does not illuminate adjacent property

Example

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Ingress and Egress

• Number of Parking Spaces

• Size of Parking Spaces

• Accessibility

• Aisle Width

• Pedestrian Circulation

• Special Vehicle Access

• Off-Street Loading Area

• Waste Disposal

• Drainage

• Landscaping

• Lighting

Image Sources

Istockphoto. (2009). Retrieved December 15, 2009, from www.istockphoto.com

Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Stormwater management best practices. Retrieved December 15, 2009, from

http://www.epa.gov/greeningepa/stormwater/best_practices.htm#permeablepavers

Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. (2004) ADA and ABA accessibility guidelines for buildings and

facilities. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from http://www.access- board.gov/ada-aba/preamble.htm

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. (n.d.) Flexibility in highway design. Retrieved December 15, 2009, from http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/flex/ch03.htm