I'm working on a major remodel for a city-owned conference center that has no on-site parking. There is a city-owned parking garage near by. The conference center has 25 employees. Most employees use that garage but currently there are no spaces dedicated to the conference center.
How do we figure how many spaces we would need to dedicate to the center to establish a base from which to reserve 5% for LEFE vehicles?
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Marilyn Specht
Vice President & Managing Principal, US SustainabilityIntroba
LEEDuser Expert
51 thumbs up
February 10, 2016 - 7:35 pm
Hi Jeannie,
Take a look at interpretation 10202 as it goes into more detail about the requirements for including parking outside of the LEED boundary. A heads up that you will need to demonstrate these spaces are marked with signage as designated for your LEED project only, so there may be some added coordination with the city.
Jeannie Rueter
Green Building AnalystAusonio Incorporated
3 thumbs up
February 11, 2016 - 12:37 pm
Thanks, Marilyn.
I did see that interpretation but it doesn't tell me how to allocate parking spaces for one building in a parking garage that serves the downtown area. Is there a formula or is it how ever many we decide makes sense based on the number of employees?
Thanks!
Marilyn Specht
Vice President & Managing Principal, US SustainabilityIntroba
LEEDuser Expert
51 thumbs up
February 12, 2016 - 12:06 pm
If your project is assigned or only has access to a certain portion of the garage, then assume 5% of that number. Perhaps there is an agreement you can reference to show this number? Or make assumptions based on how many companies have access to the garage and prorate from there.
Jeannie Rueter
Green Building AnalystAusonio Incorporated
3 thumbs up
May 17, 2016 - 7:50 pm
I have another question regarding this credit for the same project. I saw one of the posts sited a ruling that the closest distance is basically a combination of driving from the entrance of the garage to the parking spot and walking to the front door of the conference center.
Which parking space is qualified:
1) shortest drive, longer walk & not near ADA parking or elevator or stairs (shorter overall distance); or
2) slightly longer drive, next to the ADA parking and by the elevator & stairs and shortest walking distance to front door (longer overall distance)?
It seems to me 1) meets the letter of the ruling and 2) is more convenient for the person with the fuel efficient vehicle.
Marilyn Specht
Vice President & Managing Principal, US SustainabilityIntroba
LEEDuser Expert
51 thumbs up
May 18, 2016 - 11:52 am
For my projects with garages, I've always used spaces on the first floor, then spaces on subsequent floors that are closest to elevators/stairs as preferred and this has been approved on numerous projects. "Preferred" includes both closest to the entrance of the building and also other preferable spots, such as covered spaces in a garage. If you have multiple types of parking (ie surface, podium, garage) then you should provide equal ratios of preferred parking for all depending on how the total parking is split between them.
Jeannie Rueter
Green Building AnalystAusonio Incorporated
3 thumbs up
May 18, 2016 - 12:45 pm
Thank you, Marilyn. The first floor has only metered 1-hour public parking, about 14 spaces. The rest of the parking is gated with an attendant. Are metered spaces supposed to be considered for preferred parking?
They are still not where I would choose to park if I was working at the conference center. To me, the best spots are the first level of the gated parking (2nd floor) right between the elevator and the stairs. There are no parking spaces in that area on the 1st floor, it's the corner turn to go up the ramp to the gated parking.
Michelle Bombeck
Associate PrincipalO'Brien360
29 thumbs up
April 26, 2018 - 1:58 pm
Jeannie - Did you get an answer to your metered space question? We have a few spaces that are going to be reserved for short term (15 or 30 min) parking that could be considered 'preferred' but given the time restriction I'm wondering if we even need to worry about including those spaces in our parking count.
Emily Purcell
Sustainable Design LeadCannonDesign
LEEDuser Expert
322 thumbs up
April 26, 2018 - 3:50 pm
Metered parking in a garage open to the public I would exclude from the total and consider not part of the project, as it wouldn't really serve the project occupants. I'd think of that as a separate parking area.
Short term parking within the LEED project lot is a different case though - those spaces are serving the project and would count toward the total, and it would be tough to justify locating them closer to the entrance than the LEED preferred parking. Kind of a gray area but I think if they're functioning as a drop-off/loading area (like at a school drop off or hotel check in) you can exclude but if they're functioning as parking (like for retail shoppers) you'd need to include them and locate preferred spaces closer.
Michelle Bombeck
Associate PrincipalO'Brien360
29 thumbs up
April 26, 2018 - 4:14 pm
Thanks, Emily, that's sort of where I was landing as well. I have emailed GBCI for guidance and will post if/when I get that. However, my gut says we'll treat it like a separate type of parking (employee vs. visitor, short term vs. long term, etc.) and meet the credit requirements for the 'short-term' parking as well as the remainder of the 'long-term' parking.
Emily Purcell
Sustainable Design LeadCannonDesign
LEEDuser Expert
322 thumbs up
April 26, 2018 - 4:21 pm
That makes sense, especially if it's a large enough number of short-term spaces to "feel like" a separate lot.