Our project is a renovation of an existing residential student complex in the center of the Clemson University campus. The site is within a 5 minute walk to the academic core areas of campus and to downtown Clemson. The project will house 442 students and resident staff. Campus parking policy requires resident students park their cars in a perimeter campus lot approximately 1/2 mile from our project site. Thus residents use their cars selectively. In order to create a more pedestrian friendly quadrangle, the proposed design will eliminate all existing on-site parking (11 spaces) and provide only 3 new metered spaces, and 10 scooter spaces adjacent to the buildings. Our question is regarding the carpool/vanpool requirement for 5% of the building occupants. The LEED Application Guide for Lodging states "In some cases, lodging facilities are located in close vicinity to the workplace and carpools and vanpools are not necessary. Such a strategy would likely comply with the intent of the credit." We would like to confirm that our project meets the requirements of this statement and would therefore receive credit for this item without providing carpool/vanpool parking. Also, what documentation is required? We should also point out that in order to provide carpool spaces for 5% of the occupants (12 spaces), we would be increasing the amount of parking over the existing. We believe that providing the 12 carpool spaces on-site would likely encourage the use of cars, as students will park in these spaces short-term, and risk getting a ticket.
Based on the description above, the project is meeting the first requirement of this credit by reducing existing parking area. As the project meets the definition of a lodging facility as stated in the LEED Application for Lodging, the Application Guide can be applied to this project. The Application Guide states, "Carpool and vanpool programs should be adopted for the lodging facility to service commuting between the residence and other amenities. In some cases, lodging facilities are located in close vicinity to the workplace and carpools and vanpools are not necessary." There are two scenarios that would need to be addressed by projects commuting to the workplace and to amenities. Given the nature and siting of this project, it is clear that all of the residents are within a short walk of their "workplace (i.e. the academic core). It is not apparent however if the project would be in close proximity (within a mile) to basic amenities (for goods and services useful to students such as convenience grocery or supermarket, pharmacy, bank, post office, etc.). If the project\'s LEED submittal demonstrates that the amenities are within a mile, it is eligible for this point. Furthermore, a rideshare bulletin board (for those trips where a car is necessary, e.g. specialty shopping, recreation, various road trips) must be posted in a high-traffic common area (e.g. entrance or lounge), actively maintained, and introduced as part of resident orientation. To document this credit, the project would need to provide a narrative and a site plan demonstrating that no new parking has been added to the project, and that the workplace and amenities are located in close proximity to the project. Include details on the rideshare bulletin board and its management. Applicable Internationally.