This new 106,000 SF university facility will be located along a university shuttle bus route, a block from a main city bus line and a half mile from a covered train stop. For the project, we will remove a 99-car parking lot and provide 5 parking spaces adjacent to the new building (including handicapped parking) for a net loss of 94 parking spaces. The students and staff using this facility will be able to park in a parking garage, renovated prior to construction of this new building, located adjacent to the project site or take the university shuttle bus, city transit or bicycle. The university provides a free shuttle bus service loop for all employees and students from several miles away to all major facilities on campus. A new shuttle bus route for this new building recently began and has a stop located right outside the new building. This shuttle bus runs every 30 minutes making several stops near other buildings and parking area. The university has a separate on-call minibus it uses for transporting handicapped people. The shuttle buses reduce the need for students & staff to drive or carpool to the building. All shuttle buses park in a separate designated bus location off campus.There are a few vanpool and carpool parking spaces assigned in the parking area near the new building, however, there is no preferred parking for them as there are several buildings in the area which use the same parking area. The university\'s parking and transit office says there are only four carpools at this time, but would provide other carpools with parking spaces if needed. Since vanpoolers and carpoolers can park in their assigned space and then take the shuttle bus to another building, the university does not feel that preferred car/vanpool spaces at a particular parking area would provide any additional benefit to their students and staff than their current shuttle bus service. Additionally, since students and staff may need to travel between several different buildings on campus in any week, they likely would not have a need for designated carpool spaces at one particular parking area. We will submit proof of the university\'s shuttle bus service, route and location of stops to the USGBC for this credit\'s submittals. We would like the USGBC to consider the university\'s designated parking area for their 17 shuttle buses as the required designated vanpool parking spaces to meet this credit for this project.
Based on your description, the project is meeting the first requirement of this credit by reducing the number of parking spaces provided, assuming that additional parking is not being added elsewhere on the campus as a direct result of this project. However, in campus settings the second requirement of providing designated carpool/vanpool parking spaces for 5% of the building occupants can be more challenging to demonstrate. Past CIRs have addressed ways to calculate the number of required carpool spaces based on full time equivalent occupants in the building (see SSc4.4 CIR rulings dated 7/16/03, 8/7/2002 and 6/28/2002).Shuttle bus parking cannot be used to substitute carpool spaces. The shuttle service can be applied toward achievement of SSc4.1 instead. Because the proposed carpool spaces for this project are located on an adjacent site, the project must clearly document that these spaces are sufficient to meet the needs of the building occupants of this project. The project should demonstrate the steps it is taking to encourage carpooling, such as signage and education efforts. Applicable Internationally.