On-Street Parking
Parallel or angled parking should be considered on streets, particularly in front of commercial, mixed-use, and higher-density residential buildings in developed areas.  On-street parking affords easy access to street-oriented establishments and, since it can be included as part of the total parking requirement, it reduces the surface parking lot area required.  The presence of parked cars also provides a physical barrier between traffic lanes and sidewalks, thereby lessening the impact of moving traffic on pedestrians.

Designing Parking Lots
A well-designed parking lot is integrated into a site’s overall design, topography, and natural features and provides safe ingress and egress.  Local jurisdictions within the region establish parking lot specifications based on the intended use of the facility it serves.  In addition to local requirements, parking lot design should include landscaping, drainage and filtration elements, open spaces, appropriate lighting, snow storage areas, pedestrian and barrier-free circulation, multiple uses, and efficient parking accommodation.

Snow Removal
When designing parking lots include areas for snow storage away from sidewalks, access drives, entries, and exits.  Planting beds intended for snow storage sites should be wide enough to accommodate snow piles without damage to plants or use plants that will not be damaged by piled snow.

Parking Lot Placement
Parking lots preferably should be located at the side or rear of the buildings.  Siting parking areas behind structures maintains vehicular accessibility and safety while improving pedestrian access, circulation, and safety by reducing the number of driveways crossing sidewalks.  It also enhances the streetscape and building views: streets are lined by buildings not asphalt parking areas.

Unless a site’s topography or natural landscape features offer no other alternative, parking areas should not be sited adjacent to roadways.  Instead, site parking areas to reduce their visual impact from roadways and adjacent properties (refer to Critical Design Practices: Landscaping for additional information).  Whenever possible, parking areas should be integrated with and/or linked to parking areas on neighboring properties.

Given the region’s rolling topography, incorporating sub-grade parking should be encouraged.  Multi-story parking structures can be cost prohibitive for some developments; however, parking areas below buildings but accessed from a lower grade level can mitigate the visual impact of parked cars for a reasonable cost.  This also provides sheltered parking during the winter months.  For local examples, refer to Residential: High-Density Residential and Commercial: Office.

Entrance & Circulation
Ingress and egress to parking areas should come from side streets, alleys, or access roads whenever possible.  If access is off a main road, shared drives and/or linked parking areas facilitate movement between adjacent properties with a minimum disruption of roadway traffic.  Landscaping at entrances can be more elaborate to attract the attention of passing traffic.  The design and location of parking entrances should complement – not interfere with or subordinate – pedestrian access and circulation (refer to Critical Design Practices: Pedestrian & Bike Circulation for additional information).  Sidewalk material should carry through parking lot entrance drives to facilitate safer pedestrian access.

Within parking areas, the layout and shape of drives should guide traffic flow in a simple, efficient manner.  Tasteful signs and landscape elements can be used to reinforce intended traffic patterns.  Although one-way traffic limits choices, it reduces paved area, enhances safety, and provides more space for landscaping and on-site stormwater management.  In addition to vehicular circulation, parking area design should provide for appropriately located pedestrian circulation either separated from or included in the parking areas, especially through larger lots.

Multiple Uses of Parking Lots
Parking areas are more efficient when they serve multiple uses in addition to parking vehicles.  Local jurisdictions should encourage the development of parking areas which also serve as spaces for public gathering (e.g., farmers market), recreation (e.g., basketball courts), and stormwater detention.

Shared Parking
The size of parking areas may be reduced through shared parking agreements between adjacent properties.  Shared parking can involve businesses or uses with different hours of service (e.g., a church and a bank) or neighboring businesses with a shared parking area (e.g., people will park once and walk to multiple establishments).  Local jurisdictions are encouraged to reduce or consolidate parking requirements.  This allows for a reduction in the total space devoted to parking, and thereby minimizes its visual and ecological impact.

Surface Parking Scale
To help retain the small-town character of communities throughout the region, surface parking areas should be kept to a minimum.  When a larger capacity is required, several smaller lots that help break up the mass of the parking surface are preferable to one large lot.  Advantages of multiple smaller lots are they are more readily incorporated into sites with significant grade changes and they provide access meeting ADA standards for multiplelevel buildings.

Landscaping
Landscaping – including exterior buffers and interior planting islands – is critical to the design of parking areas.  Trees can soften appearance, shade parking lots, reduce summertime heat and glare build-up, and reduce the perceived size of parking areas.  Including landscaping design features also relieves the congested look, minimizes pedestrian/vehicular conflicts, and allows greener, more natural-appearing open spaces.  Whenever possible, incorporate pedestrian circulation through welldesigned landscaped areas.

Buffering & Screening
Buffering parking areas reduces their impact on adjacent properties, as well as enhances the streetscape.  Attractive screens incorporate vegetation with durable materials, and they facilitate, not inhibit, safe pedestrian circulation within and around the parking lot.  Buildings, low walls, berms, and landscape perimeter plantings provide ways to screen parking areas from roadways and neighboring properties.

Communities could offer incentives to encourage local establishments to upgrade existing sites to reflect guidebook principles and enhance the overall aesthetic and environmental quality of the region.  Adding landscaping and screening dramatically reduces the impact of parking areas and improves streetscapes.

Screening is also critical around multi-level parking structures.  Berming, landscaping, and architectural features can help minimize the impact of these structures on the streetscape and adjacent properties.  Whenever possible, pedestrian-oriented uses should be incorporated at street level. Refer to Mixed-Use Developments for additional information.

Options for Overflow Parking
By definition, overflow parking areas are infrequently used.  While the spaces may be filled with cars only a few days each year, the impact of the spaces is actually quite significant as they contribute to stormwater runoff year round.  Every time it rains or when the snow melts, runoff from overflow parking lots – including fluids from vehicles, sand, salt – washes into storm sewers, as well as our region’s bays, lakes, rivers, and streams.  To minimize the environmental impact of overflow parking areas, local jurisdictions should encourage the use of alternative paving for these spaces.

Alternative Pavement Surfaces
Paved areas deprive the soil of sunlight and moisture, and contribute to soil erosion and water pollution caused by wind and stormwater runoff.  Unlike impervious surfaces such as asphalt and concrete, alternative paving allows water to seep into the ground, which reduces the total amount of runoff from a site, as well as assists in groundwater recharge.  Since protecting groundwater resources is essential to our region’s ecological and economic health, local jurisdictions are encouraged to revise their ordinances to allow alternative surfaces be used for overflow parking areas, as well as parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks whenever possible.

Stormwater Control & Detention
Including bioretention areas assists in managing parking surface runoff.  Bioretention islands include soil and vegetation to treat parking lot runoff by channeling water through filter strips into landscaped areas.  The stormwater then percolates into the soil or collects in a retention basin for discharge into another water body (e.g., stream, lake).  Bioretention islands, like retention basins, can be attractively integrated into landscaped areas.

Excessive Parking Lot Runoff
Parking lots contribute to the amount of impervious surfaces in the region.  Limiting the amount of impervious surfaces (i.e., reducing size of parking stalls and lots, creating more efficient overall designs, utilizing alternative pavement options) can lower construction and maintenance costs, provide more functional open space amenities, and require a smaller stormwater system.