Recreational Center: Parking

According to COO Table 9, Section 159.142, the recreational center must have 157 parking spaces, 6 of which must be accessible parking. (COO Table 11, Section 159.144) The parking spaces are at a 90 degree parking angle, so according to COO Table 10, Section 159.143 they must be 9 feet in width and with 18 foot vehicle length. The maximum driveway width is 30' unless you have a two lane exit, in which case the maximum width is 36'. (COO Section 159.143) The parking lot must have a 25' buffer zone. The recreational center's parking lot is classified (by Section 159.184) as Class C. With that information we found that it must be covered at least 8% by landscape (8% of our land was covered). Double islands must be 9' x 36' and have at least two canopy trees. We have the aisles 24' wide, as they are two way. All trash receptacles must be screened by a wall on three sides that match the material of the primary structure, and the fourth side must be a metal gate. A loading area is not required for a recreational center. (COO Section 159.147)We have 1' candles and we have positioned them not to fall onto our neighbors land, as that would be against code. (COO Section 159.143) We also cannot have our drainage run off into neighboring land, as stated in COO Section 159.14 parking areas shall be graded and properly drained in such a manner that there will be no free flow of water onto either adjacent property or public sidewalks. Any runoff generated by such improved areas shall be disposed of in appropriate drainage facilities. We have addressed our runoff by directing it into a lake, not colliding with any sidewalks or neighboring land, with the city's permission. To make our parking lot, and overall land seem more inviting, we put some landscaping at the entrance. (It was placed so that no hazards were caused by obscured vision) We also decided to have more short rows, so that the customers would not have to walk as far to get to our building. We added more that the required amount of canopy trees so as to add more shade and further comfort. And we kept the parking lot on the far side of the building, so it would not be an eyesore for the lake. The parking lot will still have some negative visual effects, even though we try to reduce them in every way possible. It also causes excessive drainage issues, which we dealt with by directing the storm water runoff into the lake. (see runoff calculations) But we do our best to keep the area safe for the environment and pedestrians. It is important to provide pedestrian safety because if customers feel unsafe at our building, or in the parking lot, they will be unlikely to return. But if they feel it was safe and easy to arrive, they might find themselves coming more often.