Parking Layouts
Parking layouts are strategies for efficiently organizing multiple indoor or outdoor parking spaces. Often laid out in parking lots or designed as multi-level parking structures, parking facilities are essential for systematically storing vehicles in public and private settings. Parking parameters differ between countries and governments and each has developed their own standards. For example, parking spaces in the United States are larger on average than parking spaces in Europe. Strategies to consider when laying out parking are: the directions of traffic, systems of either one or two way traffic, the angle of the spaces, the type of vehicles being parked, and the inclusion of pedestrian walkways and landscape elements.
The factors to consider in a parking lot layout include: parking lot size, pavement, parking space angles in consideration to level of vehicle turnover, accessibility requirements (ex. ramps), lighting design, landscaping, drainage, and overall traffic flow including that of pedestrians.
Space efficiency (size and angle) is a primary concern for the design of parking lots for buses and trucks. Pavement thickness should be a focus when considering possible heavy loads from these vehicles. In an average parking lot, these heavier kinds of vehicles are typically designated to specific areas and will follow specific routes around the lot.
A parking management plan expresses the intended management of the use of parking on a certain property. These plans are typically in response to found specific parking and traffic issues. It often identifies developments or changes in policies, practices, and budgets for these implementations.
