SERVING MULTIPLE MASTERS

How incorporating nine parking best practices boosted a new garage at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Long gone are the days when the drab, utilitarian dorm room sized for a sardine was a rite of passage for an incoming freshman at a college campus. Today’s college student is looking for an interactive, amenity-driven lifestyle that goes beyond academics. Universities are listening and with good reason: Multiple studies, including one by University of California, Los Angeles’ Higher Education Research Institute, have found that students who live on campus have higher graduation rates than those who do not. From state-of-the-art facilities to high-quality student housing, today’s higher education institutions are exploring innovative ways to offer students a more multi-faceted, compelling community environment that not only appeals to the modern student but also positions him or her for greater success.

Buried within this trend is a chronic issue nearly all college campuses face: supporting new growth with efficient parking. Parking for higher education has always been a limited resource, and new construction inevitably consumes existing lots. Therefore, maintaining well-integrated parking is critical to the success of this ongoing campus transformation.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is among the plethora of universities investing in new infrastructure that follows this trend. Currently under construction, the new Student Housing South residential community was envisioned to support the university’s strategic vision to create a vibrant residential campus that connects academic and social lives while enhancing student success. The complex, which will include new dormitories and amenities, will be built on an existing parking lot. Watry Design, Inc. was selected to design a parking structure that would support the project and integrate it with the environment. Among the responsibilities assigned was to ensure that the design followed best parking practices for higher education.

Watry’s goal was to design a parking structure the university could be proud of. It’s about a lot more than just providing parking. To successfully integrate parking, we take into consideration the context of the site from an architectural standpoint as well as walkability. What are the needs of the various user groups? How can we help meet sustainability goals?

From sustainability to modal integration and security, the education parking best practices that follow are designed to address every area of parking as it specifically relates to the needs of higher education. How does your campus parking stack up?

Understand Campus User Groups
A successful parking design requires a thorough understanding of the various user groups on campus. Faculty, students, and special-event parkers all have different needs and use patterns that vary depending on day of the week and time of day. The Cal Poly structure is intended to serve multiple user groups that include administration and visitors in addition to students and faculty, which the design takes into account. The garage provides two-way vehicle circulation with 90-degree parking in a two-column bay configuration. In other words, the Cal Poly structure offers an intuitive route through the garage with parking stalls that are easy to get into and out of. Stair and elevator core locations are easy to locate, whether a patron is a frequent user or first-time visitor.

Consider the Context of the Site
It is important to understand the relationship between a site and its adjacencies to design an effective parking solution. Beyond its effect on the architectural design, this understanding is a driver in determining the physical location of parking within the site. Considerations such as access to and egress from the site, capacity of surrounding streets, and the effects structured parking will have on traffic patterns factored into the design-build team’s decision to locate the garage away from student housing. The Cal Poly site is arranged so that the student housing and ancillary buildings face Grand Avenue, a major circulation road on campus that serves all forms of traffic: private vehicle, pedestrian, and public transit. While creating easy access for all modes of transportation via a rear vehicle circulation road off Grand Avenue, locating the parking structure entry and exit at the rear of the site places prominence on the student housing buildings.

Integrate Modes and Mitigate Conflicts
For education parking to be successful, a network of safe, direct, and attractively landscaped pedestrian and bike paths must connect the various areas of campus. Possibly the biggest challenges in developing these paths are the potential conflicts between pedestrians, bikes, autos, shuttles, and other modes of transit. It is important to protect pedestrians and other modes from more danger-ous modes. In addition, each mode is more efficient when effective design isolates and separates from the others. For example, a pedestrian walkway should be protected from vehicles with bollards or landscaping wherever possible. In the case of Cal Poly, the design team was able to utilize the unique hillside grading of the site to avoid pedestrian and vehicular conflicts. Vehicle entry and exit are located away from the student housing central core at a lower level elevation, while pedestrians head to their destinations via upper grade exits at the opposite side of the structure. This configuration eliminates the conflicts created when pedestrian and vehicle circulation routes cross each other.

Explore Mixed-Use
As campuses densify, combining mixed uses, such as a sports field or other campus facilities, can play an important role in creating a more secure, lively environment. As mentioned above, Cal Poly is incorporating this best practice by wrapping three sides of the parking structure with ancillary functions, such as a small café, community room, and welcome center. This not only integrates the parking structure more effectively into its surroundings but also supports the university’s mission to position its students for higher success by creating a rich, amenity-laden experience that fosters greater connectivity and engagement.

Develop a Parking Management Plan
Every campus needs a comprehensive parking management plan to address peak parking demand periods. University parking facilities are typically at capacity or beyond at the beginning of every quarter or semester and during special events. This results in using 100 percent or more of the parking resources. Having a plan in place to deal with these situations will improve the parking experience for all users. Cal Poly currently has in place a parking management plan, which will be critical for the new parking structure due to its proximity to other buildings, such as the Performing Arts Center.

Connect with Transit
Parking should form a connection point with other modes of transportation. For example, shuttle and bus stops can be incorporated or kiosks providing their location can be integrated. Ample bike parking should be provided. Student Housing South was designed to encourage alternate modes of transportation, from bike racks within proximity of the parking structure and throughout the project to a plentiful network of sidewalks that guide users to their destinations once they leave the garage. There are four bus transit stations within a half-mile of the parking structure that can be utilized to further travel around the campus and San Luis Obispo. In addition, infrastructure is being provided at 15 parking stalls to accommodate future electric vehicle charging stations.

Design with Sustainability in Mind
Sustainable parking design best practices should be incorporated into each solution. Universities can utilize the United States Green Building Council’s Parksmart Certification as a guideline and even achieve certification without adding significant cost to the project. From vegetated swales for stormwater management to LED lighting to the incorporation of renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and geothermal loops, these measures illustrate a campus’s commitment to sustainability. The Cal Poly structure is incorporating a photovoltatic array on the roof level. This will not only help provide additional power but will also reduce the heat island effect of the roof deck. Additional sustainable features that have been integrated into the design are LED lighting and recycled content in building materials.

Incorporate Appropriate Security
Security is a prime concern in all parking structure environments but especially on campuses. Passive security or crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED; see the March 2016 issue of The Parking Professional for more), such as glass-backed elevators, open stairwells, and the elimination of hiding spots behind walls, can be very effective at deterring crime. In addition, active security measures should be considered based on location, such as code blue emergency phones and a video surveillance system. Security features integrated into the design at Cal Poly include stairwells that are open to the garage’s interior; increased visibility gained by eliminating columns that can obstruct views and create hiding places; and installation of of code blue emergency phones.

Provide Clear Wayfinding
Clear wayfinding is a requirement for all campus environments. Informational kiosks and plentiful signage should aid users not only in reaching their destinations but also on return. For example, the elevator and stair towers of a parking structure serve as powerful wayfinding elements. The Cal Poly parking structure provides clear views of the stairs and elevators from any point in the structure, making wayfinding easy and intuitive for both new users and those already familiar with the layout.

By designing well-integrated parking into a campus project, universities can effectively continue to expand and meet the evolving needs of students, faculty, and visitors without sacrificing what is already a scarce resource on nearly every college campus across the country.

MICHAEL PENDERGRASS, AIA, LEED AP, is Watry Design’s associate principal. He can be reached at mpendergrass@watrydesign.com. 

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BEAUTY AND A FUNCTIONAL BEAST

Form and function meet in Sarasota’s State Street Parking Garage

When Sarasota, Fla.’s city planners decided to develop a new parking structure, they saw it as an essential element of the city’s drive to promote economic growth. In fact, the city’s downtown parking master plan is largely designed to enhance the vitality of downtown development by encouraging visitors and employees of local businesses to park in centrally located garages and lots and use pedestrian ways to reach their ultimate destinations. The six-story, 397-space State Street Parking Garage is the second of a series of parking facilities planned for downtown Sarasota.

Ultimately, the parking master plan will provide city planners the flexibility to re-align or reduce the number of on-street parking spaces to increase sidewalk widths and pedestrian activity areas. Also, by centralizing parking, the plan minimizes the amount of parking area businesses need to develop to meet their needs. As a result, developers and building owners can focus their development investments on creating income-producing commercial and residential space rather than parking. In addition to supporting local businesses, this element of the parking master plan is also leading to the development of lower, more attractive, and more functional buildings.

Sarasota’s plan provides a terrific example of how strategic parking planning can help make cities more walkable, business-friendly, and congestion-free. In addition to providing wider sidewalks for pedestrians, the city’s plan also increases and improves landscaping downtown, provides new benches for visitors, and permits restaurants to provide outdoor services on the newly widened sidewalks.

Safe, More Convenient Parking In light of the important role parking is to play in Sarasota’s downtown plan, the primary goal of designers was to create a facility parkers would want to use. This was no small feat, considering the site’s small footprint. The site’s depth of just 105 feet with a 20-foot-wide alley created a significant design challenge. Not only did designers need to create a functional, parker-friendly facility on this small footprint, but they had to do so in a way that would support the development of a planned multi-level office or residential liner building that will be built on an adjacent site to the west of the garage. The design also needed to accommodate a 58,000 gallon stormwater detention vault, which was ultimately tucked under the ramp at ground level.

Finally, the design needed to accommodate the future implementation of a renewable energy program. To this end, the project’s parking consultants from Walker Parking included in the design the necessary infrastructure for the future installation of a photovoltaic system above the top parking level.

The functional design resulted in a two-bay-wide, six-level-high, single-threaded helix structure with parking on one flat bay and one ramped bay. With the exception of two spaces at ground level, that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, all 397 spaces are provided on the elevated floors and provide parking for visitors and employees of local downtown businesses. The deck’s footprint is 298 feet by 105 feet, and site boundary constraints resulted in only one row of parking being included at the ramps. The garage’s columns are typically spaced at 24 feet on center, with 48 feet at the end of bays. The north parking bay is 60 feet wide, and the south ramp bay is 45 feet wide.

Traffic flow is always a challenge in such small footprints. The consultant was able to achieve two-way flow with 9-foot by 18-foot, 90-degree stalls. These dimensions permit safe and convenient traffic flow combined with convenient parking. The typical floor-to-floor height is 10 feet, six inches, except at the ground level, which is 17 feet high to accommodate the 14,000-square-foot ground-level retail shell with a loading dock at the back of the structure. The 10-foot-high ceilings on the parking levels offer a more comfortable, customer-friendly parking experience while enhancing safety by improving visibility throughout the structure.

Access to the garage from State Street on the north is provided by an entry/exit on the east end of the deck. A second entry/exit on the east end is provided from Ringling Boulevard to the south through a 150-foot-long, two-way driveway to the garage. This driveway also
provides access to the alley bordering the south side of the structure, allowing access to the loading dock and utilities beneath the ramp. To allow tight turns for large trucks into the alley, traffic flow in the alley is one way, from east to west.

Pedestrian flow was also an essential design element. To provide the safest and most convenient experience, pedestrians are directed to two separate elevator and stair towers, one at the northwest corner of the deck and the other on the north side near the State Street entrance.

Two final design elements revolved around lighting and security. When it came to lighting, the primary focus of the electrical design was energy efficiency. Designers selected LED light fixtures arranged in locations to provide good light uniformity, exceeding Illuminating Engineering Society standards and providing a safer, more customer-friendly, and more energy-efficient experience. A lighting control system comprised of timers and photo cells further enhances energy efficiency by permitting parking operators to tailor lighting requirements around peak utilization and other considerations. The electrical system is backed up by an uninterrupted power system that provides energy for the emergency lights, and additional safety features include a surge protection system, emergency phone assistance stations, and an elevator recall system.

The electrical design also supports the city’s goal of promoting sustainable energy use with the addition of four electric vehicle charging stations. These stations are located near the northwest stair and elevator tower at the second level.

Security was an equally important design consideration. Passive security features include open stair towers with emergency phones. In addition, the interior of the deck, the stair towers, and the ground-level perimeter are well-illuminated to improve visibility throughout the facility. The design also includes infrastructure to permit future expansion of security elements, including the installation of a conduit for future security cameras at the lobbies of the stair elevator towers and multiple locations throughout the deck.

Tampa-based general contracting firm A.D. Morgan oversaw the construction of the garage, working closely with the development team, the city, and neighboring businesses. The garage structure is cast-in-place post-tensioned slabs, beams, and girders supported on a drilled shaft foundation system. The ground level is slab-on-grade construction placed on compacted fill. The structure’s stair and elevator towers are cast-in-place with conventionally reinforced walls, slabs, and beams with a structural steel gable-framed roof.

Form Meets Function
The State Street Garage’s architecture was a key element of its design. Because of its central downtown location, the garage needed to be attractive as well as functional. As a Sarasota-based architect, Harvard Jolly Architects was intimately familiar with the character of downtown Sarasota and able to design a structure that fits seamlessly—and beautifully—with its neighbors.

The garage’s attractive design presents the classical look of a residential apartment building that perfectly complements the surrounding buildings. The primary north facade along State Street is expressed with precast architectural panels with accented bands around window openings and 12-inch-deep sill ledges with dentils.

The main vehicle entry from State Street is the garage’s architectural focal point. It features precast architectural panels with arches and articulated stone veneers at vehicle and pedestrian entrances. Column panels with column capitals and bases are set in front of the precast panels. The east end of the building is block infill between the horizontal cast-in-place beams, and the east face has a stucco finish with custom foam shapes with polyurethane hard coat for columns, capitals, window surrounds, and cornices. The west elevation of the garage is masonry block infill panels between horizontal cast-in-place beams and vertical columns with no openings or trim to abut the future adjacent liner building.

The structure’s ground floor is designed to house future retail establishments, and the exterior architecture is designed to appeal to customers of these establishments while complementing the rest of the building. Continuous glazing along the ground floor and a combination of canopies and brick pavers for sidewalks with landscaping achieve a presentation that’s accessible and welcoming for pedestrians.

A final architectural accent is provided through landscape architecture. The design, which was  created by Sarasota-based David Johnston Architects, features a combination of palm trees,  shrubs, and deciduous trees to provide an attractive, welcoming environment outside of the parking facility.

Well-Earned Recognition
The State Street Garage has been well-received locally and is already considered a Sarasota landmark. It has also achieved wider recognition, having won two awards from the Florida Parking Association (FPA): the 2015 FPA Award of Merit for Parking Structure Architecture and the 2015 Award of Merit for Parking Structure Design.

BILL SMITH, APR, is principal of Smith-Phillips Strategic Communications. He can be reached at bsmith@smith-phillips.com or 603.491.4280

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UNDER THE DUNES

One-of-a-kind Dutch parking garage named its country’s Building of the Year.

The Royal Institute of Dutch Architects received 125 submissions for its 2016 Building of the Year. The juried contest sees hot competition from all facets of building design, so when the winner was a parking garage, people sat up and took notice. A parking garage? Building of the year for an entire country? You bet—and wait until you lay eyes on it. The underground garage in the small beach town of Katwijk aan Zee is part of a larger effort to protect the village from rising sea levels. That 70-million-euro plan put into play a “dike-in-dune” concept, which buries a wall—and a parking garage—under manmade dunes that look and feel just like the real thing. The two-pronged approach helps protect the town from rising water as waves hit the dunes and their embedded walls and allows the beach to remain a main community focus.

Under the dunes is a garage that was designed to serve the many tourists who visit the town’s sandy shores. The garage is nearly invisible; it was embedded into the surrounding dune environment in a way that was very carefully and deliberately respectful. Those in the know, including Fast Company, call it “incognito architecture,” and it works particularly well for the oblong parking structure. The garage offers plenty of parking for visitors, innovative lighting and design, and lines that led the competition jury to call it an “exceptionally beautiful object” and “virtually flawless.”

The garage was commissioned by the Municipality of Katwijk and designed by architects Royal HaskoningDHV. It contains 663 parking spaces and is largely hidden inside the town’s dunes, which were rebuilt as part of the greater conservation project. By locating most of the parking underneath the natural landscape, architects achieved their goal of strengthening the relationship between the beach and the neighboring village. The organic shape of the dunes was also used to create natural entrances and exits to the structure, easing wayfinding and orientation for drivers and pedestrians, and offer lots of natural light inside. At night, emergency exit lights create beautiful beacons along the shoreline.

Interior lighting and color was used to orient users inside the garage, which is long. Icons were also used in wayfinding for both drivers and pedestrians.

Residents of the town were hesitant when they first heard about the project, but embraced it whole-heartedly when they saw the final results. “People love it,” says Richard van den Brule, MSc, head of the architectural department at Royal HaskoningDHV. He notes that the garage was not only Building of the Year but also won the people’s choice award and an award for best public space.

“For us as a team, the results are really satisfying,” he continues. “During the design and construction stages, we already had a feeling this was going to be a very special project. Now it has become a benchmark for integrated design projects and governance, it’s won several awards, and it’s been published in media around the world.”

GOING UP

Villanova University expands a garage skyward, increasing capacity and campus visibility.

By William F. Kavanagh, AIA, NCARB

As part of the Campus Master Plan implementation at Villanova University, outside Philadelphia, Pa., there was a need for additional parking on campus. Phase 1 consisted of the creation of new surface parking lots and the vertical expansion of the Saint Augustine Center (SAC) garage by two additional levels. Upon their completion, the parking spaces from the existing Pike surface lot were relocated to allow for Phase 2, a new 1,300-space parking garage, to commence. When the Pike Garage is complete, the existing Lancaster Avenue parking lot will be replaced with new residence halls for 1,135 upperclass, undergraduate students. Finally, Phase 4 of the plan will be the construction of a new performing arts center beside the new Pike Parking Garage.

The existing SAC garage, with a capacity of 270 spaces, was increased to 493 spaces during its vertical expansion. This resulted in a net gain of 223 spaces for the university. The original precast concrete garage consisted of two levels: grade plus a supported level. Because the garage is recessed into the sloped site, each flat parking level is accessed directly from grade and not via a ramp.

Challenges
The many challenges associated with this vertical expansion of the existing precast parking garage included:

• Providing new shear walls for the lateral stability of the taller, vertically expanded garage.
• Integrating a new access-ramp connection between the existing and new parking levels.
• Adding a new elevator and new pedestrian bridge for improved accessibility.
• Enhancing the architectural appearance of the expanded garage.
• Guaranteeing crane access around garage perimeter on a tight site.
• Maintaining an aggressive construction schedule.

Design Solutions
The original garage was designed in the early 1990s with reserve capacity to be expanded by one level in the future. An analysis of the existing foundations by the structural engineer and the geotechnical engineer found that a two-level vertical expansion was possible. However, the original design did not provide adequate lateral support for such a two-level vertical expansion. The lateral design criteria had become more stringent under subsequent editions of the building code. New cast-in-place concrete shear walls had to be inserted into the existing precast garage. This required excavation for new shear wall foundations within the existing garage footprint. Micro piles were selected due to the
low overhead working clearances beneath the existing garage floor. In addition, holes had to be cut into the existing floor of precast double tees to allow for shear wall continuity up to the new floors. The cast-in-place shear walls were tied into the existing double tees of the existing supported floor. New precast shear walls were installed on top of this as part of the new precast superstructure of the expansion above.

A new internal ramp was required for accessing the two new upper levels from the existing supported level of the garage. Galvanized steel framing, cast-in-place concrete, and special precast detailing were required to provide a smooth transition between the new and existing garage portions. The initial ramp from the existing flat double tee floor was a speed ramp without parking before transitioning to a lesser sloped ramp with parking.

An elevator and a pedestrian bridge were added at opposite ends of the expanded parking garage. The elevator was provided to allow for accessibility to all floors. The elevator shaft was carefully inserted into an opening in the existing garage that previously accommodated a stair. Careful design and detailing as well as some underpinning of an existing retaining wall at the elevator pit allowed for the elevator to be accommodated within the existing garage footprint without the expense of an external elevator tower. The pedestrian bridge connected the new third level with the adjacent grade for a better and more convenient connection to the heart of the Villanova campus. The bridge spanned
over the sloping site.

Fitting In
The architectural design of the newly expanded parking garage was important to the university. The size of the original two-level garage was obscured by the sloping site and landscaping. The perceived mass of the new expanded garage was much greater and required appropriate architectural detailing to break down its scale and blend more contextually with the campus. Keeping with the collegiate gothic style prevalent on campus, buttressed shaped column covers with integral stone veneer cast into the precast were provided. They provide a three-dimensional quality to the facades, helping to break down the scale of the building. Stone veneer was also added to the shear walls at the ends of the garage. The difference architecturally between the original and the vertically expanded garage is very pronounced and has been well-received by the university’s community.

Sufficient crane access around the perimeter of a garage is essential for a vertical expansion with precast concrete. Typically, for new precast garage construction, a large crawler crane erects the building from within the garage footprint. This allows for the crane to get very close to the structure during erection. With a vertical precast expansion, the crane has to be on the perimeter and reach over the existing garage for erection of the expansion. Instead of a crawler crane, a very large, wheeled, mobile hydraulic crane—a Grove GMK7550, 550-ton capacity crane—was utilized. This crane was required to erect the precast expansion from two opposite sides of the garage. The greater mobility of the wheeled crane versus a crawler crane was beneficial for this reason. Additional site constraints that affected the construction of the expansion included the sloping site, existing trees, and the adjacent railroad tracks. The sloping site resulted in increasing the distance between the road where the crane was located and the garage itself. The longer distance required a bigger crane with a longer reach and lifting capacity. Several trees were removed to allow room for the crane to swing its loads into place during erection. A couple of very large trees were required to remain and required special means and methods to work around.

Finally, the proximity to the adjacent rail lines required special approvals.

An aggressive construction schedule was specially tailored to minimize disruption to the campus and its academic calendar. The faculty and staff who utilized the original garage were displaced during the construction of the vertical expansion. The time the entire garage was closed was reduced by installing the foundations for the vertical expansion with partial closures of just the required immediate area. Also, the use of precast allowed for the schedule to be compressed further. The precast elements were fabricated offsite at the same time the foundations were being installed.

Conclusion
Vertical expansions of existing garages are inherently more complicated than that of new construction. Combining the existing construction with the new expansion required careful coordination. As a result, the construction costs are usually greater for a vertical garage expansion than that of a new garage. However, sometimes building upon an existing asset has the greatest outcome, where the resultant garage is better than the sum of its parts.

WILLIAM F. KAVANAGH, AIA, NCARB, is director of parking design for The Harman Group, Inc. He can be reached at bkavanagh@harmangroup.com.

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PARKSMART FAQ: A PRIMER ON THE GROUNDBREAKING GARAGE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C

What is Parksmart? Parksmart (formerly Green Garage Certification) is the only sustainability rating system designed for parking structures, featuring parking and transportation-specific measures that address the unique challenges and opportunities to increase efficiency and sustainability in this distinct building type.

What Happened to Green Garage Certification?
Originally developed and launched by the Green Parking Council, Green Garage Certification was rebranded Parksmart under the aegis of Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI), the certification arm of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). GBCI acquired the program effective January 2016 and added the Parksmart Certification to its complement of sustainability ratings systems, including the LEED family of certifications for buildings, renovations, existing buildings, and neighborhoods.

What Is the Role of the Parksmart Advisor?
Parksmart Advisors are trained by IPI, in coordination with GBCI, to offer specialized  consulting services to clients and organizations pursuing Parksmart Certification for parking structures. The Parksmart Advisor serves as a guide and technical expert on the program. Although Parksmart Advisors are not required for Parksmart Certification submissions, their training and experience with the program will benefit both the certification process as well as the sustainability decisions and improvements made to parking structures in pursuit of certification.

How Do I Become a Parksmart Advisor?
Individuals who successfully complete the training program receive a certificate and are listed as approved advisors by GBCI. The training is currently offered in a full-day, face-to-face professional development class that includes scenarios and application of measures
in a case-study format, as well as an assessment at the conclusion of the training. IPI is currently collaborating with GBCI to develop an online, blended-learning format for the Parksmart Advisor Training, allowing anyone to take the class during a set period of time online with an instructor. This training program will be available in early 2017.

How Is the Certification Organized?
Parksmart Certification is arranged in four major categories: management, programs, technology and structure design, and innovation. Each of the four areas contains individual measures that are scored on a point basis to offer varying levels of certification under the program. Currently, there are no required measures in the rating system.

Does the Program Address New Construction and Renovation?
Certification is available to both new and previously constructed parking structures. Currently, all garages follow the same standard. Additional detail on these classifications is available in the Guide to Parksmart Certification.

How Does Parksmart Certification Relate to IPI’s Sustainability Framework?
IPI’s Sustainability Framework provides seven primary objectives that advance sustainability goals and the parking profession. These seven objectives are complemented by 10 action items for IPI as an organization.

The Framework reinforces the certification, stating our intention to “increase education and information sharing and promote the use of rating systems and benchmarking tools such as the Parksmart Program for new and existing parking assets.” The Framework
sets objectives and strategic direction for the parking industry but does provide specific guidance on how to increase efficiency and sustainability. The Parksmart Standard provides specific, detailed operational guidance and best practices for every parking facility, regardless of whether certification is pursued.

What Are Some of the Criteria Addressed by Parksmart?
The management section contains 16 measures totaling 90 points and includes parking pricing, shared parking, proactive operational maintenance, and building systems commissioning. The programs area contains 13 measures totaling 64 points and includes wayfinding systems, traffic flow plan, carshare program, rideshare program, low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles, alternative-fuel vehicles, alternative-fuel fleet vehicles, bicycle parking, and bicycle sharing/rental. The largest section, technology and structure design, contains 18 measures totaling 88 points: HVAC systems—occupied spaces, ventilation systems—parking decks, lighting controls, energy-efficient lighting system, and design for durability. The innovation section includes a single measure focused on including new technologies, best practices, and unique ideas to the program. It also allows points to be applied to those projects that successfully and significantly exceed certification benchmarks.

What Resources Are Available to Support the Parksmart program?

• The Parksmart Certification Standard, which is available in the USGBC online store, serves as the primary reference for certification and contains detailed information on measures, objectives, point values, compliance paths, and documentation requirements.
• The Guide to Parksmart Certification is the companion document to the Standard. Available for free download, this document introduces the structure of the program, includes eligibility, certification levels, and basic guidance on pursuing certification.
• The Parksmart Documentation Package contains the technical revisions to the certification program that have been added since the launch in 2015. The revisions offer clarification and revised compliance paths for select measures.
• The Parksmart scorecard serves as a working document for applicants and Parksmart Advisors to track progress toward certification.
• The Parking Professional magazine highlights structures that have achieved certification in the parking.org Resource Center.

Contact parksmart@gbci.org to register a project. For more information, visit gbci.org/certification.

What Does the Transition to USGBC Mean for Parking Professionals?
With the acquisition of the program by GBCI, the Parksmart program gains significant resources to expand and promote certification, as well as advance the content of the program through innovation and collaboration. Similar to the LEED rating systems, the next version of Parksmart will refine the program and the specific measures, raising the bar for the entire industry. Parking professionals now have an industry-specific program to certify their structures, with enhanced visibility, awareness, and recognition for their sustainability achievements.

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RACHEL YOKA, CAPP, LEED AP, BD+C, is IPI’s vice president for program development. She can be reached at yoka@parking.org.

UP TO SPEED

Garage designers are embracing new door designs, for good reason.

As parking professionals know, during the past several decades parking structures have become a major design consideration for architects. Though many facilities are freestanding, a large number of parking garages are attached to buildings in urban areas, the suburbs, or exurbia, prompting designers to give these structures more style.

One iconic example is the 65-story Bertrand Goldberg–designed Marina City Towers in Chicago, Ill., shown in the opening to the 1970s “The Bob Newhart Show.” The building’s 19 floors of exposed spiral parking are clearly visible and integrated into the building’s twin cylindrical design.

For some time, parking structures were seen as minimal stand-alone buildings without human, aesthetic, or integrative considerations, giving parking a poor public perception and frequently disrupting the existing urban fabric. Today, however, many architects, engineers,and planners envision and construct far more attractive facilities that integrate structures better with their surroundings and serve the needs of their users.

The idea behind attaching a parking structure to a building is to provide convenience and security to tenants, employees, and visitors. Though not all buildings offer valet parking—an amenity of the Marina City Towers—an increasing number of parking structures are installing high-speed doors to improve security and convenience and to take advantage of other benefits these doors offer.

Today’s imaginative designs include attention to the doors that provide vehicle access to the building. While barrier gates are common for controlling access to a parking structure, building management for security and sustainability purposes are increasingly considering solid-panel doors, whose speed can fulfill both missions.

In today’s fast-paced world, everyone expects to move faster, and this includes when people want to get in and out of parking structures through the doorway. To hurry people along, high-speed metal slat doors and fabric panel doors are replacing slow solid-panel and rolling-grill doors. Though slower versions are still in use because of their lower cost, designers are discovering the advantages of high-performance, high-speed doors.

High-speed doors can open up to five times faster than conventional doors—some models as fast as 100 inches per second. This speed can have significant effect on a number of parking structure access issues.

Security
Parking structures can be more vulnerable to crime than other sorts of buildings. Their low foot-traffic areas, cars, pillars, and recessed areas provide hiding places and offer temptation for those with crime on their mind.

Garage entrance piggybacking can be a problem, enabling intruders to slip into the building behind an authorized vehicle. A slowly operating door adds to the temptation. The longer the door takes to close, the bigger the window of opportunity for unauthorized entrance. Slow doors can be open for many seconds after an authorized vehicle has passed.

Depending on the speed of an entering vehicle and the size of the opening, a high-speed door can be open for just seconds. When the vehicle is clear of the doorway, the building is completely secure. Many high-speed solid panel doors have latching mechanisms at the bottom for an extra measure of security.

Jim Zemski, principal with ZCA Residential, says, “Our firm recommends high-speed overhead doors on all of our urban/residential multifamily garages. This dictates that a high level of security is provided, which is solved by the rapid speed that prevents piggybacking and unauthorized pedestrians from entering the secure garage.”

Sustainability
In Northern-tier states and Canada, a number of attached parking structures provide heating during cold months. At an area of 8 by 10 feet or larger, the doorway provides an ample hole in the wall for air infiltration and costly energy loss. Both parking door speed and design can significantly reduce energy costs. A recent study conducted by the Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association found that high-speed doors that are accessed frequently would save more energy than heavily insulated doors operating at slower speeds. By cycling in brief seconds, high-speed doors can significantly reduce the loss of heated air.

Once closed, high-speed doors tightly seal the doorway. Doors with anodized aluminum slats have a rubber membrane that covers the connecting hinges; together with a rubber weather seal, this keeps out the elements. This protection combines the seals around the full perimeter of the door, including the door guides that fully enclose the panel’s vertical edges, brush gaskets along the header, and floor-hugging gaskets on the bottom.

Convenience
Americans are always racing to beat the clock, especially in recent years as more demands are placed on their time. People hate to wait to pick up a morning coffee or to get into a parking facility. For people in a hurry, waiting for a slow door to open so they can get into or out of a garage can seem like an eternity. The slow-moving doors at workplace parking facilities can translate into decreased employee productivity. High-speed doors convey a respect for drivers’ time, which adds to the satisfaction with the facility and the business, building owner, or institution associated with it.

Maintenance
Door speed has a significant effect on the door’s useful life and repair costs. The slow speed of conventional doors invites collisions because impatient drivers can rush through the half-opened doorway and clip the bottom of a door that’s not yet fully open. These accidents can
take a door out of action, and worse, damage the car, leading to a very unhappy tenant.

At 60 inches per second or faster, a high-speed dooris too fast for a vehicle to catch up with. At facilities where a driver uses a keypad code and a security card for doorway access, the door is generally fully opened beforethe driver’s foot moves from brake pedal to gas pedal.

Though most high-speed parking garage doors have rigid slats, some facilities are using fabric-panel doors. The fabric-panel doors used at the GID Sovereign at Regent Square project, according to Robert Tullis, vice president and director of design for GID Development, “offer easy repair if they should ever get hit and knocked out of their tracks.”

He notes that his facility maintenance staff can put the fabric doors back in service by simply opening and closing the door, which rethreads the door into its guides. There is no need to call the door repair company, and there are no bent parts to replace. Advanced door controller technology and variable frequency drives on newer doors generate an energyefficient speed curve for smooth motion, soft starting, and soft stopping. These controllers continuously monitor all door activity and cycles and have self-diagnostic capabilities to simplify troubleshooting.

Very few people give much thought to the doors as they enter a parking facility until something goes wrong, either from a security incident or poor door performance. According to Josh Landry with Gables Residential, a developer of high-end multi-unit complexes, “Doors on the parking facility are one of the many items that tenants and owners don’t necessarily think about, but they can be part of the overall positive experience for both tenants and customers.”

MICHAEL WATKINS is vice president of marketing with Rytec Corporation. He can be reached at mwatkins@rytecdoors.com  

TPP-2016-10-Up to Speed

A SOARING SUCCESS

Passengers and staff enjoy a state-of-the-art new parking structure at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal E Enhanced Parking Structure (EPS) project is a complete update and replacement of existing parking facilities. The new structure was designed to bring aesthetic improvements to an aging infrastructure and increase parking availability, while improving both the overall experience of passengers and operational efficiency of the airlines. Substantial renovations and improvements inside the terminal have been scheduled to accompany the two-year phased EPS project. With a record 64 million passengers in 2015 and a track record for exemplary customer service, the airport challenged project planners to maintain terminal operations and passenger flow during construction.

The project goals were:

• Provide passengers with a modern and rewarding travel experience. Replace two aging, low-clearance, dimly lit garages with one large, well-lit, and efficient modern parking structure.
• Utilize the latest parking technology to improve terminal operational efficiency.
• Optimize passengers’ time spent searching for available parking.
• Create a safe public space through the use of lighting, technology, and a fire protection system that’s easily accessible to DFW emergency personnel.
• Minimize impact to terminal operations and passenger flow during construction.

Challenges and Solutions
The first challenge faced was limited site access with public traffic operating on all four sides of the construction site, 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Solutions implemented were:

• Round-the-clock demolition and haul-off, with work adjacent to roadways occurring during a three-hour nightshift window.
• Use of soil nail wall excavations to prevent public roadway closures.
• Off-site staging and just-in-time delivery of materials.
• Tower cranes with the capacity to reach over adjoining roadways and pick materials from off-site yard and off-load trucks directly from the active roadway shoulder.
• Extensive traffic control planning, including coordination with multiple contractors and airport departments involved in separate terminal renovation projects to properly prepare for thousands of deliveries, crane lifts, and concrete pours while minimizing disturbance to public traffic.

The project required extensive site soil conditioning to bring subgrade to acceptable building standards, including:

• Removal and remediation of old asbestos-containing drainage piping.
• Electrochemical soil injection of native clays over 130,000 square feet to a depth of 10 feet.
• Import, spread, and compaction of more than 20,000 cubic yards of special-fill material.

The project incorporated phased construction and owner occupancy orchestrated with interior terminal improvements, including matching aesthetics/architectural features of adjoining scopes of work. Completion of the first half (Phase 1) of the EPS was concurrent with terminal renovations of corresponding airline gates served by Phase 1 parking area. This ensured that passengers could still park adjacent to their active terminal gates.Phase 1 turnover resulted in increased parking revenue generated mid-project for DFW International Airport during construction of Phase 2. This netted a 12-month head start on parking revenue for the owner.

Innovative Practices
The new garage is state-of-the-art and features multiple innovative features and practices, including a double-helix access ramp between levels. A challenging structural element to construct, the helix access ramp system has proven to be one of the most efficient design features of the EPS. Comprised of two five-story, cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete ramps that intertwine (one for ascending traffic and one for descending traffic), the helix structure is essentially a series of three-dimensional traffic circles, with vehicles yielding to ramp traffic at each level before entering the helix to access another level of the EPS. This design limits the vertical pathway for vehicles to a much smaller footprint than conventional parking garage ramps that often run the entire length of the garage and have a tendency to get backed up as vehicles attempt to make hairpin turns at switchback locations. The use of the helix system ensures a steady flow of passenger traffic and eliminates traffic jams within the EPS.

The EPS features a parking guidance system that assists passengers in quickly identifying and navigating to available parking spaces after entering the garage. A collaborative network of overhead indicator lights and digital signage directs vehicles to the closest available space (including standard, one-hour, and accessible parking).

As soon as vehicles enter the parking garage, drivers are met with a large digital sign providing accurate and to-the-second counts of available parking spaces on every level of the garage. Within seconds of entering, drivers know whether they should travel to a different level of the garage to find a spot. As vehicles move through the garage, additional digital signs, posted at drive aisle intersections, provide counts of available spaces down each row of parking. Once a vehicle has been directed to a row, its driver can use the overhead LEDs to determine the precise location of an available space.

Each parking space has on overhead sensor that determines if a space is occupied or available. In addition, an LED light is located over each space (at the tail end, adjacent to the drive aisle, so as to be visible to anyone peeking down a row) that switches from green (available) to red (occupied) when activated by the overhead sensor. This provides an extremely efficient tool for passengers to find an open spot and get on with their travels.

One of the most exciting applications of the parking guidance system is the ability to use data collected from the overhead sensors and EPS capacity counts to enhance operational efficiency inside the terminal. A feedback loop between the PGS sensors and passenger ticketing kiosks inside the terminal can assist airlines and the Transportation Security Administration by predicting staffing requirements.

A Unique Partnership
DFW International Airport partnered with the North Texas Tollway Authority to equip the airport with overhead and turnstile tolling to charge passengers for daily parking at various terminals. Implemented in late 2013, this system utilizes two plazas—one each at the north and south end of the airport—that act as access gates to the entire airport facility. Passengers take a ticket on the way in or have their TollTag scanned overhead as they pass through the parking plaza.

Once inside the airport, passengers can park in any terminal parking facility they choose. This appears to be a convenient way to pay for parking, but the ingenuity behind the system is much more subtle. When it comes time for passengers to leave the airport, they are able to pull directly out of any of the terminal parking garages, merge with traffic, and exit through either the north or south parking plaza using the overhead or turnstile payment. This means passengers aren’t getting clogged up attempting to exit a parking garage by inserting tickets and credit cards, which is a frequent issue with parking facilities on large campuses with high parking turnover rates. Instead, the point of transaction is moved to the plazas, which have upwards of 18 exit lanes each. The result is a flawless and efficient movement of passengers in and out of the airport’s parking structures.

MIKE ULDRICH, is a project director with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. He can be reached at muldrich@mccarthy.com  

TPP-2016-10-A Soaring Success