PARKING SLOT
Parking area is a small piece of land
in which we park our vehicle and drive-way is the approach leading to this
parking bay. Though every square foot counts in terms of money and the demand
for built up space is high, lack of adequate parking space and turning radius
is bad planning.
Whether it be a individual house, a
small or large apartment complex, corporate business house, a multi-building
campus or public facilities such as airports or stations, a lot of thought
needs to go into the design of parking facilities. Parking lots whether
for houses or office complex have to be
designed not just for the present but with an eye on the future. Kerb side
parking is also very important and an essential part of urban design.
We
have to adopt different norms when designing parking lots for
residences, small or large apartment complexes, offices, commercial
establishments, shopping complexes, a combination of shops and residences,
hospitality sector, public spaces such as airports, railway and bus stations and
recreation zones, campuses and so on. Thus, parking space can be decided depending on the nature of the activity. Road
landscaping, which includes kerb side parking and public parking facilities,
will also have to be dealt with as this is the base for smooth flow of traffic.
International norms for parking suggest
that small and medium cars require about 200 sq.ft. The turning radius for
various categories of vehicles is also stipulated ranging from about 30 ft. to
less than 500 ft. for large trailer trucks. These figures may not make much
sense to the common man whose primary need is to comfortably drive his vehicle
in and out of a parking lot whether it be in his home, office or public spaces.
When looking at parking for residences
or apartments, the one norm to be strictly followed is that the gate must never
open onto the road. When vehicles are jammed into small parking lots the gate
will have to be opened outward to allow entry and exit and thus there is a
major inconvenience. When designing the gate it is necessary to keep it to
normal size about 8 ft. If the size of the gate cannot be widened to help easy
turning it may be good idea to go in for a bell mouth at the entrance where a
slightly inset gate will provide a wider entry point of about 11 ft. to 13 ft.
Another point to be noted is that one must provide parking space
for owned vehicles inside one's compound and not to drive cars onto side walks
or in front of your neighbour's house. The residents and associations must
never compromise for squeezing into a single parking slot more than one vehicle
even if it were just for the night.
Parking for apartments is either
provided alongside the building and is uncovered, or takes the form of covered
parking at basement or the ground floor levels. When looking at the parking lot
of any apartment, the first thing one has to note is the approach from the
road. It must neither be a steep climb nor a sharp descent. If the parking is
below or above road level it is safe to have a gradual slope approach. If parking slots are between stilts one must
make sure that the distance between the pillars is adequate to park and reverse
a car without having to turn very sharply.
When parking lots are provided
alongside buildings, what owners' should insist upon is that there must be
enough space for free movement of another vehicle along side a parked one. In
other words there should be a minimum 10ft. wide space between the parking slot
and the building to allow vehicles to move around.
When designing parking for independent
houses four factors come to play. These are the positions of the gate, the
porch, the drive and a garage. These factors have to be studied and decided
even as the design of the house is taking shape.
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