1. Off-street parking facilities shall be designed in compliance with regulations contained herein. Required parking facilities shall be in accordance with the specific use regulations contained in Chapter 154, Zoning.
2. Angled or perpendicular parking shall not be permitted along public streets.
3. General Parking Lot Standards.
A. Parking shall not be permitted along driveways which serve as the entrance(s) or exit(s) to parking areas.
B. (Reserved).
C. Where the edge of an existing parking area is located close to a street, driveway, or other parking area and the property is proposed for subdivision and/or land development, a minimum separation of 10 feet shall be provided between these features where feasible.
D. Dead-ended parking areas shall be discouraged when the required parking capacity can be accommodated in a layout that permits more convenient vehicular movements. However, extraneous through-traffic flow should be avoided.
(1) Up to 30 parking spaces may also be located in a dead-ended parking area if there is no more desirable alternative feasible and sufficient backup areas are provided for the end stalls.
(2) More than 30 parking spaces may be located in a dead-ended parking area only if a turnaround area is provided at the closed end, suitable for passenger car turning.
E. Parking spaces for persons with disabilities shall be in accordance with the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code and Americans with Disabilities Act, as applicable. Parking spaces shall be designated with pavement markings and signage.
F. All signage for parking facilities shall be as specified within subsection 5.
H. All nonresidential parking facilities, and all multi-family residential parking facilities and access driveways shall be paved. Minimum requirements for residential and institutional parking facilities will be 8 inches of 3A modified stone, 1½ inches of ID-2 binder, and 1 inch of ID-2 wearing course or superpave equivalent. Commercial and industrial parking facility design requirements shall be subject to approval by the Township Engineer based upon expected traffic loads; paving cross section requirements may be increased accordingly. Driveway entrances will be paved in accordance with same requirements.
I. Outdoor garbage collection facilities must be screened from view by landscaping and/or fencing, and be located to provide adequate truck access.
J. Parking facilities must be screened in such a manner that vehicle headlights are not intrusive to adjacent residential properties. Grading to recess the parking facility, raised berms, landscaping and fencing are acceptable methods to screen the parking.
K. Adequate means for pedestrian access between buildings (on the site) and to and through the parking facility must be provided.
L. Parking area design must accommodate access and circulation for fire trucks and other emergency vehicles, and the largest delivery truck anticipated for the proposed use.
4. Residential Parking Lots.
A. Parallel rows of parking spaces, which are not separated by a driveway, shall be separated by a planting strip, a minimum of 10 feet wide.
B. A single row of parking spaces located parallel to and between two driveways shall be separated from one of the driveways by a planting strip, a minimum of 5 feet wide.
C. Parking lots shall be divided into sections of not more than 20 cars each, with the sections separated by planting strips, a minimum of 10 feet wide.
D. The parking area shall be landscaped in accordance with § 516.4 of this Ordinance.
5. Nonresidential Parking Lots.
A. Parking lots with a capacity of from 15 to 100 cars shall require a raised and/or curbed planting strip, a minimum of 10 feet wide.
B. Parking lots for more than 100 cars shall be divided into sections by planting strips, a minimum of 10 feet wide.
(1) These planting strips shall be located parallel to the rows of parking, to serve the following purposes:
(a) To separate main access (entrance-exit) driveways from rows of parking spaces.
(b) To separate other major driveways from rows of parking spaces (service drives, general internal circulation).
(c) To separate large parking areas into smaller units at intervals of not more than four rows of parking stalls with each unit capacity not greater than 100 cars.
(d) Refer Appendix “C” for an illustration of appropriate locations and use of these planting strips.
(2) The ends of rows of parking shall be marked as islands by means of painted lines or the use of different paving materials such as paving blocks, bricks, or round stones.
(a) Each row of spaces shall contain marked end islands equal in size to one parking space.
(b) Parking shall be prohibited on these islands.
(c) The first parking space abutting the end of each island shall be reserved and marked for handicapped parking, at the end of the row closest to the building unless more convenient locations are possible and reasonable. Ramps shall be provided at convenient intervals for access between parking surface and sidewalks.
(3) For parking areas with an ultimate capacity greater than 500 cars, the requirements of paragraph B.(1) above may be modified by the Supervisors to provide separation into units at intervals of six rows of parking stalls, with each unit capacity no greater than 150 cars.
(4) The applicant may request the Township to permit an alternative design which achieves the purposes of these parking area requirements as well or better than the requirements herein. The final decision to permit an alternative design shall be made by the Board of Supervisors.
C. The parking area shall be landscaped in accordance with § 516.4 of this Ordinance.
6. Driveways/Access Aisles. The following requirements apply to all driveways/access aisles within all sites proposed for land development, as well as to other sites proposed for development.
A. A smooth transition shall be provided between the driveway section required for access to a public street and the driveway(s) required for internal site circulation.
B. The width of entrance and exit drives shall be:
(1) A minimum of 12 feet for one-way use only.
(2) A minimum of 24 feet for two-way use.
(3) A maximum of 35 feet at the street line and 54 feet at the curb line.
C. Storefront driveways in shopping centers shall have a minimum paved width of 32 feet, to allow one lane in each direction and fire lane along the sidewalks.
D. Driveways along other nonresidential buildings and main circulation drives shall have a minimum paved width of 26 feet, except where a fire lane is proposed, the width shall be 32 feet.
Wherever feasible, internal circulation driveways shall extend from access drives in locations which permit and encourage entering traffic to turn and enter the parking aisles without first traveling along a building-front driveway. This feature is intended to reduce the volume of vehicular traffic along building front driveway to make it safer for pedestrian traffic.
7. Parking Space and Driveway Dimensions.
A. Each parking space shall include a rectangular area that has a minimum width of 9.5 feet and a minimum length of 19 feet. Parking aisle driveway dimensions between parking spaces shall be in compliance with the following standards:
Angle of Parking | Aisle Width | |
One-Way
|
Two-Way
| |
90 degrees | 20 feet | 24 feet |
60 degrees | 18 feet | 20 feet |
45 degrees | 15 feet | 18 feet |
B. Where appropriate, parallel parking may be provided utilizing a stall width of 8 feet and a minimum length of 22 feet.
C. A minimum of 20 feet of open space shall be provided between the outside wall of any multiple-family dwelling or nonresidential building and any parking space to provide access for firefighting equipment, unless waived by the Township.
D. Where vehicles may overhang, a planting strip or other landscaped area provided in compliance with this Ordinance, the depth of the row of parking spaces may be reduced up to 3 feet, provided the planting strip or other landscaped area is increased an equal amount.
E. All paved parking stalls must be delineated with 4-inch wide line striping along their entire length. When curb is not installed along perimeter of parking areas or paving is not required, parking stall locations must be delineated with tire stops, bollards, or by other means acceptable to the Township.
(Ord. 163, passed 2-28-2012, § 524; Ord. 191, passed 1-8-2019)