Key Elements of a Transport System: Vehicles, Roadways, and Parking

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Introduction

The physical inter of any transportation system has 3 fundamental elements; the vehicle, the roadway and the parking (Everett and Wolfgang, 1978). Parking is characterized as the action of stopping or disengaging an automobile and leaving it unoccupied (Patel, K and al. 2017) . T his project will investigate the proposed space on the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) to design open parking taking into consideration the applicable design criteria to serve the proposed new building to accommodate staff members, students and visitors as illustrate d on the image below (figure 1).

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Furthermore, the relevant design consideration related to open parking will be discussed and a full set of elaborate AutoCad drawings provided.

Background Information

The open parking to be designed on the proposed site, of an area of approximately 16694.81 square metres (figure 1) ought to first accommodate the users (staff, students and visitors) of the proposed new building which will be drawn up of 2 floors reserved for office s and a ground floor comprising 6 lecture theatres and afterwards accommodate visitors of adjacent building such as the PLMCC building and the mechanical building.

Site Investigations

The site investigation showed that the proposed area is sufficiently large and accessible through 2 main ways, Khayalethu way and Engineering way. Therefore, the first step is to formulate and develop a good plan for site layout to provide appropriate entrances and exit ways taking into account the existing traffic around Proposed parking area the site in order to avoid possible traffic jams. There is some existing parking space around the proposed site, especially along the Engineering way and in front of the mechanical department.

The traffic survey around the site reported that the Engineering way is the most used way between the 2 ways and its traffic is relatively higher compared to the khayalethu way's traffic, this indication should be considered when designing the open parking to avoid disrupting the movement of traffic around the site.

Additional Building

A preliminary design of the additional building consists of a ground floor area comprising mainly 6 lectures theatres while the second and last floor will be allocated office space. In general, lecture theatre s have a capacity of between 300 and 60 0, therefore an average capacity of 400 seats will be used in this project and an average number of 25 offices per floor.

Open Parking Design Considerations

There are many ways in which parking supply can be made available, thus as previously stated, the project deals with the open parking lot and the necessary requirement for its layout. Open parking or a parking lot is generally design to achieve the following objectives (Pignataro, 1973):

Provide a maximum number of spaces
Total travel discomfort when parking, unpacking and driving within the lot.
Minimize inference of entrance and exit lanes with the motion of pedestrian and vehicle outside the lot.

Two main open parking layout are generally used to provide a maximum number of space , the first layout is the 90-degree parking and the second is the angled parking (30, 60 and 45).

90-Degree Parking

The perpendicular or 90-degree parking configuration uses the most usable space. This model is particularly effective in low turnover or long -term parking areas. Vehicles can use the aisle in either way and travel distance is reduced. Contrary to the parking angles, the perpendicular parking configuration is the most functional and cost-effective as it accommodates the majority of vehicles per linear meter and eliminates the dead-end aisles, reducing waste space.

Advantages

Works well for either one or even two -way aisles
Covers most vehicles per square meter of pavement

Disadvantages

Needs the largest area
Difficult handling for some drivers
Two -way traffic may cause create some perception problems

The other angled parking are characterised as parking having an angle of fewer than 90 degrees ( 60,45 and 30 ) for those parking the one-way circulation is desirable for a busy lot. Such models are commonly used for customer parking (Pignataro, 1973)

Angled 60 Degree

This layout is suitable for fast turnover rate or mostly short term use and is marked by difficulties with inefficient flow pattern s and one -way aisles.

Advantages

Quit maneuvering in and out of parking spaces
Good vision
Allows either one or two -way aisles
Most common short term parking layout

Disadvantages

Needs more pavement per vehicle than the perpendicular layout

Angled 30 and 45 Degree

Both configurations are similar to 60-degree parking but don't fit well with 2-way aisles and allow more pavement per vehicle than 90-degree parking configuration. Any parking angle between 30 and 75-degree s may also be used to maximise the use of the area, with less than 30 degrees of excess space being wasted at the end of the rows. The layout above 75 degrees is no more efficient than 90 degrees (Everett and Wolfgang 1978).

Type of Traffic Flow

The main factor to consider ed in the design of the parking structure is the determination of the type of traffic flow or the direction of vehicle traffic: one way or two way. Commonly, a parking bay for a single way traffic stream is smaller than for a two -way stream. Accessible site measurements will impact the width of the parking bay and thus impact the circulation design. There are favourable circumstances and inconveniences to both course designs. A single direction or one - way traffic flow is not compatible with 90-degree parking (CCDC, 2016).

The following options are generally used:

One -way aisle 45 degree
One -way 60 degree
One -way aisle 90 degree
Two -way aisle 90 degree

Advantage of one way traffic flow

Fewer clashes in circulation and decreased accident risk
Enable the parking angle to be changed to accommodate vehicle size changes.
Parking spaces are simpler for parkers to enter and exit.
Better visibility in the backup of a stall

Advantage of two-way traffic flow

Better angle of visibility when looking for a parking space
Instead of being forced, traffic flow follows its own pattern.
Wider drive aisles allow parkers to pass other vehicles and are safe for pedestrians
Can function effectively as one -way facilities when the directional traffic is heavy

Grading and Drainage

Appropriate floor drainage is suitable for all types of parking structure s, including open parking, to take care of runoff. The following minimum is generally applied (parking design consideration, 1988) :

A design slope of 2%
Stormwater should be collected on the perimeter of the parking area with a minimum of 2% slope
Pavement cross slope and longitudinal pavement slope must range from 1% to 10% and 1% to 5% respectively.
Floor drain locations are dictated by the circulation system, amount of bays, and structural system. Therefore is this project, the ideal slope of 2% will be used as suggest ed.

Lighting

Lighted parking spaces are important considerations for all facilities. This project concern s open parking spaces, which means that it will be illuminated by sunlight during the day. However, during night time, the design should provide lighting that meets the minimum standard of 1 - 2 foot -candles and 10 -20 lux (CCDC, 2016 and parking design considerations, 1998).

Signal and Wayfinding

A well-designed road signal system will be placed at strategic places to communicate necessary information to the users (staff, students and visitors), reduce confusion and improve safety. These signs will include the following pedestrians and vehicles signs: