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Got Parking?

Orginally published on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 at 6:28 PM
by Todd Rhoades

For growing churches, parking quickly becomes a number one issue.  My church, for instance, just bought a home right next to the church so that we could remove it to provide more parking.  Bill Couchenour, the President of Cogun Builders has a book out called &quotChurches...Before You Build" that addresses many of the ‘rules of thumb’ that churches should look at when building a new facility.  We’ll share some insights from time to time here at the blog since many of you have either gone through building projects; or will do so soon.  Here, for example is some practical advise about "parking"…

1.  You should plan on one parking space for every 2 to 2.5 people in attendance on site at one time.

2.  You can fit about 100-110 parking spaces per acre that are used for parking only.  (This assumes efficient layout with parking on both sides of driving lanes and allowing for landscaping and general access.)

3.  The standard parking space should be 9 feet by 18 feet.  (For handicapped spaces: 8 feet by 18 feet with 5-foot access isle.  This requirements vary by local codes)

4.  You should have roughly 1:25 ratio between regular parking spaces and handicapped spaces.  (For example, if you have 25 total parking spaces, 1 should be earmarked as handicapped).

5. 90 degree parking on both sides of two-way driving lanes is generally the most efficient layout for parking.

Hope some of you find this interesting and useful.  For more information, you can contact Cogun at their website;  or you can order a copy of the book "Churches...Before You Build" by going here.


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  There are 6 Comments:

  • Posted by sarge
    Wednesday, June 29, 2005 at 6:36 PM

    thanks for recommendation of this book!  I’m going to need it.

  • Posted by
    Thursday, June 30, 2005 at 12:37 AM

    If anyone wants to know about building parking lots, contact Tom Messer at Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, FL.  He has built a few of them.....

    http://www.tbc.org

  • Posted by J. R. Miller
    Sunday, December 18, 2005 at 4:20 AM

    As a trained engineer, architect, construction manager, pastor and church consultant, I have seen a lot of stuff.  Check out my book “A Comprehensive Guide to Church Construction” which has sold thousands of copies over the years and saved churches lots of heartache and money.

    http://www.emerginglife.org/chat/kb.php?mode=article&k=226

  • Posted by S. Anderson
    Saturday, April 29, 2006 at 4:57 PM

    Parking can be tricky.  Some cities really impact parking by the amount of green space, water detention and even the number of tress you need to plant per a gvien number of parking spots.  My analysis of parking in most churches seems to come in between 2.25 and 2.5 people per car, however, if you are running multiple services, you will find that you may need more parking and “driving space” to adequately handle the transition time.  You can find more good free guidelines and tips on financing and building churches at http://www.churchbizonline.com.

  • Posted by Import Export
    Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 11:58 PM

    You share valuable information and excellent design you got here! I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts and time into the stuff you post!! Thumbs up.  Please come visit my site B2b when you got time.

  • Posted by
    Sunday, August 09, 2009 at 1:52 PM

    thanks for recommendation of this book!  I’m going to reed it.

    Photography Studios

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