§ 200-29. General circulation; parking and loading area design standards., Article VI. Design Details, Part 1. Site Plan Review, Chapter 200. Land Use, Part II. General Legislation, Code of Ordinances, West Windsor

Access. Unobstructed access to and from a street shall be provided. Paved access drives or driveways shall be provided in accordance with the criteria provided in Subsection I of this section.

Location of parking spaces.

(1)

Such parking spaces, open or enclosed, shall be on the same lot or tract of land as the building or use to be served unless the Planning Board, in connection with site plan review, shall approve collective off-street parking facilities for two or more buildings or uses on adjacent or contiguous lots. The total of such collective off-street parking facilities shall be not less than the sum of facilities required for the individual uses computed separately.

(2)

Parking and loading in front of building. Parking lots, loading and unloading areas shall be prohibited in the area between the front building line and the street line, except for parking as permitted below:

(a)

In industrial or educational districts, up to 10% of the required spaces for executive (including deans or department chairs in educational facilities) or visitor parking may be immediately in front of a principal building, provided that such parking areas are shielded from view at the public street right-of-way by a landscaped strip or screen.

(b)

In residential districts, a driveway within a required front yard may be used and counted as one motor vehicle parking space. In addition, all motor vehicles shall be parked in approved designated parking areas.

Location in different zones. No access drive, driveway or other means of ingress and egress shall be located in any residential zone to provide access to uses other than those permitted in such residential zone.

Sidewalks and curbing.

(1)

Sidewalks between parking areas and principal structures, along aisles and driveways and wherever pedestrian traffic shall occur shall be provided with a minimum width of four feet of passable area and be raised six inches or more above the parking area, except when crossing streets or driveways. At points of intersection between pedestrian and motorized lines of travel and at other points where necessary to avoid abrupt changes in grade, a sidewalk shall slope gradually so as to provide an uninterrupted line of travel. Guide rails and wheel stops permanently anchored to the ground shall be provided in appropriate locations. Parked vehicles shall not overhang or extend over sidewalk areas unless an additional sidewalk width of 2 1/2 feet is provided to accommodate such overhang.

[Amended 4-20-1990 by Ord. No. 90-12]

(2)

All sidewalks and curbing shall be in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

[Added 2-16-1993 by Ord. No. 93-01]

Enclosed facilities. Required parking areas may be constructed within or under any portion of a main building, provided that the access driveway does not at any point leave a grade in excess of 10%. All parking structures shall provide a minimum of 98 inches vertical clearance through entrances and within the structure to disabled parking spaces, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

[Amended 2-16-1993 by Ord. No. 93-01]

Landscaping and drainage.

(1)

Parking areas shall be suitably landscaped to minimize noise, glare and other nuisance characteristics as well as to enhance the environment and ecology of the site and surrounding area. General landscaping design shall conform to criteria set forth in § 200-20 of this article. All open parking areas and accessways thereto shall be properly drained, and all such areas shall be a paved surface, except for parking spaces accessory to one-family or two-family residences.

(2)

Parking viewed from the public right-of-way or from any property used for residential purposes shall be suitably shielded.

Lighting.

(1)

All parking areas shall be lighted to provided a minimum of three footcandles at driveway intersections with main roads and a total average illumination of 0.5 footcandle throughout the parking area.

(2)

Such lighting shall be shielded in such a manner as not to create a hazard or nuisance to the adjoining properties or the traveling public.

General circulation design principles.

(1)

Parking space allocations should be oriented to specific buildings.

(2)

Parking areas may be designed to focus on major walkways which should be marked.

(3)

Where pedestrians must cross service roads or access roads to reach parking areas, crosswalks should be clearly designated by pavement markings and signs and be in accordance with applicable provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

[Amended 2-16-1993 by Ord. No. 93-01]

(4)

Roads and driveways from main roads should be located at grade and not below the crest of vertical curves.

(5)

All parking and loading spaces and driveways shall be so arranged that cars and trucks may be turned on the lot so that it is not necessary to back into any street.

(6)

In business districts, provision for pedestrian access between adjoining commercial lots should be encouraged.

Location of driveways.

(1)

Design.

(a)

All entrance and exit driveways shall be located to afford maximum safety to traffic, provide for safe and convenient ingress and egress to and from the site and to minimize conflict with the flow of traffic.

(b)

Any exit driveway or driveway lane shall be so designed in profile and grading and located to provide the following minimum sight distance measured in each direction. The measurements shall be from the driver's seat of a vehicle standing on that portion of the exit driveway that is immediately outside the edge of the road right-of-way.

	Allowable Speed (miles per hour)	Required Sight Distance (feet)
	25	150
	30	200
	35	250
	40	300
	45	350
	50	400

(c)

Where a site occupies a corner of two intersecting roads, no driveway entrance or exit shall be located within 50 feet of the point of tangency of the existing or proposed curb radius of that site.

(d)

No part of any driveway shall be located within a minimum of 10 feet of a side property line. However, the Planning Board may permit a driveway serving two or more adjacent sites to be located on or within 10 feet of a side property line between the adjacent sites.

(e)

No entrance or exit driveway shall be located on a rotary ramp of an interchange or within 20 feet of the beginning of any ramp or other portion of an interchange.

(f)

Where two or more driveways connect a single site to any one road, a minimum clear distance of 200 feet measured along the right-of-way line shall separate the closest edges of any two such driveways. Where such development fronts on an arterial street, access to parking and service areas, where practicable, shall be provided by a single access to the arterial street.

(g)

Where a development fronts on a principal, major or minor arterial or a major collector, a combined one point of access and egress to parking and service areas shall be provided, except where large frontages (1,000 feet or larger) are involved. In those instances where two or more driveways connect a single site to any one road, a minimum clear distance of 300 feet measured along the right-of-way line shall separate the closest edges of any two such driveways.

(2)

Driveway angle.

(a)

Two-way operation. Driveways used for two-way operation shall intersect the road at an angle to as near 90º as site conditions will permit and in no case will be less than 60º.

(b)

One-way operation. Driveways used by vehicles in one direction of travel (right turn only) shall not form an angle smaller than 45º with a road, unless acceleration and deceleration lanes are provided.

(3)

Driveway dimensions. The dimensions of driveways shall be designed to adequately accommodate the volume and character of vehicles anticipated to be attracted daily onto the land development for which a site plan is prepared. The required maximum and minimum dimensions for driveways are indicated below. Driveways serving large volumes of daily traffic or traffic of over 15% truck traffic shall be required to utilize high to maximum dimensions.

[Amended 4-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]

Type of Use	One-Way Operation Driveway (width in feet)	Two-Way Operation Driveway (width in feet)
3- to 10-family residence	10-15	24
Over 10-family	15-25	24
Commercial and industrial	15-30	24
All driveways shall be five feet wider at the curbline, and this additional width shall be maintained for a distance of 20 feet into the site.

Acceleration/deceleration lanes. Where access to a parking area of 100 or more spaces is proposed, acceleration and/or deceleration lanes shall be provided in accordance with design criteria established by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Standards Manuals.

New or altered parking lots. No public or private parking area or access roads shall be constructed, altered or added to in the Township until there shall have been filed with the Construction Official an application for a building permit, which shall include a plan, in duplicate, drawn to scale, showing the actual dimensions of the lot or lots of the building or structure and accessory buildings already existing or to be erected, and containing such other information as shall be deemed necessary by the Construction Official to determine conformity with the provisions of this Part 1, the Building Code and with applicable provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

[Amended 2-16-1993 by Ord. No. 93-01]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 63, Construction Codes, Uniform.

Maintenance of off-street parking and loading areas.

(1)

Every parcel of land hereafter used as a public or private off-street parking or loading area shall be maintained in good condition, free of hazards and deterioration. All pavement areas, sidewalks, curbs, drainage facilities, lighting, bumpers, guardrails, markings, signs, bicycle parking devices, landscaping and other improvements shall be maintained in workable, safe and good condition.

(2)

The Township Engineer may authorize repairs for such improvements if, after proper notice, the owner fails to maintain such improvements and such conditions constitute a hazard to health and safety or where such improvements are governed by a development or other similar agreement.

[Amended 4-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]

Automobile parking design principles.

(1)

Access. The width of all aisles providing direct access to individual parking stalls shall be in accordance with the requirements set forth below. The minimum width of access aisles shall conform with the following requirements:

Parking Angle (degrees)	Aisle Width One-Way Traffic (feet)	Aisle Width Two-Way Traffic (feet)
0 (parallel)	12	24
30	12	24
45	14	24
60	18	24
90 (perpendicular)	24	24

(2)

General. A one-way car movement (to the left or counterclockwise) should be encouraged. A major loop road should be developed around the parking areas. All parking shall be located in bays generally perpendicular to driveways or roads.

(3)

Parking lot layout. Parking areas or lots providing for more than 60 motor vehicle spaces shall, where possible, be subdivided into modular parking bays or lots of not greater than 60 spaces each. Single row or line of spaces within a bay should be no more than 20 spaces in length. Parking bay should be separated from access or circulation drives by ten-foot-wide islands for the full width of a bay at the ends of rows. Designated handicapped parking spaces shall be located on the shortest route of travel from adjacent parking to an accessible entrance. Every effort shall be made to plan an accessible path of travel from parking spaces to primary access which does not cross vehicular traffic lanes. When it is necessary to cross vehicular traffic lanes, the route of traffic shall be designated and marked as a crosswalk.

[Amended 2-16-1993 by Ord. No. 93-01]

(4)

Markings. In outdoor parking or service areas for uses open to the public, parking spaces shall be double-striped between spaces with lines 18 inches on center. Lines shall be four inches wide. Such areas shall be curbed with permanent and durable curbing to confine cars to striped parking, without overhang or projection onto sidewalks, driveways, bicycle parking areas, planted areas or adjacent landscaped areas. Markings for designated handicapped parking spaces shall be in accordance with applicable provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

[Amended 2-16-1993 by Ord. No. 93-01]

(5)

Areas computed as parking spaces. Areas which may be computed as open or enclosed off-street parking spaces include any private nonresidential garage, carport or other area available for parking, other than a street, access lane or a driveway. However, a driveway within a required front yard for a one-family residence may count as one parking space. A private residential garage may also count as one parking space, provided that the dwelling unit contains a basement or similar area for occupant household storage needs.

[Amended 4-20-1990 by Ord. No. 90-12]

(6)

Size of parking spaces. Parking space sizes shall be measured as follows, exclusive of interior driveway or maneuvering areas:

[Amended 7-25-1983 by Ord. No. 83-18]

(a)

Standard spaces: nine feet in width by 18 feet in length.

(b)

Compact car spaces: eight feet in width by 14 feet in length.

(c)

Parking spaces for people with disabilities shall be in accordance with the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23-7) or the Americans with Disabilities Act, as applicable.

[Amended 2-16-1993 by Ord. No. 93-01; 3-5-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]

(d)

Spaces within a parking garage or structure;

[1]

Standard spaces: 8 1/2 feet in width by 15 feet in length.

[2]

Compact spaces: 7 1/2 feet in width by 15 feet in length.

[3]

Aisle widths: Requirements of Subsection M(6)(d)[1] above may be reduced by two feet for aisles serving standard spaces or combination standard/compact bay arrangements. Aisles exclusively serving compact bays may be 20 feet in width.

(7)

Parking for the handicapped. The number, location, size and marking of spaces shall conform to the design requirements required for such spaces by the State of New Jersey [barrier-free design (N.J.S.A. 52:32-12)] and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Minimum spaces in general shall be as follows:

[Amended 2-16-1993 by Ord. No. 93-01]

	Total Parking in Lot	Handicapped Spaces Required
	1 to 25	1
	26 to 50	2
	52 to 75	3
	76 to 100	4
	101 to 150	5
	151 to 200	6
	201 to 300	7
	301 to 400	8
	401 to 500	9
	501 to 1,000	2% of total
	1,001 and over	20, plus 1 for each 100 over 1,000

(8)

Commuter Parking. One commuter (car pool/van pool) space shall be provided for every 40 parking spaces. Such commuter spaces shall be located close the entrance in the preferred parking spaces and designated as commuter (car pool/van pool) spaces.

[Added 9-15-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-22]

Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection M(8) and (9) as Subsection M(9) and (10), respectively.

(9)

Compact car parking. Where parking for compact cars is provided as part of an off-street parking facility, such spaces shall not exceed 1/3 of the total number of required parking spaces. Compact car spaces shall be located within a parking facility and contain proper signage and markings so that use by standard size automobiles is discouraged.

[Added 11-14-1983 by Ord. No. 83-31]

(10)

Tandem parking. Where tandem parking is provided, the following shall apply:

[Added 6-8-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-18]

(a)

It shall be accessible only to employees and valet parking.

(b)

Valet parking is permitted in the aisle.

(c)

Only employee vehicles shall be permitted in restricted-access tandem spaces.

(d)

Tandem spaces shall not be more than two vehicles deep.

Bicycle parking design principles.

(1)

General. Bicycle parking facilities shall be of such a type and quantity so as to encourage and facilitate the use of the bicycle as a means of transportation by the employees and customers of the proposed use requiring site plan approval.

(2)

Location. Outdoor bicycle parking facilities shall be located in convenient locations close to building entrances or pedestrian walkways leading to building entrances. Such facilities shall be clearly marked and separated from automobile access by either landscaping, raised curbs or similar devices. Indoor bicycle parking facilities shall be provided in a secure and safe area.

(3)

Access. Bicycle access should be combined with motor vehicle access where possible. In those cases where bicycle access is combined with motor vehicle access driveways to the site under review, the driveway shall be not less than 15 feet wide if one-way in direction, and 30 feet if two-way in direction. In those cases where bicycle access is independent from motor vehicle access driveways to the site under review, the bicycle access drive shall be not less than four feet wide if one-way in direction and eight feet wide if two-way in direction, Subsection I(3) of this section notwithstanding. Bicycle access to a lot shall not be combined with pedestrian access, nor shall it be via a separate path parallel and adjacent to motor vehicle access. Access, egress and internal circulation shall be planned so as to minimize conflicts between automobiles, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians, both within the lot and on the adjacent street. Bicycle access driveways and aisles shall not contain hazards to the cyclists (e.g., parallel bar drainage grates, insufficient sight clearance at points of intersection or insufficient lateral or vertical clearance or radii of curvature).

(4)

Parking facilities. Bicycle parking facilities shall be located close to major entrances to buildings or other areas they serve, in view of working personnel on-site or close to high activity areas to minimize chances of theft or vandalism. Parking facilities shall provide for padlock, chain or cable attachment and shall allow for both wheels and the frame of a bicycle to be secured to it with a standard six-foot cable or chain. Devices such as lockers or those that support the bicycle by its frame or handlebars shall be used rather than slotted concrete slab or vertical bar type racks or other devices that support the bicycle by a wheel and could cause damage to wheel rims. (In PRN developments, higher density residential developments, for industrial uses and for other uses involving regular daily access by defined groups of people or the parking of bicycles for period of time generally in excess of three hours, consideration should be given to sheltered parking facilities that provide protection for bicycles from direct sunlight and precipitation.) For any use for which 12 or more employee bicycle parking spaces are required or provided, not less than 25% of the bicycle parking spaces shall be provided within wholly enclosed individually secured compartments or lockers, providing protection against theft, vandalism and the weather for all or any part of any bicycle parked therein. Other provisions of this Part 1 to the contrary notwithstanding, the lockers shall be close to an entrance to the building they serve, but need neither be located at a major entrance to the building nor be in view of working personnel on-site or close to high activity areas. In lieu of the lockers, the same number of bicycle parking spaces providing equivalent security and convenience may be provided within the building they serve.

[Amended 9-13-1982 by Ord. No. 82-41]

Off-street loading area; berth sizes.

(1)

Loading area. A loading area need not be necessarily a full berth, but shall have a minimum plan dimension of at least 10 feet overload clearance. The Construction Official shall determine the sufficiency of the off-street loading area(s) based upon the land and amount of loading and unloading operation required by the proposed use, but in no case shall the use of such space hinder the free movement of vehicles and pedestrians over a street, sidewalk or alley.

(2)

Loading berth. Each required loading berth shall be at least 12 feet wide, 33 feet long and 14 feet high.

Location and access of loading areas, berths.

(1)

Unobstructed access, at least 10 feet wide, to and from a street shall be provided. Such access may be combined with access to a parking lot. All permitted or required loading areas or berths shall be on the same lot as the use to which they are accessory. No entrance or exit for any loading area or berth shall be located within 50 feet of any street intersection. No off-street loading berth or area shall be located in any front yard.

(2)

All areas for the loading and unloading of vehicles and for the servicing of establishments or shops shall have adequate and unobstructed access from a street, service driveway or alley and shall be so arranged that they may be used without blocking or otherwise interfering with the use of automobile accessways, parking facilities, fire lanes or sidewalks.