Engineer Site Plan - Lesson 2
In a previous post, you identified all your perimeter constraints and your internal constraints (building separations, building setback, street widths, etc.). The framework of your site plan is done, now you just need to fill in some of the details. You should have your building locations identified as well as curb and centerlines of your streets.
For now, unless you completed the conceptual grading already, leave the gutters adjacent to the curb off the site plan. Same for the ribbon gutters. When you complete the conceptual grading, you will better understand where the gutters will need to be located. If you must show them now, go ahead and guess. If your project has garages, then draw in some driveways from the garage door to the curb line at the width of the garage door.
Next you should layout the parking bays. You should research if the City has a requirement for a landscaping break between a certain number of parking stalls (often called a planter island or finger). Begin your parking bay at the end of a curb return (parking spaces must be full dimension in both length and width, see diagram below). Offset your street width line the correct depth of parking and then offset the line at the end of your parking bay by the correct amount for the number of stalls you are proposing. The Architect probably already show these, but make sure all the stalls fit correctly within the limits of your curb returns at each end.
Handicap (HC) parking stalls (also known as Disabled parking or ADA parking) have a specific dimension, usually 9 feet wide by 18 feet deep minimum. Each HC stall must have a loading zone adjacent and that width is 5 feet. If you have a single HC stall, the loading zone must be on the right side. You can double up and use one loading zone for two HC stalls. You are also required to provide a certain number of Van HC stalls. These have a slightly wider stall width, usually 12 feet wide. Review the Building Code for information about the number of HC and Van HC stalls required for your project.
Now that the vehicle pavements are defined, it's time to draw some sidewalks unless the Landscape Architect has them in their site plan. There are two types of sidewalk: those that are adjacent to curb and those that are not. Draw the sidewalk where needed for access to parking stalls and other amenities. If you found the required minimum width as suggested in the Lesson 1 post, apply this where needed. If you could not find a minimum width, go ahead and use what the Architect depicted. Just make sure you are using a round number, like 4 feet or even 4.5 feet.
For sidewalk that is not adjacent to curb, make sure it is parallel to the buildings where appropriate. Do not skew the sidewalk unnecessarily by using "ortho." All door entrances to buildings, parks, site amenities, and the public right-of-way must have interconnecting sidewalks. Do not consider stairs at this time unless you have completed the conceptual grading.
Check back for our final lesson on site plans where we'll add the last few items that are necessary for a mostly complete site plan!
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