Upon being questioned about what people think about the location shown above, many individuals may look at this particular parking lot and simply state, "It's a parking lot. It doesn't get more complicated than that." But as Engineers, we must all think of ways to improve anything, whether it be to make a simple task simpler, or create a more visually appealing environment.
Questions that Individuals may ask
Q: "It's just a Parking Lot.." What is the intention of creating this Infrastructure?
A: Individuals that utilize this parking lot may raise this question. Although they might believe that the parking lot is doing it's job in providing parking spaces for surrounding students and employees, they fail to notice the flaws that this particular parking lot contain. One of the many flaws that this parking lot has is the issue of collecting standing water due to an un-leveled pavement from years of deterioration. Not only is this pavement deteriorated, but it also allows for unwanted water to infiltrate into the ground. Our intended solution is to not only re-level the pavement within the lot, but also to provide a type of permeable asphalt called, "Porous Asphalt" for the individuals who choose to park at 3003 JFK Blvd. Porous Asphalt, with proper design and installation, can be proven to be cost-effective, promote infiltration, improve water quality, and eliminate detention basins. Detention basins are excavated areas to prevent against flooding and downstream erosion by storing water for a limited period of time.
Q: Where would all of the water end up?
A: By initially designing and estimating the area required to create our drainage plan through the use of "Google Maps Pro" we can display the entire drainage area plan. This drainage area plan will show different elevation levels and demonstrate the direction of the flow of the water. The Porous Asphalt will be the main infiltrator, as well as the surrounding agriculture within the curb enclosures. (The Stormwater drainage plan will also be assisted by agricultural use, followed by several inches of dirt below) The curb enclosures are designed to have storm water approach into the enclosure from the entire circumference of the concrete slab. If the agriculture begins to overflow, it will flow into the surrounding sewage systems and into a larger reservoir of water (Typically a Detention Basin).
Q: What's the estimated amount of time to complete a Model that represents the Infrastructure?
A:
The Project Timeline shown above displays the expected duration of the entire development of this model. It details what will be completed week-by-week over the duration of Ten weeks in terms of research, calculations, and the actual design itself. This model will be created initially through "Sketch-Up" electronically, and then created through a 3-D Printer physically. Since it is extremely complicated and difficult to create the model all in one piece, the deliverable model will be 3-D printed into separate pieces.
Q: How many parking spaces would 3003 JFK BLVD lose after building the Infrastructure?
A: The reason why the total amount of parking spaces will decrease after creating the infrastructure is because of the issue of structural integrity. The parking lot has an estimated total of 700 parking spaces. Roughly 20% of the 700 parking spots would be lost due to implementing curbing enclosures with asphalt-leveled dirt to provide optimum water infiltration. Theoretically, the parking lot should consist of just under 600 parking spots after the renovation has been completed with the implemented infrastructures.
Q: How does Porous Asphalt Work?
A: Rather than typical asphalt and concrete, Porous/Permeable Asphalt allow water to run through the surface. When these types of infiltrating systems installed, it can remove the need for curb gutters and storm sewers. The permeable asphalt allows water to percolate and seep into the asphalt into a cleansing layer of gravel. This gravel (or stone) acts as a filter, removing the pollutants from the storm water.
Q: How large is this particular Parking Lot?
A: The parking lot stretches for an approximate length of 1,050 feet and an approximate width of 150 feet. The total area of the entire lot is approximately 150,000 square feet (Approximately 14,000 meters). This parking lot is rated to hold roughly 700 normal-sized cars at it's current state. Each parking space has the dimensions of 9 feet by 18 feet which is sufficient for the normal-sized vehicle.
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