Green Infrastructure Technologies Used in Parking Lot Reconstruction at Century College in Minnesota
Greater Capacity, Reduced Impact
Century College, one of Minnesota’s largest two-year community and technical schools, built a new library/science building on the site of a parking lot, reducing the amount of parking on campus.
Century, whose enrollment is growing, needed to improve and expand its west campus parking lot and pedestrian spaces to increase parking, correct drainage issues and enhance connections from parking areas to the academic building.
The college’s aging west parking lot consisted of 14 acres of surface parking that drained toward the academic building. The lot’s age and configuration contributed to the need for reconstruction, and the college specifically requested environmentally friendly techniques for this project.
Increased parking with better connections and improved access enhance the experience of students and help further the college’s growth. An interconnected network of pervious paving, underground storm water storage, infiltration features and structural soil systems make this a showcase for low-impact design.
The technology and systems used in this reconstruction allowed the expansion of parking while reducing the impact of storm water on the adjacent wetland complex by improving the quality and reducing the quantity of campus storm water runoff. The result is a well-functioning parking facility that revitalizes and enhances this area of the campus.
Acknowlegement:
This article is reproduced from the Feats of Engineering series published by Finance & Commerce. The current series focuses on the grand award winners of the annual Engineering Excellence Awards Competition sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota.
Photo Description: The stormwater education island features an infiltration planter surrounded by pervious pavers, concrete and asphalt. It also includes monitoring points for evaluation of the long-term effectiveness of various pervious pavements, infiltration and evapo-transpiration techniques.
Posted April 2011