Practical ways to beautify this much overlooked space

by Gayla R. Postma

A parking lot takes up a huge percentage of church property, yet it seems to get the least attention. That's sad, says landscape architect Doug Rockne of Littleton, Colorado. Even if you own a large lot with ample space for parking, you shouldn't just slap down concrete or asphalt. If you own a small lot, you must get even more creative about parking for your members and guests.

To accomplish that, the driveway from the road to the parking area should be short. It should also curve or incorporate a T-intersection that re quires cars to slow down or even stop. That in creases safety for pedestrians.

Rockne agrees. "You want people to feel like they are entering the church as soon as they leave the public roadway," he says. "That is their first impression of the church." While most parking lots are harsh environments, Rockne says a church parking lot should encourage people to linger and chat with others.

The number of trees required by local zoning is usually minimal, however, says Wardell. He pushes for more greenery. "The amount of land that cars cover is so enormous that we try to break it up into smaller areas," he says. One way he does this is by introducing wider planting strips and bigger trees. He also recommends terracing a parking lot when space permits.

That's what was done at Broadus Memorial Baptist Church in Charlottesville. "We terraced the parking lot with a berm between each level planted with trees and shrubbery," Wardell says. When cars fill the parking lot, you can still see them. But when the lot is empty, you see landscaped terraces in stead of pavement.

"You punch a hole in the asphalt, then use an underground auger to bring in sprinkling systems and power lines," Rockne says. He'd use low-maintenance evergreens in the park. "They re quire little water, they can take the heat, and they don't lose their leaves," he says.

For lighting, Rockne would hang lamps from the trees rather than up on poles. "By placing spotlights below trees, you still get a safe level of foot-candles, but you're lighting the foliage instead of pavement or cars," he says. Each area of the country has its own specific zoning ordinances, but having two foot-candles (a measurement of illumination) at the farthest point between two lights is generally standard.

He likes parking to be visible from the street, however, so that people can see there are cars there and that the church is an active, busy place. "I like to put the main entrance to the church on the side so that the church can be seen from the road but it faces the parking area," he says. Some city planning officers don't like that approach. They prefer to hide parking lots as much as possible.

The one place you don't want parking is in front of your building. "You don't want the foreground of your church to simply be a parking lot," Wardell says. Many local zoning rules don't allow parking between the building and the road.

Entering the church through a formal front entrance is a remnant of a time when people walked to church, Wardell says. "These days, people enter the side door, drop off kids at the nursery, then filter through to the main sanctuary," he says. So he now places the parking lot near the side entrances of a church. That frees up the front of the church for landscaping. He says many churches still have a formal drive in the front for weddings, funerals, or to drop off grandma.

Wardell also avoids putting parking be hind the church's pulpit. "We try to leave the side of the building behind the pulpit in a more natural state for visual purposes, to open it up," he says.

The minimum size for parking spots, according to most zoning rules, is 10-by-20 feet. Many townships also require drainage with catch basins and underground pipes. Stephens says that if storm drains can't handle all the surface water, small retainage ponds may be required.

In terms of size, most zoning laws re quire one car space for every three seats in the sanctuary, but Stephens says that usually isn't enough. "We recommend a parking space for every 2 or 2.5 seats," he says.

The exception is urban areas where there just isn't enough land. That's when push comes to shove for many churches. Ac cording to Wardell, churches often struggle with staying in an urban setting or moving out to where there's more space, largely be cause of parking concerns. "Often times, the decision is that being a downtown presence is more important," he says. Church leaders must then look for creative alternatives to parking.

Moody Church in downtown Chicago uses several public parking lots within walking distance of the church to handle its parking needs, says Rich Karnath, facilities director of the church. "We just bought another lot north of the church that holds 30 cars, but we usually have about 2,000 people in attendance here on Sunday morning," he says.

Many church members walk, take cabs, or use public transit. For others, Moody Church rents parking space from a local school and a couple of local businesses. It also purchases parking validation stickers in bulk from a nearby privately owned garage so that when church members park there, they don't have to pay.

First Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, is currently building a two-level parking garage across the road from its main sanctuary and alongside its planned Family Life Center. With 9,000 members, the church requires a lot of parking space. The new garage will connect to the church with an over-the-road walkway. In the meantime, members are parking in outlying lots, including the parking lots of local government buildings that are closed on Sunday. The church runs a shuttle for seniors and people with disabilities.

DeJong hopes that's just for starters. "My wish is that churches make it known that they will add more spaces than required if that's what their members need," he says.

A church parking lot should never be an afterthought. It should be planned with as much vision and creativity as any other part of a church complex. If size is any indication, perhaps more.

Gayla R. Postma (postma@mor-net.on.ca) is a freelance writer living in Morrisburg, Ontario.

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