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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.

The parking lot of a church should be noticeably different from the commercial parking lot of a mall or office building. So says Bruce Wardell, an architect in Charlottesville, Virginia. "The process of coming together to worship includes preparing yourself," Wardell says. "Rushing in, screeching into the parking lot, and slamming your doors is not the way you want to come to church. We want you to slow down when you enter the property."

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 best way to break up an endless stretch of pavement is with landscaping. Doug Stephens of Hull-Stephens and Associates in Swartz Creek, Michigan, says putting in islands with trees and shrubbery is a good way to soften the look of a parking lot. Many local zoning laws even require a certain amount of landscaping per square foot of parking, he says.

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.

Rockne's vision for a church parking lot goes beyond adding islands. He would like to turn the space into a kind of park. "I'd like to see one tree for every 5 to 10 parking spaces," he says. "That's 50-100 foot spacing, similar to natural foresting." His plan includes planting trees into holes punched in the concrete, rather than setting them on curbed islands.

"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.

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