---
title: "Parking Garage / Structure"
url: "https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/facilities/parking-garage-structure/"
id: "FAC-PGS-05"
description: "A multi-level parking structure, above-grade or underground, using ramp or helix circulation to move vehicles between levels."
updated: "2026-09-26"
---

# Parking Garage / Structure

`FAC-PGS-05`

Situational / Discouraged Facility

Parking Garage / Structure

A multi-level parking structure, above-grade or underground, using ramp or helix circulation to move vehicles between levels.

## Related Media

The items below come from outside the Commonway System, external videos, podcasts, and articles related to this page's topic, not part of the guidebook itself.

Aligned

### [Why Amsterdam is Removing 10,000 Parking Spaces](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXLqrMljdfU)

Not Just Bikes

Documents Amsterdam's on-street parking reduction through permit attrition and street redesigns, including the tradeoff of a large replacement garage inducing more driving nearby.

Aligned

### [Are Parking Lots Ruining Your City?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUhOFUQDLQk)

Strong Towns

The video traces Fayetteville, Arkansas eliminating parking minimums in 2015 and tallies the land-use and economic costs of mandated parking. It is a case study for the Commonway System's surface parking and density guidance.

## Why this pattern exists

Where land value or density makes surface parking impractical, a structure trades footprint for height and circulation complexity, introducing its own set of design problems (ramp grade and turning radius, pedestrian egress from upper levels, ground-floor treatment facing the street) that a surface lot never has to solve. This pattern exists to document those structure-specific considerations separately from surface parking.

## Key considerations

-   Ground-floor frontage facing the street should avoid a blank wall; active uses or architectural treatment help the structure read as a building rather than a void
-   Pedestrian egress routes (stairs, elevators) should be direct, well-lit, and clearly wayfinding-marked from every level[2]
-   Ramp and turning geometry should be sized for the largest vehicle expected to use the facility, including service and emergency vehicles[1]

## Related patterns

[Surface Parking Lot](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/facilities/surface-parking-lot.md) (FAC-SPL-04) (lower-density alternative); [Park-and-Ride](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/facilities/park-and-ride.md) (FAC-PNR-06) (a specific use case that may take structured form)

## References

1.  Precedent-based [ULI/National Parking Association, _The Dimensions of Parking_. Ramp grade, turning radius, and structural circulation design.](https://knowledge.uli.org/en/books/2009/the-dimensions-of-parking)
2.  Legal / regulatory [2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design / PROWAG. Accessible egress (stairs, elevators) from every level.](https://www.ada.gov/assets/pdfs/2010-design-standards.pdf)