The G-1 parking lot was selected as one of a150 pilot projects throughout the United States, Canada, Iceland and Spain to develop new sustainability standards for land development, similar to the LEED system for rating the sustainability of buildings. It was one of only four parking lots in this pilot program. Special design principles were applied which include all of the items mentioned above, as well as energy efficient LED lighting, safe pedestrian routes of travel and improved accessibility.
G-1 - A parking lot with gardens that work
Vegetation is one of the most effective methods to “clean” water polluted with contaminants such as oil, grease and toxic chemicals before it flows into local waterways. The solid surface of parking lots causes water to run along the top instead of absorbing into the ground. As it flows across the surface, the water picks up contaminants that spill or drip from cars and other sources. This polluted mixture flows directly into local waterways and can harm fish and wildlife, taint drinking water and impact recreational areas. To help limit pollution and reduce cleanup costs of local waters, Olympic College is leading the way to make water cleaner and safer using better-designed parking lots and vegetation that filters pollution from water runoff. This natural system also has the benefit of reducing heat buildup in parking lots during the summer, buffering sound from traffic, reducing storm water over load, and looking more attractive than other pollution removal systems. In the case of the new parking lot, these systems are utilized to process runoff from a portion of Broadway Avenue and about a quarter of the Bremerton campus as well as the new parking lot itself.
During coordination efforts with the City of Bremerton and the Washington State Department of Transportation, we learned that there are plans to widen Warren Avenue. Since we did not want to waste resources constructing parking that would be demolished shortly, we planned for the widening and landscaped the impacted area with low groundcovers.
Electric Car Charging in the G-1 Parking Lot
There are five electric car charging stations available on a first-come-first-served basis in the general parking lot, G-1. Those of you fortunate enough to be able to use them, will need to register. Registration is free – the power is not. To register, visit the Blink Network website.
- Inform OC students and employees about environmental initiatives on campus
- Outreach to community in support of environmental awareness and projects
. On that site, go to the membership tab. Highlight the button next to the level of membership you wish to use and follow the instructions. After you register, you will receive a card. The chargers are activated by using the card and a pass code.
The card can also be used at other chargers at locations across the U.S. There is a map on the web site that not only shows you where there are charging stations but which ones are currently being used by someone else. The map does not show our stations yet, but one of our employees is already using one, and will soon be joined by an employee at Bremerton High School.
G-1 Parking Lot Economics
The electric charging stations and all of the sustainability consulting required for the project were provided to Olympic College free of charge. Additionally, using functional landscaping actually saved the College the money it would have been required to spend on underground water run-off processing system if the parking lot had maximized parking with a solid paved surface
