Sustainable Campus Parking Design Tips

The next time you are stuck in traffic during your daily commute, take a moment to safely assess how many vehicles near you have only a single occupant. According to 2025 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 114.5 million people commute daily in single-occupant vehicles. Despite efforts by many state Departments of Transportation to encourage carpooling through high-occupancy vehicle lanes, approximately 70% of U.S. workers drive to work alone — a figure that has remained consistent from 2023 to 2025.

A typical single-passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, transportation, including vehicles, aircraft, and rail, accounts for nearly 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. This evidence clearly supports the fact that single-occupant vehicles and other modes of transportation may not be the most sustainable way to move people or goods. However, the nation relies on these transportation methods, so the question remains: despite the influx of electric vehicles, what can be done to encourage other modes of transportation? In terms of design, how can campus, building, and property owners develop or reconfigure their sites to encourage people to drive less and use more sustainable modes of alternative transportation more frequently?

To be good stewards of natural resources, sustainability should be at the forefront of campus planning, especially regarding parking structure placement. The location of a parking structure on a campus should be addressed very early, ideally during the design and planning phase, so that any major changes to the campus design will result in a minimal impact on the project budget. While each campus is unique, there are universal elements that can be addressed during the design phase to create a more sustainable campus.

One example is the placement of parking structures along the campus perimeter. Not only does the placement of parking structures on the edges of campus make them easier to find, but it also gets drivers out of vehicles faster and encourages them to use more sustainable modes of transportation to reach their destination. There is also much less vehicular traffic on campus as drivers look for surface-street parking, making it safer for pedestrians.

In 2025, the new Walmart Home Office Campus opened in Bentonville, Arkansas. The open campus design, which includes several entry points to nearby walking and biking trails, prioritizes walkability and active transportation to support the company’s goal of having at least 10% of the campus employees commute by bicycle, promoting sustainable mobility while reducing carbon emissions. The campus design includes 10 parking structures, all of which were strategically placed on the edge of the campus. Each parking structure includes more than 1,000 parking spaces and was carefully designed to fit the campus aesthetic. Additionally, 298 EV charging stations were strategically located across the campus to prioritize the use of EVs and other low-emission vehicles.

The goal was to reduce the number of vehicles on the campus interior to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Similar design aspects were incorporated into the ExxonMobil Corporate Campus in Spring, Texas, where a two-mile ring road around the campus provides access to parking structures, while separating buildings and pedestrian areas. Ample trails and pathways allow all buildings to be no more than a seven-minute walk from each other.

In both cases above, as well as for campus design work at the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University, the roadways within campus boundaries require strict speed limits, speed bumps, and frequent signage to warn drivers of pedestrians and bicyclists.

The design of the parking structure itself must leverage smart design principles, including the placement of elevators, stairs, ingress/egress points, and ramps, to enhance safety and security. Typical sustainability-related applications within the structure include enhanced LED lighting equipped with sensors and dimmers to minimize operational costs and conserve energy, solar panels to offset the structure’s energy use, and water-conscious landscaping around the structure.

Other sustainable parking structure design features to consider include low-VOC concrete, paints, and adhesives. Specifically, the concrete admixture is critical for reducing the carbon footprint of a parking structure. The design team can draw on their experience and local knowledge to establish environmental requirements for the concrete mix design. In concert with recycled materials used in the design of the structure, the concrete mix may allow the parking structure and the surrounding infrastructure to achieve the embodied carbon impact reduction threshold required for sustainable certification programs such as Parksmart, SITES, Envision, and LEED, depending on the size and scope of the overall project.

To ensure drivers spend less time circling a campus in their vehicles, the wayfinding must be clear, concise, and consistent. Because parking structures may serve a diverse range of patrons and modes of transportation, wayfinding signage must be appropriately scaled for vehicular or pedestrian use. Signage should provide patrons with turn-by-turn directions to and from their parking spaces, ensuring a safe, efficient trip.

Additionally, high-visibility parking count and guidance systems located outside of the parking structure provide patrons with space-by-space availability information in real time.

These systems offer several benefits to patrons, including reduced stress and frustration when finding an available parking space, as well as reduced traffic congestion and carbon emissions within the structure. Ultimately, the systems provide accurate data that helps patrons select their parking destination while increasing parking space utilization within the structure.

Finally, to ease vehicular traffic on campus, other modes of transportation should be prioritized. As mentioned earlier, Walmart set a goal of having at least 10% of its workforce commute to work by bicycle. Sustainable parking goals can also be met by encouraging drivers to park off-site and use a shuttle bus to drop them close to their intended destination. Dedicated rideshare areas on campus can be geofenced with virtual boundaries so riders can be dropped off or picked up only in designated areas. However, a rideshare area must be strategically located on campus to reduce traffic congestion and facilitate adequate pedestrian access.

When parking is at a premium on a campus, for example, during a football game or other high-profile event, there are essential steps that must be taken to ensure that patrons can secure a spot in their preferred parking structure.

The University of Houston (UH) recently overhauled its entire football game-day parking strategy to improve the overall fan experience while reducing traffic congestion on game days.

To ensure that a limited number of parking spaces were available to accommodate upwards of 40,000 fans, the UH strategy included increasing prepaid parking pass utilization, as less than 1% of single-game ticket holders purchased parking in advance. UH improved its “Know Before You Go” information by updating its website to streamline prepaid parking purchases and provide directions to specific parking structures and lots. Incentivizing pre-payment for parking on game days by offering a discount on the full price reduces wait times in parking queues.

When fans bought tickets to the game, a link to purchase parking was included in the ticket confirmation e-mail and in the “Know Before You Go” e-mail sent in the days before the game. Additionally, a text-to-pay option was available at lots across the campus.

Apps are another method to communicate with patrons to reduce campus traffic congestion. The app must include pre-sale parking options for events, an interactive parking map, and additional parking options, such as a park-and-ride shuttle bus with real-time status and arrival information.

Incorporating sustainable parking must be discussed early in the design process. The examples mentioned previously can significantly impact campuses by reducing CO2 emissions. Every vehicle on the road releases an average of 400 grams, or approximately one pound, of CO2 per mile driven — so sustainable parking designs can help reduce environmental pollution by reducing the miles driven while searching for parking. Better air quality benefits the general population.

Fewer single-passenger vehicle miles traveled reduces the stress on already overcrowded roadways. The combination of sustainable transportation options in concert with sustainable parking designs results in more people travelling and parking in less space.