(Answer specific to the City of Austin)

The principal design objective for any parking lot is the provision of safe customer service and convenience coupled with minimal interference to street traffic flow.

The City of Austin parking ratios contained in Chapter 25-6, Article 7 of the Land Development Code (LDC) are the minimum acceptable rates for calculating peak parking requirements for each use.

Typical parking requirements for any restaurant or fast food land use in the City of Austin is as follows:

Restaurant (fast food):

• <2,500 square feet of building area – 1 space for each 100 square feet of building area
• >2,500 square feet of building area – 1 space for each 75 square feet of building area
• If no customer service or dining area is provided – 1 space for each 275 square feet of building area
• Drive-in service – 8 queue spaces for each service lane

Reductions in the total parking requirement may be made to reflect different hours of operation; different hourly, daily or monthly peaks; interaction among land uses; or incentives for projects participating in a car sharing program and specific geographic areas of the City of Austin.

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