Page 72 - The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction Sustainable Construction for Engineers

LEED Sustainable Sites 53

usually not be impacted by shift overlap, but if the showers are used at the end of shifts
for other reasons, then obviously this would need to be considered. However, the
number of bicycle rack spaces should be increased for the applicable FTE overlap from
the peak shift. These additional users are referred to as transient occupants. Together the
FTE and the transient occupants TO can be used to determine the peak occupancy.
j j
LEED 2009 also allows for some discretion in including transient occupants in certain
cases where it would not be reasonable for bicycle use, such as for airline passengers at
an airport.
There may be some confusion as to the definition of the peak occupancy for transient
occupants. The LEED-NC 2.2 reads as follows: “Estimate the transient occupants such
as students, visitors and customers for the peak period for the facility.” This does not
mean to give maximum occupancy, but rather the typical transient occupancy during a
busy part of the day. This may be difficult in the cases of facilities with very erratic
attendance such as stadiums and concert halls. For instance, a typical baseball game is
probably attended by a much smaller crowd than the maximum seating capacity. Using
the maximum capacity based on the dozen or so times a year when there are tournaments
or special games does not necessarily constitute the intent of this credit, just as popular
concerts do not constitute typical occupancies for an auditorium. A reasonable evaluation
might be based on the number of games with average attendance and perhaps the number
of practice days with typical occupancies during those periods such as team members,
trainers, spectators, and other staff. Then an averaging of these values based on frequencies
should be attempted to give reasonable numbers for transient occupancies.
If the required number of bicycle rack spaces is defined as BR, the peak transient
occupancy during shift or period j as TO , and the peak building users during shift j as
j
PBU , then BR can be calculated by using the following two equations:
j
PBU = FTE + TO (2.4.5)
j j j
BR = 0.05 × (maximum PBU ) ∗ (2.4.6)
j
The number of bicycle rack spaces (BR) must always be a whole number, and any fractional
calculations must be rounded up to the next-higher whole number. Figure 2.4.2 depicts an
outdoor bicycle rack at a LEED-certified building. Figure 2.4.3 is a photo of a sheltered
bicycle parking area.
Submittals for obtaining this credit for commercial/institutional uses (Case 1) must
include the calculations plus a map showing that the bicycle and changing/shower
facilities are within 200 yd of the entrance to the project building (or within the
building).

Residential Uses The secure bicycle spaces for residential projects must also be covered
to protect the bicycles from the weather and from theft. They must be provided for a
minimum of 15 percent of the building occupants. The building designer should declare
the design occupancy (DO) for the buildings. Note that a design occupancy is not the
same as a maximum occupancy as may be established by a fire code. LEED 2009 provides
a typical residential occupancy as two residents per single bedroom unit, three residents

∗ Include the FTEj of the largest shift before or after the shift used in the maximum PBUj if there is a shift
overlap.