The 3-bedroom apartments include two parking spaces, and the two- and one-bedroom apartments include one
SANTO DOMINGO – In the Dominican Republic, the word "parking" is usually associated with chaos (absolute disorder or confusion). When any citizen needs to go to a public or private establishment, the line of vehicles waiting for a parking space becomes endless, sometimes leading to verbal altercations among people arguing over who gets the first available space.
In the case of buildings, the situation becomes complex given the growing reality of middle-class families, where four and even five members own vehicles in projects where they only have two parking spaces per apartment.
The Regulations for Vehicle Parking in Buildings of the Ministry of Public Works, protected by decree 284-91, establish in its section number 2.2.1, section A related to housing, that “apartments and row houses will have one parking space for each housing unit. When the apartments are one room, zero point eighty (0.80) parking space will be required.
“In housing complexes where two parking spaces are provided per apartment, these must be arranged one behind the other (double line parking),” the regulation states.
However, engineer David de la Cruz argues that the models that predominate in side parking structures are part of the redesign that builders can make to take advantage of the spaces, and that sometimes the land does not have the dimensions to fully comply with what is established by the Ministry of Public Works.
“That depends on the parking area. If the parking area is only 16 square meters, then it is built on both sides; this is designed according to the needs of the land area, and finally, it is presented again to the regulatory body and approved.”.
Families with 5 cars
“The issue of parking is closely tied to the lack of public transportation, so as long as there isn't an efficient public transportation system, there will obviously be more demand because it's the only way we can get around,” explains architect Yermys Peña, CEO and Partner of Construger architects and engineers.
It promotes mixed-use building designs because they will lead to less vehicle use due to the proximity of basic services such as offices, shops, banks, institutions, and schools near your residential area.
He argues that if these two aspects improve, fewer vehicles will be required, because "solutions that seek to provide more and more space for vehicles are not sustainable because it will never be enough; our vehicle fleet grows every day and we have already passed one million.".
Criteria for quantities
The 3-bedroom apartments are entitled to two parking spaces, and the two- and one-bedroom apartments to one parking space, says engineer De la Cruz, president of De la Cruz Félix Construction, Real Estate and Service.
