Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.2

Inquiry

Per SSc4.3 CIR Ruling 2/2/2004, LEED has accepted a two-year contract with ZipCar as an alternative compliance path for residential projects to SSc4.3 Alternative Transportation, Alternative Fuel Vehicles. We would like LEED to consider granting residential projects credit for this strategy under SSc4.4: Alternative Transportation, Parking Capacity.\nOur residential project is located in downtown Manhattan. We have made provisions to install 2 recharging stations, satisfying SSc4.3. We have achieved "exemplary parking reductions" (per CIR 4/28/2004), to satisfy the first portion of SSc4.4. For the second portion, we would like to provide our tenants with convenient car sharing by lodging and contracting Zipcars in lieu of facilitating carpooling with a designated pick up and drop off area.\nProviding Zipcars in the downstairs garage will discourage occupants from purchasing their own vehicles -- why own a car in Manhattan when you have one downstairs for use on as-needed basis? This will reduce car use in Manhattan, since occupants that do not own a car are less likely to use one for non-essential trips. In light of Manhattan\'s extensive public transportation system and given the relatively low number of people who live in Manhattan and drive to work (people for whom carpooling is most appealing), we believe discouraging car ownership will reduce more SOV miles than facilitating carpooling.\nIf LEED does not agree that Zipcars are an acceptable compliance path for reducing single occupancy vehicle use in Manhattan, could we submit the strategy as a supplement to recharging stations for exemplary performance within the context of SSc4.3?