When designing or laying out a new fuel (Convenience Store or Travel Center) retail facility you should consider:

• Typical parking requirements for retail facilities is one parking space for every 200 square foot of building area. Typical parking spaces are around 9′ wide and 18′ deep. Parking aisles should have 24′ for two way access and room for proper backing out of spaces.
• Be sure to consider the tank farm location and how the tanker truck will access site for fuel drops. Tanker trucks usually drop fuel from the right side and clear path from entry drive should be planned. Always try to refrain from placing tanks near building or fueling canopies as future removal or service could be difficult.
• Provide handicap parking in the most convenient location to the entrance door.
• Auto fueling lanes should be a minimum of 24′ apart for two way traffic between islands. Allowing 36′ will allow two fueling spots for vehicles while allowing for a third vehicle to drive between. While skewing fueling islands will improve the front to rear layout depth of the layout it requires additional canopy area width.
• Be sure you know the landscaping requirements of your sites permit officials. Many sites are requiring dedicated areas for landscaping to include trees. The days of paving a site from property line to property line are long gone.
• Be sure you consider where you will be allowed curb cuts for access to the road way. Many corner sites have certain requirements to keep curb cuts from being too close to intersections due to traffic concerns. Many older sites that are being redeveloped find they are losing the number of drives as part of the permitting of new construction.
• Travel Centers require special attention to try and separate auto and large truck traffic. Dedicated drives and dedicated parking is preferred. Truck drives require additional width for proper maneuvering through site. If possible, consider a central tank farm area that is accessed via the truck drives. This will keep the tanker truck out of the auto areas and allow fuel drops at any time of the day instead of just off traffic times.