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NAO
217-8
EMPLOYEE
PARKING AND RIDESHARING PROGRAM
Effective
08/12/92
NOAA Circular 92-07
TO: All NOAA Employees in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan
Area
SECTION
1. PURPOSE.
.01 This Order prescribes the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) policy for implementing
the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Property
Management Regulations (FPMR) on Federal Employee Parking
and Ridesharing and Executive Order 12191, dated February
1, 1980.
.02 This Order is intended to ensure compliance with
the Department of Commerce (DOC) Administrative Order
(DAO) 217-8, Employee Parking and Ridesharing Program,
dated January 1, 1985, and to provide:
a. procedures for applying for a handicapped employee
parking space;
b. a handicapped employee parking appeal process;
and
c.
parking and ridesharing procedures and responsibilities
for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area, except
the Herbert C. Hoover Building (HCHB).
SECTION
2. SCOPE/APPLICATION.
01. This Order applies to:
a. the management of parking at Government-owned,
NOAA-controlled, or GSA-assigned buildings occupied
by NOAA organizations in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan
Area with the exception of the HCHB;
b. parking spaces available at facilities not owned
by the Federal Government but where parking spaces,
assignments, and use are controlled by NOAA organizations
as tenants; and
c. facilities occupied by NOAA organizations having
an employee population of at least 100, unless otherwise
indicated. Where a facility is occupied by several
organizations, the organization having the largest
number of occupants designates an employee ridesharing
coordinator to represent all of the organizations in
the facility. In other shared facilities where the
population of organizations is less than 100 employees,
the senior official develops plans and procedures for
their locations as required by the National Capital
Region, GSA.
.02
This Order does not apply to NOAA and contract employees
assigned to facilities occupied and controlled
by other agencies and are subject to those agencies'
policies and procedures.
SECTION
3. DEFINITIONS.
.01 Agency
Parking. These are parking spaces under
the control of a Federal agency which are used for
parking Federal Government vehicles, other official
vehicles, visitor vehicles, and employee vehicles.
.02 Carpool. These are two (2) or more people using
a motor vehicle for transportation to and from work.
Two-wheeled vehicles are excluded.
.03 Vanpool. A vanpool is eight (8) to fifteen (15)
people using a specifically designed van to carry passengers
for transportation to and from work in a single daily
round trip. A vanpool excludes automobiles and buses.
.04 Employee
Parking. Parking space
assigned for the use of employee-owned vehicles other
than those classified
as "official parking."
.05 Employee. Federal employees and contractor employees
who are provided parking in Government-controlled space.
.06 Severely
Handicapped Employee. An employee who
has a severe, permanent impairment within the criteria
established for handicapped certification under Section
4.02 of this Order.
.07 Official
Parking. Parking spaces reserved for
Government-owned or Government-leased vehicles or the
privately-owned vehicles of Federal Judges and Members
of the United States Congress.
.08 Parking
Space. The area allocated in a parking
facility for a passenger-carrying motor vehicle.
.09 Regular
Member of a Carpool. A person traveling
daily, with the exception of leave, in a carpool for
a minimum distance of one (1) mile each way. In addition,
an operating unit may require a regular member's worksite
be located at a specific but reasonable distance from
the parking facility. At least one (1) regular member
of each carpool parking in agency-controlled space
shall be a full-time agency employee.
.10 Visitor
Parking. Spaces reserved for the exclusive
use of visitors to Federal Government facilities who
are conducting official United States Government business.
Visitors include personnel from public or private organizations
transacting periodic official business. Accommodations
for handicapped visitors shall be provided.
.11 Shift
Work and Weekend Duty. Scheduled
duty hours established as a shift starting or ending
outside of
an agency's normal working hours including "swing" or "midnight" shifts
but not including flexitime, overtime, and compressed
work hours such as a four (4) day work week.
SECTION
4. POLICY.
.01 Parking Space Assignment Priorities.
a. Parking spaces in controlled facilities shall first
be reserved for official needs of the Government in
the following order of priority:
1. government-owned or leased vehicles including motor
pool vehicles and vehicles assigned for general use;
and
2. vehicles of patrons and visitors.
b. At locations where space is available for employee
parking, each program office or executive responsible
for operation of the facility shall reserve parking
areas according to the following priorities:
1. severely handicapped employees;
2. executive personnel and employees working unusual
hours in accordance with FPMR 101-20-117;
3. car and van pools with four (4) or more occupants;
and
4. other car pools, space permitting.
c. Subject to the availability of secured space and
facilities, areas shall be reserved for the parking
of bicycles and other two-wheeled vehicles. Bicycles
shall be parked in the designated areas, not in offices.
Bicycles shall not be transported on elevators or by
stairways. Where parking permits are required, all
motorized two-wheeled vehicles must display one.
.02 Severely Handicapped Justification and Certification.
a. Justification. An employee requesting a parking
assignment as a severely handicapped employee under
one or more of the criteria defined in Section 4.02b.
of this Order shall first submit a memorandum of justification,
accompanied by a medical statement from his or her
physician stating the condition of the handicap, to
the Facilities Management Division (FMD)(OA34); Procurement,
Grants and Administrative Services Office; Office of
Administration. FMD shall take appropriate steps to
insure the confidentiality of the information submitted
in support of the employee's request for handicap parking.
This information shall be forwarded to the DOC's Medical
Health Unit Physician for review and determination
of eligibility. If the justification submitted by the
employee does not satisfy the requirements outlined
in Section 4.02b. of this Order, the employee shall
be scheduled for an appointment with a medical contractor
to provide an appropriate examination consistent with
the highest standards of medical practice. The contractor
shall submit results of examination to NOAA on each
case which clearly represent certification or denial
of permanent disability, as appropriate.
b. Certification. Certification of permanent disability
by the medical contractor or other physicians including
practicing physicians from the Veterans Administration
and the Public Health Services as designated by the
FMD shall be required prior to assignment of parking
privileges. Eligible employees must meet at least one
(1) of the following criteria including:
1. a permanent loss of the use of one or both legs
or both arms;
2. a permanent mobility-impairment causing inability
to move at any time without crutches, wheelchair, or
other mechanical devices;
3. a lung disease condition of less than one (1) liter
of forced expiratory volume in one (1) second, when
measured in liters by a spirometer;
4. a permanent impairment of both eyes so that the
central visual acuity is 20/200 or less in the better
eye with corrective glasses or there is a field defect
in which the peripheral field is contracted so that
the widest diameter of visual field subtends an angular
distance not greater than twenty (20) degrees in the
better eye; (For these reasons the employee is unable
to operate a car and is driven to work by another employee
who parks his/her car in the agency's controlled parking
facilities.) and
5. a permanent disability which substantially impairs
the person's mobility and prohibits or makes it unreasonably
difficult to use public transportation.
c. Temporary
Disabilities. Employees with conditions
of temporary disability may be considered for two (2)
week parking assignments if they meet the criteria
in Section 4.02b. of this Order on a temporary basis.
In the event additional assignment is provided, recertification
will be required.
d. Appeal
Procedure. In those cases where the medical
contractor through the DOC and the Chief, FMD determine
that the applicant does not meet the criteria in Section
4.02b. of this Order for assignment of handicapped
parking, the applicant can choose to be reexamined
by a board certified physician from a list provided
by the Health Unit. The reexamination shall be based
upon the criteria specified in subparagraph 4.02b.
of this Order. The determination of the reexamining
physician shall be binding. The expense of the reexamination
is the applicant's. In cases where the agency's determination
is reversed, the cost of reexamination shall be borne
by the agency by reimbursement to the employee.
e. Application. The criteria and procedures set forth
in Section 4.02 of this Order serve as guidelines for
all locations in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan
Area. Should additional guidance be necessary, the
Chief, FMD should be contacted.
f. Fees
for Handicapped Parking. Where an agreement
with commercial management cannot be made for reduced
fees for a handicapped employee, the employee shall
pay the going rate. This shall be a uniform policy
throughout the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area work
sites.
.03 Enforcement and Penalties for Misrepresentation.
a. A mandatory penalty of one (1) year suspension
of the privilege of parking on a Federal facility shall
be imposed for misrepresentation of carpooling membership,
application qualification, or for violation of other
agency parking regulations. Line Offices (LO) controlling
parking for their employees may also impose appropriate
administrative sanctions.
b. LOs having jurisdiction for management and use
of employee parking facilities shall be responsible
for enforcing the parking rules by reviewing and verifying
employee parking applications and other control methods.
.04 Ridesharing Assistance.
Program
Offices shall seek assistance from local, civic,
and other government agencies including local
employee transportation and ridesharing coordinators
in order to help employees establish or join car/van
pools and to help employees obtain effective public
transportation.
SECTION
5. RESPONSIBILITIES.
.0l The Office of Administration is responsible for
the overall management and operation of the Federal
employee parking and ridesharing program.
.02 The Chief, FMD has the delegated responsibility
for administering the Federal employee parking and
ridesharing program.
.03 The Chief, Building Management Branch (OA342),
FMD, is the focal point for Federal employee parking
and ridesharing matters, and shall:
a. serve as a technical advisor for all agency employee
parking and ridesharing programs;
b. review and evaluate the agency parking and ridesharing
programs and the achievement of annual ridesharing
goals;
c. collect data and prepare reports required by the
GSA and the DOC;
d. distribute information on the Federal facility
ridesharing program to ridesharing coordinators;
e. designate an employee transportation coordinator
for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area other than
the HCHB and maintain an agency master file of assistant
transportation coordinators by name, organization,
mailing address, and telephone number; and
f. control Silver Spring Metro Center (SSMC) parking
by:
1. designating the number and location of official
and visitor parking spaces;
2. allocating a number of parking spaces to LOs located
in the SSMC in accordance with established policy.
3. controlling the number, time limitation, and similar
administrative details of visitor parking spaces;
4. reviewing and approving employee car and vanpool
applications for parking in the SSMC garage;
5. arranging for the ticketing and/or removal of illegally
parked vehicles in the SSMC garage in accordance with
policies set forth in this Order and the FPMR; and
6. providing procedures for filing application for
parking spaces and the payment procedures after issuance
of a permit. (See Form CD-307, Carpool Application
Form, and Form CD-307A, Application for Commerce Court
Parking.)
.04 Line Offices shall be responsible for implementation
of the Federal employee parking program in their organizations,
and shall:
a. prepare plans for the management and use of parking
spaces at all facilities under their control other
than the HCHB and SSMC or for facilities shared with
other Federal agencies where they have the lead for
the Federal facility ridesharing program;
These plans shall include procedures to:
l. assign controlled parking facilities or those available
from other agencies to employees of field offices;
2. prepare and maintain records and report required
by the FPMR;
3. distribute information on carpooling/vanpooling
incentives and programs to increase employee awareness
for participation in carpool/vanpool arrangements or
using mass transportation to commute; and
4. assist employees in using carpool/vanpool/mass
transit to commute.
b. assign parking spaces allocated to their program
office; (These assignments shall comply with the policies
and priorities set forth in Section 4.01 of this Order.
Parking spaces allocated by GSA or other agencies to
field offices or other facilities shall include parking
assignments to handicapped employees, vanpools, carpools,
executive personnel, and employees scheduled for shift
work.); and
c.
appoint an assistant transportation coordinator at
each facility other than the HCHB and SSMC who shall
coordinate and/or manage transportation issues collectively
with the employee transportation coordinator located
in the Building Management Branch (BMB), FMD. (The
coordinator shall distribute current information about
public transit services to the employees and operate
a carpool and vanpool matching service. A list of assistant
transportation coordinators designated by the LOs shall
be provided to BMB and updated as changes occur.)
SECTION
6. EFFECT ON OTHER ISSUANCES.
None.
SIGNED,
Director, Office of Administration
Office of Primary Interest:
Office of Administration
Procurement, Grants and Administrative Services Office
Facilities Management Division
Building Management Branch (OA342)
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