Victoria International Airport

Parking Lot Upgrades Phase 1 & 2

In 2005, MDI developed the landscape plans for the Victoria International Airport Phase 1 parking lot expansion.  As part of the ‘Garden City’ theme, the parking lot design included integrated rain water management features.  Bioretention swales were incorporated into the areas between wheel stops, and large rain gardens were developed into spaces typically used for more conventional landscaping.  The goal was to maintain parking stall numbers and to create a parking facility that was inviting to users,  aesthetically pleasing and treated  pollutants picked up by rainwater runoff.

The landscape and drainage design are meant to mimic the natural flow paths of the site.  Since the airport drains into Ten-Ten Creek and Reay Creek – both fish bearing systems – it is critical that surface drainage patterns be respected and that pollution loads and volumes be managed.  As part of the design,  a large storm drain was day lighted creating a significant amount of riparian habitat that is presently used by local wildlife populations. The creation of the swales has resulted in new microhabitats being colonized by site adaptive plant material and native wildlife species, such as killdeer, red-winged blackbirds, cattails, sedges, rushes, and wetland woody plant species.