Occasionally, urban planning clients commission Jeff Speck for the schematic design of important buildings within the communities he helps create. In this case, the plan called out for a civic structure where no institutional tenant could be identified, so he suggested reconceiving the vertical circulation of the parking deck as it’s own monumental building.

Equipped with three glass-backed elevators facing the train tracks, the effort was approached as an active-mobility exercise in getting people to take the stairs instead. The staircase is conceived as a single tilted plane that rises from the front entry in switchbacks that step backward twice at each level, filling a 200,000-cubic foot volume. Steel mesh siderails establish the presence of the stairway while ensuring maximum visibility for both crime prevention and dramatic views.

Taking advantage of the MTA Arts in Design program, the railroad commissioned the artist Moe Brooker to turn the entire front window wall into a 1500-sf stained glass collage, “Just Jazz.” The combination of dramatic stairway and colorful artwork entices the LIRR’s daily park-and-ride customers to get a little more exercise than they would otherwise.

Mr. Speck was also responsible for the schematic design of the exterior envelope of the $29M, 920-stall parking deck.