The Wicomico County Board of Education enlisted the assistance of  Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc. (DBF), to expand parking lot space for the existing Chipman Elementary School. The scope of services included: site planning, demolition, grading & drainage; stormwater management, erosion & sediment control; and temporary traffic control.

The main concern that initiated this project proposal was a lack of parking for the school. Teachers, parents, visitors, and other staff were resorting to parking along the street, creating more issues with traffic, walking distance to the school, and major inconvenience for school events with parents and visitors. To solve this initial problem, DBF proposed two large asphalt parking lots behind the school, as well as two small parking areas at the front for visitors and school resource officers/handicapped spaces.

This design effectively fixed the problem of lack of parking, giving teachers, staff & visitors ample space to park, while remaining on school property. Upon designing these parking lots, we ran into stormwater and drainage issues with the large increase in impervious area. To solve this issue, we designed three stormwater facilities, in the form of micro-bioretention areas, downstream of the proposed parking areas. These three facilities were all linked together to effectively convey all stormwater on-site and discharge into Johnson Pond.

Another issue we faced was construction of the entrance on the south end of the site, Stewart Place. This entrance construction encroached into the road, and to solve this issue we created a traffic control plan that was in effect during construction. Overall, this project was a success, with all problems solved and the site improved immensely in convenience, practicality, and aesthetics.