Lower Merion, PA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Article VIII of the Zoning Code governs off-street loading under § 155-8.7, Loading, unloading and queuing. Subsection A allows shared loading areas across multiple buildings, but each building served must have direct access to the shared area without crossing a street or alley, and the shared spaces must still meet the minimum required loading spaces for every building using them. Subsection B is the core operational rule: loading and queuing activity cannot block on-site or off-site through traffic, cannot occupy required parking spaces, and cannot obstruct pedestrian circulation, meaning a delivery truck idling across a sidewalk or blocking a drive aisle is out of compliance regardless of how briefly it stops.

Subsection C separately regulates drive-through queuing for drive-in uses (banks, pharmacies, fast food): a minimum of 200 linear feet of vehicle storage must be provided in one or more usable lanes, measured from the street right-of-way line to the service window, and the design must prevent vehicles from backing out into the street. Drive-through lanes cannot be visible from the primary building frontage, must be separated from any other drive-through by at least 1,000 feet, and cannot obstruct required parking. The Zoning Code does not print a separate curfew or time-of-day restriction on commercial loading in this section; compliance is reviewed by the Building and Planning Department at the land development/zoning permit stage.