ATLANTA (AP) — State officials building a new parking deck at the Georgia Capitol are designing special parking spaces for lawmakers to give them more room for their vehicles.

Design plans indicate that standard spots will be 8 feet, 6 inches wide. The "legislative" spots will be 10 feet wide.

Plans for the new $24.4 million South Parking Deck, expected to open in the fall, were obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/15gi6je). The newspaper reports that if all spaces were the standard size, an additional 42 vehicles could park in the garage.

Most of Georgia's 236 lawmakers will park in the new garage, though a few top leaders have spaces along the Capitol's curb.

Georgia Building Authority spokesman Paul Melvin said there are different sizes of parking spaces in other state garages.

The nearby Butler Parking Deck has a mix of unreserved spots and reserved spots that are wider. The practice will continue at the South Parking Deck, he said.

"I really don't know why that was done, but I do know with folks from all over the state, we do have men and women from agricultural areas who drive pretty darn big trucks, so that could possibly have something to do with it, and if so, it's probably a good idea," said state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon.

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