The curve on the right should have a minimum 10' Radius.

Would it be strange to have the driveway more along the west property line? That would give more front yard potentially and less of a curve

Thanks we used to have a lot of front yard and no backyard so I’m ok getting front yard potential but I need to prioritize maneuverability in the driveway more now. Does your adjustment help with moving around?

GN which curve on the right are you talking about? Id love to learn more about any tips you can offer. Thx

This curve

Thank you. So it should actually turn inward more and be more concave? I didn’t realize that helps with maneuvering. What about the top width? Also I think one garage door is easier to maneuver with than two.

You have 29' to the property line, so the curb of the driveway will be less which can be tight depending on the cars you drive. I like to keep minimum of 30' in front of the garage and more for SUV's or trucks because they have a larger turn radius.

That said when you bring that curve inward (the more the better) it will help especially when pulling in and backing out from the 1st bay.

Good luck

Google driveway dimensions and radius. There are plenty of available guidelines.

Realign the driveway so that it is perpendicular to the street, not an acute angle as shown.

Will the driveway be sloped down to the garage?

Having had a driveway with retaining walls, I will tell you that they are a pain in the behind. Especially for visitors, who are likely to bump their fenders or open doors on them. If the driveway has a slope the door banging is all the worse.

But if you must, send the driveway along the edge of the property line. Can you widen it? Will visitors usually park in back, by the garage? Then how do they walk around to the front door? You will certainly want to pull the driveway back from the right-hand garage so that the retaining wall allows a car door to open while parked in the driveway. Then provide steps up to the front lawn and around to the front of the house.

Looking at the new garage, the steps are too close to the driveway. When someone steps out of the car outside of the garage, they will hit the steps. And when backing up, and starting to turn the wheels left, you have to wait until well past the stairs, which can be hard to see.

Do you live where it snows, or ices? If so, have you considered snow removal? Any snow left piled in the driveway, because it can be hard to get it over the retaining walls, limits your maneuverability.

Doe the driveway slope, or does the ground around it rise?

Are you allowed to have two curb cuts? If so, you might consider adding a drive that enters from the right side of the house, passes by the front door, and joins the other drive to the garage.

Thank you all for your thoughts and ideas. If I hadn't proposed this idea for my property, where else might you have put the driveway? I think we like it because it is hidden from the street in this version but since nothing is excavated at this very early stage, I want to be open to something we aren't considering too.

We can get rid of the steps and thank for your insights on that. I wouldn't worry too much as that is movable.

Does the existing garage face front, and you are planning to change it to face the side, in addition to adding the new garage In back? Is the current garage under existing house?

The current garage is in the rear of the house (under living room and smaller current terrace today) and so we have no backyard because you need the asphalt for the driveway. We are planning an addition to the back of the house which gives us a great room in the back of the kitchen (as you can see in the updated drawings I posted at the start of the thread) and are enlarging the terrace which can add to the garage by using the terrace floor as the roof of the increased garage. Does that make sense? So this picture below here is today's situation before those changes.

It snows here as I’m in a suburb of NY city. That’s why we value the garage. I think one garage door allows more maneuverability than two. We have one door now and that helps to fit two cars in the current 18 feet wide garage (keep
One car out in summer for ease but when it’s winter keep both in garage).

Yes driveway would be sloped as we have that with current garage with it’s retaining walls too.