All types of commercial organizations need parking lots if they are to thrive. Whether the enterprise is an apartment complex, a shopping mall, an industrial facility, or a hotel, customers, employees, and guests need a place to leave their vehicles, but they want to leave them in a safe parking lot. A safe parking lot layout incorporates three phases, which are assessment, action, and analysis.
How To Create a Safe Parking Lot Layout Design
What Is the Assessment Phase When Creating a Safe Parking Lot Layout?
To create a safe parking lot design, you need to understand what you have, what you want to achieve, and what steps will be required to reach your goals. If you lack the time or experience to perform the assessments yourself, you can ask your pavement striping contractor for assistance.
1. What is the condition of the pavement? Look for potholes, alligatored patches, significant cracks, and other damage.
2. What is the condition of your parking lot signs? Are they undamaged and securely mounted? Have they faded or lost visibility?
3. When was the last time you had parking lot sealcoating applied? How well is it holding up to your traffic?
4. Are drivers parking correctly? Are vehicles parked at the correct angle? Are drivers parking too close to or too far away from neighboring vehicles? Are they parking in no-parking zones?
5. Have accidents increased in your parking lot? If so, can you identify a pattern of accidents clustered at certain intersections or on certain aisles?
6. Are there certain areas that are more prone to traffic jams than others? If so, what is the status of parking lot signs and pavement markings in those areas?
7. How long do cars typically remain parked in your lot? Is your average turnover rate a few minutes or several hours?
8. How many parking spaces do you need to provide? How many of them need to be car-accessible, and how many of them need to be van-accessible?
What Actions Are Needed to Create a Safe Parking Lot Layout?
After the assessments are completed, you can move forward with your parking lot design.
1. Call your Houston asphalt contractor to repair your pavement. Pavement breaks are safety hazards that can inflict damage to vehicles and bicycles as well as injuries to cyclists and pedestrians.
2. Hire a reputable, well-experienced pavement striping contractor to create a parking lot design that maximizes your available spaces, meets ADA regulations, and helps eliminate traffic jams in your lot.
3. Have parking lot sealcoating applied before you have it striped. Sealcoating makes your parking lot safer by enhancing traction on asphalt pavement. Budget for a parking lot restripe after every sealcoating.
4. Part of your parking lot design should include the installation of the right parking lot signs in the right locations. The lack of signage is frequently a contributing factor in accidents that are clustered in specific areas, but proper signage is essential throughout your lot.
5. Include pavement and road marking in your parking lot striping plan. Some markings are mandatory, but others are left to the property owner’s discretion. Some valuable markings to consider include traffic arrows, stop bars, and written warnings of upcoming stop signs, crosswalks, and crossing traffic.
How Do I Analyze the Actions Taken to Enhance Safety in My Parking Lot?
Parking lot safety is not a one-time project. You start by creating a safe layout, but you must maintain your vigilance to ensure that it remains safe. Walk through your parking lot every few months to identify issues that need to be corrected.
1. Look for pavement damage, faded or damaged stripes and markings, damaged signs, low-hanging branches or overgrown shrubs, and clogged gutters or grates.
2. Check how well your parking lot sealcoating is holding up, especially in high-traffic areas. If your sealant is cracking, flaking, or wearing away, contact your contractor.
3. Keep a record of accidents in your parking lot as well as a record of complaints from customers or employees about your lot. Review your logs periodically to spot potential trouble areas so that you can rectify the situation.
4. Keep your parking lot clean. Fallen tree limbs, trash, and piles of dirt can decrease safety, but they can also inflict pavement damage.
Marathon Solutions Group is a paving company that provides an extensive range of pavement-related services, including sealcoating, parking lot striping, asphalt resurfacing, asphalt paving, asphalt pavement repair, thermoplastic markings, bollards, parking lot signs, marking removal, concrete installation, asphalt milling, and concrete repair. We can provide you with a new design for your parking lot that will optimize your space, meet all legal requirements, and maximize the safety of your lot. We have established a remarkable reputation for exceptional work at reasonable rates. For a free quote, submit the online form, call 800-879-1147, or email HQ@Marathon-Solutions.com.
