So, parking lots became a very important factor for every society. Almost everyone owns a vehicle today and when they get to their destination, they need a place to park.
Parking lots may seem like a pretty simple concept but there are many features and factors that come into consideration when building one. Today we’re going to talk about what you need to have the perfect parking lot.
Source: Pacific Coast Paving
Contents
Size matters.
One of the most important things, if not the most important when it comes to parking lots, is the size. It doesn’t matter what features it has, if there’s simply not enough space for everyone to park their vehicle, it’s not a good parking lot.
Recognize the purpose of your parking lot.
Before you build a parking lot, you need to know its purpose. What kind of a lot will it be? Is it going to be a standard city-mall one where most shoppers are going to park, or is it a factory parking lot that many heavy trucks will use? You must know the answer to this question to be able to determine what kind of a layout, pavement thickness, and parking space angles you will use. If trucks will park on your lot, the pavement needs to be thicker since a lot of weight is going to go over it each day.
Source: driving-tests.org
Also, without good striping, your parking lot is not going to be very functional and high-quality.
You need safety markings, slot markings, handicap zones and pedestrian cross areas marked. They should also be painted with vibrant color and easy to see. This is why you should invest in a professional parking lot striping service.
If you require such a service, Okie’s Pavement Maintenance will come in very handy.
Have extra accessibility features in mind.
If you operate a school, for example, you need to have a layout designed which will allow school buses and tour vans to enter freely without causing any jams. Also, you should think about emergency cases where a fire-extinguishing truck might have to enter the area. Areas for handicaps are also a must. Design your layout carefully so that everyone is equally satisfied with your lot.
Lightning and signs are also a must when it comes to making a good parking lot.
You should consider putting street lights or any other light source that you wish to cover the entire area of your lot so that in the night time people can still see clearly and find their car.
Signs will help a lot with the fluidity and “flow’ of the traffic in your lot. This is especially useful with very large parking lots.
Source: Hergott Law
Space efficiency and optimization.
You can have the biggest footprint for a parking lot and still have a bad layout which will limit your parking slots by a lot. And someone with a smaller footprint can have a smart design that is twice more efficient.
You should consider using rectangular shapes rather than some irregular ones. Statistically, parking lots that have the rectangular shape are most space efficient.
