A well-designed parking lot can have many perks for you and your customers. Certain features may help to deter crime and reduce accidents, while also making your parking lot more welcoming and inclusive. This in turn can encourage more people to park in your parking lot and help you generate more business. Of course, you also need to consider the cost of setting up your parking lot, as well as the cost of maintaining it. This post delves into some of the important factors that can ultimately influence the success of your customer parking lot.
Surface choice
The first important thing to consider is what type of surface your parking lot will have. The three most popular options include:
- Asphalt: Affordable and durable, but requires frequent maintenance
- Concrete: More expensive, but much more durable and lower maintenance
- Gravel: Very affordable and offers good drainage, but requires the most upkeep to keep it looking good
Parking lot paving companies can help recommend the best surface for your budget and needs. It’s worth noting that there are other options like stone pavers and resin-bound surfaces, which can cost more but offer better aesthetics for more formal parking lots.
Drainage
Poor drainage will lead to puddles forming or potentially flooding occurring. This could lead to customers getting wet feet, an increased risk of accidents, and potentially less customers visiting your parking lot. As already mentioned, surfaces like gravel can offer drainage and are popular in locations with high amounts of rainfall. However, it’s also possible to add drainage systems to concrete and asphalt parking lots by incorporating features like slopes, gutters and drains.
Bay size
When deciding how large to make your parking bays, consider the types of vehicle that are likely to visit your parking lot. While it’s possible to opt for compact parking bays measuring 8 ft x 16 ft, these may be too small for some vehicles to park in. Larger bays will reduce accidents and will allow more types of customers to use your parking lot. However, if you have a small parking lot, larger bays could also mean less bays, so you need to get the balance just right.
Special parking bays
It could be important to designate some special bays to certain types of vehicles or certain types of customers. Examples include:
- Accessible parking bays: These are legally required in all customer parking lots – such parking bays are located nearest to the entrance of a building, allowing convenient access for customers with disabilities.
- Family parking bays: Such bays are often wider or have increased walkway space beside them to allow access for prams and strollers.
- EV parking bays: These bays are for electric vehicle owners and may include electric charge points.
- Large vehicle bays: If trucks or coaches visit your parking lot, you may need to consider large vehicle bays.
- Motorcycle bays: These can provide a designated space for motorcyclists to park.
- Staff bays: Specially designated staff bays could be worth considering if a lot of your employees drive to work.
Traffic flow
Traffic needs to be able to easily flow around your parking lot – otherwise customers will get frustrated and be put off from parking there again. Make sure that roadways between bays are wide enough for vehicles to manoeuvre into spaces. Adding one-way roadways could encourage traffic to flow in a certain direction. You should also carefully consider where to place entrances and exits.
Walkways
Adding walkways around your parking lot can allow customers to safely walk to and from their vehicles. Think carefully about where to place these walkways and incorporate crossings where necessary. Walkways can be placed between bays or between bays and roadways.
Lighting
If customers are likely to use your parking lot after dark, lighting could be an essential feature to consider. It will not only help customers to navigate the parking lot, but will help to deter criminal activity. Parking lot lighting can come in many forms from floodlights to solar-powered walkway lights. Decide which type of lighting is best suited to your parking lot based on the size and location (are there other lighting sources nearby that may partially illuminate your parking lot?).
Surveillance
Another feature that is important for security is surveillance cameras. Installing cameras around your parking lot is likely to greatly deter crime. If you require customers to pay to use your parking lot, cameras can also be used to monitor payment without the need to use ticket inspectors or barriers. Specialist security companies can help set up cameras for you around your parking lot. Make sure to strategically place these cameras in the right locations so that there are few to no blind spots.
Greenery
Adding some natural greenery to your parking lot can have many overlooked advantages. It can firstly help to make your parking lot feel more pleasant and welcoming. Plants can also help to combat local pollution and support wildlife. Trees in particular can help support many animals, while also having practical advantages like providing shade in the summer. Think about how you can incorporate such vegetation into your parking lot – whether it’s adding small trees around the parking lot, adding grassy areas next to walkways or adding hedges around your parking lot.
Parking fees
Will you charge customers to use your parking lot? And if so, how will they pay? There are so many different ways to charge customers for parking. The most traditional option is to set up a parking meter that requires customers to pay for a ticket to place in their window. Other parking lots require customers to pay on exit in order to open a barrier. Then there is the option of paying via an app. Whatever option you choose, you will need to make sure that you set up signage with clear instructions and penalty conditions. Make sure that parking fees are profitable, but fair – charging high fees will put off customers from using your parking lot. You may want to exclude certain vehicle owners from having to pay for parking such as staff members or disabled customers.
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