If you’re tasked with designing a local parking lot for a business or community, there are several factors to consider before crews start paving. While the job may seem straightforward, making the wrong design choices can lead to accidents and injuries. Here are some of the most important aspects to consider during the parking lot design process.
Orientation
When designing a parking lot, one of the first aspects to consider is how to orient your parking spaces. Design options include perpendicular (straight) parking, angled parking, and parallel parking. Some street parking spaces must further specify between drive-in angle parking or back-in angle parking. The most common decision commercial parking lot designers must make is choosing between angled and straight parking. Each orientation has its own benefits, such as drivers being more familiar with straight parking and angled parking being easier to follow. Often, the orientation of your parking spaces will also affect the size of your lot and how many spaces it offers.
Size & Number of Parking Spaces
Another aspect to consider during the design phase is parking lot size and how many spaces it will offer. Larger parking lots offer more spaces, so you’ll often see big-box retail stores and office buildings feature expansive lots. However, if you want to provide many spaces but don’t have the land or budget required, you can use mechanical technology such as stack or puzzle parking. These installations allow you to turn your lot into a parking structure to house more vehicles. This option is especially convenient for facilities with many guests, such as hotels, hospitals, offices, and more.
Parking Technology and Amenities
Automated parking not only expands your business’s vehicle storage options, but it provides customers with unique amenities that set your lot apart. Many facilities that utilize automated parking still offer professional parking management, as many visitors are unfamiliar with the technology. The mechanisms themselves can even be a unique draw for your parking lot.
Another amenity you can include in your lot design is parking app connectivity. Think about utilizing parking app technology to make it easier for customers to pay for parking, find where they left their vehicles, and more.
Consider these design aspects you can add to your future parking lot to make it functional and unique. Taking these elements into consideration now will help you create a lot that improves the customer experience and complements your business or community.