Friday, March 29

How to Design a Parking Lot: The Basics Explained

There are around a billion parking spots scattered across these great United States of ours, enough to home every existing car four times over. You may only notice them when you need them (or worse, when you need one but can’t find one), but the fact is they’re a fundamental part of the 21st century landscape.

But what goes into actually designing them?

Join us as we walk you through a whistle-stop tour of the incredible process that happens when you design a parking lot. From parking lot design to parking lot cost, we have the skinny on all of it.

What Do You Need to Consider to Design a Parking Lot?

Designing a parking lot is easy, right? Just flatten out a big patch of ground and paint some squares on it, right?

Not quite. In reality, building a parking lot is quite an involved process. There’s a lot to consider when it comes to parking lot design. The first of which is: who’s actually going to be parking there?

It makes sense when you think about it: the things a huge truck needs from a parking lot aren’t the same things your family sedan needs. That’s why it’s essential to consider factors like height restrictions, weight limits, and other general size requirements before you start laying down tarmac.

After all, it wouldn’t do anyone any good to build a car parking lot when what you need is a place for trucks to load and unload goods.

Consider Traffic Flow

Here’s the thing about parking lots: cars have a habit of using them. That can be a recipe for disaster if your parking lot design hasn’t thoroughly considered how vehicles will actually move through your parking space.

There are all sorts of features you can deploy to ensure that traffic flow is kept free and steady. For example, you can install barriers (known as wheel stop barriers) around parking spaces that ensure cars won’t overshoot and end up damaging their surroundings.

You can also get on the phone to some curb and gutter contractors and make sure your shiny new parking lot is properly curbed off. It might seem like a small detail, but the effects a well-designed (and well-built) curb can have on traffic flow and driver safety are really incredible. It pays dividends to give this stuff serious consideration.

Parking Lot Design: It’s a Lot

So there you have it, our handy guide to some of the fundamentals of good parking lot design. Whether you’re laying out a tiny space for a small business, or creating a miles-wide lot for some of the biggest machines around, taking this stuff into account will ensure you aren’t disappointed when you finish up the process.

So what are you waiting for? Head out there and make the parking lot of your dreams!

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