HOW TO MAKE YOUR COMMERCIAL PARKING LOT MORE APPEALING FROM THE START

Jan 1

In a previous post here on our blog, we asked the question, “is your parking lot turning your customers away?” and explored how better commercial parking lot maintenance can make your customers’ experience with your business that much more positive.

However, incorporating better parking lot design from the start—when you’re building out a new business location or overhauling a commercial property—will ensure that you’ve built a lot that looks nice and doesn’t frustrate visitors.

Today’s blog post offers just a few considerations that property owners should make when they’re faced with creating new layout designs for parking lots.

Think About Efficient Traffic Flow

Have you ever visited a business like a retail center or even your dentist’s office and wondered, “who designed this parking lot?” Plenty of us have been there. And, that question in our minds usually relates to confusing traffic flow.

Twists and turns in an entry driveway, ill-placed stop signs, oddly angled parking spaces, or just an overall poor usage of available space are all elements in parking lot layouts that tend to annoy.

So, how can you avoid creating a troublesome parking area on your own commercial or industrial property? First, think about parking lots at other businesses that haven’t made you wonder whether they were designed as an afterthought and make a list of the things you like about it.

Next, simply give a call to an experienced paving contractor in your area! We’re well versed in knowing what works—and what doesn’t—when it comes to layout designs for parking lots because we’ve seen it all. And we can answer your questions about traffic flow, as well as help you work within local regulations for making parking lot improvements or installing brand new lots.

Carefully Consider Accessibility

While creating handicap accessibility in your parking lots is required by law, there are still ways to get this parking lot design aspect wrong—even if you’ve incorporated the right number of accessible spaces for your facility’s size. For instance, inadequate curb cuts or ramps in the wrong places can make getting into your business a hassle for those with mobility issues.

Accessibility design needs to be taken into consideration as you’re working on laying out your parking lot so that you’re not driving away a segment of your customer base or making some employees’ daily commute that much more difficult. If you have parking lot accessibility questions, we’re here to work with you on the right answers.

Invest in Better Parking Lot Lighting

Not every business serves customers during nighttime hours. However, even if your new parking lot is just for your company’s 9-5 employees, bright and full-coverage lighting is essential for safety. Here in our Lyons & Hohl Paving service area in Central Pennsylvania, wintertime daylight hours are short, which means your day-shift workers could be leaving the office in the dark for part of the year.

Additionally, proper lighting can be an effective security measure to keep trespassers and criminals off your property. Coupled with your building’s security cameras, better exterior lighting can help you keep a vigilant eye on what’s going on in your parking lots, 24/7/365.

Design Your Parking Lot with Future Maintenance in Mind

A high-quality commercial parking lot should ideally last 15-20 years before repaving is necessary. That is if your asphalt parking lot was installed correctly by a professional asphalt and commercial paving contractor like Lyons & Hohl Paving and then maintained responsibly.

We have often talked about what goes into good commercial parking lot maintenance right here on the blog, and it’s mostly about keeping up with your surrounding landscaping and paying attention to cleanliness on your asphalt’s surface.

However, you can make things easier on yourself by designing your lot to accept maintenance routines more easily. For instance, do not plant particularly messy or fast-growing trees and shrubs on your islands or in areas surrounding your parking.

Choose the Right Paving Contractor

While you have probably realized that working with a professional paving contractor is critical to getting the results you expect from your commercial parking lot over the long haul, not all paving contractors are dedicated to customer satisfaction or doing their best work on every single job. Still others simply do not have the equipment and expertise to handle the largest and most complex paving jobs.

Don’t settle for questionable parking lot design and installation by less experienced paving contractors when you can choose Lyons & Hohl Paving.

Lyons & Hohl Paving: Your Local Parking Lot Experts

As one of the top paving contractors throughout Coatesville, Downingtown, Lancaster, and West Chester, PA since 1989, Lyons Hohl Paving has developed a successful commercial paving process that ensures quality work for projects of all sizes.

James Woodard