In-Depth 6-Step Guide to Design Parking Lot Layout Efficiently

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Parking lots are crucial in commercial spaces, influencing customer experience and business functionality. Optimizing them is pivotal for boosting revenue and reducing operational costs. Whether you're a property manager seeking efficiency or a business owner trying to enhance the visitor experience, learning about parking lot design can be the game-changer you need. This article will guide you through valuable insights that can help you achieve your goal of optimizing your commercial parking lot design, ensuring smoother traffic flow, increased safety, and better space utilization.

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What Is Parking Lot Design & Why It Matters

Designing a parking lot is a key component of any site planning process. A well-thought-out and efficiently designed parking lot can greatly enhance the user experience and a property's curb appeal. Key objectives of parking lot design include maximizing space, ensuring safety,

and providing accessibility. A well-designed parking lot can help ensure the safety of those using it, prevent congestion, and enhance accessibility for everyone, including those with disabilities. A well-designed parking lot can also help make a property more attractive, increasing its value, and contributing to a better customer or tenant experience.

Maximizing Space

One of the primary goals of parking lot design is to maximize available space. This involves ensuring that parking is provided efficiently while still providing enough spaces for all users. In some cases, maximizing space might involve stacked or underground parking or shared parking arrangements. In other cases, it might involve efficient parking layouts such as angled, perpendicular, or parallel parking.

Ensuring Safety

Another key objective of parking lot design is to ensure the safety of those using the parking lot. This involves designing the lot with safety in mind, such as by providing marked spaces, ensuring adequate lighting, providing appropriate signage, and ensuring that pedestrian and vehicle traffic are separated. It also involves ensuring that the lot is designed to prevent accidents, such as by providing adequate space for turning, providing clear sightlines, and ensuring that pedestrians are provided with safe walkways.

Providing Accessibility

Another key objective of parking lot design is to provide accessibility. This involves ensuring that the parking lot can be easily accessed by all users, including those with disabilities. This might involve providing accessible parking spaces, routes to and from the parking lot, and a lot designed to be easily navigable by all users. It might also involve providing other amenities that enhance accessibility, such as bike racks, electric vehicle charging stations, or car-sharing options.

Enhancing User Experience

In addition to maximizing space, ensuring safety, and providing accessibility, well-designed parking lots can enhance the user experience. This might involve providing amenities such as landscaping, seating areas, or wayfinding signage, or it might involve providing a more pleasant environment through the use of lighting, materials, or colors. By enhancing the user experience, a well-designed parking lot can help make a property more attractive and improve customer or tenant experience.

Boosting Curb Appeal

One of the primary benefits of a well-designed parking lot is that it can help boost a property's curb appeal. This might involve providing landscaping, decorative elements, or other amenities that enhance the parking lot's appearance. An attractive and well-designed parking lot can help make a property more attractive to potential tenants or customers and can help increase the value of the property. It can also help create a positive first impression, which can be important for businesses or other organizations that rely on foot traffic.

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6 Key Considerations When Designing a Parking Lot Layout

1. People

None of the technical elements matter if the structure does not attract people. Parking is not about cars but people; well-considered parking can enhance the overall experience of a place while ultimately determining the success and profitability of the development. Parking is often the first thing people experience when arriving at a destination and the last thing they experience when leaving. If the parking experience is unpleasant, it will impact their decision to return.

2. Aesthetics and Architectural Enhancements

The design of a parking or mixed-use facility should complement and enhance the design of the surrounding buildings and neighborhood. This architectural continuity is critical to the success of a project. Local approval is often required regarding façade composition and light spillage resulting from the new development.

3. Effective functional design

The function of a parking structure is critical to its success. It must incorporate an efficient functional layout that best utilizes structural systems to reduce costs while providing a pleasant patron experience. Some of the most important functional design considerations include:

The structural system based on project scope and needs

Internal functional layout, including circulation

Parking space dimensions and number of spaces provided

Entrance/exit locations and the relationship with the site circulation, including grade changes across the site

PARCS equipment, including revenue control requirements

Turning radii, both entering and within the parking garage

Overall parking efficiency, parking space quantity divided by the gross square footage

Floor and ramp slopes, including the need for speed or express ramps

Traffic/pedestrian circulation

4. Safety and Security

Safety is a major concern in all developments today, particularly in parking facilities where people often walk alone or at night. Therefore it is critical to incorporate the highest security features into every parking planning and design aspect. The following are part of a multi-disciplinary approach towards environmental design, including some of the most common safety strategies:

Passive Security Measures

Maximize visibility and openness across the parking area

Increased lighting levels

Glazed stair/elevator towers, including glass-backed elevator cabs

Locate vehicle ramps to a remote location from the pedestrian destination to facilitate maximized visibility over a flat parking area

Increased floor-to-ceiling heights to promote elevated lighting levels and visibility range

Minimize placement of interior walls and provide maximized openings where walls are required

Access control for vehicles and at pedestrian entry locations

Safe and inviting appearance both throughout the site and garage interior

Maximize pedestrian openings into elevator lobbies and stair landings for visibility purposes

Active Security Measures

Monitored cameras (CCTV cameras, High definition cameras)

Intercoms and panic buttons (blue light system)

Security guard patrols

Public safety escort services

Security gates and ground-tier infill panels at exterior openings

Effective directional signage

Security through Generating Activity

Incorporating people places

Generating a hub of activity

Integrating mixed-use features or common areas at the ground-tier perimeter

Creating a pedestrian-friendly and inviting environment

5. Sustainability

Sustainable design practices offer an opportunity to create environmentally sound and resource-efficient buildings using an integrated design approach. Structured parking is, by nature, sustainable as it is a more efficient land-use. Rather than paving acres of land for surface parking to support the needs of development or campus, structured parking provides an opportunity to meet parking demand using a fraction of the footprint required for a surface lot.

There are many opportunities to incorporate sustainable design, construction, and operations practices into developing parking and mixed-use facilities. Some of the most common strategies include:

During construction, use regional materials to reduce transportation impacts.

Develop and implement a waste management plan.

Use salvaged, refurbished or reused materials to discourage using virgin materials.

Use materials with recycled content.

Dedicate areas to the storage and collection of recyclable materials.

Apply shared-use strategies to reduce the amount of parking required

Provide preferred parking for carpools and vanpools.

Provide priority parking for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles.

Provide recharging stations for electric vehicles.

Install energy-efficient electrical and mechanical systems.

Commission building systems (electrical, solar, etc.) to ensure they operate as designed, potentially identifying additional operational cost savings over time.

Reduce energy demand and use by installing occupancy sensors, photocell receptors, timers, computerized controllers and/or dimmers.

Install water-saving fixtures to reduce water use.

Implement a rainwater recycling system.

Select native plantings that do not require irrigation.

Install previous paving and other landscape strategies to increase infiltration.

Create an educational program based on the sustainable strategies in a facility.

Discuss the integration of green roof technologies.

6. Durability and Maintenance

Parking structures are unique facilities designed to withstand extremely harsh conditions, including weather extremes, water infiltration, thermal expansion and contraction, vehicular traffic, and, particularly in the northeast, de-icing salts and snow plows. An engineer’s expertise in understanding concrete durability and the design of systems, such as precast concrete and cast-in-place post-tensioned concrete, used in building parking structures measures the service life of a parking structure. Understanding life-cycle costs enables engineers to assist owners with parking structure maintenance programs.

Basic Parking Lot Layout Design Principles

Designing a parking area is a geometry puzzle that involves fitting the most parking spaces for the least amount of money. Aisles and rows should be parallel to the long side of the site to maximize parking space. Orienting parking spots on each side of an aisle helps optimize space. The size of aisles will depend on one-way or two-way aisles.

Residential Parking Design

Residential parking lots prioritize efficient space usage and security. For long-term parking, 90-degree spaces in a rectangular layout are preferred for optimal space utilization. Properly marked spots help tenants identify their parking space. Consider EV infrastructure for electric car owners.

Commercial Parking Design

Commercial parking lots emphasize efficiency and convenience over long-term parking. Angled spaces at 45 to 60 degrees make egress easier. One-way aisles are used in this design. Safety is crucial in commercial parking lots with proper signage and pedestrian infrastructure.

Office Parking Design

Office parking lots mainly use 90-degree spots to fit as many cars as possible for employees. Unbundled parking where drivers pay allows reducing parking spaces. Office parking design focuses on safe and secure long-term parking and fewer access points to the office building.

Mixed-Use Parking Design

Mixed-use parking lots cater to multiple user groups with conflicting parking needs. Shared parking at different times benefits various users. Creative solutions like podium garages and architectural elements can optimize space use. Incorporating amenities like gardens or usable spaces can enhance the parking experience.

Other Design Aspects

Drainage, lighting, and pedestrian access are essential design considerations. Landscaping, lighting, and signage enhance aesthetics, navigation, and safety. Pedestrian safety and access elements include sidewalks, proper lighting, easy-to-understand signage, and speed bumps.

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In-Depth 6-Step Guide to Design Parking Lot Layout Efficiently

1. Identify The Purpose of Your Lot

Your parking lot's design will be heavily influenced by its purpose. Depending on whether your lot serves as a retail parking location for busy weekend shoppers or to hold the daily truck-loading of large shipments, the size, thickness and overall general layout will be affected. See how different purposes could influence your design strategy:

Parking lot size

If you operate a university, the recommended number of spaces will be higher than if your parking lot is primarily for restaurant guests. Some industries have code requirements for parking — determined by the facility's square footage — while others have recommendations based on seats or rooms, as in a hotel.

Pavement thickness

The thickness of your pavement will vary depending on the weight your asphalt will hold day in and day out. Larger vehicles, such as trucks bearing shipping loads, will require more significant depth. This traffic class, along with the subgrade soil class, or the quality of the soil beneath your pavement, determines how thick your pavement should be for the highest durability.

Parking space angles

The angles at which your parking slots are aligned with the driving aisles depend largely on the purpose of your lot. Angles of 45 to 60 degrees are ideal for a parking lot with high turnover, like a convenience store parking lot. Ninety-degree angled parking spaces are the most difficult to park in, so they're often reserved for overnight or employee parking, for example.

By considering the purpose of your business and parking lot, you'll have a better idea of which parking lot design guidelines you should follow.

2. Do The Math: Sizing and Spacing

Commercial parking lot dimension standards can vary tremendously between cities, building types and industries. Still, there are a handful of steps that can help you calculate just how big of an area your pavement needs to cover:

Figure out the number of spaces

Returning to the purpose of your parking lot, pinpoint how many parking spaces are recommended in your industry or enforced by building code requirements. Knowing the number of spaces you need to fit into the parking area will help you see whether you have room for less essential parking lot amenities, such as two-way barrier gates, which can require a sizeable space. Do not compromise on the number of slots you need or the right dimensions.

Determine parking slot size

When determining the size of each parking space, you must consider the reason people will be using it. For instance, if you're designing the parking for a grocery store, you might need to provide wider spaces for people carrying groceries. Nine by 19 feet is the standard size for public-use parking spaces. Not all spaces will be the same size, as some parking slots are reserved for particular purposes, like providing access for the disabled.

Consider accessibility requirements

Account for extra space for van-accessible parking spaces, handicapped parking spaces, walkways, ramps and curb structures. A parking lot needs to be accessible and safe for everyone who uses it. This requirement can include extra access aisles between spaces and the room for additional parking barriers.

Other uses for extra space

Does your parking lot serve additional functions, such as offering a drive-through lane for customers or a truck-loading zone? For a school parking lot design, for example, perhaps there are special accommodations for buses and drop-offs. These are other considerations you should make when determining the appropriate pavement size.

Once you've made clear decisions about how the different areas of your parking lot need to be sized and spaced out, you can begin planning your layout and the traffic flow within it.

3. Create a Flow: Parking Layout Design Guidelines

There are a variety of factors that go into the most functional parking lot design layout for your business. Most will have to do with directing traffic clearly and providing the right space to create a safe and optimized system. To keep pedestrian traffic in mind as well, and think about the following:

Space efficiency

Always opt for the 90-degree angled spaces for the most space-conscious parking slots. To further optimize space in the parking areas, consider creating a lot that is rectangular rather than irregular shape. Another standard recommendation is to make the long sides of the parking lot parallel to each other, with parking spaces along the lot's perimeter. Allow two-way traffic lanes to access parking stalls on either side of the driving aisle for the highest space efficiency.

Traffic signage

In your parking lot design, provide helpful, lawful signage to protect the right-of-way and pedestrians. Some useful traffic signs for parking lot safety include stop and yield signs, pedestrian crossing signs, reserved parking signs for handicapped and van-accessible spaces, and speed limit markers. The placement of these signs should align with the flow of traffic that you design and be visible to both drivers and pedestrians.

Painted asphalt markings

Along with proper striping for your parking spaces, to have safety markings painted on the pavement to help with traffic flow. Markings specify which slots are intended for handicapped use and where the access aisles lead. They can also be painted in stripes along the pavement to indicate pedestrian zones. These markings need to be stark and visible, painted with this waterborne and fast-drying traffic paint, for example.

Concrete parking barriers

Wheelstop barriers along the front end of parking slots can help ensure that cars are situated safely within the spaces. Adequately placed barriers prevent vehicles from damaging landscaping or buildings adjacent to the parking lot. A concrete curb along the parking lot edge can function the same way for cars along the lot's perimeter. These perimeter curbs with appropriate ramps should always be constructed around parking lots when possible.

Markers, signs and barriers all help create the boundaries to contain and define your parking lot layout. But more than just traffic-related elements, you can add other features to your parking lot to ensure its safe use.

4. Design for Safety: Parking Lot Security Provisions

For the most reliable parking lot, traffic flow is the most important aspect you'll want to control, but it's not the only one. Pay close attention to the way your parking lot design addresses the following:

Drainage provisions

To prevent damage to the underlying soil, the pavement prevents moisture from trickling through. Part of what makes asphalt so effective is precautions taken to provide proper water drainage. Avoid standing water on your asphalt through inlets and catch basins — along with other drainage methods — as part of your parking lot pavement design. The construction of these drainage provisions should be handled as early as possible. Parking area surfaces are usually designed to prevent accumulating water at the pavement edges, with a slope of two percent at a minimum.

Access ramps

Your asphalt parking lot specifications should account for changes in elevation, and proper safety measures should be taken to ensure that everyone who needs to access the lot can do so without risking harm. Ramps leading from the pedestrian access to the lot to the shared handicapped access aisles are crucial. Similarly, ramps that allow access from the pavement to the elevated sidewalks should be built into the perimeter curb design.

Lighting design

Light fixtures with excellent coverage are essential for an entirely safe and operational commercial parking lot. In most circumstances, your lighting should provide adequate vision for comfortable travel through the parking lot, without causing glare or visual interference to areas and buildings adjacent to the property. Provide heavier lighting in the highly trafficked sections of the parking lot, such as entrances, exits and loading zones.

To cause as little glare and light pollution as possible, use light fixtures that angle the stream of the light as close to zero degrees, or facing downward, as possible. These safety precautions cannot be emphasized enough. Without proper drainage, access, and lighting, your parking lot's security will always be in jeopardy. Fortunately, you can incorporate these additions seamlessly into your parking lot design.

5. Take It Up a Notch: Other Design Elements to Consider

In addition to the construction-related safety measures listed above, your parking lot can have various other features. These features can beautify your parking lot or give it an air of professionalism while also serving a practical function.

Landscaping design

Placing trees and other types of landscaping in or around your parking lot cannot only enhance its visual appeal but also serve various functions. For example, tree branches can shield neighboring buildings from the glare of parking lot lighting at night. All landscaping should be spaced out to avoid obstructing traffic and tended and trimmed regularly to ensure visibility is not compromised.

Barrier gates

Among some of the higher-security features for parking lot pavement design, a barrier gate may be what enables your lot to be most effective in fulfilling its specific purpose. These gates permit only authorized individuals to park in a particular lot, using a card system to open for pre-approved people. These gates can be two-way or located at the parking lot's entrance if you have a separate means to exit.

Emergency call stations

For example, the need for security surveillance and quick access to the authorities is becoming more standard on university campuses. When designing a parking lot for such an institution, incorporate emergency call boxes into your design, preferably in well-lit sections.

Of course, the three features listed here are not the only design elements to enhance your commercial parking lot. Depending, again, on the purpose of your parking facility and the standards of your industry, consider as many options as possible. That way, you can create the best design possible for your lot — and keep it well-maintained over the long term.

6. Design For the Long Run: Asphalt Maintenance Solutions

One of the most important aspects of your design is providing long-term care and maintenance. Parking lots can show some wear over time if not protected properly and regularly due to Mother Nature's consistent effects. With the best care, a well-coated asphalt parking lot can withstand anything.

To best guard your freshly designed parking lot against the effects of wind, water, ultraviolet rays and dripping oil, your asphalt will regularly require efficient and durable sealcoating and striping. In addition, if you notice any problematic areas, tending to them promptly is the most effective way to prevent further damage in the future.

Consider the following signs of wear and how to treat them effectively

Cracking

Even the slightest cracking can be a warning sign of greater damages ahead. Moisture and other harmful substances can enter the base layers of your asphalt through these cracks, leading to more severe damage.

Discoloration

Although the pavement is a rich black after construction, it can fade into gray or brown, both signs of the sun's wearing effects. A color change can also be due to spilled oil. The asphalt binding agent has worn out, creating loose gravel or a sand-like substance.

Potholes

When cracking becomes too deeply threaded beneath the pavement surface, potholes can form over time. When you inspect your asphalt and come across these concerns, consider the following solutions to refresh and maintain your pavement:

Crack-filling

For one of the most cost-effective ways to preserve and prolong pavement life, consider having any visible cracks in your asphalt filled professionally. Sealcoating is a preventative process that can double the life of your pavement.

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Parqour is a revolutionary software platform designed to simplify parking operations and enhance the customer experience for parking lot designers. Parqour technology lets parking lot designers access real-time data, automated license plate recognition, and contactless payment options. Parqour operates in more than 22 countries and over 300 parking areas, with over 100 million vehicles detected.

Ease of Use and Comprehensive Platform

One of Parqour's key features is its comprehensive end-to-end management platform, which allows parking lot designers to increase revenue, reduce operational costs, and enhance transparency. This means designers no longer need to combine different vendors and integrations, saving time and resources. Parqour also eliminates the need for bulky hardware, reducing capital expenditure. With Parqour, designers can control all parking operations from one platform, simplifying the management process.

Contactless Payments and Improved Customer Experience

Parqour offers contactless parking options and online payment methods, making the parking experience easier and more convenient for customers. This feature can help increase parking lot utilization and reduce operating costs, benefiting both designers and their customers.

High License Plate Recognition Rate and Online Payment Integration

Parqour boasts a 99.6% license plate recognition rate, ensuring accurate and efficient parking space monitoring. It integrates with online payment platforms such as Parkmobile, SpotHero, Honk, and PayByPhone, offering customers a range of payment options.

Real-Time Data Analytics and Validation Management

Parqour lets parking lot designers access real-time data on occupancy, revenue, utilization, and parking trends, helping them make data-driven decisions. The platform also offers validation and permit management features, allowing free-flow access for approved drivers.

Remote Control System and Zero-Upfront Hardware Costs

Parqour provides a 24/7 remote control system, allowing designers to manage parking operations from anywhere. The platform offers hardware with zero upfront costs, making it accessible to designers of all sizes.

Zoning and Violation Detection

Parqour includes zoning and violation detection features, allowing designers to effectively control POD, VIP, and nested zones. This feature helps ensure that parking rules are enforced, improving overall parking lot management.