If your place of business has a parking lot, garage, or similar facility attached, ensuring there’s enough space to park can be an ongoing concern. Take time to look at your space and see if you’re making the most of it. Here’s how to maximize parking in an urban setting. Some solutions are simple while others, like a fully automatic car parking system, might require a greater investment. All are worth considering!
Go Full- or Semi-Auto
If you have the means and time, upgrade your parking facility to a fully automatic car parking system! Fully automated parking systems use less space, cut down on pollution, save money, and keep your electricity bills low. Offering an automated parking service is also a big draw for customers and a definite benefit for your employees. Automated parking lots are great at saving space for several reasons. For one thing, you don’t need to build aisles and ramps so drivers can find their way to a space on a different level. Parking spaces are closer together, and you can take advantage of verticality by digging down or building up rather than spreading out.
Build Upwards With Car Lifts
Maybe a fully automatic car parking system isn’t for you. If you must make do with a parking lot of a fixed size, keep verticality in mind. Build a new level of parking spaces with semi-automatic car lifts. Car lifts can add one or more layers of parking space to your lot or garage, depending upon the amount of overhead space you have.
Shuttle Service
If you want to reduce the number of vehicles in your downtown parking area, open another parking lot some distance away. Then, offer a shuttle service to get there. On-site parking can be saved for VIPs and emergency purposes, while the off-site lot and shuttle service allow clients and employees to park and get transported in comfort to the main facility. This frees up both lots, keeps drivers from blocking the roads by ensuring better flow, prevents them from walking around and blocking traffic, and controls the spaces used. Customers and workers will appreciate its convenience as well.
Make It Easier for Employees To Not Drive
Here’s one more way how to maximize parking in an urban setting. Calculate how many of your employees drive to work and take up space in your lot or garage. If it’s a larger number than you expected, here are a few ways to save space in your facility while rewarding the people who keep your business running. Encourage them to commute by offering to reimburse them for train or bus fares. Create inspirational company-wide health initiatives that show them the benefits of walking, running, or biking to work. Set up a challenge where the person with the most steps or miles can earn a prize. More employees commuting means more spaces available.