If your business utilizes a traditional asphalt parking lot for customer traffic, you already know some of the inconveniences that come with these lots. There are many reasons asphalt lots are outdated designs that can be a hassle to maintain. In fact, any modern facility should consider other parking solutions thanks to these common problems with current parking lot design.
Not Enough Parking Space
Traditional asphalt parking lots feature poor parking design and make inefficient use of your space. Standard lots feature rows and rows of vehicle spaces but fail to utilize vertical space, expanding out instead of up. If your business doesn’t have enough parking space, consider upgrading your traditional lot to an automated or semi-automated parking system. Modern stack parking systems take advantage of vertical space by using technology to stack vehicles, increasing the number of vehicles your lot can accommodate.
Customers Have Difficulty Locating Spots
Tracking down a parking space takes time out of your customer’s shopping period. If consumers have difficulty locating spots, it could lead to more frustration and even negative reviews for your business, property, or venue. Expanding your parking spaces with automated parking systems will not only save space but also double or even triple the number of spaces in your parking lot. This leads to happier customers and better reviews.
Poor Notifications for Drivers
Many standard parking lots feature inadequate information on parking price, availability, and who has access. Your customers or visitors could feel frustrated by driving around a parking lot looking for spaces only to find out that it’s completely full. They may also be caught off guard by parking prices and exclusivity if you don’t clearly display these terms. However, in an automated parking structure, you can use sensors and technology to clearly display when your garage has open spaces, how much parking costs, and who has access.
Environmental Impact
Another issue with traditional parking lots is the negative impact they can have on the environment. Standard lots collect gas, grease, oil, and other pollutants from leaking vehicles, which can pollute the nearby environment through water runoff. Expanding parking lots to create more space also impacts the native wildlife in your area and reduces greenery. Utilizing modern parking technology and systems can reduce the amount of pollution in the area and decrease the amount of land you’ll need.
Economic Impact on Cities
When businesses don’t have enough parking spaces to support their customer traffic, this ultimately results in lost income. Customers who can’t find parking outside a business or venue may end up turning away rather than finding another place to park, especially if it means walking a long distance. This results in fewer customers for businesses and less tourism in cities. Fortunately, expanding your parking structures with semi-automated parking systems expands parking spaces for tourists visiting cities and customers shopping at businesses.
Modern parking technology can help solve or improve these five current problems with parking lot design. If you have a business or facility in need of more parking space, consider browsing our line of parking systems here at Harding Steel. Our automatic and semi-automatic parking systems offer solutions to the traditional parking issues above and more.