If you’re designing a parking facility for your business or community, it’s important to consider various design elements before you begin. For example, your community or audience will greatly impact the size and overall design of your parking garage. If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to designing and optimizing a commercial parking garage, keep reading to learn more. Consider this your guide to creating a successful parking garage design for your business.
Consider the Purpose of Your Facility
The first step to designing an effective parking facility is to consider the purpose of your building. In fact, you should keep your facility’s purpose in mind for every step of the design process. Whether your structure will connect to a business, provide residential parking for apartments and condominiums, offer community parking for visitors, or have a mixed-use space, its function will help determine certain design elements.
For example, a vehicle storage facility for an international airport will need to house more vehicles than a parking garage for a small shopping center. Analyzing your structure’s purpose will help you determine how many parking spaces your facility will need to accommodate, how to use space efficiently, and other key design elements.
Determine the Size of Your Parking Facility
Once you know which business or audience your facility will serve, you can better understand the size requirements for your structure. If you’re working with a pre-constructed building, consider the dimensions of the building and the available area surrounding it should you need to expand.
Now that you know your customer pool, you can also roughly calculate how many vehicle spaces your facility will need. For example, if the building will serve a hotel, venue, or apartment complex, you can get a rough estimate of parking spaces based on room numbers, seats, or tenants in the complex. For more abstract customer numbers, such as airports and shopping malls, calculate parking estimates based on the number of patrons the local businesses receive each day.
How To Maximize Your Number of Parking Spaces
Every future parking facility manager should consider how to maximize their available parking spaces. Whether you have a small facility to work with or an expansive structure, maximizing your parking space means more vehicle storage options and more patrons utilizing your business.
Not every facility or community will have the space to expand the structure itself, so you may need to get creative with how you design your parking spaces. For example, choosing angled parking spaces instead of parallel spaces can optimize your parking lot or garage and make room for additional spots.
An even more effective option is to consider installing automated systems such as triple car lifts. These lifting systems utilize previously wasted vertical space to triple the amount of storage space in the average parking garage. Consider these space-saving options when deciding what type of system will work best for your facility.
Choose a Type of Parking System
There are multiple types of parking systems and methods to choose from for your garage. Your parking system concerns everything from parking space layout to circulation and ramping. You’ll also need to consider whether you want your driving lanes to be designed for one-way versus two-way driving.
Finally, automated parking systems are modern parking methods that involve using car stacking systems to house vehicles. These types of systems, such as triple car lifts, utilize vertical space, which requires higher clearances and ceilings for parking facilities. This is why it’s crucial to consider your parking system before finalizing your structure designs and construction.
Remember the Safety Elements of Design
When it comes to designing a parking lot, garage, or facility, you can’t forget safety elements. Without safety guidelines in place, your parking garage could put drivers and pedestrians at risk. Here, we’ll dive into the basics of pedestrian safety guidelines and accessibility requirements for parking designs.
Pedestrian and Accessibility Design Requirements
All parking lots and garages must have marked pedestrian crossing points with the proper signage. To promote safety and reduce pedestrian accidents, lots and garages must also use speed limit signage in the 5 to 15 miles per hour zone, though speeds can vary depending on local laws.
If your parking garage has multiple stories, it will need an elevator for accessibility. Pay close attention to the dimensions of your parking spaces, as accessible spots have minimum space rules and access aisle sizing requirements. Always reference the federal, state, and county parking accessibility guidelines for your area to ensure that you follow the most recent and relevant laws.
How To Incorporate Sustainable Elements
Finally, when designing any type of modern facility, many builders will consider how they can incorporate sustainable elements. Nowadays, there is increased emphasis on sustainability and eco-friendly building practices, and that counts for parking facilities. Consider utilizing reusable energy sources to power your facility or designing extra green spaces around the perimeter or on the roof.
Using automated parking technology is a fantastic way to minimize your facility’s carbon footprint by reducing the time that vehicles spend running. Automated parking garages also have less need for lighting or temperature control throughout the facility, which further reduces energy use.
Learn More About Automated Parking Systems
If learning about car lifts has caught your attention and made you consider an automated model for your facility’s parking system, you can learn more about this technology at Harding Steel. We provide triple car lifts and other stacker parking technology for dealerships, hotels, and other businesses looking for ways to make parking more efficient. We also offer other types of systems, including semi-automatic solutions, for smaller businesses and more. Browse our website today to learn more about automated parking systems and solutions.
With this guide to choosing a parking garage design by your side, you can feel more prepared for each step of the design process. Consider how each of these design elements can fit with your building’s purpose and intended audience for the most efficient and cohesive design. If you don’t optimize your facility with your audience in mind, it could fail to meet the needs of your customers and business. And if you’re looking for ways to modernize your design, remember to browse Harding Steel for automated parking solutions and more.
