Line Striping in Northeast Ohio
Northeast Ohio has the full range of weather conditions: from lovely springs to blazing hot summers with rainfall for days, finally fall, and then the winter months where dozens of feet of snow can fall throughout the course of a winter! Add in the various road and parking lot care products such as salt and snowplowing and it’s evident to see how parking lot lines can wear down over time, as we show in this article with satellite images!
All that being said: We Paint Parking Lots and will get your property into tip top shape!
New Layouts
Just had your parking lot seal coated? Fresh asphalt laid down? Thinking about adding a few arrows for traffic control symbols to help the flow of the parking lot? Let us help! A proper parking lot is essential to maintaining consistent flow in and out of an area, as well as mitigating risk and increasing safety.
There are several factors to consider in a new layout:
Number of Stalls
Number of ADA Compliant, Handicap Accessible Stalls
Angle of each Stall (perpendicular, angled, offset, etc.)
Fire Lane Access
Corridor Access
Traffic Control Measures
Pedestrian Crosswalks
Visitor Spots
Designated Customer Spots
Let’s discuss these further.
Number of Stalls
The number of stalls is the first thing to consider when designing a new layout for a parking lot. The standard space size is 9 feet, center on center with 4’’ width lines at 18 feet in length. This will allow for consistent measuring across the length of the parking lot and a uniform appearance. Maximizing space is paramount. That being said, knowing the usage of the lot: retail, small business, commercial B2B business, hospital, etc. is all necessary to know what the minimum available spaces should be and any additional regulations that will affect total outcomes. For example, outpatient hospitals require that 10% of their patient and visitor stalls, apart from employees, are to be designated as Handicap Accessible.
Number of ADA Compliant, Handicap Accessible Stalls
As mentioned above, there is a plethora of regulations surrounding ADA Compliance, in particular: Handicap Accessible Parking Spots. There are set requirements on the width of standard Handicap Accessible stalls as well as Van Accessible, the adjacent “No Parking” zones being marked as well as the signage that must be present. Some states and municipalities may have additional regulations regarding ADA Compliance, but many are aligned with the federal requirements as detailed in the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
Angle of each Stall
The standard that’s been in place for more than a century has been 90 degree angle stalls, which is just parking stall lines perpendicular to a longer center line. There are other configurations such as 30, 45 and 60 degree angle. As shown on the right side of the screen, taken from Ft. Worth’s city website, the dimensions of an individual spot generally remain the: 9 feet center on center width, but usually longer lines. Other considerations with angled spots are whether to have one or two directions of traffic, which require a minimum amount of space for an access aisle. There is a fine balancing act between maximizing the number of parking stalls and ensuring smooth and safe entrance and exit from a parking lot.
Fire Lane Access
Have you ever seen a Fire Truck try to make its way through a busy shopping center, or even down the street during rush hour? Yeah, not a good time for them. So help them, help others, by ensuring adequate space in between rows and columns of cars! Check with your local municipality for city-specific regulations, but the general principles are the same: requiring a minimum width, that can fit fire trucks, ambulances and other EMS vehicles through. This width needs to be such that cars moving in both directions can safely pull over and still allow an access corridor.
Corridor Access
Along with the theme from above is corridor access. Not only for Fire Lanes, but for warehouse operations, the space between buildings, etc. This comes in the form of ensuring that parking spot are not marked for usage in tight spaces without sufficient width. Have you been traveling down a 1-car width corridor and had to back up since another car wouldn’t move? Exactly. Additionally, marking out No Parking zones on turn arounds and other curves for semi-trucks and buses is imperative to ensuring that there is the necessary space to conduct a turn without stationary cars having to back up.
Traffic Control Measures
Some have said that Parking Lots are the Wild Wild West of Urban Infrastructure, the land where laws no longer exist, a fight for survival……that may be an overstatement, but it is undeniable that parking lots can be disorganized and outright unsafe. This is typically because there are things like: faded lines, no arrows, no stop bars, no pedestrian walk ways, insufficient corridor access, etc. Particularly, arrows and text can do a fantastic job at telling drivers what to do. An arrow simply direct traffic and having multiple arrows create a route within a parking lot, ensuring smooth execution. In conjunction with stop bars and stop signs for maximum visibility, drivers can move safely and efficiency through a parking lot.
Pedestrian Cross Walks
Along with various traffic control measures, these can ensure a well-ordered parking lot. Have you ever been walking down an aisle and almost been hit by several cars due to insufficient width? Exactly. The solution: having internal walk ways in between spot aisles, similar to what major retail stores have been doing for years. Yes, it’s definitely more pricing and takes up space that would otherwise be used for parking spaces; however, it also allows for expedited ingress and egress of customers, increasing turnover rates during peak hours.
Visitor Spots
Visitor Spots are great for clients and suppliers who are visiting your site. It makes it easy to know when they have arrived and because they are likely in a new place, it ensures they do not get lost. A marked out Visitor spot instantly let’s that person know they are in the right spot and serves as a rallying point to make the in-person connection.
Designated Customer Spots
This has been a trend within the last few years following the pandemic especially: spots designated for curbside pick-up. Instead of someone parking their car, walking in, browsing for a few items, checking out, walking out, loading their cars…..all that time is cut into a fraction by having a customer pull up to a spot right next to the entrance and an employee with a pre-prepared package walks right up to the car and delivers it. This substantially increases customer turnover while increasing customer satisfaction when properly executed. A clearly designated spot that reduces confusion and wait times leads to increased customer satisfaction.
All in all, there are a multitude of things to consider when striping a parking lot, whether its a new layout, restriping, or your organization needs something added, Lines and Logos can help get your parking lot into tip top shape. Contact us today and let us help you!
Re-Striping
Re-Striping is simply putting new paint over older lines. This is a straight forward job for us to handle and usually results in a lower price to the customer, since it requires much less time to conduct the work. Still, there are various considerations.
Current conditions of the lines and parking lot dictate much work to be done. If the lines are nearly invisible, any coat of paint will do a great job at livening things up. If the lines are flaky and peeling off, then it would be in the customer’s best interest to either pressure wash, power broom, scarify, etc. the lines prior to putting paint down. This ensures that loose paint chips, broken material, and significant dust build up do not prevent paint from adhering. This Traffic Engineer manual from the Ohio Department of Transportation also details out what paint should go on what existing lines, ensuring compatibility when overlaying new paint.
Whether your project involves new striping or re-striping, Lines and Logos will assist you in bringing organization, safety and a visual pop to your parking lot! Contact us now!
