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How Do You Improve Safety at a Parking Lot?
Parking lots can be breeding grounds for both criminal activities and accidents, ranking as the third most common location for violent crimes.
Therefore, parking lot owners should prioritize safety and implement effective parking management strategies to maximize parking lot security.
What can you do to improve Parking Lot Safety?
We have compiled a set of practical tips to assist you in ensuring the safety and satisfaction of your parking lot patrons, making life easier for both motorists and yourself.
There are a number of steps you can take to improve safety in your parking lot. Some of these involve equipment and technology, while others involve planning and managing the parking lot.
Install Access Control for Entry and Exit Points
Keeping track of everyone who enters your parking lot can be difficult, especially if you have multiple entry and exit points.
Try to have one main entrance and exit to your parking lot with barriers to stop any unauthorized vehicles from entering. This can work particularly well for properties like apartment blocks and condominiums.
Security Guards
This sounds obvious, but it’s how you manage your security guards to have the most significant effect.
Having guards in a booth at the entry and exit points is a great way to allow authorized vehicles passage and act as a visible deterrent.
If you have more than one guard, consider a patrol schedule in which they check the perimeter of the lot every 30 minutes to an hour to ensure everything is fine.
This can get costly, though, and security guards are only human, so they could become lackadaisical when it comes to the end of their shift or even ring in sick for a period of time.
Lighting
When it comes to lighting, you need to strike the right balance. Parking lots should be bright and well-lit, but not too bright, which can have detrimental effects on safety.
Always think about how you can use lights during the daytime as well to help dark spots become visible. Pay close attention to stairs and lifts, as these can be hotspots for ambushes no matter what time of day!
Install Surveillance Cameras
Parking lots present a range of complex security challenges. Mobile surveillance units help mitigate, deter, and report any potential theft, vandalism, property damage, or violent crime that may occur, and ensure parking lots and people are safe and shielded from potential threats.
Surveillance cameras paired with solar trailers are one of the most effective ways of securing your parking lot. Our LotGuard Pro Surveillance Trailer can be installed in around 20 minutes, providing immediate security for your parking lot. It’s fully portable, too, so simply move it to a new location if your needs change.
With LotGuard PRO, you don’t need to provide mounting poles for the surveillance cameras, and there’s no need for onsite power or internet connectivity at your lots. LotGuard PRO is entirely self-sufficient.
Panic Buttons and Alarms
To help discourage crime in parking lots, you can install panic keypads and alarm boxes. These assure people feel safe and can immediately alert you, security guards, or the local authorities.
When panic buttons are pressed, an alarm will sound, alerting anyone that there is an incident.
Emergency phones around the parking lot can have multiple uses. They can give instant access to customers who want to contact security if there is an attack, accident, or even a health emergency.
Pedestrian Walkways
Well-lit, designated walkways for pedestrians are vital for safety in parking lots. This should stop pedestrians from cutting through traffic and interfering with the flow of the lot.
It also helps protect pedestrians from being hit by cars if they stay in the designated walkways. Crossings will help with the flow of pedestrians and vehicle traffic.
Bollards and Posts
Adding bollards around storefronts can help prevent vehicle damage, as at least 50 accidents occur daily involving vehicles running into commercial buildings.
Clear Signage
Signage around parking lots can be used for traffic flow, speed limits, warnings, security, and pedestrians. Controlling the speed and flow of traffic with clear signage is a great way to keep everyone safe.
Warnings about blind spots or low beams, etc., help with awareness of space. Signs about security will inform and deter thieves that they are constantly being watched.
Traffic Flow
Designing a simple parking lot to control the flow of traffic keeps things running seamlessly. It reduces the risk of accidents for both vehicles and pedestrians.
Some great ways to control traffic can include adding speed humps to reduce speed and ensuring that markings are visible on parking spaces and pedestrian crossings.
What is Parking Lot Management?
Parking lot management is the organized and strategic administration of parking facilities aimed at ensuring efficient operation, optimal utilization of parking spaces, and a positive user experience.
It encompasses the implementation of diverse policies, procedures, and technologies to effectively oversee parking areas. This includes controlling vehicle access, enforcing parking regulations, and offering essential services to drivers.
Parking management involves a wide range of activities, such as monitoring parking space availability, implementing reservation and booking systems, processing payments, regulating entry and exit, deploying parking guidance systems, enforcing violations, maintaining and enhancing parking facilities, providing customer support, and analyzing data for decision-making and optimization.
The ultimate objective of car park management is to create well-organized, secure, and easily accessible parking spaces that cater to the needs of drivers while maximizing revenue and minimizing traffic congestion.
What are the Benefits of Parking Management?
Parking Lot Management is a crucial part of your business that can maximize space availability as well as mitigate parking abuse. A well-controlled parking lot brings about enhanced benefits which include
- Enhanced parking efficiency
- Improved parking experience
- Reduced traffic congestion
- Deter anti-social behavior
Daniel del Soldato
Marketing Director
Daniel has been at Wireless CCTV over 10 years and has accumulated a vast wealth of knowledge when it comes to CCTV products and the way they operate. In his spare time Daniel likes to listen to music, watch football and spend quality time with his family.
