Across the U.S., urban cities rely on parking garages to allow customers and residents to park their vehicles. In fact, in a recent study by IBIS World found that annual growth of parking garage usage in the U.S. grew by 3.3% from 2012 – 2017.
Parking garages aren’t just for show either, because they mean big business. During that same period, parking garages in the U.S. generated over $10 Billion worth of revenue.
As a crucial part of the urban landscape and a cornerstone of populous areas, building owners must focus on tenant relations and spaces like parking garages to ensure the safety and happiness of the general public in these locations.
To ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians, parking garage managers should use all tools at their disposal. Here are some of the best traffic calming equipment that managers can use in their parking garages to ensure efficient and safe passage today!
Increasing Accidents In U.S. Parking Garages
More than 50,000 traffic-related accidents occur each year in U.S. parking lots and parking garages each year. Unsurprisingly, auto insurance companies report a spike in claims on Black Friday and continue to run above average throughout the holiday season.
During these peak times, it is more important than ever to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians, while also reducing congestion that comes with auto crashes. The leading causes of car accidents in parking garages include:
- Personal GPS systems
- Texting while driving
- Browsing social media
- Sending or receiving emails
- Taking photos or watching videos on a mobile device
While all age groups and demographics see an increase of auto accidents in parking garages during the holiday season, teens are most likely to be involved in a crash due to distracted behavior like texting and using social media while driving.
Parking Equipment To Put The Brakes On Parking Garage Accidents
Parking garage managers can prevent accidents in parking garages by reducing the speed of vehicles and creating pedestrian-friendly zones. This is best implemented by using a mix of traffic calming safety devices, and with the correct combination, your parking garage can significantly reduce accidents by curbing driving behavior.
1. Speed Bumps
One of the leading causes of traffic accidents in parking garages is high speed. Speed bumps are best used at entrances and straightaways.
These areas are prime places for speed bumps because drivers tend to reach high speeds as they enter a parking garage or when trying to reach an empty parking spot.
Speed bumps are easy to install, and they benefit drivers in all vehicle types and sizes. Using speed bumps properly will remind drivers to slow down so other motorists and pedestrians can avoid hazardous situations.
2. Parking Blocks
No matter how busy a parking garage gets, drivers need to know precisely where they should park and be a safe distance from the wall to prevent damage to the infrastructure of their vehicle. Parking blocks can help drivers know how far they should pull forward and is an excellent addition to any parking garage.
Parking blocks are cost-effective traffic calming tool because they protect both the parking garage structure and personal vehicles. Misjudging the depth of a parking spot can be dangerous and disrupt traffic if cars are not pulled in all the way. This is why every parking spot in a parking garage should have a parking block at the end of each parking spot.
3. Crosswalk Barriers
Ensuring the safety of drivers and pedestrians is difficult in parking garages, but crosswalk barricades are easy and effective tools to create pedestrian-friendly zones. These barricades are most effective near heavy crosswalks, with parking garage entrances, and corners where pedestrians frequently cross.
Placing highly visible crosswalk barricades in a parking garage helps increase awareness of dangers for both pedestrians and drivers. Since these crosswalk barriers are portable, they can be moved as needed and placed in the most effective areas.
Mounting a flashing barricade light on crosswalk barricades further improve the safety and effectiveness of the traffic calming equipment.
4. Bollards
Parking garage managers can protect glass fixtures, load-bearing walls, and ticket booths with bollards. Since bollards are placed in high traffic locations, they often get scratched, and their structure can depreciate over time.
Using high-quality bollard covers throughout a parking garage can help protect bollards from eroding due to pollution, weather, or impacts over time.
5. Delineator Tubes
Featuring a flexible, rugged design, delineator tubes are the ideal traffic calming solution for anywhere in a parking garage. Since they are highly visible in the day and night, delineator tubes ensure the safety of pedestrians and drivers no matter when they are using the structure.
Delineators are most effective in locations where alignment is confusing, or where traffic patterns shift suddenly. This means that these traffic calming tools should be used for upcoming turns, near construction zones, and near entrances and exits throughout the parking garage.
6. Jersey Style Barriers
Since parking garages need constant upkeep, maintenance areas should be appropriately sectioned off with equipment like Jersey Style Barriers. These portable water barriers are ideal for parking garages because they weigh only 100 pounds when empty so they can be transported around the garage depending on the need of the facility.
The size and weight make them easily stackable, so when they are not in use, the parking facility will not become cluttered with many significant and unsightly concrete barriers.
7. Barricade Lights
Depending on the location and needs of a parking garage, barricade lights are a great addition to improve the safety of drivers and pedestrians.
Since drivers can become distracted with lots of commotion in a parking garage, barricade lights help remind drivers of upcoming barricades and help prevent vehicle accidents.
Improving Parking Garages For Drivers & Pedestrians
As U.S. urban environments continue to become more densely populated, parking garage managers need to find new ways to improve the safety of drivers and pedestrians. Creating cost-effective and safe parking locations near popular destinations will be challenging, especially as land values increase shortly.
Parking garage managers can ensure safe and efficient passage for drivers and pedestrians by designing their structures with proper traffic calming devices. As a result, the revenue of parking garage managers and nearby businesses will benefit!