Poor parking lot engineering can lead to traffic jams, accidents and unhappy customers, and designing one isn't as simple as you might assume. If you run a business that has public or staff parking on the premises then carefully planning out the layout and features of your parking area is important. You can encourage a smooth flow of traffic and stress-free parking for all users. Below are just a few practical tips on how to design the perfect parking lot.

Have a separate entrance and exit

Having only one entrance and exit can often cause congestion. This is because you have people queuing to get in and queuing to get out at the same point. An exit that is located away from the entrance can help spread out any traffic at the entrance and exit. 

Avoid dead ends

Dead ends force cars to have to turn around. In car parks with narrow aisles, this can lead to cars having to carry out difficult manoeuvres, which may increase the risk of an accident. Dead ends also contribute to congestion. Aim to create loops so that cars can continue driving forward and not have to carry out three-point turns. 

Consider one-way aisles

One-way aisles are worthwhile in very narrow parking lots as they can encourage traffic to flow better. Drivers also don’t have to keep an eye on both directions as much, which can mean less angles to worry about when making manoeuvres. Of course, if you’re lucky enough to have wide aisles in your car park, two lanes going either way is just as efficient. 

Consider angled parking bays

Combined with one-way aisles, angled parking bays can help to make parking much easier and may even help to maximize spaces. This involves angling parking spaces 45 degrees instead of having them perpendicular to the aisles. 

Set up ANPR cameras

One technology that is taking over in parking lots is ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition). Using an ANPR parking management company, you can record the number plates of each vehicle and then send out fines to any customers that overstay their allocated time. In private parking lots, ANPR cameras can meanwhile be used to control which vehicles are allowed through the barrier. 

Install EV charging stations

With a growing number of drivers owning electric vehicles, it’s highly recommended that all modern parking lots install a few EV charging stations. This can encourage drivers of electric vehicles to park in your lot and they’ll feel more satisfied returning to their vehicle knowing that they’ve been able to charge up their car while shopping. 

Don’t forget accessible bays

All parking lots need to have accessible bays. These need to be clearly marked out and should be as close to the store entrance as possible while also having enough space between bays for a wheelchair to pass through. Smaller parking lots may only need one or two accessible bays, while large car parks may need to have several. 

Light it up

Finally, let’s not overlook lighting - especially if people are going to be parking in your car park overnight. Place lights all around your parking lots to illuminate the entire area. This will help reduce crime and it will also make your parking lot easier to negotiate after dark. You can trigger lighting to come on at a certain time each night and turn off at a certain time in the morning.