Parking Lot Striping

Whether it’s a concrete parking lot or asphalt parking lot, your commercial parking lot is going to have to get striped.

The first thing you should consider is the Americans with Disabilities Act. This will tell you how many accessible spaces you will need for people with disabilities.

How Do You Build A Parking Lot that Will Comply with the ADA

Here are some basic technical requirements

You will need 1 handicap space for every 25 regular spaces up to 100 spaces.

You’ll also need 1 handicap space for every 100 spaces thereafter.

25 regular spaces = 1 handicap space.

26 to 50 regular spaces = 2 handicap spaces.

101 to 150 regular spaces = 5 handicap spaces.

151 to 200 regular spaces = 6 handicap spaces.

These spaces need to be 14 feet wide by 20 feet long and should be located near or convenient to an entrance.

An ADA Complaint entrance, of course.

You will also need a 5 feet unloading area between parking spaces.

ADA compliant construction can be complicated. Navigating Title iii can be complicated. You can get frustrated if you try to do it all yourself. But it’s crucial to have a business accessible to every customer. We believe that, and we build accordingly.

That’s why you’re going to want a parking lot contractor like Goodmanson Construction that has ADA Compliance built in, one that believes in abiding by accessibility standards and one that guarantees compliance with your business.

We will make it easy for you to be accessible to all your customers, no matter who! And you don’t want to run afoul of the local department of justice because you failed to make a proper public accommodation!

OK, enough tooting our own horn. Let’s get on with it!

Now, how many parking spots can you cram into your lot?

Well, that all depends. Do you want to go with Perpendicular Parking, or Angle Parking?

Perpendicular Parking

At right angles (90 degrees).

In other words, straight in parking side by side.

n order to avoid door dings and allow easy exit from and entrance to their vehicles, your parking spots for perpendicular rows should be at least 8 feet wide and 12 feet long.

If you have perpendicular parking on both sides of a drive through area you will need a 16 foot wide drive area. Nice for backing out without worrying about hitting the car in the next row behind you.

Once again…”Bigger is better!!!

Angle Parking

Angle parking spots need to measure 10 feet across at the center stripe. Your drive area between both sides needs to only be 12 feet.

Don’t Forget the Stripe Itself!

One more little tid-bit that is helpful is that the lines, to comply with most state and local government standards, must be a minimum 4 inches wide.

I almost drove myself crazy trying to figure out the first lot I helped stripe. While it fit perfect on paper, when I measured it out in the lot I was half a car width short!

I didn’t think to add in all the 4 inch lines! Oh well, live and learn.  

So.

While perpendicular (90 degrees) parking stalls are easier to plan and require less space, angle (45 degrees) parking facilitates easier parking and reduces the space necessary between rows. I love angle parking! 

Now you have a clue as to how to plan your parking lot strategy.

Now, I know that this may all look simple and easy, but you may want to consider calling an expert asphalt paving or concrete contractor (Goodmanson Construction) for advice. Remember, once you’ve applied the paint, you cannot make corrections with out resurfacing the lot. You can bet that’s going to be a pain whether it’s asphalt pavement or concrete pavements.

If it happens that you need to resurface the lot, please call an expert like Goodmanson Construction 651-636-4996. We will not only stripe it right, make sure to get you right with the ADA and reduce your long term maintenance costs by building it right the first time (maybe with insulation or hydronic heating to prevent frost heaving).

You may get lucky and I’ll answer the phone! That’s all I can think of for now. We welcome any and all questions or comments so send ’em in!