Fresh Parking Lot Marking and Maintenance Improve Curb Appeal

Your parking lot is the first thing your customers and visitors see at your facility. And nothing looks as good as a freshly striped lot. Bright, clean markings on well-maintained pavement make your lot look organized and attractive. A good-looking parking lot sends the message that your organization is efficient and well maintained. It's the first impression you give, so why not make it your best impression?

Pavement Markings Control Traffic

Pavement markings not only designate parking areas, but also safely direct people and vehicles around in your parking area. Use stencils to mark out loading areas, crosswalks, fire lanes and tow-away zones to show people where it's safe to walk and to tell drivers what places are off limits.

Straight or Angled Parking Spaces - Which Is Better?

Lot striping maximizes your space by giving drivers "rules" or guides on how not to take up too much space. Using a paint striping machine makes striping quick and easy. Straight parking spot markings let you get the most parking spots out of your space. They are easy to stripe and they allow two-way traffic. Angled parking spot markings are a little more difficult to stripe and don't allow for as many spaces. But they are easier for drivers to pull into and back out of, plus they help create a one-way traffic flow in your lot.

Reserve Parking Space with Pavement Markings

When striping and marking your lot, it's a good opportunity to create designated parking spaces for disabled people, residents, customers, employees or visitors. By creating designated areas for residents, customers and visitors, it promotes good will and sends them the message that you care about their comfort and convenience. By marking employee parking spots, it gives them guidance where to park and keeps them from parking in the premium parking spots reserved for customers, visitors or the disabled.

ADA Parking Rules Under ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) guidelines you must reserve handicapped accessible parking spaces for both cars and vans. Failure to provide these parking spaces can lead to stiff fines and in the case of new construction, withholding of operating or occupancy permits. The number of ADA spaces required varies on the number of parking spaces in your lot. For instance, a lot with 26 to 50 parking spaces is required to have at least 2 handicapped accessible spots and 1 van accessible space.

Parking Lot Maintenance Tips

Striping a worn out or damaged parking lot is like putting whipped cream on an onion. Why spend the time and labor of marking the lot look if pavement underneath is cracked and potholed? You should carefully inspect your parking lot regularly for cracks, potholes or any other damage caused by salt, water, oil, gas, sunlight or cold. When a crack is wider than 1/4", it's time to seal it. Fix smaller holes as soon as they appear. It keeps the water from seeping through and making bigger potholes. After repairs, be sure to sealcoat the pavement to give your striping and pavement markings a good, clean base.

A fresh coat of striping paint and pavement markings look sharp and make your parking lot look well-maintained. By providing lots of good parking spaces, with some spots reserved for special people, you make it convenient and easy for everyone to access your facility. The parking lot goes a long way in improving your curb appeal.

Suzanne Pearl

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How to Choose an Asphalt Contractor

There are several things to consider when you are choosing the contractor to do any paving or other related services around your home or business. It is very important to get written estimates from several different contractors. You can usually find a list of contractors in your area via the internet or a local phone book.

The contractors should come out and evaluate the overall site conditions, as well as take measurements, and get with you regarding any questions or concerns that they might have. The contractor should be able to provide you with a certificate of insurance for both general liability and worker's compensation coverage. This will help protect your property and assets in the event someone is injured while working on your property.

Your contractor should also be able to present you with a list of references from previous jobs completed. Finally, it is always a good idea to get an understanding of the materials that will be used for the project. This will help you make sure you are comparing "apples to apples" and getting exactly what you are paying for.

Once your contractor has been selected, it is now time to discuss the scheduling and the estimated time frame necessary to complete the job. Keep in mind that equipment will be used for your paving project. Therefore, you will need to make any and all preparations for temporary parking or a possible plan to re-route foot traffic to your home or business.

Lastly, make sure your contractor calls for a utility locate before any digging or excavation takes place. This will help to insure that no utility lines are cut and that service is not interrupted.

By taking these easy steps, your Asphalt Paving Contractor that you have chosen should be able to provide you with a good quality service.

Peyton Stallings is a lifetime Atlanta resident and general contractor. Peyton is President and onsite manager for PKS Paving And Construction and writes regular columns on, paving, Asphalt Paving Atlanta and construction in general. To learn more please visit our site at http://www.pksasphaltpavingatlanta.com

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How parking lots can be danger zones

How dangerous can a walk through the parking lot be? Even though people tend to drive a lot slower, Kris Van Cleave reports on how the consequences of distraction and other driving mistakes can be deadly.

Will I See the Asphalt Repairs When They’re Done?

One of the most common questions that I'm asked is, “Will I see the repairs when they're done?” My answer is always the same - yes. It's impossible to match old asphalt using new asphalt, even with infrared repairs. How well a repair blends with the surrounding asphalt depends on one main factor, how many times the surrounding asphalt has been sealed. Each time you sealcoat your asphalt, the voids between the aggregate get filled in a little more. The more times a driveway has been sealed, the less texture it has, leaving little chance it will match up with new asphalt that has more texture. Just imagine your old driveway next to a new driveway, that's the difference you will see.

A follow up question I hear a lot is, “Won't it blend in after I sealcoat?” It will blend better with a sealcoat (same color), but the textures will still be different and the repairs will be visible. Asphalt surfaces that have only been sealed a few times can eventually blend in pretty well with a few sealcoats, over a few years. If a new driveway is what you're looking for, you’ll need a paving company that can give you a new driveway. Infrared repairs are a nice option if a large portion of your asphalt is in good shape and you can accept that the repairs will not be invisible.

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Allow Vaca Vet Striping to Make Your Business ADA Compliant

www.VacaVetStriping.com

Allow Vaca Vet Striping to make your business ADA (Americans with Disabilities Assoc.) compliant. 

We understand the importance of quality asphalt maintenance and the importance of leaving a lasting impression to prospective tenants, home buyers, customers and the general public.

V.V.S. strives to provide quality work and great service at an affordable cost. We provide services in Solano, Napa, Yolo and Sacramento counties. Our services include city, county, and state roads, highways, airports, commercial parking lots, driveways and racetracks.

How Safe Are Pedestrians In Local Parking Lots?

With the continued migration of populations to urban environments and the ongoing growth of suburbia in the U.S., people are congregating in more dense locations than ever before in history.

As populations continue to grow in dense urban locations, pedestrians will be exposed to dangers of vehicles in parking lots. Studies show that about one in four pedestrian-related accidents occurs in parking lots.

Many of these incidents occur in grocery stores, apartment complexes, and other parking lots.

Key Engineering Factors To Improve Parking Lot Safety

90-Degree Two-Way Parking Aisles

Many parking lots leverage an angled one-way parking aisle design to help guide traffic patterns and reduce the chances of head-on vehicle crashes. However, this type of parking lot aisle design makes each aisle narrower than the 90-degree two-way parking aisle design.

The narrow aisle width of angled parking aisle means that pedestrians have less time to react to vehicles backing up. While 90-degree parking aisles reduce traffic conflicts, this improved efficiency causes drivers to drive at higher speeds compared to 90-degree two-way parking aisles.

Read the source article here: https://www.trafficsafetystore.com/blog/tips-for-enhancing-parking-lot-pedestrian-safety/

Parking Lot Striping and Maintenance Increases Customer Safety

In business, it is important to always put your best foot forward, and that step can start with fresh parking lot striping. Fresh paint provides a good first impression for arriving customers. Faded and cracked lines, potholes, and crumbling chocks are not only an eyesore, but can also be a safety hazard as well. To ensure customers can park their cars with ease and navigate the car park without any confusion, regular maintenance is crucial.

Clear parking lot striping will not only help visitors navigate easily, but well-planned spacing can also help maximize a small area, squeezing in extra spots for cars so that you don't unintentionally lose business. Most car parks are also required by local regulations to meet certain codes which include a specific number of designated handicap spaces for disabled individuals (how many will depend on the location and size of the area). These will require an extra wide border to be clearly marked, allowing for room to remove wheelchairs or other necessary mobility devices. Codes may also require specific stenciling and marked fire lanes.

If the area is jointly operated by several businesses, it can be helpful to designate specific spots directly in front of doors exclusively to one shop. This is particularly useful for quick-stop stores located next to businesses with longer transactions such as restaurants or movie theaters. Keeping a few spaces free and marked for fifteen minutes or less is another way to keep traffic flowing, turning away fewer customers during peak periods. Spaces can be stencil-painted and bordered in a different color to distinguish it from others.

Proper parking lot striping is also a valuable safety tool that can help you cut back on collisions, slip and falls, or other potential hazards. In addition to keeping the paint fresh and direction arrows clear to improve traffic flow, consider re-paving the entire car park if it is extremely damaged. Large holes and cracks can not only damage vehicles, but people can fall and hurt themselves. And if it happened on your property, you may have a lawsuit on your hands. Smashed chocks are another common problem that is often overlooked. Chocks are the bumpers located between spaces or in front of sidewalks to prevent vehicles from moving too far. Over time, the constant stress from car bumps, or even just a single hard hit can result in them cracking and shifting. The rubble left behind can be dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists.

Parking lot striping professionals generally offer several other benefits in addition to their painting skills. Included in their services are often a cleaning of the area using power washing to lift and blast away long-standing grime, a basic warranty covering unexpected fading or stains for the first few months or longer, and help re-planning the area if needed. Most paints are fast-drying, so you won't have to worry about closing off the area for long. Always choose a company that is licensed, experienced, and fully insured so that you will receive quality work that you can depend on. For information about their services, go to www.articlesrx.com [http://www.articlesrx.com].

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The Correct Way to Repair an Asphalt Parking Lot

There are many contributing factors that make asphalt a great material to use when paving a parking lot or an asphalt driveway. It is a relatively inexpensive material when compared to other material such as concrete or concrete paving blocks. Asphalt is a very durable product that stands up well to basic wear and tear of vehicle and foot traffic. Another great reason to use asphalt for your paving needs is that asphalt is a green product that is recycled more often than any other paving product.

Here are a few tips that will help you if you already have an asphalt driveway or parking lot surface that is in need of repairs. Although asphalt will need maintenance from time to time, it will only help in keeping future repair cost down to a minimum. If you are trying to do your own maintenance repairs, you will want to complete the repairs properly in order to get the maximum life out of your pavement. If you are hiring a contractor to handle the repairs for you, a little education on what to look for will help you choose the right contractor and also help you know what to look for once they're on the job.

Asphalt maintenance should be done periodically as needed. Sealcoating is one way to protect against water undermining the asphalt and reaching the base material beneath the asphalt. Ultraviolet rays can break down the binder material in asphalt allowing it to become brittle and fall apart. Sealcoating will give your asphalt surface protection against the ultraviolet rays. Sealcoating should be mixed to the proper specifications and should not be diluted to in order to stretch out the product. This will not give the asphalt the same protection. The first coat can be sprayed on to ensure the material gets into the smaller cracks to seal off and stop any future water penetration.

If you have areas in your asphalt pavement that have potholes or noticeably large alligator cracks you may need to remove these areas in order to repair them correctly. The first step in this process is to cut out the affected area with a saw. Next, you will need to remove any excess materials from the affected area. Once the area is cleaned of any debris, apply a tach coat to make the new hot asphalt adhere to the cut-out area. Then apply the new asphalt, and always make sure to compact the newly installed asphalt.

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6 Reasons To Get Your Parking Lot Re-Striped

Asphalt pavements and parking lots should be line striped as soon as they are completed. Asphalt striping involves the application of lines or markers on any asphalt surface for various reasons. The main reason for asphalt striping is to mark designated lanes on roadways. Asphalt striping is also used to mark entrances, crosswalks, and other safety features on pavements. Parking lot striping is very important to divide the parking lot into various parking spots. The most recommendable line striping technique is thermo striping. This is where the asphalt surface is marked or striped using molten thermoplastic. You can also use various paints to stripe your asphalt pavements, roadways, or parking lots. But thermoplastic striping is far much functional and durable than paint marking or striping.

After any asphalt surface is marked or striped, the lines or marks will last for some years before they start fading away. You should make a point of restriping your fading asphalt parking lot or pavement as soon as possible. Line striping is especially important for commercial parking lots, which means that restriping is also very important for your commercial parking lot. Here are several reasons why you need to restripe your commercial parking lot whenever the markers or stripes fade.

Aesthetic And Professional Appeal
A freshly marked or striped asphalt surface is very appealing. Road construction companies use various bright colors to mark an asphalt pavement o parking lot. Your commercial parking lot can be marked using white or yellow stripes. Different colors can be used to designate special parking spots for the disabled. Restriping your asphalt parking lot will enhance the curb appeal in your commercial building. This will project a professional image of your enterprise thereby attracting more customers or clients.

Better Parking Space Management
The main reason for striping an asphalt parking lot is to organize or manage the parking space. The stripes will indicate various parking slots in your commercial parking lot thereby ensuring that all the workers and customers have ample parking space. Restriping your parking lot will help organize the parking spaces in a much more efficient way.

Safety
A well-striped parking lot is safer to use. There are no collisions as vehicles try to find parking areas. You simply park your car in any allocated parking spot. You should make a point of restriping your parking lot to avoid accident-related liabilities.

User Satisfaction
When you designate various parking spots in your commercial parking lot, all users will be happy and satisfied. Remember that your commercial parking lot serves many people including your workers, delivery and supply vehicles, and more importantly your clients. That is why you should request striping services as soon as the stripes in your parking lot start fading.

ADA Compliance
Another major reason for striping and restriping a commercial parking lot is to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). ADA requires the allocation of a specific number of parking spots for the handicapped. You should restripe your commercial parking lot to adhere to these rules and regulations.

Fire Code Compliance
All commercial parking lots should have a designated lane for fire emergencies. This is a legal requirement for safety purposes. It’s one very important reason to restripe your commercial parking lot to ensure fire code compliance.

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