Does Your Commercial Parking Lot Meet the Standards?

What condition is your parking lot really in?

While a few cracks or faded stripes might not mean much to you, these imperfections could have a lasting impression on some of your customers.

Here are a handful of indicators to keep in mind when determining whether your parking lot is up to par.

1. Poor Gravel Base

Even though your parking lot may look sturdy and tidy to the naked eye, there could be trouble brewing underneath the surface.

Namely, if your parking lot doesn’t possess a good gravel base, it may only be a matter of time before it starts to crack under the weight of heavy vehicles.

2. Wrong Thickness

If your parking lot sees more traffic than the average business, you’re going to want to make sure that you have a strong soil base and a generous layer of pavement.

When a parking lot isn’t paved to the right thickness, it can be prone to deteriorating faster.

3. Poor Transition Between Paving

If you’ve had your parking lot paved multiple times or have had to patch cracks and potholes in the past, there may be areas where the old and current asphalt aren’t smooth.

There may even be a noticeable difference between quality or materials. Not only can this look unattractive but it may also leave customers with a bumpy ride.

4. No Striping

Perhaps your parking lot had plenty of striping at one point, but like its colour, these lines have faded until they are virtually nonexistent. Maybe you’ve never had proper striping throughout your lot!

Whatever the case, clear striping will allow you to maximize the amount of parking space your business has available and keep your customers safe.

5. Faded Colour

All parking lots fade with time. While fading might not be aesthetically pleasing, it doesn’t indicate that your parking lot is in poor structural condition.

However, keep in mind that this could mean that your lot may be advancing in age, and that repaving may be needed in the near future.

6. Cracks and Potholes

While your customers and employees may be able to successfully avoid cracks and potholes for the time being, these blemishes only grow and expand over time.

This kind of visible damage is a clear indicator that the condition of your parking lot isn’t up to scratch.

7. Flooding and Pooling

After rainfall, you may notice that certain areas of your parking lot collect water. If this is the case, it’s likely that your asphalt surface is sunken or uneven at various points.

While this can be easy to neglect, particularly during dry seasons, the consequences of doing so may be severe. Without proper drainage, water may continue to erode your parking lot until it eventually becomes unserviceable to customers.

8. Damaged Storm Drain

Your parking lot may be perfectly smooth and level; but with a cracked, blocked, or sunken storm drain, your lot could experience flooding when it rains.

Make sure your storm drains are in top condition and that they hold up during wet seasons.

9. Lack of Compliance

A gorgeous parking lot that has been paved professionally from high-quality materials isn’t necessarily compliant with province accessibility laws.

You will need to make sure that you have the required amount of handicap spaces for a lot of your size.

So, how does your parking lot measure up?

If you suspect that your parking lot might be in dire need of asphalt repaving services, we can help. Get in contact with our team today!