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Avoiding Harm with Truncated Domes

July 14th, 2008

If you’re thinking about redoing your parking lot area, you may want to think about adding some truncated domes. Truncated domes are also known as tactile paving, and are, basically, patterned and raised inserts that are placed in specific locations in your parking lot, allowing those who have visual impairments to be able to navigate around your parking lot more quickly.

For instance, if you have an area where the pavement slopes down, you may want to add in a sloped truncated dome. This will allow the impaired person to know that there is a change in the grade of the pavement. Or, on the other hand, if your parking lot and your sidewalk are the same level, a long length of tactile paving can help a blind person to know where the sidewalk ends and the parking lot begins, helping them to avoid getting in the way of a moving vehicle. Truncated domes can also be a great asset in a parking garage, where they can help a visually impaired person to feel the difference between the parking lot area and the sidewalk, or any other area in the parking garage that may be a different level.

Making your Parking Lot Safer: Detectible Warning Mats

July 11th, 2008

Those of us who have no disabilities often do not think about the little things that can catch a person who has disabilities up. For us, stepping up onto a curb or walking down an incline onto a grate is simple. Someone who is visually impaired, however, may have a difficult time with these things, especially if they are in an area or at a business that they have never been to before. One way to make your parking lot safe, without having to make any drastic changes, is to bring in detectible warning mats.

Businesses that are redoing their paving often choose to have a bit of tactile paving done, allowing their handicapped customers or employees to have a better idea of what areas in the parking lot they need to be careful around. If you do not have the funds to change your entire parking lot around, or if you do not want to deal with the hassle, you can purchase detectible warning mats. These mats are thick and anchor to the ground easily, allowing you to make your business ADA approved without having to make large and drastic changes.

The Lifespan of Wheel Stops

June 26th, 2008

Everything breaks down over time, even wheel stops. The bad thing about wheel stops breaking down is that, if they are allowed to break down enough, the rebar shows and they can become very dangerous. If you allow your wheel stops to break down extensively, you will find that you have rebar coming out of the sides, and possibly even the top, depending on how they are made. This can cause the people in your parking lot to be injured very easily, and may wind up actually harming someone very seriously.

More than one person has been injured by rebar, and has had to undergo Tetanus shots and antibiotics in order to become healthy just by being scratched from the exposed rebar. Others have actually been impaled on exposed rebar, causing not only serious health issues, but lawsuits as well.

In order to avoid this from occurring, it is vital that you replace your wheel stops every seven years or less. Wheel stops are not very expensive to purchase and, when you think about it, can actually save you thousands of dollars, as a lawsuit can be much more expensive for your company to deal with than buying a new wheel stop would be.

Wheel Stops Are Extremely Important

May 28th, 2008

Wheel Stops serve a very important function when they are being used in a parking lot. They not only help those parking in your parking lot know where they should park and how far they should pull in, they also help to prevent damage to property, including other vehicles and landscapes. They may even help to save a life!

Even though they seem like such a small thing, wheel stops truly make a big impact. When someone is pulling into your parking lot or parking garage, a wheel stop helps them to quickly identify where they should park their car. When they pull in, a wheel stop helps them to see exactly where they should stop their car. Wheel stops keep the vehicle where they should be, so no matter what happens, the vehicle will remain safely parked. Quite often cars will unintentionally disengage from their parking gear, allowing them to roll where they would. Wheel stops keep the car from going very far and can help to keep property safe. They can even help to save a life, for as long as you plan your parking lot so that your customers walk in front of the wheel stops, a car will be unable to hit them.

Too High or Too Low: Wheel Stops

April 30th, 2008

You’ve got two children in the back seat of your vehicle and you’re trying to park your car so that you can get the grocery shopping done as quickly as possible. You pull into a parking lot and the next thing you know, everyone’s head goes flying forward because you were unable to see the wheel stops that were set to help you to park correctly. Although they often go unnoticed, wheel stops are an integral part of any parking lot or parking garage.

All too often, however, a parking lot manager will place wheel stops that are too low into the lot. When the stops are too low, it is easy for a drive to miss them, or to drive completely over them, ruining their tire or axle. If the wheel stops are too high, they can damage the bumper of the car very easily. Choosing the right size wheel stops isn’t as easy as it looks. Once you have good wheel stops in your lot, it is vital that you keep them freshly painted, as this makes them stand out from the pavement and helps the driver to see exactly where they should park.

A Wheel Stop By Any Other Name

April 24th, 2008

Have you ever given much of a thought to what keeps your vehicle from rolling away when you park it in a parking garage or in a parking lot? Wheel stops are sometimes known by other names, such as parking bumpers or parking blocks, but are beneficial to have placed in your parking lot or parking garage if you want to help your customers to keep their cars intact.

Most people do not think about wheel stops immediately because we are so used to seeing them. Any parking lot or parking garage you go into will have wheel stops placed in specific places. The purpose of these is to not only help mark where the vehicles should be parked, but also to help keep the vehicles where they are supposed to be. Occasionally a vehicle owner will forget to put their car in park, or their car may have a problem with it that causes it to drift on its own. Wheel stops are what keeps one vehicle from bumping into another when something malfunctions. When you’re setting up your parking lot, make sure that you put wheel stops in at the appropriate place.

Answers In Parking Lot Striping

April 15th, 2008

All too often business owners have the same problem: “I don’t have room for all of my customers!” or, “my customers are complaining about not being able to enter and exit my store”. Some people may buy an extra lot that is across the street, which makes their customers even more upset because they have to walk further. The answer to your problem isn’t always to buy extra space – sometimes the answer is to hire a professional to do your parking lot striping.

Parking lot striping is not as simple as laying down lines. A professional will be able to come to your parking lot area and can figure out the most convenient and easy-to-access way to place as many vehicles as comfortably possible. A professional will be able to show you a diagram of how your parking lot will look when the proper striping is in place, and will be able to give you an exact number so that you will know how many customers can fit in your newly striped parking lot. Parking lot striping is the answer to the problem that plagues a number of companies.

The Wonders of Parking Lot Striping in Los Angeles

April 9th, 2008

Have you tried parking in Los Angeles? There are many people that have parking problems, but this is usually when it is a busy day or when there is some large event. Most other times, however, the public parking in Los Angeles is superb. Things are lined up correctly and there is plenty of room to park. When you own a business in Los Angeles, it is essential that you give your customers the same kind of parking that they are used to seeing, which means that you should hire a company that knows how to make the best out of the space you have available.

Parking lot striping in Los Angeles can be done by a number of different companies. Before you hire one company for your parking lot striping needs in Los Angeles, it is a good idea to ask a lot of questions. For instance, make sure that the company is experienced and that they have good references. Ask where you can see some of their work, and see if all of their employees are as experienced or if they have a lot of seasonal help.

Horror Stories of Parking Lot Painting

April 8th, 2008

We’ve all seen it: the nightmare that happens when a parking lot manager decides to take it upon himself to stripe the parking lot. Sometimes the spaces are too close together, other times the spaces are spaced so far apart that you could fit two mini-vans in them with enough room to comfortably maneuver around. And then there are the horrors that occur when a manager decides to take the words “parking lot painting” literally by sneaking into the parking lot in the middle of the night to paint the lines with a bucket of paint and paintbrush.

Some things are better done by experts, and parking lot painting is one of them. It takes experience and a gift with math to be able to lay out a parking lot in a way that makes it not only easy for people to maneuver around in, but also is organized and user-friendly. Those managers that try to save money often wind up costing the company money, and possibly costing themselves their job. If you’re interested in having your parking lot painted and done correctly, it is best to contact a professional parking lot painter.

Placement of Wheel Stops

March 27th, 2008

When you are planning a parking lot, whether you are planning one from scratch or are re-designing one, do you ever think about the wheel stops? Wheel stops are an integral part of any parking lot, just as getting the lines painted correctly is an integral part. Wheel stops not only help people to keep their vehicles where they go, they also help people to know where to park.

Knowing where to park and having the proper spacing in a parking lot is extremely important. If your clients do not park in the right place, it could mean that doors get damaged and cars get dented. Wheel stops help the patrons to understand where to park. Wheel stops are also an important piece of the puzzle because they keep cars from rolling where they shouldn’t go. You would never believe how many times people leave their vehicles in the drive or neutral positions when they get out of a car. It happens very frequently, and wheel stops can prevent the forgetful owner from damaging any cars, including their own! If you’re planning on working on your parking lot, make sure that the wheel stops are in the right place and are helpful to drivers.