When you think of sprawling urban areas, there are a few issues that may come to mind. You might go into an inner rage thinking of traffic congestion and gridlocked streets. Or lament the lack of parking and curse the meter maids.
What you might not think of, however, is the fact that cities are much warmer than their adjoining rural areas – sometimes as much as ten degrees hotter. How is this possible?
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ensures equal opportunity for US citizens suffering from any form of disability by prohibiting discrimination and promoting accessibility. Nearly 57 million Americans live with a disability, over half of whom cannot get around without the assistance of a wheelchair, cane, crutches, or walker.
The ADA of 1990 and the 2010 updated version makes public and commercial businesses responsible for designing their property to accommodate the needs and limitations of people suffering with disabilities. Public facilities are different than government-entities and are defined as any business open to the general public, such as hotels, restaurants, theaters, convention centers, malls, museums, and banks.
California may be known for its natural beauty and laidback atmosphere, but the state is no stranger to harsh weather. Historically, the Golden State is subjected to oscillating patterns of severe drought and heavy rainfall combined with temperature extremes. More than just an uncomfortable nuisance, such weather patterns strain vital infrastructure, promoting costly damage that, for an entire state, can reach billions of dollars.
From potholes to sinkholes, California weather can certainly cause headaches for businesses, government officials, and workers responsible for repairing roadways, parking lots, and other concrete structures. To mitigate the destruction wreaked by nature, an understanding of how cold, heat, wet, and dry conditions affect asphalt can be used to implement preventative measures.
California cities ought to include parking maintenance and construction in their efforts to curtail traffic congestion. Improving flow by standing still may seem counterintuitive, but providing convenient parking options will get drivers off the road and prevent them from wandering in the pursuit of the ideal spot.
Cities don’t have to take up an already limited amount of space to create ideal parking areas. Read on to learn how your city can combat congestion through creative parking solutions.
You’ve probably got a meticulous business plan, but does it include a functional and aesthetically pleasing parking area or consider the proximity and design of public parking and privately owned garages? Most customers will not wait in line for parking, deciding to try their luck elsewhere instead. Without adequate parking capacity and efficiently designed lots, you may be hurting your business’s bottom line. To get customers through your doors, here are the top 5 features of a great parking lot:
The layout of your parking lot can determine whether the traffic flow is smooth or ends up severely congested. If you’re parking lot or garage is not easily accessible, customers may opt to take their business elsewhere. There are several elements you can incorporate into your lot to keep congestion at bay, including directional arrows and striping for easy-to-understand traffic patterns and convenient pedestrian walkways to prevent people from slowing the flow. Angled parking spaces and one-way lanes also make parking and leaving much easier.
Why is parking facility maintenance so important?
Probably for the same reason why website maintenance is important. Parking lots and websites are many companies’ first impressions. If your facility appears dirty or unprofessional, people are going to walk into your establishment feeling deterred, and things will already be getting off on the wrong foot.
Picture a parking lot that’s sloppy or disheveled. Trash and rubble align the spaces, the paint is dull and chipping, the construction appears old and outdated, and it’s clear no one has tended to the facility in years. Not only will customers lose their enthusiasm right off the bat, they’ll also feel very unsafe. Would you want to leave your car unattended in a place that looks like a stiff breeze could knock it over? Parking lot maintenance is just as important as business maintenance, and if your customers don’t like what they see, they probably won’t return.
A parking facility maintenance team is a group of professionals hired to make your parking facility stand out from all the others. The duties of a maintenance team often vary, and range from cleaning and striping to installing sign packages.
Hiring the right maintenance team can be crucial for keeping your parking facility up to par and safe, which means only the best will do. This can be a pretty tricky decision; one team might have the best prices, but work at a snail’s pace. Another might move fast and have great Yelp reviews, but their prices are higher than you expected.
All these factors are relevant to finding the right team, but they’re just a sliver of the many qualities a good maintenance group should consistently exhibit. Here are five traits your team must always possess: