Pandemic or no pandemic, parking lots are pretty vital to any urban jungle. More and more people are living in the cities because more opportunities are present there and it’s possibly part of their life’s dream. However, these people would often find themselves wrecked just by how big of a problem is parking in the area.
I’m pretty sure this happened to you, too. Hence, you’re trying to solve that by starting your own car park. But you’re in for a treat because you’ll soon realize it’s much, much harder to start your own parking lot business than to actually find a parking space. In this article, I aim to solve that problem by giving you a guide on how to create the perfect car park.
Finding the Right Spot
This is first and foremost the most important consideration to anyone who wants to start a parking lot business. As a general rule, you want to open up a parking lot business downtown, or in areas with a large volume of people, whether they’re workers, tourists, or even students. However, more people don’t necessarily mean more clients. The actual truth is more cars would mean more clients. So you also have to check for how many people drive cars, not just the population of an area.
Planning the Lot
Once you’ve figured out where you’re going to put up your parking lot, the next question is: what kind of car park would you be opening up? Would you simply go for a regular open-space parking lot? Or do you want to maximize the area by creating a parking building that would cater to more clients? The biggest consideration when it comes to this decision is basically your budget.
If you cannot afford to pay for the construction of a parking building, then don’t do it. Save for it first by opening a parking lot. Once that’s profitable, then you can go ahead and make the upgrade. But of course, if you do have enough funds, then go right ahead and make your car park bigger and better.
Level the Parking Field
Aside from the actual space you need to take in cars for your car park or parking lot, you should also invest in paving your lot. Most lots use asphalt because it’s durable, can keep your road safe, and can help reduce traffic noise. Meanwhile, car parks sometimes use tiles, stone, or resin to keep the floor smooth, crack-resistant, and waterproof.
Safety and Accessibility
Accessibility is a feature that most car parks probably don’t have but it’s necessary to some extent. Although lots probably don’t need to have an accessibility ramp for PWDs but multi-level car parks should. Either provide a ramp or have an elevator ready for people and you’d find yourself having more clients than usual.
Also, don’t go thinking that by buying durable materials for flooring and construction, you no longer need to maintain your car park. The actual durability of your lot depends on how regular you maintain it and keep it in tiptop shape.
Manpower and Other Considerations
Another major consideration you must decide on is how you will man your booth. Will you have it fully automated or will you hire people to actually stay in the area and make sure you get paid for your service? There is no right and wrong answer to this since they do have their pros and cons. Having your system fully-automated means people could just come and go and pay using a metered system to determine how long they stayed in your car park. However, some form of human intervention is still necessary in such cases because you need someone to repair your systems and do your maintenance checks, too.
Apart from park staffing, what your business also needs when you start out and even when you’re already operating for quite a while is partnering with pro parking managers. These people will help market your parking lot and basically bring you customers even when your site is pretty far down the road. They’re basically hired valets that park their customers’ cars in your lot. That’s definitely not a bad deal isn’t it?
Starting out a parking lot business might not be easy, but this list certainly takes much of the guesswork out for anyone who’s interested in such an endeavor. If you followed these tips to the tee, I am pretty sure you’d be reaping your rewards soon enough.
