12 April 5 Ways To Prioritize Parking Lot Maintenance For Commercial Properties April 12, 2023 By sma Commercial Real Estate News, Property Investment commercial real estate tenants, exterior maintenance, safety 0 5 WAYS TO PRIORITIZE PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES April 12, 2023 | Property Manangement, Property Maintenance | exterior maintenance, safety, commercial real estate tenants Attracting and retaining high caliber tenants is the primary goal for every successful commercial property owner. But for these owners and their property managers, their additional responsibility to keep visitors and occupants safe necessitates an emphasis on maintenance. Increasingly, drivers are adopting risky driving habits within parking lots which are made even more dangerous by maintenance issues like large potholes, ineffective lighting, and inefficient traffic direction. According to the National Safety Council, 66% of drivers say that they are comfortable with making phone calls while driving in parking lots, among many other attention-diverting activities. In order to keep a parking lot appealing and safe, here are a few maintenance standards that every property owner and manager should consider. What Causes Parking Lot Deterioration? Any features that are forced to withstand direct impact from exterior elements are bound to experience routine wear and tear. For commercial properties, which are much larger and more complex than residential lots, this means a wider space to manage and monitor. In climates that experience excessive water and seasons of mounting snow, moisture that seeps into the parking surfaces can cause cracks to expand, potholes to develop, and further deterioration of materials. In general, concrete is more durable and lasts longer than asphalt, though the cost of installation is greater. Other causes of quickened deterioration include heavier-than-average vehicles and, of course, reckless driving. Industrial lots that work with hefty machinery will place additional strain on their lots’ surface and tend to require more regular maintenance and attention. While cracks and damage are ultimately inevitable in commercial lots, there are many ways to extend the life of a parking lot surface. If you are looking for ways to improve your parking lot maintenance plan, add these tips to your routine today! Top Strategies for Parking Lot Maintenance As with all areas of property maintenance, a visual inspection of the property is where everything starts. Developing a familiarity of common issues and conditions of a property is the first step to creating a maintenance strategy. This can mean enlisting a maintenance team or coordinating with a local property inspector for an expert’s perspective. Clean and sweep debris and dust from the parking lot regularly. Not only does a clean space reflect well on the property and attract tenants, litter can hide issues that demand immediate attention. Things like oil spills or pooling water can combine with piling debris to rapidly break down parking lot surface materials, shortening its overall lifespan considerably. Make small repairs to new cracks quickly before they expand or develop into potholes. The key here is to catch these issues early to avoid a more expensive issue down the road. If small cracks are left to expand, they also create a more dangerous hazard for visitors. With correct maintenance of small cracks, repaving a parking lot should only be necessary every few decades. Developing these maintenance habits are key to getting the most out of a parking lot’s surface. Correct landscape errors by keying in on drainage issues. If rainwater accumulates in a specific spot of the parking lot, that extra weight will cause issues as it slowly seeps into the asphalt or concrete. It may be necessary to correct landscape grading, or clean out and upgrade current drainage systems to redirect this run-off. In addition, strategically placed trees and bushes can help direct traffic to even out surface area strain, and block excessive heat from the sun. Address security concerns by setting up appropriate lighting and potentially surveillance cameras. To dissuade vandalism, oftentimes all it takes is improving visibility during night-time hours. If a property is already taken well-care of, an assumption of surveillance is already implied. For more information on how to manage a parking lot at your residential building, check out our previous article! NPI cares about keeping property owners safe and informed. Get a quote from one of our premier inspectors today! Comments are closed.