The asphalt parking lot of your commercial building is an integral part of the business. It’s the first thing customers see when they arrive at your building. That’s why asphalt parking lots need to be both attractive and safe for your employees and customers.
As leading paving contractors in Greater Sacramento, Action Asphalt has years of experience constructing beautiful parking lots. Click here so we can do the same for your business.
In today’s article, we are going to list five ways to make your parking lot safe. This info will also help you plan your annual asphalt maintenance budget.
1. Keep It Clean
The first and most basic way to keep an asphalt parking lot safe is to clean it regularly. Along with dirt and debris, parking lot surfaces also attract oil pools and stains.
It is dangerous to drive and walk over oily surfaces, and if the oil seeps into the base, it can cause the asphalt to break down completely. That’s why you should ideally remove oil stains as soon as they appear. You can easily do this with baking soda or vinegar.
Of course, some stains harden over time and are tough to remove with household cleaning agents, which is why you should invest in professional cleaning at least once a year.
2. Striping And Marking
When it comes to parking lot safety, line marking or striping is absolutely essential. This ensures that all areas of the lot are clearly parked for smooth navigation. Line marking indicates parking stalls, handicap spots, stop bars, pedestrian crossing, entry/exit points, loading areas, etc.
So if you don’t have markings or stripes on your parking lot, consider the value of adding them. It also improves the aesthetics of your commercial property.
3. Sealcoating
Moving along, sealcoating keeps your surface safe from dirt and oil stains, while also protecting the line-markings. Newly paved asphalt doesn’t require sealcoating, but sealing the surface is necessary every two to five years.
Regular sealcoating protects asphalt from oil and gas stains, pooling water, UV rays, and precipitation, basically everything that damages pavement overtime. Professionally applied sealants also keep the surface from fading. It also traps heat, which makes it easier to remove snow and ice.
However, you can’t perform sealcoating over damaged asphalt, which brings us to the next point.
4. Asphalt Repairs
Durability is one of the main reasons why contractors and property owners prefer asphalt for pavement construction. That said, asphalt is still susceptible to damage. This can take the form of cracks, crumbled edges, depressions, potholes, puddles, etc.
Along with regular traffic, weather conditions, pooling water, and moisture deteriorate the asphalt, which is why you shouldn’t delay asphalt repairs. Timely maintenance can save you the time, money, and hassle of heavy construction work for the longest time possible.
5. Install Speed Humps
Finally, installing speed humps can slow down vehicles as they enter or leave the parking lot. These are better solutions than speed bumps for parking lots as they are longer and more gradual.
To sum up, there’s a lot you can do to make your asphalt parking lot safer. Doing so will boost your business’s image and bottom-line while protecting everyone who visits your commercial property in Greater Sacramento.
You may click here to talk to our experts at Action Asphalt to learn more about your parking lot safety and maintenance options.