Not Just For Cars

In our business, we sometimes forget how important pedestrians are to the parking process.

Vehicles are always the focus of the car park, from design through operation, and it is often forgotten that the cars are providing a means for people to arrive at a destination, says Randy Atlas, Ph.D., vice president of Atlas Safety and Security Design and author of the book 21st Century Security and CPTED- Protecting Critical Infrastructure.

"Pedestrian access is one of the most commonly overlooked and poorly thought-out design elements of a car park," Atlas claims.

Parking facilities should be designed with pedestrian crossovers and dedicated pedestrian paths, Atlas advises.

"A key consideration is to avoid forcing pedestrians to cross the paths of the vehicles," says Atlas. "When this is unavoidable, the design should establish a safe passage for people to follow to a marked crosswalk that warns drivers to watch for pedestrians."

"Good way-finding and signage are essential, to provide a clear sense of direction and spell out the ground rules -- hours of operations, no loitering, no trespassing, and where and whom to ask for assistance," he adds.

Atlas also recommends designing the pedestrian paths to pass the parking attendant station, allowing surveillance and monitoring. This recommendation is a part of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), an approach that Atlas believes can be an important advantage in car park design and operation.

CPTED guidelines encourage car park designers to examine pedestrian access to ensure that legitimate patrons are encouraged to come in while criminals and other undesired individuals are discouraged from engaging in illicit activity in and around the parking facility. This includes defining the perimeter of the property; routing pedestrians to the entrance; enabling natural surveillance from the sidewalk through the garage door; and controlling access, preferably via a single pedestrian entry.

Pedestrians should be a focus of every car park. After all, every parking lot customer is a pedestrian at some point.