Are you looking for ways to maximize the space in your vehicle storage yard? Whether you’re a small business owner or a homeowner with a lot of vehicles, it’s essential to maximize the space you have available. You can make the most of your vehicle storage space with thoughtful planning and creative solutions. In this blog post, we’ll provide tips and tricks for maximizing space in a vehicle storage yard.
1. Make different-sized parking spaces:
One of the most common ways to create space for more cars in your lot is by creating smaller parking spaces for compact cars. Compact cars can have a designated area to park which will allow you to create more spaces for not only compact cars but also regular and oversized vehicles. By designating certain square footage to smaller cars, you will be able to fit more vehicles in your lot. Depending on the use of your yard, you can optimize space by having different parking spaces for different types of vehicles. If your storage yard is for semi-truck and trailers, you should stick to the same-sized parking spaces throughout the yard.
2. Use angeled spaces:
Using angeled spaces over straight spaces impacts the number of spots you can fit as well as the traffic flow of the yard. There are three options of commonly used angles in commercial vehicle parking: 45-degree, 60-degree, and 90-degree angles. When determining what angle you should use for your lot, you need to have a good idea of what your common customer will be and what the traffic flow in your lot needs to look like. It is important to understand the driving patterns in your lot as well as what equipment will be parked in your lot when deciding what angles to utilize. This article explains the different impacts the three different angles have on the traffic flow of your lot.
3. Aisle Orientation:
Another way you can optimize space in your storage yard is by using the most efficient aisle orientation. It is recommended that aisles should be parallel to the longest side of the lot. This allows for the most efficient movement of vehicles and provides the best sightlines for operators. If you have a rectangular lot, the aisle should run east to west, with the North and South sides of the lot providing additional storage space. If you are storing longer vehicles, it is recommended that the aisles run North to South, with the East and West sides providing additional storage space. Additionally, when designing your storage yard, you should also consider the number of aisle passes you will need to move vehicles in and out. Aisle passes should be wide enough to accommodate two lanes of vehicles, with a minimum width of 18 feet for vehicles and 14 feet for pedestrians. Additionally, the number of aisles should be determined by the size of the lot and the number of vehicles you will be storing. According to the US Army Transportation Engineering Agency, doing so will increase the lot capacity by 20%.
(Image by The US Army Transportation Engineering Agency https://www.sddc.army.mil/sites/TEA/Functions/SpecialAssistant/TrafficEngineeringBranch/BMTE/calcParking/parkingTutorials/designConsiderations/Pages/layoutElements.aspx#:~:text=The%20most%20efficient%20arrangement%20is,aisle%20for%20every%2030%20spaces.)
4. Have an Idea of How Many Spaces your Lot can Fit:
There are a lot of factors that go into how many spaces your lot can have as mentioned above, but there is always a limited number of spaces for every lot. It is a good idea to have a basic understanding of the number of spaces you can have based on the square footage of your lot. Once you have a basic idea, you can maximize the amount of space you have by utilizing the space you have more efficiently. This can include using vertical space, utilizing parking space savers such as wheel stops, and using space-saving parking lot design techniques. This parking area calculating tool can calculate how many spaces are available at different parking angles. Using the above tool can assist you in creating an organized lot.
5. Use a Parking Lot Design Tool
Maximizing space in a vehicle storage yard can be done through the use of a parking lot design tool. Using a tool will help you decide how best to use the available space in the lot by providing a blueprint of the optimal layout. This design will involve the proper positioning of the parking spaces, as well as the right amount of spaces to fit the number of vehicles that will be stored in the lot. Once the design is set, it is important to ensure that the parking spaces are wide enough to accommodate larger vehicles and that there is enough room to maneuver vehicles in and out of the lot. It is also important to make sure that the parking lot is well-lit and visible and to use signage to direct drivers to their assigned parking spaces. With the right design and the proper use of space, you can ensure that your vehicle storage yard is a safe and efficient environment. Some of the top tools used in vehicle storage lot design are:
Main Takeaways
Overall, designing a vehicle storage layout is no easy feat. There are many factors and considerations that go into making decisions to minimize wasted space and create a lot with the most effective parking layout. Think about the features of your lot including the size and shape of spaces, who your primary customer is, and how the lot flow should look like. You can also recruit help from lot designers or use free tools to try and configure your lot in the most efficient way possible. There is no perfect parking lot, but following these tips can help in maximizing space in a vehicle storage yard.