Tips for Making Parking Lots and Garages Safer

Whether you run a parking garage as a business or your firm has a large parking lot for your employees, these spaces need to be as safe as possible. You want to reduce the risk of people and vehicles being hurt and break-ins and theft, too.

Plus, you want to reduce your company’s risk of being sued if someone does get hurt on the property. Read on for some factors involved in increasing security today.

Ensure There’s Adequate Lighting

One of the simplest things you can do is check to see if you have enough lighting in parking lots and garages for daytime and nighttime use. Parking lots are often underground and can be dark even during the day. When there’s adequate lighting, there are fewer places to hide, more chance of someone being seen doing the wrong thing, and a different tone conveyed. People will be less likely to do the wrong thing when they feel more visible, and your workers or customers will feel more secure.

You might have to install LED floodlights and steel light poles depending on your facilities’ location, size, and needs. Take care to have lights pointing in helpful directions, cover them with shield boxes or other solutions to prevent moisture damage and other issues, and consider adding motion-activated sensors for lights in areas with less usage.

Use Surveillance Cameras

Another way to show that you take security seriously and thus ward off anyone with nefarious aims is to use surveillance cameras around your parking lot or garage. Recording footage of all the comings and goings and other activities will make people think twice about breaking into or stealing a vehicle, or hurting or abducting a person in the area, etc.

You might like to have video surveillance cameras set up to capture movement, if you want to go a step further, utilize a CCTV system. A closed-circuit television system involves real-time property monitoring. Trained security professionals place surveillance cameras around a location that transmits images to remote screens that get monitored daily. If those monitoring the footage spot a crime, they can immediately contact the authorities.

Hire Security Guards

Sometimes it’s necessary to hire security guard services to situate their workers on-site at a parking garage, posted at entrances, exits, or interior areas. Alternatively, you might arrange for guards to come by a few times every day, especially at night, to check on the facilities and vicinity.

The presence of these professionals will deter criminals from doing the wrong thing. Plus, guards can ensure parking rules are obeyed by users, attend to disputes if they arise, and identify and report suspicious activity in general. Having security guards set up on-site can also help your business avoid potential litigation. If a customer has an accident or suffers a crime while in your facility and attempts to sue you over supposed negligence, the presence and testimony of guards can help cover you.

Get a Professional Risk Assessment Done

Another step you might like to take is getting a professional risk assessment done. Hiring experts to evaluate your parking lot or garage and identify potential issues can help you see if there are other factors that could pose a problem or ways to mitigate risks further. These specialists will examine the facility’s physical layout, covering every area, and note down traffic activity. They’ll look into the crime rate and other potential external risks and notice problem spots where crimes are more likely to occur on your premises. For instance, there could be parts where the lighting isn’t good enough, stairs are hard to access, foliage is overgrown, or sections are remote.

Some other ideas you might like to consider are installing handrails so people are less likely to slip or trip, especially going downstairs, and using parking stops and speed reducers to lower the likelihood of car accidents. Always handle landscaping needs and repairs in your parking lot or garage promptly, too, so there are fewer places for people to hide, and leaks, mold, cracks, or other concerns don’t turn into significant safety risks.

It also pays to put up helpful signs around the premises. For example, you might erect signs that bring people’s attention to the on-site guards and cameras, specify the speed limit or one-way lanes in the area, or provide a number to call if anyone is afraid, attacked, injured, or otherwise needs assistance.

Take all the steps listed here, and you’ll soon have a much safer parking zone that you don’t need to worry so much about.