Commercial parking lots can be challenging to design, especially if you want one that doesn’t require much maintenance. With so many different options in terms of paving materials, peripheral features, and other aspects of your parking lot, it can be hard to sift through all your choices.
Low Maintenance Parking Lot Design Ideas
That’s why we’re here to narrow it down for you and make the construction of your commercial parking lot a breeze. In case you need some clever ideas on how to reduce the maintenance requirements of your lot, here are 5 design ideas to experiment with:
1. Stabilized Gravel
The main share of maintenance you’ll have to perform on a commercial parking lot will be on the pavement itself. Asphalt and concrete are the two most common pavement types for commercial parking lots, and they require a ton of maintenance.
They don’t do well in extreme temperatures, and both types of pavements will eventually require massively expensive maintenance projects like resurfacing and repaving.
One way to eliminate high-maintenance materials like asphalt or concrete is to opt for a better alternative, such as stabilized gravel. Loose gravel ruts easily and causes dust, but if you stabilize it with permeable pavers, it’s perfect for building low maintenance parking lots.
Permeable plastic pavers like the kind produced by TRUEGRID are made from 100%-recycled plastic and can perform as well as asphalt and concrete, without breaking down.
These pavers are just as, if not more durable than asphalt and concrete, but you can drive on them day-in and day-out for decades without ever having to perform any significant maintenance on them at all.
They’re also better for the environment and have plenty of stylistic diversity, allowing you to build low maintenance parking lots that look professional and stylish.
2. Grass Parking
Another slightly less conventional way to build low- maintenance parking lots is to use grass pavers that can turn a plain grass lot into a perfectly suitable parking lot. They’re also easier to install because you don’t need a permit to build a parking lot with them.
You simply snap them into place over your desired parking area and roll them into the ground with a vehicle or heavy roller. Once in place, they won’t move or sink into the ground. You can even allow grass to grow right up through them to create “hidden” parking spots, though you can just as easily keep the grass short for maximum visibility.
Much like the pavers used for gravel, these permeable grass pavers are made from incredibly durable, 100%-recycled plastic. They require almost no maintenance and allow you to operate a unique, fully-functional parking lot that’s eco-friendly and cost-effective.
3. Zeroscaping
Although choosing a low-maintenance pavement material is crucial to minimizing maintenance requirements for your commercial lot, there are other aspects to consider as well. The landscaping around and within your lot should be another consideration for you. Some types of landscaping require quite a bit of maintenance, while some require almost none at all.
Zeroscaping is particularly popular in dry, warm areas like the Southwest. It involves using almost no plants or trees for your landscaping, instead opting for dirt, gravel, rocks, stones, and cactus.
This is the most effective way to minimize landscaping maintenance in your parking lot, and it can be done to great stylistic effect if used correctly. Winding pathways, benches, statues, rock gardens, and bird feeders are all low maintenance design ideas you can incorporate into a zeroscape.
4. Trees
If you want to have a somewhat decorative landscape that doesn’t need much maintenance, trees are perfect. They’re nice to look at, they can help guide the flow of traffic in certain parking lot layouts, collect almost no trash, and help stabilize the soil around them.
Trees require very little watering once their roots have been established and they will serve your parking lot faithfully for decades to come.
5. Fencing
A lot of people like to use shrubs instead of fencing because they look better and feel more open than fencing. Shrubs, however, require constant trimming and watering. They also tend to collect trash.
If you’re open to doing away with shrubs, consider using a low or semi-transparent fence for your barriers instead. As long as you don’t use a material like natural hardwood that needs to be painted and stained, you should be able to set-and-forget your fence for many years.
Commercial Parking Lots Thrive with Low Maintenance Materials
Unless you’ve got the budget for constant landscaping and parking lot maintenance, it’s wise to build a low maintenance parking lot. The five ideas we’ve laid out here for you are an excellent place to start.
By implementing some permeable pavement, zeroscaping, fencing, and trees, you can rest assured that your commercial parking lot will look great and last for decades without needing much maintenance at all.
Get a head start on low maintenance parking and contact a paving expert at TRUEGRID today.
