Removing snowfall immediately is an important step in preventing your parking lot from developing common pedestrian hazards.
Even if you are taking measures to remove snow from your parking lot this winter, your pavement can still become dangerous to pedestrians by accumulating ice and developing cracks that can trip customers. If your visitors don’t feel safe traveling in your parking lot, you can not only lose business but suffer long-lasting damages to your reputation. To avoid the negative consequences of pedestrian hazards in your parking lot, follow the guide below for spotting dangerous areas and eliminating them as efficiently as possible.
Maintain Walking Surfaces
The best way to consistently be aware of common pedestrian hazards in your lot is to establish an inspection program that regularly inspects and responds to trip and fall hazards. This inspection program can do the following to maintain safe conditions:
- Check for cracks and uneven surfaces, especially in the transitions between asphalt and concrete walkways. Sealing cracks can help solve that problem, and potholes can be filled before an incident occurs.
- Inspect parking lot light bulbs and replace them if necessary. There are more hours of darkness in the winter, and impairing visibility of employees and guests makes them more likely not to see a patch of ice or a pothole.
- Paint curbs, islands, ramps, wheel stops, and any other elevation changes with bright, contrasting colors and slip-resistant paint.
- Ensure drain covers and grates are as close to the walking surfaces as possible, and there are no openings in the grate larger than one inch.
- Check that roof drains do not discharge across sidewalks or into parking areas.
- Maintain awnings and canopies over stairways and entrances.
In the case you do have an incident occur, do a thorough incident investigation to discover the root cause and take measures to eliminate that cause.
Respond to Weather Conditions
Winter weather is the cause of many common pedestrian hazards, due to the frequent rain, ice, snow, or wintry mix that can fall during these months. A good way to respond is first to remove ice and snow before employees arrive for work, and continue to remove it throughout the day. You should have a winter weather response plan, so you are always prepared no matter what the conditions are. This plan should include steps such as the following:
- Plow snow when it reaches three inches, and plow to the low end of the lot or as close to drains as possible. Keep piles away from exits.
- Walkways, stairways, and ramps should be completely cleared of snow and ice.
- Provide extra walk-off mats at entrances during heavy snows and install wet floor signs to warn visitors about the increased slip hazard.
- Use deicers to treat icy pavements, and use abrasives to provide traction for pedestrians and vehicles. Consider using alternative methods to rock salt, which can harm the asphalt.
- Pay attention to the north-facing sides of buildings that receive less sunlight and stay frozen longer.
Being prepared and consulting pavement experts at PTG Enterprises can ensure that no one is injured in your parking lot during the hazardous winter months.
Maintenance You Can Trust from PTG Enterprises
If you want to protect your pavement and ensure it has a long lifespan, choose PTG Enterprises for your community sidewalks, parking lots and pavement maintenance needs. We offer commercial concrete, asphalt, masonry, paving, consultation, and survey report services throughout Baltimore, Harford, Anne Arundel, Howard, and P.G. Counties. If you are interested in hearing how we can help you, contact us online or give us a call at (410) 636-8777. For more tips and tricks, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Flickr.
Tags: Asphalt patching, Crack sealing, deicer, Parking lot maintenance, pedestrian accidents, pedestrian hazards, Potholes, Snow Removal, Winter Weather
