Keeping your commercial parking lot clean and well-maintained in the winter is essential to creating a safe environment, both for your employees and your customers. Snowdrifts hide slippery patches of ice, which can cause injury or lead to car accidents. Proper maintenance year-round also increases the longevity of your parking lot, so you’ll save money in the long run by avoiding early replacement or repair.
Snow Removal
Snow removal is one of the largest parts of winter parking lot maintenance, and it’s unfortunately unavoidable—too much built-up snow on your parking lot, and your customers simply have no place to park.
If your commercial parking lot is small, you may be able to take care of removal yourself with a good-old-fashioned snow shovel or snow blower. Larger parking lots require more attention, and you might consider hiring a professional snow removal company who will be able to avoid damaging the asphalt. Either way, snow should be removed as soon as possible after a storm to prevent it from compacting, and removal should be done before applying sand and deicers.
Take care to remove snow from other surfaces as well, including the steps and signs around your business—directional signs, stop signs, and your business’s sign, of course!
Deicing
Deicing is vital to preventing parking lot accidents. Rock salt is not only a major pollutant, but it also corrodes asphalt, creating costly repairs for you to deal with come spring. Potassium chloride or one of these alternatives are a better choice. To prevent wasting product and money, use a strainer, sprayer, or shaker to apply your deicing agent.
Anti-icing your parking lot prevents ice from bonding to the asphalt in the first place, making snow removal a faster, easier task. Pay attending to the forecast, and apply your anti-icing product before it snows.
Proper Drainage
Improper drainage encourages large pools of standing water to form on your parking lot, which freeze and slowly erode the asphalt mixture, causing cracks and depressions. The melting and refreezing cycle of standing water also worsens potholes, which are difficult to address in the winter.
In worst case scenarios, poor drainage could cause serious structural damage to your parking lot, resulting in sinkholes and low spots, which are nearly impossible to fix without removing a sizable portion of your lot.
Drainage issues need to be addressed during the warmer months, but take note if you notice pooling water during the winter. When snow melts in the spring, addressing your parking lot’s poor drainage should be a priority.
Lighting
Ensure parking lot lights are repaired quickly if they burn out, as poor lighting makes it difficult for drivers to see pedestrians and pedestrians to see ice patches. If your parking lot doesn’t have lights installed, consider investing in some this season. With less daylight in the winter, a well-lit parking lot is essential to preventing accidents and providing customer peace of mind.
If you’re looking for a company to provide timely and professional snow removal service, call Land Concepts at (320) 656-8992 or contact us online.
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