The Three Ps of Periodic Parking Lot Preservation

Seasonal upkeep of your asphalt parking lot is the best way to maintain its safety, usefulness, and longevity. We’re in the thick of the fall and some of the toughest weather conditions your asphalt parking lot will endure all year – until December anyway.

As a commercial property owner, there’s no doubt you have a long to-do list of seasonal maintenance jobs to handle, inside and outside your building. At busy times of year like this (with an even busier holiday season coming right up) jobs can sometimes pile up faster than the falling leaves, allowing important issues to “fall” through the cracks.

If Seasonal Parking Lot Maintenance is one of the things on your list – and it definitely should be – we can take that off your plate. ECIS is your seasonal parking lot maintenance headquarters, with services that include parking lot and roadway sweeping meant to keep your asphalt parking lot functioning at its best year-round. What your lot needs as the seasons change will depend on how recently and regularly it has been maintained.

While our professionals are happy to do on-site assessments, we offer you these three self-assessment and repair pointers to get you moving in the right direction about the health of your lot.

Pick it up. Is your lot clean?
New York’s famed fall foliage is gorgeous on the trees, but treacherous on the ground. They may make landscaping pop beautifully in October and November, but they create pedestrian hazards, obscure safety markings, clog drainage systems, and hide other developing issues in September and October. Leaves collect everywhere on asphalt surfaces, and especially along curbing, in existing potholes, and drainage systems. They wear through seal coating, degrade asphalt, and wear down safety markings.

Make sure you look down into those metal grates and double check that the wind and water haven’t carried too many leaves down into the drainpipes, too. Flooding brings its own set of new and costly headaches. Having your lot professionally swept on a weekly schedule during the fall will keep your lot safe, prolong its lifetime, and protect your investment.

Patch it. Is your lot damaged?
There is no such thing as “just a cosmetic issue” when it comes to your parking lot. If you can see an issue, it’s either actively causing other issues or has the potential to. Visible crack or pothole? You also have a tripping hazard, water compromising your lot’s sublayers, potential tire damage; you get the idea. These are things that are risky and costly to wait and handle after something preventable occurs.

Take some time during the fall to repair the cracks and potholes in your parking lot. You may only need a fresh seal coating, but you may need more. Filling potholes and binding alligator cracks should be priorities, especially heading into the winter. The elements can find their way into even the smallest cracks and have a way of really wreaking havoc once they do.

Paint it. Is your lot safely marked?
Over the course of a year, the dual pounding of weather and traffic do a lot of damage to the striping and wayfinding marks on your asphalt. We often don’t think about how important these markings are. At least, not until someone has double parked so over the line that we can’t even get our driver side door open and there’s ice cream in the bags! But when you do think about it, their importance becomes pretty evident: they welcome and guide visitors to their destination; ensure ADA compliance; help prevent accidents; expedite traffic flow; demark pedestrian walkways. As important as the yellow and white lines along any roadway, parking lot lines are an invaluable safety measure.

So, go outside and take a look at your lot. Remember: if you can see it, you should fix it. Don’t let an issue that could be easily resolved with a seasonal tune-up turn into something dangerous and expensive. Fall is the perfect time of year to make sure your asphalt parking lot is good to go now and into the winter. You can set up parking lot or roadway sweeping services for your property. Call us or submit a work request and we’ll be happy to help.