Garages are for people, too…
In the years that people have been building parking lots and structures, we seem to have perfected the art of painting lines marking the location for our cars. We have small spaces for compacts, largers spaces for SUVs, loading zones – all of which were born out of the needs of the vehicles and their purposes. Recently, garages began expanding their technology to include services for indicating the number of empty spaces on a given floor and pay kiosks for speedy exits. All of these things are aimed at improving the experience of driving or parking the car.
What’s often ignored are the needs of people once they leave the shelter of their steel cages. Remember that a person’s destination is rarely the garage itself – they need to go somewhere after they’ve parked their car. Little emphasis is placed on designing for that exit strategy (pun intended). Sure, there are the occasional signs marking the elevators and exits, but some garages are so large that this signage is spaced out causing people to search for the information they need. Moreover, people end up walking in the roadways to get to these exits, placing them in competition for space with oncoming traffic.
I would like to see parking garages designed for the end use in mind. Let’s develop walkways for individuals and families to get to the elevator safely. Let’s improve the recognition of what floor you left your car on by having the elevator remind you when you step into it. Let’s imagine ways to improve wayfinding and reduce confusion in these gigantic cement structures.
Balancing the needs of the garage owner who wants to preserve as much space for the maximum amount of cars, I think we can implement some lightweight changes that are cost effective and do not affect the structure of the building. Simple efforts like improving the design of the signage or using painted lines to mark out walkways. Office buildings, malls and other public spaces have become more aware of the human experience. In time, I suspect we’ll see improvement in the typical utilitarian buildings, too. Until then, be safe and look both ways before crossing the road.