Parking Equipment and Supplies

Where to find the best parking supplies to meet the needs of your parking operation
By Christine Margiotta, Freelance writer Cars, cars everywhere, and not a way to keep track of them? It's time to invest in some good parking lot equipment and supplies to streamline the way you monitor cars as they come and go.

Parking equipment and supplies allow you to better monitor the way employees or customers use your parking facilities. At the same time, the right parking lot supplies make your lot easier to use and less prone to congestion.

Your multi-faceted parking business presents a variety of needs:

1. Machinery that can keep those parking stripes bright and accurate.
2. Parking lot equipment like traffic cones and parking stops that help everyone stay in line.
3. Gates that grant customers entry.
4. Simple car-counting and fee systems that give you an accurate picture of your revenue.

Create a badge of parking honor with customized parking equipment

These parking lot supplies may not come to mind at first, but they can very well end up being the most important pieces of parking lot equipment you invest in. Find a company that will design and deliver parking permits in multiple formats for your customers.
Try:  MyParkingPermit.com allows you to design and order your own parking permits in a variety of forms, such as bumper stickers, mirror decals and hanging mirror tags. Or, look into the many options for customization presented by NeedDecals.com.

Set the boundaries for an orderly experience with your parking equipment and supplies

Give your parking establishment the built-in traffic control it needs to literally keep everyone in line.
Try:  Peruse through The Park Catalog for parking equipment and supplies such as barricades, speed bumps, pylons, even cable protection. If you're creating your own parking space lines, look into a striping machine from The Parking Lot Store.

Grant entry the right way with parking gates

One of the easiest and most efficient ways to keep rogue unpaid parkers out is to make sure they stop at a gate before getting in. Don't leave out this key piece of parking lot equipment.
Try:  Quality parking gates that help you maintain good parking control are available from Whitaker Parking Systems, as well as from Cincinnati Gate Systems, Inc., which displays a featured parking gate product on its site.

Keep the cash flow simple with your parking control equipment

Parking machines and systems that automatically dispense tickets, allow credit card payment and coordinate with the aforementioned parking gates will take the headache out of keeping track of customers.
Try:  GMG Systems Parking Technologies offers fee computers, ticket dispensers, automatic pay stations and more.  Digital Payment Technologies offers digital parking automation systems for both off-street and on-street parking.

Create even more space for your parking lot business

If your parking lot business is located in a heavily populated area, it's time to think about stacking.
Try:  Stokes Industries Inc. offers The Stokes Garage, an automated system that can park as many as eight cars inside of 1,440 square feet. The SpaceSaver Parking Company also lists numerous stack parking products.

• If you're working in conjunction with a municipality that pays into your parking establishment, see if they're willing to foot the bill for some of the more basic parking supplies, such as traffic cones or striping paint.