As the number of cars in cities is constantly growing, the demand for car parks is also rising. Although we all need places to leave our cars, we usually don’t realise just how detrimental their impact on the natural environment can be. In order to create new parking spaces, plants and trees are frequently cut down, which reduces biodiversity. Big concrete areas also lead to flooding or water pollution, which is dangerous for the remaining plants and animals living in natural conditions.
How to make your car park greener?
Fortunately, in today’s world, it is possible to build new parking spaces which don’t cause severe environmental problems. There are many ways in which you can make your car park greener. Although green car parks don’t completely reduce the negative impact on the planet, they certainly promote an eco-friendly lifestyle. Some of them apply to open parking areas, while others can be implemented in garages.
Planting grass and flowers
Grassed and flowered outdoor car parks look fabulous and promote an eco-friendly lifestyle. In general, plants cool the air reducing the urban heat effect, filter pollutants, and provide a habitat for small animals and insects. Green car parks work well with all light traffic areas, where there is a moderate number of vehicles. Where the traffic is too high, plants may not survive.
Creating stormwater run-offs
The problem with car parks is that they limit the area where stormwater can soak into the soil. This may cause surface erosion, creating a swamp or a small pond near your car park. Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem. The water can be either distributed to the soil by special run-offs or accumulated in special tanks to be used for watering plants.
Using permeable pavers
Although cast concrete is durable and can stand the test of time, it is certainly not eco-friendly. If you are at the stage of designing your car park, choose materials that don’t harm the environment. For instance, you can opt for special permeable pavers, which reduce the risk of flooding.
Investing in renewable energy sources
Indoor car parks consume enormous amounts of energy. Fortunately, numerous sustainable solutions can be introduced – from solar panels to windmills. Although they may seem costly initially, they usually generate significant savings in the first years of their implementation.
Installing LED lighting
Lighting is one of the most energy-consuming elements in each indoor parking area. To reduce energy bills, it is recommended to switch to LED lights which are more eco-friendly and have a longer product life.
Using automatic and semi-automatic parking systems
A no emission solution is to introduce automatic and semi-automatic parking systems such as car stackers or robots that automatically position cars. When the system takes the car away, the vehicle is turned off and doesn’t produce exhaust emissions. This leads to a reduction in carbon footprint.
Managing parking spaces
Innovative solutions such as Parkalot – a parking space reservation system – are also in demand when it comes to greener car parks. With the software, drivers can book spaces to leave their cars in advance. Thanks to the application, they don’t have to move around the car park pointlessly. They can head directly to the chosen space, which also reduces vehicle emissions in the car park.
As you can see, there are multiple ways to make your car park greener. Although some of them are relatively hard to introduce within the existing parking area, there are parking space booking systems or LED lighting that can be implemented with ease.
If you’d like to introduce Parkalot – our car park management app – in your company, please contact us at contact-us@parkalot.io or book an onboarding call.Start using Parkalot in an hour. Allow your colleagues to commute by car, and park on the parking spaces assigned to those who are working from home.