Why the layout is measured, not copied
Repainting a lot is the point at which its accessible spaces are counted again. The number comes from the spaces in each parking facility, counted separately on a site with more than one: the 2010 ADA Standards run from one accessible space in a lot of 25 to seven in a lot of 300, and two percent of the total in a lot of 501 to 1,000. At least one in every six is a van space.
California asks for more room than the federal floor does. Under Chapter 11B of the California Building Code a car stall is 108 inches wide and a van stall 144, both 216 inches long. The access aisle is 60 inches wide, runs the full length of the stalls it serves, and sits at the same level as them, with slopes no steeper than 1:48 across it.
The detail of the marking is written down, not left to the painter. An access aisle carries a blue border with hatching no more than 36 inches apart inside it, and NO PARKING in white letters at least 12 inches high. The surface symbol is 36 inches by 36. The sign at the stall is the symbol in white on blue, at least 60 inches to its bottom edge, with the minimum fine wording and van accessible where it applies, and a tow-away sign goes at the entrance to the facility.
Paint is the part of a lot most sensitive to weather. The standard specifications allow a stripe only on a clean, dry surface with the pavement above 50 degrees, and keep paint off where fog, rain or condensation could reach it wet or the temperature could fall below 50 while it dries. Striping paint also counts as a traffic marking coating under the air district's coatings rule.
What parking lot striping includes
The lot is measured and the existing layout recorded: stall sizes, aisle widths, the slope across the accessible spaces, the signs present and the routes people walk. The count of spaces in the facility gives the number of accessible and van spaces the new layout has to carry.
Lines are chalked before any paint is opened, so a changed stall module, a new fire lane or a rearranged aisle is seen on the ground and agreed with the property first.
Stalls and aisles nearest the entrance are marked to the code dimensions, on the shortest accessible route, and dispersed where a building has more than one accessible entrance.
Stall lines, aisle borders and hatching, arrows, fire lanes and the surface symbols are applied to a dry surface warm enough to take them.
Stall signs, van accessible plates and the tow-away sign are set, and wheel stops added where a vehicle would otherwise overhang a route.
Widths, lengths, aisle dimensions and slope are recorded with photographs against the plan, and the marked layout goes to the customer.
A stall is only accessible if the aisle beside it is. Sixty inches of bordered, hatched aisle with NO PARKING painted inside it is what keeps a side ramp usable, and the first thing lost when a lot is repainted by eye.
Where striping is requested most
Office and medical parking
The spaces nearest the doors are the most used and the most closely examined, which is where a missing van stall or sign is found.
Retail on a tenant change
A new tenant brings a new layout, and the stalls and aisles the work touches are set out to the current dimensions as it goes in.
Apartment resident parking
Stalls assigned to a unit do not carry the symbol sign, while visitor and unassigned accessible spaces do, so the two are marked differently.
Warehouse yards and fire lanes
Truck routes, dock numbering, keep-clear areas and fire lanes matter more than stall count in a yard, and are laid out around the turning paths.
School and campus lots
Drop-off lanes, staff and visitor areas and crossings are repainted in a term break, with the accessible spaces finished before anything else.
Association common areas
Clubhouse, pool and visitor parking, where a board is usually setting out a lot that was last marked decades ago.
Questions about parking lot striping
A blue painted border around the aisle, hatched inside at no more than 36 inches apart in a colour that contrasts with the surface, and NO PARKING in white letters at least 12 inches high, positioned to be read from the vehicular way. It is 60 inches wide, runs the full length of the stalls and stays level with them.
Visible from each space it serves, adjacent to it or at the head end, with at least 60 inches from the ground to the bottom of the sign, and 80 inches where it sits in a circulation path. Van spaces carry van accessible, and a tow-away sign goes at the entrance to the facility.
Parking assigned to individual units does not take the sign, while visitor spaces and unassigned accessible spaces do. On a mixed site the two are set out differently, so the count is done building by building. It is a common source of error.
On a clean, dry surface with the pavement above 50 degrees, and not where fog, condensation or rain could reach the paint while it dries. That rules out most of the tule fog months and early mornings in the shoulder season.
The seal covers the old lines, so the lot is set out again on top of it once it is dry. That is the moment to correct stall widths, an undersized aisle or a missing van space.
Parking lot striping by city
Striping is requested through the asphalt paving page for your city, which covers the lots, layouts and tenant mix found there.
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