3 Parking Lot Stall Angles And When To Deploy Each

Few property owners give much thought to the lines in their parking lots. However, you have a variety of choices about how to angle your stalls and use traffic lanes to boost efficiency, save space, or reduce conflicts. How does this work? Here is a short guide to parking stall angles.

90 Degree Angle Stalls

Perhaps the most traditional stall design is a 90 degree angle from the traffic path. This style allows for two-way traffic, but it requires a wider driving space as cars need a wide turning radius to enter and exit the stalls. Right angle parking lots, then, are ideal when vehicles are parked and stay that way for some time—places like office buildings, employee lots, park and ride lots, or even shopping malls. 

60 or 45 Degree Angle Stalls

Angled stalls—usually either 60 degrees or 45 degrees—compromise width and length for a more efficient parking layout. By limiting the traffic lane to one direction, cars are able to enter and exit the lot more efficiently and with less conflict between oncoming vehicles. If you have many customers coming and going, limited traffic patterns help keep them in order. It can also help keep pedestrians and bicycles safer. 

The added angling of vehicles also allows the lanes to be more narrow than right angle parking. If your lot is longer than it is wide, this is a good choice. The narrower your space, the steeper the angle should be. 

30 Degree Angle Stalls

The most narrow of all choices is to place stalls at a 30 degree angle from the driving path. This narrow angle allows you to use an area that may not have seemed very useful for parking in traditional terms.

Limited to one directional travel, you need little width in the driving lane. Cars need little extra turning radius, too, so you can squeeze one or more rows into tight spots. However, the stalls need to be longer, so it's not as efficient in terms of length. 

Clearly, parking stall angle design can be an art form as well as a science. To find the right layout for your needs, you need to factor in the dimensions of your lot, the number of vehicles that use it, how long people stay, and potential conflicts over use. The best place to start planning this is by consulting with an experienced parking lot painter in your area.