In all of North America, there are city-specific guidelines for painting parking lot lines. These regulations do depend on each individual city, but there are a number of guidelines that are consistent throughout North America, including the City of Surrey.
Parking Space Width
The width of an angled or perpendicular parking space should range from 2.3 to 2.75 meters (7.5 – 9 feet). The narrower spaces (7.5 feet) are usually labelled for compact vehicles or smaller cars, whereas the normal spaces are usually closer to the 9 foot width.
Parking Space Length
The boundary between a parking space and the driving section of a parking lot is not always well defined, making the established length of a parking spot more difficult to determine. Most angled and perpendicular spaces are between 3.2 and 5.5 meters long (10 - 18 feet). Though, 10 foot long parking stalls is not very common and usually only labelled for small vehicles. Most parking spaces are typically between 16 and 20 feet in length – with 19 feet being the standard DOT recommended length for perpendicular parking.
How Space Size is Decided
When a parking lot is being constructed, a number of factors are considered to determine the best sizes for the lot. A higher cost of land, or an indoor situation such as a parking garage will typically use narrower spots designed for more compact cars. This allows more vehicles to use the parking lot at once. In Europe, parking lot stall sizes tend to be even smaller as there tends to be fewer large vehicles on the road.
When looking at the requirements for painting parking lot lines during the construction of a parking lot, the first step should be contact the city in which the lot is being constructed. This will ensure that exact requirements will be followed.
