How delineator posts can keep repurposed parking lots and curbside pick up zones safe.

Organizing a parking lot layout in a safe and navigable way is no small task. Perhaps this is why 60,000 injuries and 500 deaths come about from parking lot accidents each year, according to the National Safety Council. 

With businesses of all kinds moving pieces of their ordinary operations outdoors, repurposing their parking lots as food pick up zones, COVID testing sites, and waiting areas, updated safety stats will undoubtedly show that parking lot accident rates have only gotten worse during the COVID pandemic. Take for example the man at a food bank in Miami Gardens, Florida who accidentally stepped on his reverse pedal, backing into a line of people waiting for food pickup, causing multiple injuries and one death. 

Even in such a tragic story, one can empathize with the confusion surrounding these repurposed parking lots with the addition of pedestrian lines and service tables amidst the existing infrastructure.

What can businesses do to keep their repurposed parking lots and curbsides safe?

Businesses can't expect to achieve sufficient safety without the help of crowd control tools. Typically parking lots incorporate permanent steel or concrete structures called bollards to help direct the flow of traffic and properly block off pedestrian areas. You may see these bollards lining the curb for instance to help prevent vehicles from crossing into pedestrian areas. 

But businesses who are repurposing their parking lots to accommodate temporary operations-changes during the COVID pandemic want barriers that can be easily removed when operations return to normal. 

Delineator posts like these provide exactly the portability and adaptability needed for these fluctuating circumstances.

What are the features and benefits of delineator posts which make them useful for repurposed parking lots?

• With a simple post and rubber base design, delineators are extremely easy to set up and tear down again, making them ideal for impermanent or seasonally changing needs.
• Many of these delineators are made from polyethylene materials, making them durable yet lightweight.
• Delineators typically come in bright, high-visibility colors like orange and red, often including reflective tape to increase visibility even in low-lighting.
• Handles at the top allow for quickly and easily moving these posts throughout the day, but these handles can also be used to add chains, caution tape, or other barriers, making them even more effective.
  
  
• Delineators are space efficient to store with bases that detach easily from the post. 

As you've probably already determined, the features and benefits listed above could be useful in more situations than the current pandemic.

For instance here are some other common uses for delineator posts:

• Job fairs, flea markets, farmer's markets, and other temporary or seasonal events
• Bike lanes
• Crosswalks
• Curbsides
• Construction zones

It's important to keep in mind that, while extremely effective as visual barriers, delineators like these do not actually block penetration from vehicles. This is why some situations may benefit from bollards instead, which tend to be built with steel rebar to actually prevent vehicle penetration.

Here are the benefits bollards offer which delineators do not:

• Bollards are sturdy structures which often include steel rebar to provide impenetrable barriers, capable of stopping moving vehicles
• Bollards come in a variety of types to accommodate extra features like lighting, bike racks, and more.
• Bollards tend to be permanent installations with in-ground mounting, but some can be retractable for blocking or unblocking access.

It's possible your parking lot already contains permanent bollards to indicate where cars can or cannot go. But when repurposing your parking lot for temporary needs related or unrelated to the Pandemic, delineator posts can be added or moved easily to allow for effective visual barriers which increase safety without disrupting the original parking lot layout. Their flexibility and portability make them good options for fluctuating needs like COVID testing pop ups, food pick-up areas, and other temporary adaptations. 

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