Achieving Park Mark standards at Shopping Centres Q-Park outlines the steps that should be taken

It is fairly common for Shopping Centres to have attached car parks, most of which are operated and managed independently. But whilst the Centres themselves are on the whole bright, smart, clean and inviting, the car parks more often than not are the opposite.

 

Shopping Centre car parks can be dark, dingy and intimidating places and nowhere near the standards required for achieving Park Mark status. For shoppers, the contrast between the Centre they have visited and the parking facilities they are offered can be enormous — a situation that Q-Park finds unacceptable.

 

Q-Park firmly believes that it is the duty of every car park operator to provide safe, secure, Park Mark standard facilities for shoppers, and that steps should be taken urgently to ensure these are in place. There are a number of key areas that a car park operator needs to address to reach the standards or - as Q-Park often does - even exceed them.

 

Consultation

 

Consult with the British Parking Association to ensure you are thoroughly familiar with the Safer Parking Scheme and the standards required for a car park to achieve a Park Mark award.

 

Assessment

 

Make a full assessment of your car park’s security and safety features, ideally using an independent consultant as well as canvassing users’ opinions to ensure an objective view. Make a detailed list of the measures required to remedy all security and safety shortcomings and prepare an action pan for putting these in place.

 

Q-Park, for example, incorporates features such as using as much glass as possible around lifts, stairwells and pedestrian entrances to ensure maximum visibility; careful lighting to provide a bright, safe feel with no dark corners; high performing CCTV systems; staffing levels that ensure rapid response to any situation; and an escort to car service on request.

 

Think broadly

 

Raising car park standards to Park Mark level and beyond benefits from broad thinking, with attention to ensuring a convenient and enjoyable experience for shoppers just as important as security-specific measures. By following Q-Park’s principles of complementing security measures with a clean, stylish environment, clear signage, easy access and exit, wide parking bays and versatile payment systems, shoppers will feel properly looked after and completely safe.

 

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For further information on Q-Park or for photography, please contact Marketing on 0870 442 0104 or email marketing@-park.co.uk