The portable steel buildings was the "Big Idea" back in the 1950's. At that time, most parking lot huts were of wood or brick construction and the early parking operators were not able to move them when their property leases were over. Abandoning their site built parking offices was a real expense. Even though quite heavy, a welded steel booth could be moved simply with the proper equipment. In the beginning, most parking operations were attendant style parking where a customer would pull their car into the lot and the parking lot operator's employee would park the customer's car for them. This type of attended parking required a booth to shelter the parking attendant and the time clock used to track the amount of time the cars were on the lot.
Like those early parking lots, today's Visitor Parking Lots often require a booth and an attendant or guard to welcome people to a facility or campus and to provide information and a secure short-term parking spot. A portable steel Building is a perfect choice for this application as the company can provide a well-built and functional Visitor Information Booth with or without architectural embellishments. customers can add their own unique design elements for a perfect parking booth appearance. Once the visual aspects of the booth for the Visitor Lot are addressed; comfort, functional and security features are taken into account. All standard portable steel Buildings are insulated for Climate Control and all windows and doors are made factory tight for weather resistance with professionally installed caulking, brush, and weather stripping. Electrical fan forced heaters are standard. Air conditioning is provided with either simple roof top RV type or through wall units. Some locations will even utilize the "Split Pack" type air conditioning system.
For additional comfort and energy savings, insulated Dual Pane Glass can be installed. Low-E Glass is available too.
Flooring options can be added to improve the interior appearance and reduce fatigue for the attendant. A plywood and tile floor also adds a thermal break. Extra roof and wall insulation can be added but should be considered only after glass is upgraded to insulated.
Parking Booths and Shelters will include transaction windows in the optimum ergonomic locations. Same goes for door locations and type of door (i.e., sliding vs. swing). After a sales engineer works with the parking operator, the features are translated to project specific customer approval drawings. This sharing of schematic designs assures the best plans be made and followed in the production of the portable steel Building.
While the approval drawings are being reviewed by the parking operation, paint color, tinted glass selection, and any other last minute decisions are made. Perhaps the building will be a 24/7 location and thus a restroom with sanitary facilities is required. Or maybe that same 24/7 situation calls for bullet resistant construction to protect personal during off hours or because of cash handling. Floor safes and locking cash drawers are also available. Lane control lights can be added to the buildings as well.
For larger parking lots and structures, there are needs for Customer Waiting Shelters are Pay Machine covers. These units can range from fairly basic three sided affairs with a flat root all the way up to the heated variety with architectural rooflines such as barrel, gable or hip. Customer Waiting Shelters can also include benches, doors, and even exhaust fans. Lighting can be solar or hard-wired and is usually switched with a photocell control in vandal prone areas unbreakable or break resistant plastic window glazing can be substituted for standard tempered safety glass. If a blank wall panel is required for mounting site equipment that is not a problem, just mark the approval drawing accordingly.
If your location includes valet service, can supply a valet booth with or without a customer waiting area, restroom or infra-red heaters for customers. Customized shelters can include windscreens and overhangs to further protect your number one resource; the customer!
Some parking locations need extra security and a full time guard booth is a very visible way to promote security to customers and your employees. Exterior flood- lights and dimmable interior lighting will help the security officer with night-vision. Also, the parking booth can be factory prepped for installation of security cameras, computer lines and phones.
Whether your location requires a basic security booth, a highly customized cashier station or an architecturally enhanced entrance booth, with owner input and factory assistance, a parking booth manufacturer can provide your facility with a thoughtful solution that will perform well for years to come.
