In this video Russ comes across yet another example of a dangerous pathway this time at a CVS store. The store added a series of red pave stones in their front plant bed which separates their parking lot from the buildings entrance. When wet and icy, the pave stones become hazardous which lead to guest falls.
This is yet another example of a poorly thought through design. Property owners should take into account the traffic patterns that their guests will be expected to take and construct their exterior walkways safely. This is a requirement in the NFSI B101.8 and B101.9 walkway safety standards. In this case, the best choice was the easiest. Simply design the building as to not have a plant bed at the buildings entrance.
You will see this pattern everywhere:
1. Retail parking lot plant bed(s)/islands are located between the parking lot and the stores entrance and are usually poorly maintained and unattractive.
2. Customers will walk through the plant beds/islands as a shortcut to get to the store eventually creating an ugly dirt pathway.
3. The property owner decides to address their unsightly plant beds/islands by adding pave stones, flagstones, etc.
4. The plant beds/islands are now perceived by customers as a designated walkway which encourages even more people to walk through them making it even more unattractive and most importantly, unsafe.
Brilliant! And to think that these major companies actually employ professionals to design and construct their parking lots.
