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Controlling parking space is essential to ensure a consistent throughput of traffic to your business location.  Contrary to popular belief, providing free parking does not increase customer walk-in traffic and in fact, more usually decreases walk-ins because of non-availability of parking space – your largest area is typically utilized by people by have no intention of visiting your store.

Even when you are not operating a business which caters to the retail sector, controlling parking is essential to ensure employees are productive and maintain their morale, while equally, you want visitors to be able to park quickly and securely when they are doing business at your location.  Controlling site access and parking is also essential for effective delivery and dispatch of raw materials and finished goods

Parking permits and tags are usually considered to be the domain of the local agencies who are responsible for policing parking areas in towns and municipalities, however they have direct application for private landowners and businesses too.  Parking permits act as an authorization to enter and park at a location, but they also control when parking and access may take place by restricting times and dates when the permit may be used.  Where a privately owned location is using permits, the rules are at the discretion of the operator of the parking system (usually the business owner).  Where parking permits are utilized in public places, then their use and application must conform to state and county laws and regulations, including enforcement action.

There are a large number of styles and formats for parking permits which can be used in a wide variety of situations.  You may need to issue permanent parking permits, in which case they need to be robust, usually capable of being fixed to a windshield for permanent display, or alternatively, you may want to issue a temporary permit to allow a visitor access for a short visit or just the day.

The most common types of parking permit are:

  • Hang Tags – these typically hang from the rearview mirror and are the most commonly used parking permit available as they lend themselves to both permanent and temporary use.  When not needed, they can be easily slipped off the rearview mirror, and when in use, they are highly visible which allows for simple enforcement and control to be exercised.  Typically, they are constructed using polyethylene which is tough and durable and you can source them as blanks, ready for you to apply your own serial or record numbers on them or you can have them pre-printed – there is no adhesive or sticky mess to contend with and the fabric of the car is unaffected;
  • Bumper stickers – these are typically manufactured from a tough, weather resistant plastic with strong adhesive backing and are ideal for permanent use;
  • Mirror decals – mirror decals are not placed on your car mirrors, but they have a “mirror” effect due to their design.  They have an adhesive backing or front to fix them in the car window; and
  • Windshield tags – typically transparent, they are fixed to the windshield or even to the body of the car; tough and weather resistant they are a cheap and cheerful solution for permanent permits.
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