Partner Blake Vance recently published an op-ed titled “The real cost of cutting corners on parking-lot safety” in The News Gazette based in Champaign, IL. The piece discusses the growing dangers of inadequate parking-lot design and the need for businesses to take proactive measures to protect pedestrians.
“While parking lots can be a place of annoyance, they should not be a place where safety is compromised,” Blake writes. “Yet across the country, businesses continue to overlook critical safety measures that could prevent devastating accidents.”
Blake argues that too many companies delay meaningful safety improvements until after tragic incidents occur, despite having the means to act sooner. The op-ed discusses Coplan + Crane’s representation of a family injured in an accident outside a Portillo’s restaurant in New Lenox, Illinois. This was one of several incidents that occurred at Portillo’s, highlighting the serious consequences of insufficient pedestrian safety measures at retail and restaurant locations throughout the state.
Blake explains that simple, cost-effective solutions, such as installing protective barriers, can dramatically reduce these risks while even enhancing brand identity, as seen with Target’s recognizable red bollards.
“The issue speaks to a larger problem of corporate responsibility in protecting the public,” Blake concludes. “Companies across all industries must prioritize parking lot safety and pedestrian protection as a fundamental design consideration, not an optional enhancement.”
To read the full article, visit The News-Gazette here: https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/guest-commentary/my-turn-the-real-cost-of-cutting-corners-on-parking-lot-safety/article_1757adcf-d2f2-4987-862d-e8826620453b.html
