Over the last ten years, online retail sales in the United States have increased greatly, and the retail e-commerce data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that digital purchases now account for a significant and continuing portion of total retail sales in the country. This challenge has hit multifamily housing hardest, since each delivery truck now has to stop for every resident who used to go to the store once themselves. Industry surveys monitored by organizations such as the National Multifamily Housing Council show that medium-sized and larger apartment complexes receive dozens of packages each day, with the number exceeding 100 during the weeks leading up to the holidays. In rapidly growing areas of North Carolina such as Charlotte, Raleigh, Columbia, and the Fort Mill and Rock Hill area, where apartment building construction has kept up with some of the fastest population increases in the nation, the number of packages received each day continues to rise year by year.
At ProLine Parking Lot Maintenance, we have seen delivery traffic slowly turn into one of the biggest everyday problems for Carolina property managers, more frequent on a daily basis than move-in weekends, even though it receives less attention. Cases such as a UPS truck double-parking in a drive aisle, a FedEx van blocking the fire lane for two minutes as the driver delivers a package to a third-floor unit, and an Amazon driver going around the parking lot looking for somewhere to stop near the package room: none of these situations constitute a management failure; they are stripping failures. That is precisely how we design and mark the areas for deliveries and for picking up packages so that every driver, whether he or she is a USPS carrier or a DoorDash driver, knows exactly where to stop without causing a bottleneck for all the other drivers on the property.
Why Delivery Traffic Needs Its Own Striping Plan
Delivery traffic is entirely unlike guest parking or even move-day traffic, and it’s at this point that most Carolina properties encounter problems. A guest car may stay for a few hours, but a delivery stop lasts between two and twenty minutes and occurs dozens of times each day all throughout the year, not just on one weekend. If there is no clearly designated, close-by area for such stops, drivers, like any driver who is under time pressure, will park wherever gets them nearest to the door, usually choosing the drive aisle, a fire lane, or a handicap space that they think they can clear in “just a minute.”
The fact that the volume exacerbates the problem more than move-in traffic does is that on a busy afternoon a typical mid-size community in Carolina may have a USPS carrier, a UPS step van, a FedEx van, two or three Amazon drivers, and a number of food or grocery delivery drivers all arriving at the same spot on the curb within one hour. Whenever that curb lacks a dedicated, striped lane, those vehicles have to fight for space he residents’ cars at the same time, which is when a drive aisle becomes blocked or a fire lane is used as a temporary parking area.
The Delivery Vehicles Actually Hitting Carolina Apartment Lots
Since different delivery vehicles require varying amounts of pavement, setting the size of a zone for the wrong kind of vehicle either wastes space or means that a larger truck won’t be able to fit. The way we usually plan out the sizing of delivery zones is by referring to the variety of vehicles we observe at properties in Charlotte, Greenville, Columbia, and Myrtle Beach:
| Delivery Vehicle | Typical Length | Average Stop Time | Recommended Zone Length | Recommended Zone Width |
| USPS mail/package vehicle | 14-20 ft | 5-15 min | 20-24 ft | 8-9 ft |
| UPS or FedEx step van | 20-24 ft | 5-20 min | 24-28 ft | 9-10 ft |
| Amazon delivery van | 19-23 ft | 3-10 min | 22-26 ft | 9-10 ft |
| Amazon Flex or gig driver (personal vehicle) | Standard car/SUV | 2-5 min | 18 ft (standard space) | 9 ft |
| Food or grocery delivery (DoorDash, Instacart, etc.) | Standard car | 2-8 min | 18 ft | 9 ft |
| Freight or furniture delivery truck | 24-30 ft box truck | 15-60 min | 30-35 ft | 12 ft |
It is not necessary for most properties to have a separate striped bay for each item on that list. Our usual suggestion is to provide one or two full-size delivery bays suitable for a step van, together with two or three standard-size spaces that are striped and stenciled specifically for shorter gig and food delivery stops, these being placed as near as possible to the package room or the main building entrance according to the layout of the property.
How We Design and Stripe Delivery and Package Pickup Zones
Location matters as much as size; a delivery zone striped in the wrong place will still be overlooked by drivers who park wherever is closest to the door. For each property in Carolina we work with, we design the layout around a few basic principles.
- When it comes to the property, we prioritize proximity over convenience by drawing up delivery zones as near as the drive aisle layout permits to the package room, mailroom, or locker bank, even if this means giving up one or two resident parking spaces in that row, because a zone located only a two-minute’s walk from the package room is used properly so much more frequently than one situated in a back corner.
- The purpose is indicated by large block letters within the bay, for example, “DELIVERY VEHICLES ONLY” or “15 MIN LOADING,” and these can be read from a driver’s seat before the vehicle has parked.
- Using yellow paint striping rather than plain white matches the visual approach used for fire lanes, making the area look deliberately designed rather than blending into ordinary parking.
- The arrows indicate direction and guide trucks through a pull-through pattern rather than a dead end, so the step van doesn’t need to reverse through a lot that is full of parked cars and pedestrians.
- Hatch buffer striping refers to a buffer area with diagonal stripes between the delivery bay and the closest drive aisle, ensuring that when a truck is being unloaded, the rear doors and ramp remain clear of moving traffic.
Package Rooms and Locker Banks: The Walkway Matters as Much as the Parking
Even if a delivery zone is positioned perfectly, residents may still not be served if the path from the zone to the package room is not clearly marked. We apply the same level of attention to marking the pedestrian route that links the delivery bay with the door of the package room as we do to stripe the vehicle paths, and in cases where the ground conditions require it we also provide an accessible route that complies with the U.S. Access Board’s ADA-accessible design standards. These standards specify the required width, slope, and surface for an accessible route, and the route residents use to reach the package room on foot or by mobility device must remain free at all points of the journey from curbs, wheel stops, and parked delivery vehicles.
On properties where residents frequently carry or cart heavy packages back to their units, we also provide a dedicated accessible parking space next to the package room, rather than depending on the community’s general ADA parking spaces which are scattered around the premises. A resident using a mobility device and carrying a stack of packages should not have to walk across the property from the closest general accessible space simply because there is no dedicated accessible space next to the package room.
Better Striping Reduces Package Theft, Not Just Congestion
Package theft is a genuine and increasing worry for property managers and is more closely related to the way in which lots are designed than most people realize. According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s guidelines on preventing package theft, lack of visibility, and irregular drop-off spots are two of the main factors, since thieves can more easily target packages when they are left in a place that is not visible from the occupied units, the leasing office, or the main walkway; packages end up being concentrated in a clear, consistent, and well-marked area where the delivery drivers stop each time rather than being scattered around any curb or breezeway that the driver happened to find open that day.
A well-lit and uniformly striped delivery area also makes it much simpler to justify the position of a camera, since it is a far wiser security measure to have one fixed camera in a high-traffic area than it is to try to cover the whole extensive parking lot where the delivery drivers stop wherever they can find space. Several property managers in Carolina have combined a newly installed striped delivery zone with a single camera focused on that area, resulting in a much cleaner, more useful view than a wide-angle camera covering the entire parking lot could provide.
Scheduling Delivery Zone Work Around Peak Season
Delivery zone paint takes more wear than in a normal parking row because the surface endures numerous hard stops, sharp turns, and frequent pull-outs each day, rather than the slower, more gradual process of a resident moving into a space once. We usually advise having the delivery zone striping inspected and touched up every 6 to 9 months, earlier than standard parking rows, which are checked on a 2- to 3-year schedule, and carry out a specific inspection before the November and December holiday period when package volume increases most rapidly.
The climate in Carolina also creates another scheduling challenge. In the Piedmont and coastal areas of Carolina, the surface temperature of the pavement in summer often goes above the range that most striping paint needs in order to cure properly, which is why we arrange for delivery zone touch-ups to begin in the early morning during June, July, and August, and we refrain from painting during the small number of weeks each fall when Atlantic storm systems cause properties near Myrtle Beach and Charleston to be at risk of rain delays during the course of the project.
Keeping Fire Lanes Clear When Delivery Traffic Multiplies
A fire lane that is clear on a quiet Tuesday morning can fill quickly during a Friday afternoon delivery rush, since four or five trucks from various carriers may want to use the same section of curb within a twenty-minute period. The fire lane markings must remain legible and easily identifiable no matter how much delivery traffic builds up nearby, as the NFPA fire code considers a blocked fire lane to be a life-safety matter and not merely an annoyance, and most of the fire marshals in Carolina enforce that standard without making any exception, whether or not the vehicle in question is a delivery truck. That is why we set up delivery zones with a sufficient buffer from any fire lane so a truck taking a few minutes to complete its run doesn’t end up occupying fire access space simply because there was no other place to wait.
Borrowing Curb Management Strategies from City Planning
Cities across the country have spent the last several years refining how they manage curb space for the same reason apartment properties now need to: delivery volume has outpaced the curb space originally designed for it. Organizations like the National Association of City Transportation Officials and the International Parking & Mobility Institute publish curb management guidance built around the same core idea we apply on private apartment lots: designate specific curb segments for specific short-term uses, mark them clearly, and enforce the time limit consistently. We bring that same municipal-level thinking down to the property level, treating a 40-foot stretch of curb near your package room the same way a city planner would treat a loading zone on a busy downtown block.
Ready to Organize Your Property’s Delivery Traffic?
If drivers in your area are double-parking in the drive aisles, obstructing your fire lane, or leaving their packages scattered all over the car park because there isn’t any obvious place to stop, we will carry out a visit to the site, determine an appropriate delivery zone based on the actual traffic of your delivery carriers, and then mark it with stripes and stencils before the next busy delivery season arrives. ProLine Parking Lot Maintenance provides services to property managers and owners of multifamily properties all over North Carolina and South Carolina, whether it’s a single-property HOA or a large regional apartment complex. Contact us for a site visit and a written quotation.
Create More Organized Delivery Areas
Clearly marked delivery, loading, and package pickup areas can help reduce confusion around busy apartment entrances. ProLine Parking Lot Maintenance can help property managers create clear pavement markings that support better traffic flow and more organized parking areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many dedicated delivery spaces does an apartment community actually need based on unit count?
There is no fixed ratio, but as a general guideline, we usually suggest one full-size delivery bay plus two or three smaller gig or food-delivery spaces for every 150 to 200 units, after which the arrangement should be adjusted based on how the package room or locker bank is configured. In a 300-unit community with a single central package room, you generally need fewer, larger zones all in one place, whereas a development with several smaller mail kiosks across different buildings usually calls for a smaller delivery zone near each one rather than one large central area. We always walk the property and observe actual delivery patterns over a few days before deciding on the final number, since estimating solely from the number of units could result in wasted parking spaces or a zone that is still too small during busy times.
Can package lockers be installed directly on freshly striped asphalt, or do they need their own concrete pad?
Package lockers and larger locker banks usually require a dedicated concrete pad rather than being placed directly on striped asphalt because they are heavy, need a flat, stable foundation, and often require conduit to run underneath for power and data. Before any striping work, we work with the locker supplier’s installation team so the pad can be poured and allowed to cure, after which we stripe the delivery area and the walkway around the completed pad rather than trying to go around it later. If the opposite approach is taken, stripping the surface first and then installing the locker pad, this usually involves having to cut into the newly painted surface and redo part of the layout, which results in extra costs and delays that can simply be prevented by carrying out the work in the correct order.
Is there a difference between striping for commercial carrier trucks and striping for gig delivery drivers using personal vehicles?
Certainly, since treating them alike frequently wastes valuable space near the curb. A vehicle from UPS, FedEx, or the USPS requires a longer and wider bay so that it can pull into and out of it smoothly, whereas a driver working for Amazon Flex, a DoorDash driver, or an Instacart shopper is almost always using a standard passenger car, which fits perfectly into a normal 9 by 18 foot bay. We usually mark out one or two larger bays expressly for commercial carrier trucks and have a separate group of standard-sized spaces, stenciled to indicate that they are for short-term delivery use only, situated close to the building entrance for the gig and food delivery traffic, which moves in and out much more frequently during the day.
Does delivery zone striping need to be repainted more often because of the November and December holiday surge?
The holiday surge can cause more damage to the paint than normal daily delivery traffic; the high volume during those six to eight weeks speeds up the wear already taking place. A delivery area that would usually need a touch-up two or three months later may instead show obvious fading of the stenciling by early January if it entered the holiday season while the paint was already worn. Therefore, we suggest that any property in Carolina with a heavy packaging season have its premises inspected before the holidays in October so any faded stencil text or edge striping can be refreshed before the volume begins rather than during the peak period.
Beyond organizing traffic, how exactly does clear striping reduce package theft risk?
Clear, consistent striping reduces theft risk mainly by making delivery drop-off areas predictable and visible rather than scattered. Since each driver stops in the same clearly marked and well-lit area near the package, packages are scattered all over the premises, and residents or security can’t easily monitor them. A predictable area also makes it much easier to install focused lighting or a single security camera that actually covers the spot where the packages are left, rather than having to monitor the whole parking area where drivers currently stop wherever they can find an open space.
Can one striped zone serve both commercial delivery trucks and resident curbside pickup for groceries or Instacart orders, or do those need to stay separate?
In most cases, it is best to keep the areas separate whenever there is room, since a commercial delivery truck usually has to back in or move through in a way that clashes with a resident standing by the curb waiting for their grocery order to be loaded into their car. On smaller properties where there isn’t enough space for two separate areas, a shared zone can be used provided that it is wide enough and marked with general ‘short-term loading’ instructions rather than with text specific to the carrier, although we still suggest placing it as far as possible from the narrowest section of the drive aisle so that the truck and the resident’s vehicle aren’t competing for the same small amount of space at the same time.
What if our package room sits on the opposite side of the property from where delivery trucks currently stop? Can striping fix that without relocating the package room?
In most cases, yes. Moving a package room is expensive and disruptive, but redirecting where trucks stop is usually as simple as striping a new zone closer to the room, adding directional signage pointing drivers toward it, and painting over or removing any striping that’s currently encouraging trucks to stop in the wrong spot out of habit. We’ve solved this exact problem on several Carolina properties by simply closing off the old default stopping area with hatched no-park striping and giving drivers a clearly marked, better-positioned alternative, which redirects the pattern within a few weeks once carriers learn the new zone.
See also: Parking Lot Striping for Apartment Move-In and Move-Out Areas, Parking Lot Striping in Hot Weather: How Heat Affects Paint Application and Curing
