Parking Lot Condition Assessment in Bend, Oregon

Quick Verdict

A parking lot condition assessment in Bend is a structured inspection that grades your pavement, usually on a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) scale, and turns the findings into a prioritized repair plan. For a property manager it answers the questions that matter for budgeting: what is failing, what is just worn, what is a liability, and what it will cost to stay ahead. In Bend's high-desert climate, an assessment pays special attention to freeze-thaw damage and UV oxidation. This guide explains what the inspection covers and how to use the report.

Why Bend Property Managers Need a Real Assessment

Walking a lot and "knowing it needs work" is not a budget. A condition assessment gives you defensible numbers — a PCI score, a distress map, and a multi-year cost forecast you can put in front of an owner or a board. It replaces guesswork with a plan, and it protects you from spending the maintenance budget on the wrong things.

It also creates a record. When you assess the same lot year over year, you can show the PCI trend and prove that maintenance is working — or justify the capital request when it is not. Our parking lot maintenance plan guide explains how the assessment feeds the larger plan.

What the Assessment Covers

A thorough commercial pavement assessment documents every distress type and rates its severity and extent:

• Cracking. Thermal, longitudinal, edge, and alligator (fatigue) cracking — each scored separately because each means something different.
• Surface condition. Raveling, oxidation, and loss of fines, which in Bend are accelerated by high-desert UV.
• Deformation. Rutting, depressions, and shoving that point to base or mix problems.
• Potholes and patches. Active failures and how well past repairs are holding.
• Drainage. Ponding, blocked basins, and grade problems — critical in a freeze-thaw climate because standing water becomes ice damage.
• Striping and ADA. Faded markings and non-compliant accessible spaces that are a liability.

How PCI Scoring Works

Most professional assessments roll the findings into a single Pavement Condition Index from 0 to 100. It gives owners and boards one number to track and budget against.

PCI range	Condition	Typical action
86–100	Excellent	Routine maintenance, sealcoat cadence
71–85	Good	Crack seal, sealcoat, minor patching
56–70	Fair	Targeted repairs before decline accelerates
41–55	Poor	Major repair or overlay planning
0–40	Failed	Reconstruction

The key insight is that pavement does not decline in a straight line — it holds up well, then drops off a cliff once it slips below the fair range. Catching a lot in the good-to-fair band is where maintenance dollars do the most work. For the full breakdown, see how PCI scoring works.

Why Bend's Climate Changes the Findings

Deschutes County conditions shape what an assessor weights most heavily:

• Freeze-thaw evidence. At Bend's elevation, the assessor looks hard at cracks and ponding because water plus repeated freezing is the main destroyer of high-desert pavement.
• UV oxidation. Gray, brittle, raveling surfaces show up faster here, so surface condition gets close attention.
• Drainage in a freeze climate. Standing water that would just evaporate in the valley becomes ice that pries pavement apart in Bend, so drainage problems score as urgent.
• Short repair season. Findings get sorted against a shorter May-to-October work window, so timing recommendations are tighter than in milder cities.

What a Condition Assessment Costs in Bend

A basic walk-and-grade is often included with a maintenance proposal. A detailed assessment — measured distress mapping, PCI scoring, and a multi-year budget forecast — is a professional deliverable priced on lot size.

Industry Baseline Range: a formal commercial pavement condition assessment commonly runs in the range of $0.01 to $0.05 per square foot+, with smaller lots often folded into a maintenance quote. These are industry baseline ranges for planning only — actual pricing depends on lot size, access, condition, and current market conditions. Get a site-specific quote.

Current Market Reality

In Bend, the smart move is to assess in late winter or early spring so the prioritized repairs land inside the May-to-October window while crews still have schedule. Because the Central Oregon season is short and books out fast, a lot that gets assessed late often waits a full year for major work. A cheap assessment that skips drainage and base evaluation is not a deal — it just hides the expensive surprise. Use the report to drive ongoing maintenance in Bend.

The Bottom Line

A parking lot condition assessment in Bend turns a vague sense that your lot "needs work" into a PCI score, a distress map, and a funded plan. In a freeze-thaw climate, it catches the drainage and cracking problems that turn into expensive reconstruction if ignored. Assess early, act inside the short Central Oregon season, and track the score year over year. Cojo provides commercial pavement assessments and asphalt maintenance services across Bend and Deschutes County — schedule an assessment and get a plan you can budget.