Your lobby has no room, the mailroom is full, and the only space a building can spare for package lockers is down in the parking garage, the basement or beside the loading dock. This page is for property and facility managers in exactly that position. It covers what makes a garage position work: the network connection, how couriers reach it, egress and fire review, and the environment.
Quick answer
- Network first. Mobile signal underground is usually poor. Run Ethernet to the position or extend building Wi-Fi. Our controller has Ethernet as standard.
- Courier route second. Couriers need a way through the gate or dock without calling a resident. A courier code on the gate, or a staffed or open dock in delivery hours, both work.
- Keep egress clear. Don’t narrow an exit route. Check the position with your fire marshal or code official before ordering.
- Light it, watch it, keep it dry. Bright, on camera, near the resident lift, off a damp floor.
- Price: see the rough price guide below; a garage bank costs the same as a lobby bank plus any cabling.
Why the garage often wins anyway
A garage or dock position has real advantages over a lobby. Couriers park right next to it and do not walk parcels through the residents’ entrance. Bulky deliveries don’t cross the lobby floor. The space is often cheaper to give up than leasing-office or amenity space. And in many buildings the loading dock is where couriers already arrive, so the locker meets them where they are.
The drawbacks are just as real, and they are all solvable at the planning stage, not after the locker arrives.
Network: the problem most garage installs hit first
A parcel locker has to talk to its cloud service. That is how it sends the recipient’s code, logs the drop-off and lets staff see what is waiting. Reinforced concrete and earth around a basement attenuate mobile signal heavily, so a 4G connection that works at street level may not work two levels down.
| Option | When to use it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Ethernet cable from the comms room | The default for any underground position | Cable route and length, a switch port, any firewall rules your IT team applies |
| Building Wi-Fi | Where an access point already covers the garage | Signal at the exact position with the cabinet’s steel around it, and whether the network is stable overnight |
| 4G | Only if a phone on the chosen carrier shows a steady signal at the exact spot | Signal at different times of day; an external antenna position |
Our locker controller ships with Ethernet as standard, with Wi-Fi and 4G as options. If the connection drops for a moment, the platform is designed to recover cleanly; the outdoor smart lockers guide explains how instructions are cached and replayed. A garage with no reliable connection at all is the wrong place for any networked locker.
Courier access through the gate or dock
The locker needs no integration with any carrier: a driver who reaches the touchscreen can deliver. The question in a garage is how the driver reaches it.
- Gate code or fob for couriers. Issue a courier code for the vehicle gate or the pedestrian door into the garage. Change it on a schedule and keep a record of who has it.
- Dock open in delivery hours. If the loading dock is staffed or open during the day, put the locker inside the dock lobby and couriers walk in.
- Call point to building staff. Works where someone is on site to answer, but it brings back the interruptions the locker was meant to remove.
Whatever you choose, tell your main carriers how to get in and where the locker is. A locker that drivers cannot find leaves parcels at the gate.
Egress, fire separation and clear width
Garages and basements are full of fire separations: exit stairs, rated corridors, smoke lobbies, and doors that must close on their own. A bank of steel lockers is a large fixed object. Do not place it where it narrows an exit route, blocks a fire door’s swing, or sits inside a rated stair lobby without approval. Requirements vary with the building code your jurisdiction has adopted and with the occupancy, so show the proposed position to your fire marshal or code official before you order. Bring the cabinet footprint and the door-open clearance with you.
Leave room in front of the bank for a courier with a hand cart and a resident collecting at the same time, plus the swing of the largest door.
Lighting, cameras and personal safety
Residents collect at all hours. A garage position should be:
- Bright, with lighting on a timer or sensor that does not leave someone in the dark mid-collection.
- On camera, with a view of the touchscreen and the doors, so a disputed collection can be checked against the locker’s own log.
- Close to the residents’ lift or stair, not across the car park.
- Out of vehicle paths, with a kerb, bollard or barrier if cars manoeuvre nearby.
If you would not walk to the spot at 11 pm, residents won’t either.
Damp, dust and temperature
Basements can be damp, dusty and colder or hotter than the building above. Keep the bank on a level, dry floor, away from drains and wash-down areas, with an air gap behind it. If water gets in during storms, fix that first. Where the position is open to the weather, such as a ground-level dock with a roller door, specify an outdoor-rated cabinet; the outdoor guide explains ratings. If residents’ groceries will sit in the cells, consider refrigerated cells built to order.
Planning checklist for a garage position
- Ethernet drop or confirmed Wi-Fi at the exact position
- Mains power outlet within reach of the cabinet
- Courier route agreed: gate code, dock hours or call point
- Position reviewed by the fire marshal or code official
- Clear floor in front for a hand cart and the widest door swing
- Lighting and camera coverage of the screen and doors
- Dry, level floor; protection from vehicles
- Signage from the resident lift to the locker
Where this is the wrong answer
- No safe walking route from the residents’ lift. If residents must cross vehicle lanes in the dark, find another spot or fix the route first.
- No way to get a network connection down there. A locker that cannot reach its cloud cannot send codes.
- Couriers cannot get through the gate without a resident. Then the locker will sit half empty; settle access first.
- The space floods. Move the bank or fix the water.
Rough price guide and quote
A garage bank is priced like any other; budget separately for the network cable run and any protective barrier.
A small bank of about 10 cells with a courier touchscreen typically comes in at a few thousand US dollars, roughly US$2,000–5,000. A 50–100-cell building system is roughly US$8,000–20,000. Software is a flat monthly fee of around US$100 per location, with no per-parcel or resident fees. Freight, duties and installation are extra, and your quote fixes the price.
Price enquiry · 1 minute
Get a quote for your building
Tell us roughly what you need and we reply with a cell layout, a drawing and a firm price. For the full form with cell sizes and options, use the price enquiry page.
Frequently asked questions
Will a package locker work in an underground garage with no cell signal?
Yes, if it has a wired connection. Our locker controller ships with Ethernet as standard, with Wi-Fi and 4G as options. Underground, run a network cable from the building’s comms room to the locker position, or extend building Wi-Fi to it. Do not plan on 4G until someone has stood at the exact spot with a phone on the carrier you would use and seen a steady signal.
How do couriers get into the garage to deliver?
Through whatever the building already uses for deliveries: a courier code or fob on the garage gate, a dock door open during delivery hours, or a call point that lets a courier in. The locker itself needs no carrier integration, so once the driver reaches it they can drop off at the touchscreen. Settle gate access with your main carriers before choosing the position.
Can lockers go in a fire exit corridor or stairwell lobby?
Do not assume so. Egress routes have minimum clear widths and rules about what can be placed in them, and fire-rated corridors and stair lobbies have their own limits on fixtures. Requirements depend on your building code and occupancy. Show the proposed position to your fire marshal or code official before ordering.
Does damp in a basement hurt a parcel locker?
Persistent damp and condensation shorten the life of any steel cabinet and its electronics. Put the bank on a dry, level floor away from drains and vehicle splash, keep an air gap behind it, and fix any water ingress first. Where the space is genuinely wet or exposed, specify an outdoor-rated build.
Is a garage a safe place for residents to collect parcels at night?
It can be, if it is well lit, on camera and close to the residents’ lift or stair. Residents should not have to walk the length of a dark car park to reach the locker. If the only possible spot feels unsafe after dark, residents will avoid it, and parcels will wait longer and fill the cells.
Related
- Parcel lockers: how a delivery runs and the full product
- Unattended building package lockers: when nobody is on site to let couriers in
- High-rise package lockers: more than one bank, more than one entrance
- Outdoor smart lockers: ratings, heat and connectivity
- Apartment parcel locker sizing
