Park & Reflect

Trina Tutor 

June 2025

The Power of Perceived Safety:

Lessons from a Weekend Stay in Fort Worth 

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Last weekend, I traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, with my sister and niece to attend a concert. To make the trip easier, we booked a cute Airbnb located in a condo complex. If you're familiar with Airbnb, you know that while you can see photos of the interior of your rental, there's often very little information about the neighborhood surrounding it. That lack of context usually isn't a problem—if you know the area. But for unfamiliar places, it can be a real issue. 

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As we drove through the neighborhood toward the condo, I began to feel uneasy. The area looked run down, and my sense of discomfort grew as we got closer. By the time we arrived, I was genuinely nervous. 

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We parked on the first floor of the condo's parking garage and paused to read the check-in instructions. The directions explained that we needed to retrieve a key fob from a lockbox, which would also allow us to get a garage clicker. That clicker gave us access to the upper levels of the parking garage—levels separated by a rolling gate at the entrance to the ramp. 

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That rolling gate ended up being the key to changing my entire perception of safety. Once we accessed the upper levels and parked behind the gate, I felt significantly more at ease. Interestingly, the upper levels weren’t cleaner or newer than the first—they were virtually identical. Yet the simple presence of a gate, a minor barrier, made all the difference. 

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This experience really drove home an important point: perceived safety matters just as much as actual safety—if not more. 

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Garage owners and operators should pay close attention to this. If someone doesn’t feel safe in your garage, they may decide to park somewhere else, even if that means walking a longer distance to their destination. Small changes can have a big impact. Features that improve perceived safety include: 

• Well-lit areas 

• Cleanliness and upkeep 

• Fresh striping and paint 

• Visible security cameras 

• Barriers like rolling gates 

• Presence of security personnel 

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You can't always control the neighborhood surrounding your garage, but you can control how your space makes people feel. Good stewardship and management go a long way in creating that peace of mind—and sometimes, that's what matters most.