IPMI Blog
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Would You Rather
December 12, 2024Would You Rather By Maria Irshad, MPA, CAPP In a recent blog post, Casey Jones, CAPP, PMP, played a game of two truths and a lie and I thought I would play a game with our readers too. So, let’s play Would You Rather: Fly or be invisible? Travel Read More »
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How an Airport “Waived” Goodbye to a PARCS RFP
December 5, 2024How an Airport “Waived” Goodbye to a PARCS RFP By Mike Maromaty, CAPP We have components of an aging PARCS that are end-of-life, and our backs were up against the wall to get it replaced as soon as possible. Our PARCS was installed in 2008, and for the most Read More »
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My Two Truths and a Lie
November 26, 2024My Two Truths and a Lie By Casey Jones, CAPP My two truths and a lie: I became submarine and airborne qualified in the same summer. I am the 1975 U10 Mutton Busting Champion for Gallatin County, MT. I was once featured on the Travel Channel. The last one Read More »
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Hurricane Disaster Prep
November 20, 2024Hurricane Disaster Prep By Paul Whetzel, CAPP Hello Again Fellow IPMI Friends- As many of you all know the City of Charleston, South Carolina is a coastal city. Hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th. Hurricane season can provide many challenges for Charleston County. Parking Operations is Read More »
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EV Charging Stations
November 19, 2024EV Charging Stations By Elvis Reyes, CAPP EV’s and EV charging stations have been a popular topic of conversation within the parking industry over the course of the last four to five years. That conversation intensified following COVID as Cities and States across the Country felt a migration of Read More »
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Not Enough Parking Spaces!
November 18, 2024Not Enough Parking Spaces! By Harold Robinson, CAPP We all hear it whether you are a municipal entity or an academic organization like our own. Here at the University of Mississippi’s main campus in Oxford, MS, we manage and maintain just over 17,000 parking spaces. On even the busiest Read More »
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The Importance of Decluttering for Productivity and Well-Being
November 13, 2024The Importance of Decluttering for Productivity and Well-Being By Lisa Copeland, CAPP, PMP, CUFM Clutter can create a chaotic environment that hampers focus and efficiency, leading to increased stress and decreased productivity. In fact, studies show that 80% of items people keep are never used, contributing to an overwhelming Read More »
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We Are Loving It Here
We Are Loving It Here By Jeri Baker, CAPP It was my second day at a new job we had traveled across the country to take. As I walked into a team meeting, one of my colleagues asked, “How do you and your wife like this area?” I was Read More »
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Not Your Typical Tailgating
November 6, 2024Not Your Typical Tailgating By Harold Robinson, CAPP Okay. I may be a bit biased, but nobody does college football tailgating quite like the University of Mississippi, aka Ole Miss! With the football full swing, almost everything revolves around 7 autumn Saturdays—surely not that different from other places. Right? Read More »
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Cameras
November 5, 2024Cameras By Paul Whetzel, CAPP Hello Fellow IPMI Friends- Here is a little background of Charleston County Parking Operations, our primary function is to provide support for the County Office Building and the County Courthouse located in downtown Charleston. As many of you know, the City of Charleston is Read More »
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Changing of the Guard, Administration, and Leadership
November 4, 2024Changing of the Guard, Administration, and Leadership By Michelle L. Wahl, CAPP Have you ever heard the saying “without change there is no future”? How about John F. Kennedy’s perspective, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to Read More »
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Cameras, Cameras Everywhere…
October 30, 2024Cameras, Cameras Everywhere… By Harold Robinson, CAPP Some hate them, some love them, and yes, some may abuse them. I think they are great! Our department uses cameras as a force multiplier as well as a tool for situational awareness. We have our dispatcher in a room with a Read More »
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EVs: Here to Stay?
October 29, 2024EVs: Here to Stay? By Courtney Henry-Irwin I recently led a lunch & learn, and part of my preparation was seeking out relevant stats to support investing in charging stations. I wanted to share some of the ones that stuck out, which confirm EVs aren’t going ANYWHERE: Growing demand Read More »
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Hospitality and Parking
October 28, 2024Hospitality and Parking By Elvis Reyes, CAPP The service industry is made up of multiple areas that all should have a common goal in common. Providing the best service possible to consumers that will leave them with a memorable experience and will leave them thinking how and when they Read More »
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New Life for Old Batteries
October 23, 2024New Life for Old Batteries By Leslie L. Stone, CAPP Although the internal combustion engine is not yet on life support, the lockstep march towards “zero emissions” is certainly well underway. The supply of petroleum-based fuels is finite and no one is arguing against cleaner air. California is leading Read More »
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Should Parking Give More Ways to Pay to Park?
October 22, 2024Should Parking Give More Ways to Pay to Park? By Michelle L. Wahl, CAPP Here is the first question that needs to be answered: Who is your audience? Are they visitors, commuters, students, downtown business owners and shoppers, or large companies. The more ways you provide for a parker Read More »
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The Road to Dynamic Pricing
October 21, 2024The Road to Dynamic Pricing By Ali Barsamian “Hey Siri, can you give me directions to dynamic pricing?” Pricing parking appropriately in cities has long been a puzzle for transportation planners. As urban congestion grows and the demand for curb space increases, cities are challenged to find efficient ways Read More »
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Balance
October 16, 2024Balance By Varena Harding, CAPP Do you ever feel a constant war between the demands of work and home? If you do, you are not alone. Part of the problem is that technology has separated the boundaries between work and home. Employers expect their employees to be reachable outside Read More »
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Medicine, Vitamins, Diet and Exercise, and the Arts?
October 15, 2024Medicine, Vitamins, Diet and Exercise, and the Arts? By Shontel Zamora, MPA Like most of the world today, we are challenged to do our best to stay healthy and safe. Many people take special precautions through medicinal interventions, while supplementing their health with vitamins, a good healthy diet, and Read More »
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Understanding EV Charging: It’s Just Like Doing Laundry!
October 14, 2024Understanding EV Charging: It’s Just Like Doing Laundry! By Kamala Vanderkolk I’m often asked “How quickly can this charge an EV?” However, when it comes to electric vehicles (EVs), you need to shift your mindset from the traditional way of fueling gas cars. Unlike gas cars that require frequent Read More »
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Why Our Teen’s First Car is an EV
October 10, 2024Why Our Teen’s First Car is an EV: The Surprising Truth That Will Change Your Mind. By Kamala Vanderkolk As a tech enthusiast, I embraced electric vehicles (EVs) in 2016. Fast forward to 2024, my daughter now has her learner’s permit, and we knew her first car had to Read More »
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Campus Events -The Basics
October 8, 2024Campus Events -The Basics By Mike Harris, MBA, CAPP Campuses around the country are a vibrant and exciting place to operate. As parking professionals, there are many different hats we all must wear in order to fulfill all the demands placed on our departments. One of these is managing Read More »
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Hybrid Residential Parking Districts
October 7, 2024Hybrid Residential Parking Districts By Steven Bergin, CAPP The City of Richmond has six restricted residential parking districts (RRPD), each with their own unique program that allows residents to purchase permits to park freely in their district. Most of our parking districts were established due to parking pressures from Read More »
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Ask The Experts: Large Scale Parking Operations
October 3, 2024When we contacted the Ask the Experts volunteers with our question for October, we received a landslide of thoughtful responses and did not have enough room to include them all in the magazine. But knowledge should never be wasted! So, here are even more great answers to the October question, Read More »
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Why EVs Are the Most Affordable and Smartest Option for Seniors
October 2, 2024Why EVs Are the Most Affordable and Smartest Option for Seniors By Magaret-Ann Leavitt Before diving into sustainability, I spent years focusing on Boomers transitioning into retirement. What did I learn? Seniors prioritize affordability, simplicity, and comfort. As we age, safety and cost-efficiency become key—enter electric vehicles (EVs). EVs Read More »
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The Current State of Chaos at the Curb
October 1, 2024The Current State of Chaos at the Curb By Ali Barsamian Cities across North America are grappling with a growing challenge: taming the chaos at the curb. With the rise of delivery services, ridesharing, and micromobility options, demands on curb space have skyrocketed, pushing city planners, parking directors, and Read More »
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University Parking with LPR Technology
September 30, 2024University Parking with LPR Technology By Trystan Henry Many universities are enhancing accessibility by using License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology to improve ADA parking. In many cities, municipalities often offer free curbside parking and free spots in garages for vehicles with ADA plates. Visitors often expect the same reduced Read More »
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Future-Proofing Urban Mobility: Establishing a Paid Parking Program
September 26, 2024Future-Proofing Urban Mobility: Establishing a Paid Parking Program By Brooke Krieger As urban areas continue to grow, the demand for effective parking management solutions is more crucial than ever. Establishing a paid parking program is a strategic move for municipalities aiming to manage parking demand, reduce traffic congestion, and Read More »
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Insights and Engagement: Reflections on Recent Municipal Roundtable Session
September 25, 2024Insights and Engagement: Reflections on Recent Municipal Roundtable Session By Hannah Adeponu, CAPP I recently moderated a Municipal member roundtable session with David Lipscomb from the District of Columbia Department of Transportation. We talked about Best Practices in Curbside Management. This is the first of these type of sessions Read More »
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On-Demand Transportation Solutions Reduce Campus Parking Headaches
September 24, 2024How On-Demand Transportation Solutions Help Campuses Reduce the Headaches of Managing Parking By Jackson Lake Large college campuses often grapple with parking challenges, causing frustration for students, staff, and visitors. Implementing on-demand transport solutions can significantly reduce these issues. Let’s explore the benefits: Accessibility and Convenience Campus environments sprawl Read More »
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Celebrating Success
September 4, 2024Celebrating Success By Faye Morrison After two decades in transportation, the last 12 specifically in parking, I started to believe what everyone says—no one loves parking. In many ways, you feel separate from the community you serve, even though you provide a vital and necessary service. When I became parking manager Read More »
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Everyone Has a Story to Tell
September 2, 2024Everyone Has a Story to Tell By Greg Hladik, Ph.D. Each of you reading this has a story to tell and an award nomination worth submitting, no matter how big or small you think it is. The impact you’ve made in your organization or community deserves to be recognized, Read More »
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Car Wash, Anyone?
August 28, 2024Car Wash, Anyone? By Maria Irshad, CAPP, MPA In January, when the New Year resolutioners began flooding the gyms, I started parking my car on the rooftop because parking in the surface lot was chaotic. The first thing I noticed on the rooftop was that there were about 130 Read More »
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What Happens When an Organizational Team Loses Its Leadership?
August 21, 2024What Happens When an Organizational Team Loses Its Leadership? By Lisa Copeland, CAPP, PMP, CUFM Organizational teams can suffer in a number of ways following the loss of well-respected leadership. In organizations where tasks and goals are supported, driven, and appointed from the top down, a missing link in Read More »
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Navigating New Parking Regulations: Adapting to Changes in Tennessee and Florida
August 20, 2024Navigating New Parking Regulations: Adapting to Changes in Tennessee and Florida By Katherine Beaty As of July 1, 2024, new laws in Tennessee and Florida have introduced significant changes to the way we operate commercial parking lots. Tennessee’s MOTION Act (Senate Bill No. 1692) and Florida’s CS/CS/HB 271 aim Read More »
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Guiding the Smart City: IoT Sensors vs. Cameras for Curbside Management
August 14, 2024Guiding the Smart City: IoT Sensors vs. Cameras for Curbside Management By Marc Boher The debate between IoT sensors and camera-based detection systems for curbside management is significant. Each offers unique benefits and understanding their capabilities can help determine which is more efficient, cost-effective, and suitable. Sensors are devices Read More »
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Don’t miss your chance to volunteer.
July 31, 2024Don’t Miss your chance to volunteer. by Rachel Yoka, CAPP, CSO, IPMI This call closes August 2. Don’t miss out. Here’s the official summary: The current season will kick off this October and continue through May 2026. IPMI members in good standing provide their expertise, time, and knowledge to advance Read More »
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The Best Things To Do While You’re in Columbus
May 21, 2024The Best Things To Do While You’re in Columbus By the team at the City of Columbus Division of Mobility & Parking Services What are the best things to do while you are in Columbus? The Columbus’ Division of Mobility and Parking Services team shares their go-to places to Read More »
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Columbus’ Secret Bar Menu
May 14, 2024Columbus’ Secret Bar Menu By the team at the City of Columbus Division of Mobility & Parking Services Columbus has no shortage of great bars, but with so many options, it can be tough to decide where to go. That’s why we talked to the Division of Mobility and Read More »
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How to Eat Your Way Through Columbus
May 6, 2024How to Eat Your Way Through Columbus By the team at the City of Columbus Division of Mobility & Parking Services The Columbus Division of Mobility and Parking Services couldn’t be more excited to be hosting the IPMI Parking and Mobility Conference and Expo in our city. While you’re Read More »
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What We Learned In 2023: Lessons In Parking and Mobility Transformation
April 30, 2024What We Learned In 2023: Lessons In Parking and Mobility Transformation By Justin Goodwin Adjusting an entire city’s parking infrastructure is not as simple as flipping a switch. In 2022, the Division of Mobility and Parking Services transformed the curbs of Columbus, replacing 3,000 meters with 150 multi-space kiosks, Read More »
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Paying Tribute to Douglas Myers
April 22, 2024Paying Tribute to Douglas Myers The parking and mobility community mourns the loss of longtime University of Oklahoma Parking and Transportation Director Doug Myers. Doug passed away on April 17, 2024, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 64. Doug was the director of the OU Health Sciences Read More »
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Parking Density Report + Webinar from Urbanism Next
March 30, 2024Parking Density Report + Webinar from Urbanism Next By Calvin Thigpen Parking Density Report + Webinar from Urbanism Next (April 5th): Researchers from the University of Oregon’s Urbanism Next Center have completed a report addressing how much parking is needed to meet demand and improve compliance, using data from a Read More »
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Don’t Let the Old Man In
March 27, 2024Don’t Let the Old Man In By Roamy Valera, CAPP In the wake of Toby Keith’s passing, the world mourned the loss of a country music legend. His departure sparked introspection, prompting me to reflect on the passage of time and the changing roles we assume in life. For Read More »
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What’s Your ‘Why’?
March 26, 2024What’s Your ‘Why’? By Ben Henderson, PE, SE I recently sat down with a young man who was interested in joining my team. He was very cerebral in his thinking, and before long, we were delving into his experience and what he liked most about his time in the Read More »
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Paying Tribute to Scott Kangas, CAPP
March 25, 2024Paying Tribute to Scott Kangas, CAPP By Shawn Conrad, CAE Scott Kangas, CAPP, a long-time colleague of many, recently passed away. The IPMI community will always be grateful for the kindness and mentoring he shared with many of his peers throughout his long career in parking. Scott volunteered on Read More »
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AI’s Role in Creating a Better Customer Experience
March 20, 2024AI’s Role in Creating a Better Customer Experience By Brian Wolff Artificial intelligence (AI) has existed for many years; however, technological advancements are now bringing its usefulness in a broad array of functions into focus. There is no question AI will enhance a parking customer’s experience, with speed and Read More »
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What Are You Even Doing With Your Life?
March 19, 2024What Are You Even Doing With Your Life? By Adrienne Tucker, CAPP If you work for a town, city, or municipal agency and are not attending the member roundtable discussions hosted by IPMI, what are you even doing with your life? Seriously, though, as an attendee of the Municipal Read More »
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EV- Scooters
March 18, 2024EV- Scooters By Jimmy Herrera, CAPP Every day, I see more and more electric scooters. They are all over Houston. In Texas, any vehicle that uses public roadways is considered a “motor vehicle,” which means e-scooters are subject to the same rules and regulations as automobiles. Here in Houston, Read More »
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Booting and Collection
March 13, 2024Booting and Collection By Jovan Douglas, CAPP, MBA Parking management faces challenges in enforcing regulations and collecting fines effectively. Vehicle booting emerges as a valuable solution, deterring parking violations by imposing real consequences for non-compliance. When drivers know that their vehicles may be immobilized if they don’t adhere to Read More »
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Allyship & Equity: Building a Community for All
March 12, 2024Allyship & Equity: Building a Community for All By Mark Santos, CAPP, PE, Joseph R. Madison II, and Andy Santos We need your help! As members of the IPMI Allyship & Equity Advisory Group, we seek to create educational programming that meets our parking, mobility, and transportation community where Read More »
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Sustainability in the Parking Industry: Solar-Powered Parking Lots
March 11, 2024Sustainability in the Parking Industry: Solar-Powered Parking Lots By Heidi Wingate, CAPP As people all over the world are becoming more conscious about sustainability, the parking industry is also joining in by going beyond the traditional concept of parking spaces and adopting eco-friendly practices. When we choose to implement Read More »
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How to Say “NO” With Options!
March 6, 2024How to Say “NO” With Options! by Michelle Wahl, CAPP How many times have you heard, “No, I am sorry, that is not an option,” in the parking realm? When a different response could be, “While this is not a legal way to park, please let me provide you Read More »
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Identifying Parking Demand for Office Buildings
March 5, 2024Identifying Parking Demand for Office Buildings By Elvis Reyes, CAPP Class A building developments have taken a huge hit post-COVID as the popularity of working from home has grown and does not seem to be going away. With that, the parking industry has shifted its focus from promoting a Read More »
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Navigating Post-COVID Parking Management: Staffing Challenges and Solutions
March 4, 2024Navigating Post-COVID Parking Management: Staffing Challenges and Solutions By Jovan Douglas, CAPP, MBA The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the way we live and work, and its impact on parking management is no exception. As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, parking facilities face new challenges related to staffing shortages Read More »
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EV- Urban Planning
February 28, 2024EV- Urban Planning By Jimmy Herrera, CAPP Some municipalities and urban planning authorities incorporate electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure requirements into their long-term plans, to support sustainable transportation. It is important to keep in mind that the term EV means more than just Tesla models built for individual consumers. Read More »
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Rethinking Mobility
February 27, 2024Rethinking Mobility By Benito Pérez, CAPP, AICP, CTP We must rethink our approach to mobility. Historically, owning and driving a car has signified mobility freedom, but this has caused our whole transportation system to be built for cars, often dividing and destroying communities in the process. Despite advancements in Read More »
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Safeguarding the Future: Data Security and Privacy in the Parking Industry
February 26, 2024Safeguarding the Future: Data Security and Privacy in the Parking Industry By Junior Khan, CAPP In the digital age, the parking industry is undergoing a transformation fueled by data-driven technologies. However, with great innovation comes the responsibility of safeguarding sensitive information. Data security and privacy have become paramount concerns Read More »
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Black Leaders in Transportation
February 21, 2024Black Leaders in Transportation By Madison Huemmer It’s February which means it’s Black History Month! I want to take a moment to celebrate the contributions of a few black leaders in transportation. Garrett Augustus Morgan Born in Paris but moved to Cleveland in 1895. There, Morgan witnessed a car crash Read More »
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The Benefits of Accurate SOPs in Parking Management
February 20, 2024The Benefits of Accurate SOPs in Parking Management By Jovan Douglas, CAPP, MBA In the changing dynamic of balancing residents, guests, business owners, and other stakeholders in high-density urban areas with limited parking, having accurate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in place can be a game-changer. These precise guidelines not Read More »
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Event Parking Strategies
February 7, 2024Event Parking Strategies By Elvis Reyes, CAPP Parking operations play a vital role in ensuring an event goes well. Identifying the consumer who comes to a venue and “knowing your crowd” is key to an operator’s success. A great example of this is the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Read More »
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Preserving Road Safety: The Critical Need for Enforcement Against Altered License Plates
February 6, 2024Preserving Road Safety: The Critical Need for Enforcement Against Altered License Plates By Scott A. Petri The open road is a shared space where safety and accountability go hand in hand. License plates play a pivotal role in maintaining order and ensuring responsible conduct on our streets. However, an Read More »
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The Impacts of Automated Enforcement Technologies on the Parking Industry
The Impacts of Automated Enforcement Technologies on the Parking Industry By Heidi Wingate, CAPP Automated enforcement solutions are becoming more important as the parking industry experiences a technology revolution. By improving efficiency, simplifying operations, and strengthening enforcement, these technologies—which include license plate recognition (LPR) systems and sensor-based enforcement—benefit parking Read More »
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It’s Just Parking!
January 31, 2024It’s Just Parking! By Christopher Polk, CAPP I was given some great advice one day from my boss as I was stressing over whatever the issue of the day happened to be. My frustration and stress must have been clearly visible. As he was walking out of my office, Read More »
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Navigating the Parking Industry’s “Jump the Shark” Moments
January 30, 2024Navigating the Parking Industry’s “Jump the Shark” Moments By Katherine Beaty In the vast landscape of the parking industry, certain decisions have earned the dubious distinction of “jumping the shark.” For those who remember the iconic show, Happy Days, the pejorative signifies a moment when a creative endeavor takes Read More »
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To Be Towed, or Not To Be Towed
January 29, 2024To Be Towed, or Not To Be Towed by Michelle Wahl, CAPP The City of Bloomington, within the last year, implemented a new towing policy which is quite different than what this community has experienced in the past. The division has been extremely successful in the implementation of these Read More »
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EV – From Racing to Parking?
January 24, 2024EV – From Racing to Parking? By Jimmy Herrera, CAPP Today, 2.5 million electric vehicles (EVs) are on the road. Everything indicates that they are here to stay and will need somewhere to park. As more manufacturers make net zero emissions commitments, more will be invested in improving the Read More »
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Mentoring: Helping Others Achieve Their Dreams
January 23, 2024Mentoring: Helping Others Achieve Their Dreams By Irma Henderson, CAPP January is National Mentoring Month! Established in 2002, it is a campaign recognized yearly by the President and administration, dedicated to recognizing mentoring and the impact it can have on people’s lives. It is a time to celebrate the Read More »
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Wayfinding in Large Parking Facilities
January 22, 2024Wayfinding in Large Parking Facilities By Elvis Reyes, CAPP It’s a common scene to watch vehicles circling in parking lots and parking facilities with a lost look on their faces as they struggle to find open parking stalls. Even more so when most consumers prefer to park close to Read More »
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Smart Parking Innovative Solutions
January 17, 2024Smart Parking Innovative Solutions By Heidi Wingate, CAPP In today’s fast-paced city life, the traditional way of parking is getting a modern upgrade with the introduction of smart parking solutions. The use of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and smartphone apps is driving this change because they offer consumers Read More »
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Cookie Cutter Solutions (A Change in Philosophy)
January 15, 2024Cookie Cutter Solutions (A Change in Philosophy) By Christopher Polk, CAPP ‘Times they are a changin.’ The ‘future is now.’ If only some vendors could read the writing on the wall. So many are still trying to put all parking operations into one box. Parking is extremely dynamic, and Read More »
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Managing a Scooter Parking Program
January 10, 2024Managing a Scooter Parking Program by Michelle Wahl, CAPP As a parking administrator, you must embrace other modes of transportation to support your organizations or, in this case, the City of Bloomington’s sustainability initiatives. The City of Bloomington has contracted several scooter vendors that serve our community members and Read More »
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EV: Worth the Weight?
January 8, 2024EV: Worth the Weight? By Jimmy Herrera, CAPP Electric vehicles (EVs) seem to be here to stay. Every day, they seem more common and perform just a little bit better. From range to charging stations, the benefits seem to improve. Slowly but surely. That’s great on streets and highways Read More »
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Promoting Diversity in the Valet Parking Industry
January 3, 2024Promoting Diversity in the Valet Parking Industry By Elvis Reyes, CAPP For years, the valet parking industry has been predominantly a male-dominated industry. We have seen a slight shift in the valet employee demographics after COVID-19, but still, the numbers are not even close. This, of course, will lead Read More »
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Artificial Intelligence and Future-Proofing Parking
January 2, 2024Artificial Intelligence and Future-Proofing Parking By Heidi Wingate, CAPP Parking management is experiencing a new era of customer-oriented service that is proactive in nature. In order to better adjust these facilities to the constantly changing urban environment and address existing issues, the parking sector is embracing solutions powered by Read More »
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Parking Attendant: Worst Job in America?
January 1, 2024Parking Attendant: Worst Job in America? By Christopher Polk, CAPP The 50 worst jobs in America, according to the people who do them (msn.com). I am sure that most of us, at some point in our careers, have been on the frontlines of an operation. It can be a Read More »
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PAV Municipal Roundtable Discussion
December 12, 2023PAV Municipal Roundtable Discussion By Christopher Polk, CAPP I recently attended the PAV Conference at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia. The conference was well attended, and the presentations were engaging and informative. The golf was incredible, too. On the last day of the event, I attended the Municipal Read More »
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Turnover and Barhopping
December 11, 2023Turnover and Barhopping By Steven Bergin, CAPP It’s been over a year – in October 2022, the City of Richmond began enforcing time-restricted parking regulations on Saturdays in strategic areas of our central business district. This is part of our downtown city center area where Monday through Friday parking Read More »
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Tailored Excellence: Navigating Unique Parking and Mobility Challenges Across the Country
December 6, 2023Tailored Excellence: Navigating Unique Parking and Mobility Challenges Across the Country by Ben Henderson, PE, SE I’ve heard it many times and seen it in action in pursuing new projects. The team that approaches a new client and says, “Well, we did it like this way there, so trust Read More »
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Bring Your Superpower!
December 5, 2023Bring Your Superpower! by Kendra Violet In October, Women Industry Leaders (WIL) held their first Coffee with a WIL Leader featuring Tina Reid, Co-Founder and Executive VP for Pivot Parking. Tina shared with us her journey through the world of parking. Now that I’ve had time to digest my Read More »
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Timeless Day
December 4, 2023Timeless Day By Mary B. Mabry, CAPP Recently, I forgot to cancel a day off time request when a personal trip did not happen. Faced with the dilemma of going through the hoops to cancel that time, I decided to take that day off even though it was mid-week, Read More »
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Spotlight on Parking Data (Post 6 of 6)
November 27, 2023European Parking Association: Spotlight on Parking Data Follow this series of six posts highlighting content from the European Parking Association (EPA), presented by EPA President Nigel Williams. Nigel joins some of the EPA’s data experts and other thought leaders to bring you this content, published by EPA in September Read More »
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Spotlight on Parking Data (Post 5 of 6)
November 20, 2023European Parking Association: Spotlight on Parking Data Follow this series of six posts highlighting content from the European Parking Association (EPA), presented by EPA President Nigel Williams. Nigel joins some of the EPA’s data experts and other thought leaders to bring you this content, published by EPA in September Read More »
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Technology, Green, and Innovation
November 14, 2023Technology, Green, and Innovation by Natnael Jowhar, CAPP In today’s fast-paced urban landscapes, parking is getting a major facelift, adapting to the dynamic needs of our modern society. While it might sound mundane, the parking scene is undergoing a radical transformation, fueled by tech advancements, sustainability goals, and urban Read More »
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Spotlight on Parking Data (Post 4 of 6)
November 13, 2023European Parking Association: Spotlight on Parking Data Follow this series of six posts highlighting content from the European Parking Association (EPA), presented by EPA President Nigel Williams. Nigel joins some of the EPA’s data experts and other thought leaders to bring you this content, published by EPA in September Read More »
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Why a Parking Consultant Can Be Helpful to You and Your Program
November 8, 2023Why a Parking Consultant Can Be Helpful to You and Your Program by Anthony Mazeika As a parking professional who has served on both the public and private side, there never seemed to be enough hours in the day to tackle the endless demands associated with managing a parking Read More »
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The Fallacy of Dashboards
November 7, 2023The Fallacy of Dashboards by Santiago Morales Exploring the essence of dashboards and the evolution of parking intelligence, it’s essential to debunk a common misconception. Dashboards, widely considered as indispensable tools, enable organizations to derive valuable insights from their data, serving as a singular source of trust, providing real-time Read More »
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Spotlight on Parking Data (Post 3 of 6)
November 6, 2023European Parking Association: Spotlight on Parking Data Follow this series of six posts highlighting content from the European Parking Association (EPA), presented by EPA President Nigel Williams. Nigel joins some of the EPA’s data experts and other thought leaders to bring you this content, published by EPA in September Read More »
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Share Your Smart Parking, Transportation Pilots, Programs, and Case Studies for New Publication
November 5, 2023Share Your Smart Parking, Transportation Pilots, Programs, and Case Studies for New Publication Share Your Smart Parking, Transportation Pilots, Programs, and Case Studies for New Publication Do you work for an airport where technology was deployed to monitor and manage the valuable curbside and improve traffic flow? Do you Read More »
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Spotlight on Parking Data (Post 2 of 6)
October 30, 2023European Parking Association: Spotlight on Parking Data Follow this series of six posts highlighting content from the European Parking Association (EPA), presented by EPA President Nigel Williams. Nigel joins some of the EPA’s data experts and other thought leaders to bring you this content, published by EPA in September Read More »
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Integrating Real-time Availability with Parking Payments
October 25, 2023Integrating Real-time Availability with Parking Payments By Stefanny Perez Apart from regulating traffic demand in congested areas, paid parking regulations involve a business model where drivers pay for their infrastructure use, rather than the general population. It also represents a significant source of income for municipalities, which can be Read More »
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Planning Project Success (Tips and Tricks)
October 24, 2023Planning Project Success (Tips and Tricks) By Nicholas King As parking professionals, we know the importance of proper project planning. Whether for on-street, off-street, existing structures, new construction, rip and replace, or even simple relocation of parking assets or signage installations. Improper planning, communication with vendors/contractors, or even team Read More »
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Spotlight on Parking Data (Post 1 of 6)
October 23, 2023European Parking Association: Spotlight on Parking Data Follow this series of six posts highlighting content from the European Parking Association (EPA), presented by EPA President Nigel Williams. Nigel joins some of the EPA’s data experts and other thought leaders to bring you this content, published by EPA in September Read More »
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It’s All About IPMI’s Professional Recognition Awards
October 18, 2023It’s All About IPMI’s Professional Recognition Awards By Kathryn Hebert Hello fellow IPMI members or should I say family! During my recent tenure as an IPMI Board Member, I had the honor and privilege to Co-Chair the Professional Recognition Awards Committee for several years with my friend and colleague, Josh Read More »
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All-In-One TDM Solutions Cut Costs and Improve Efficiency
October 17, 2023All-In-One TDM Solutions Cut Costs and Improve Efficiency By Danny Drees Manage more than just parking with a unified transportation demand management (TDM) system. Whether serving a sprawling campus or a unique community, transportation professionals stand to gain from more connected and flexible technology. There are many benefits to Read More »
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Professional Recognition Awards: Highlighting the Best of the Best
October 16, 2023Professional Recognition Awards: Highlighting the Best of the Best By Josh Cantor, CAPP Each year, parking, mobility, and transportation professionals at all stages of industry careers are recognized with the Professional Recognition Awards (PRA) from IPMI. The Professional Recognition Awards were created to acknowledge professionals and organizations operating, maintaining, and Read More »
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Submitting for Awards in Multiple Categories: The More the Merrier!
September 19, 2023Submitting for Awards in Multiple Categories: The More the Merrier! By Irma Henderson, CAPP The IPMI Awards of Excellence is an outstanding program that honors the industry’s latest and greatest programs, facilities, and projects. Starting a submission or even considering participating in the program can be daunting. You may Read More »
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Parking in a University Town
September 13, 2023Parking in a University Town By Steven Bergin, CAPP We are a few weeks into the new school year and have been busy servicing students with permits and addressing their citations. I’ve been wondering, do any municipalities with an urban university work with students directly to provide them with Read More »
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It’s Like The Academy Awards of Parking!
September 12, 2023It’s Like The Academy Awards of Parking! By Julie Dixon This is like the Academy Awards of our industry, at least, that’s how I felt when I accepted one of the 2023 IPMI Organization of the Year awards on behalf of DIXON Resources Unlimited. Honestly, this was such an Read More »
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Professional Recognition Award: What is the Impact?
September 11, 2023Professional Recognition Award: What is the Impact? By Jordan Justus Winning an IPMI Professional Recognition Award had a massive impact on Automotus. The recognition immediately heightened our credibility, making customer acquisition notably smoother. Within months, we secured contracts with major cities we connected with at IPMI. On the talent Read More »
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Customer-Focused Operations Lead to Outstanding Customer Service
August 30, 2023Customer-Focused Operations Lead to Outstanding Customer Service By Lisa Copeland, CAPP, PMP, CUFM There is much to be said about an operation’s ability to provide outstanding customer service. Customer interactions are information-sharing opportunities between both parties – the customer and the customer service provider. The benefits of an amenable Read More »
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Public Art Funding in Evanston, Illinois
August 29, 2023Public Art Funding in Evanston, Illinois By John W. Hammerschlag High above the street at 1800 Maple Self Park in Evanston, Illinois, two figures balanced on a steel beam appear to be edging toward one another. The sculpture, by internationally known artist Hubertus von der Goltz, was installed in Read More »
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A Rational Argument: 5 Reasons Why Hospitals Should Implement Parking Fees
August 28, 2023A Rational Argument: 5 Reasons Why Hospitals Should Implement Parking Fees Republished with permission from the Southwest Parking & Transportation Association (SWPTA) blog. By Andy Cushman, CAPP Parking at hospitals has been a subject of ongoing debate, with proponents arguing for free parking to alleviate patient and family burdens, Read More »
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The Value of IPMI Accreditation: A Deep Dive into its Importance
August 23, 2023The Value of IPMI Accreditation: A Deep Dive into its Importance Republished with permission from the Mid-South Transportation & Parking Association (MSTPA) blog. By Mark E. Hairr For organizations contemplating the prospect of obtaining IPMI’s Accredited Parking Organization (APO) designation, my advice is unequivocal: Dive in wholeheartedly. At the University Read More »
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A Little Inspiration from the Garden
August 22, 2023A Little Inspiration from the Garden By Jennifer I. Tougas, Ph.D., CAPP It’s that time of year when the backyard’s small garden produces more vegetables than we can eat. I’m sharing tomatoes with colleagues and putting up tomato juice, sharing squash and zucchini with my neighbors and baking zucchini Read More »
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Exercise Your Procurement Muscles: Ask the Experts for Help!
August 21, 2023Exercise Your Procurement Muscles: Ask the Experts for Help! By Brian Shaw, CAPP It used to be that sourcing a Parking Management System (PMS) to manage permits, transactions, citations, etc., was such a huge undertaking, that parking operations tended not to source this product very often. It was not Read More »
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Surviving the Grind: How to Avoid Corporate Burnout
August 16, 2023Surviving the Grind: How to Avoid Corporate Burnout By Heather Matthews, CAPP, PMP The corporate world can be a challenging environment to navigate, with its high-stakes, fast-paced culture often leading to long hours and intense pressure. Many professionals find themselves experiencing corporate burnout, a state of chronic stress that Read More »
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Evaluating Campus Operations
August 15, 2023Evaluating Campus Operations By Mike Harris, CAPP Operating campus parking and transportation departments on campus is very complex. When doing so, it is extremely important to have a plan. This helps to keep you focused, provides clarity for all involved, and helps lay the foundation for things to come. Read More »
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Loveland Foundry Parking Structure
Loveland Foundry Parking Structure By John W. Hammerschlag Nestled in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies just north of Denver, Loveland, Colorado, has been a destination for artists since the 1970s. Known as the “Gateway to the Rockies,” Loveland shows off its artistic heritage with over 200 sculpture installations Read More »
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Three Views on the End of Parking Minimums
July 17, 2023Three Views on the End of Parking Minimums By Robert Ferrin, CAPP Minimum parking requirements date back to the 1920s—nearly as long as zoning codes—and most cities implemented them in the 1960s. They have shaped our cities and helped personal vehicles dominate Americans’ transportation. More than 50 years later, 2017 Read More »
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Bottle Necks
July 11, 2023Bottle Necks By Mike Harris, CAPP I was fortunate enough to have experienced the IPMI conference in Ft. Worth and really enjoyed all it had to offer, and I can honestly say it offered a lot. On my way back home as I waited in the baggage claim area Read More »
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Town and Gown Relationships
July 10, 2023Town and Gown Relationships By Matt Davis, MCJ, CAPP Does your local parking system operate and function on its own or does your system have a sprawling university campus that adjoins its local municipal boundaries? If you are one of the many communities that has this wonderful dynamic, then Read More »
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Sampling Methods for On-Street Parking
July 4, 2023Sampling Methods for On-Street Parking By Linden Smith When I began working in the parking industry 10 years ago now, we had a “how to” report from Chance Management Advisors that became my introduction to parking analysis. This report was the starting point for a journey that now includes Read More »
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How Art Restoration Can Bring Vintage Public Art Back to Life
June 29, 2023How Art Restoration Can Bring Vintage Public Art Back to Life By John W. Hammerschlag Driving through older American cities and towns, one might notice “ghost murals” – murals painted decades ago and faded by the elements and time. Once such mural graces the exterior of a building at Read More »
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Oh My, IPMI!
June 27, 2023Oh My, IPMI! By Robin Pulsifer I’m not sure where to start, so I’ll start at the beginning. One year into a new position as Director of Parking for Keolis Commuter Services, I decided, for the first time, that it was the perfect time to attend an IPMI conference, Read More »
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IPMI 2023: Takeaways from My First IPMI Experience
IPMI 2023: Takeaways from My First IPMI Experience By Tobias Marx Reposted with permission from LinkedIn. I have never considered myself a conference person. The idea of leaving my wife alone with our young children always made me feel uneasy. Besides, what could be so special about attending a Read More »
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Removing Parking Minimums: The Journey Begins
June 22, 2023Removing Parking Minimums: The Journey Begins By Steven Bergin, CAPP In April 2023, The City of Richmond repealed parking minimums – as you know, this means developers will no longer have to provide a set amount of off-street parking for future housing, retail, and restaurant projects. This was a Read More »
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Illuminating Ideas: The Future for Connected LED Lighting is Now
June 21, 2023Illuminating Ideas: The Future for Connected LED Lighting is Now By Mike Riebling The future of your LED lighting installation is brighter when lighting controls and sensors are added. Stand-alone controls are one option to enable deeper energy- and cost-savings (see previous blog ‘Illuminating Ideas: Take Control of Your Read More »
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What the Future of Parking Might Look Like
June 20, 2023What the Future of Parking Might Look Like By Junior Khan, CAPP The future of parking will likely involve more technology, automation, and innovation. Here are some trends that are likely to shape the future of parking: Smart Parking: Smart parking systems use sensors and technology to help drivers Read More »
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Empowering Students to Create a More Sustainable Future
May 31, 2023Empowering Students to Create a More Sustainable Future By Steven Fernstrom The Bethlehem Parking Authority, an IPMI Accredited Parking Organization (APO), recently hosted an after-school sustainability program with the Bethlehem Area School District. Over six weeks, team members from the Bethlehem Parking Authority instructed the Go Green after-school program sessions Read More »
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UPDATE: So, You Want to Electrify Your Fleet?
May 30, 2023UPDATE: So, You Want to Electrify Your Fleet? Read the original blog post of May 26, 2022, So, You Want to Electrify Your Fleet, here now. By John W. Nolan, CAPP Wow! I cannot believe more than a year has passed since we bought four EV buses and installed Read More »
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E2 Apartments – Evanston, Illinois
May 17, 2023NEXT – 347 W. Chestnut, Chicago, Illinois By John W. Hammerschlag The E2 Apartment building, located at 1890 Maple Avenue in Evanston, Illinois, was completed by Fifield Companies in 2015. The 16-story unit received the 2015 Significant Contribution Award in New Construction from Design Evanston and the 2016 Gold Read More »
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The Best of Both Worlds
May 16, 2023The Best of Both Worlds By Mike Harris, CAPP I was fortunate enough to have been able to attend Mid-South Transportation and Parking Association (MSTPA) Annual Conference a few weeks back in Savannah, Georgia. It was great catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. A great time Read More »
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Transportation Pollution Reduction Highlighted in the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Implementation Framework
May 15, 2023Transportation Pollution Reduction Highlighted in the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Implementation Framework By Trevyr Meade The EPA’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund was created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act with the goal of mobilizing private capital for clean energy and climate projects. In its recently Read More »
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Sustainable Parking: How to Design & Operate Eco-Friendly Parking Facilities
May 10, 2023Sustainable Parking: How to Design & Operate Eco-Friendly Parking Facilities By Junior Khan, CAPP Sustainability has become a major concern in the modern world, and the parking industry is no exception. With growing awareness of environmental issues, there has been an increased focus on designing and operating eco-friendly parking Read More »
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Millennials and Leadership. Are they Ready?
May 9, 2023Millennials and Leadership. Are they Ready? By Chuck J. Boddy, CAPP Millennials, born between 1981-1995 (depending on who you ask), not to be confused with Generation Z born between 1996-2010, are now the largest generation and make up majority of the workforce. In the past, there have been negative Read More »
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Illuminating Ideas: Take Control of Your LED Parking Garage Lighting
May 8, 2023Illuminating Ideas: Take Control of Your LED Parking Garage Lighting By Mike Riebling Control is empowering – so why not take control of your LED parking garage lighting? Adding lighting controls can deliver value beyond on/off illumination, such as deeper energy- and cost-savings. Lighting control options range from stand-alone Read More »
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Mobility Promotes Sustainability, Too
May 3, 2023Mobility Promotes Sustainability, Too By Ravali Kosaraju, PE, PTOE Mobility is an essential element of urban and transportation planning in the 2020s and it will continue to be for decades to come. When we provide seamless mobility, we promote more vibrant economic development, more sustainable communities, and a better Read More »
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Planning for Success with Customer Experience in Your Parking Facility
May 2, 2023Planning for Success with Customer Experience in Your Parking Facility By Nicholas King As parking professionals, we often find ourselves looking for the best ways to impact the client’s experience while utilizing our products and services in parking facilities. Some parking owners and operators feel that more signage is Read More »
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Making the Parking Experience Forgettable
May 1, 2023Making the Parking Experience Forgettable By Ben Henderson, PE, SE I’m sure we’ve all had very pleasant parking experiences…and some that weren’t so much. Although not the destination itself, parking is often the first and last experience you’ll have when arriving at and leaving a destination. The best experiences Read More »
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Creative Ways Of Making Money With A Parking Garage
April 26, 2023Creative Ways Of Making Money With A Parking Garage By Junior Khan, CAPP One creative way of making money with a parking garage is by using the space for events and experiences. Rather than just offering parking spaces, you can transform your garage into a unique venue that hosts Read More »
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Smart Mobility: Using Tech for Superior Customer Service
April 25, 2023Smart Mobility: Using Tech for Superior Customer Service By Daniel DeMott, PMP, CSM Is your organization leveraging every tool that today’s dynamic technology has to offer? Seamless connectivity is no longer simply a perk for customers; it’s an expectation. Embracing leading-edge tech in mobility management practices will maximize your Read More »
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Will Swapping From Gas to Zero Emission Vehicles Save the Planet?
April 24, 2023Will Swapping From Gas to Zero Emission Vehicles Save the Planet? By Dion Knill As we celebrate Earth Month, the push for a more sustainable transportation system has never been more important. Electric Vehicles (EVs) are seen as a promising solution for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. Read More »
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April is Earth Month!
April 19, 2023April is Earth Month! Here’s what NDOT is doing to keep Nashville beautiful and clean and how you can get involved! By Sissy Muro Juarez Litter in the right-of-way is a big problem in Nashville. The Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) and Metro Beautification and Environment Commission Read More »
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Building with Sustainability in Mind
April 18, 2023Building with Sustainability in Mind By Lisa Nemeroff Building with sustainability in mind can help to reduce the environmental impact of your property and create a more attractive and sustainable community for tenants, employees, and customers. Investing in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is a key component of this Read More »
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Campus Parking – Many Options Available
April 17, 2023Campus Parking – Many Options Available By Mike Harris, CAPP Almost all campuses fall into the categories of being both unique and predictable. They have parking spaces located in lots, garages, and/or on street, and almost all want to park in the most convenient space next to the door Read More »
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Smart is as Smart Does: IPMI Task Force to Propel Smart Transportation
April 11, 2023Smart is as Smart Does: IPMI Task Force to Propel Smart Transportation By Casey Jones, CAPP, PMP Last fall, IPMI stood up the Smart Transportation Task Force and invited a well-rounded and diverse set of industry thought leaders to promote and possibly accelerate transportation-focused smart strategies. I’m honored to Read More »
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Illuminating Ideas: How to Mitigate Glare and the “Cave Effect” in Your Parking Garage
April 10, 2023How to Mitigate Glare and the “Cave Effect” in Your Parking Garage By Mike Riebling Great lighting is essential whether you have a single deck parking structure or a five-story garage. Think about the discomfort you experience from sun glare — it can also occur indoors due to excessive Read More »
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Effectively Reach Your Audience Through the Four Primary Learning Styles
April 5, 2023Effectively Reach Your Audience Through the Four Primary Learning Styles By Meghan Maynard Do your responsibilities include educating employees or customers on how to use your software and equipment? Or, do you spend time training employees as part of your job? Whether your main job duties and responsibilities involve educating, Read More »
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Municipal Government: Kings & Queens of Parking
April 4, 2023Municipal Government: Kings & Queens of Parking By Kathryn Hebert My career has been in the municipal/public sector space for more than 35 years, with about 25 of those years in the parking industry. In 2020, I left municipal government and started my own business in a similar space focused Read More »
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NEXT – 347 W. Chestnut, Chicago
April 3, 2023NEXT – 347 W. Chestnut, Chicago, Illinois By John W. Hammerschlag NEXT is a luxury apartment building located in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. A hotspot of art, culture, shopping, dining, and nightlife, River North has a lot to offer, making the once derelict area attractive to developers and residents. Read More »
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What Does Good Planning Do For You?
March 29, 2023Why Does Parking Have to be a Bad Word? By Kevin White, CAPP, AICP and Jaime Snyder, CAPP As a trained planner, I don’t have to remind myself of the value of good planning. The merits of good planning (and the outcomes of bad/no planning) are reinforced by experiencing Read More »
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Disadvantages or Negative Impacts of Running a Parking Garage Remotely
March 28, 2023Disadvantages or Negative Impacts of Running a Parking Garage Remotely By Junior Khan, CAPP The advent of technology has led to various businesses operating remotely, and parking garages are no exception. Running a parking garage remotely involves using technology to monitor and manage parking spaces without being physically present Read More »
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Illuminating Ideas: The Right Parking Garage Lighting Can Enhance Customers’ Visual Acuity and Comfort
March 27, 2023Illuminating Ideas: The Right Parking Garage Lighting Can Enhance Customers’ Visual Acuity and Comfort By Mike Riebling A poorly lit parking lot may be the perfect backdrop for a thriller or scary movie scene. But for a parking administrator? It’s your worst nightmare! Transitioning to LED lighting, though, Read More »
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Technology Is the Friend of the Modern Day Workforce
March 22, 2023Technology Is the Friend of the Modern Day Workforce By Scott A. Petri The fears of being replaced by a machine have haunted the workforce so much so that movies feature the rise of machines against mankind. According to “The Great Resignation Why Gen Z is Leaving the Workforce Read More »
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Execute Violently: A Leaders Call
Execute Violently: A Leaders Call By Andy Troth, CAPP Not actually violently but with passion. As we all know there are different types of leaders; you can become one through self-awareness, surrounding yourself with great mentors, and sometimes people are naturally born leaders. Execute Violently was my late son Read More »
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Best Approach for Acquiring Parking Technology & Drawbacks to the RFP Process
March 21, 2023IPMI Learning Lab: Testimonials on the Best Approach for Acquiring Parking Technology and Drawbacks Using the Traditional RFP Process. March 29, 2023 – 2 PM EDT gtechna is pleased to announce an upcoming IPMI Learning Lab featuring Faye Morrison, Parking Director, from the City of Medford, and Bruno Lopes, Read More »
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What is Your EV Readiness?
March 20, 2023What is Your EV Readiness? By Robert Ferrin, CAPP By now, you have probably lost track of how many electric vehicle (EV) articles, blogs, and posts you have read or seen in the last six to 12 months. Whether you like it or not, the EV revolution is here Read More »
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What’s New With CAPP?
March 15, 2023What’s New With CAPP? By Kathleen Federici, M.Ed. Occasionally you may find yourself asking, “What’s new with CAPP?” The answer to your question is, “There is so much that is new!” The CAPP Candidate Handbook has a bold new look and now matches its sister document the Recertification Guidelines. Read More »
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Advancements in the Shuttle Industry
March 14, 2023Advancements in the Shuttle Industry By Junior Khan, CAPP The shuttle industry has seen significant advancements in recent years, driven by the rapid development of technology. Two of the most important advancements in the shuttle industry are GPS tracking and fleet management software. GPS tracking technology has revolutionized Read More »
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What You Said is NOT What I Heard
March 13, 2023What You Said is NOT What I Heard By Mary B. Mabry, CAPP Have you ever been in a situation at work or a professional gathering where you hear something being said and suddenly think, “Wait, what did they just say? “ Was that what they meant to say, Read More »
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Parking and Land Use in Our Urban Environment
March 8, 2023Parking and Land Use in Our Urban Environment By Linden Smith I’m a (former) consultant in City Planning. I feel the discussion of parking requirements needs to be viewed in a larger context, as the implications of change in the logistics of commerce and land uses will dictate parking Read More »
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Honoring an Industry Legend: A Tribute to Doug Holmes
Honoring an Industry Legend: A Tribute to Doug Holmes Forward by Shawn Conrad, CAE, CEO of IPMI As I sat down to write down some thoughts about the passing of Doug Holmes, I found it difficult to summarize the impact that he had on our parking community. Doug was Read More »
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Campus Mobility: Processes to Achieve a Modern Campus and Promote Growth
March 6, 2023Campus Mobility: Processes to Achieve a Modern Campus and Promote Growth By Mike Harris, CAPP Campuses are living and breathing organisms, they are consistently changing and evolving. It is up to us as parking and transportation professionals to help campuses with those changes. Mobility, in all its forms, needs Read More »
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Delegation
March 1, 2023The Demands and Rewards of Management By Varena Harding, CAPP I have been a manager for over 10 years. One of the hardest tasks I have had to face as a manager is delegating. It was hard to let go of projects that I have overseen for years. Read More »
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10 Ways to Build Resilience
February 28, 202310 Ways to Build Resilience By Paula E. Camargo The more focused, specific, intentional, and informed our strategies are, the more impactful and rewarding they can be and the better able we will be to demonstrate the impact of our work. And when others see the impact, they Read More »
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Minimum Parking Requirements and Their Effect on the Parking Industry
February 27, 2023Minimum Parking Requirements and Their Effect on the Parking Industry By Junior Khan, CAPP Minimum parking requirements have damaged the parking industry and their removal will result in unavoidable changes that will determine the future of the industry. For those unaware, minimum parking requirements are zoning laws that Read More »
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Illuminating Ideas: Why It Makes Sense (& Cents) to Upgrade Your Parking Garage Lighting
February 22, 2023Illuminating Ideas: Why It Makes Sense (& Cents) to Upgrade Your Parking Garage Lighting By Mike Riebling Sustainability is top of mind these days and with good reason. Buildings must adapt to minimize their long-term environmental impact. Your parking structure is no exception. Upgrading to LED lighting can Read More »
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APO – A Great Investment on Many Levels
February 21, 2023Accredited Parking Organization (APO) Designation – A Great Investment on Many Levels By Mike Harris, CAPP We as parking professionals know the importance of organizational planning. At times we get distracted focusing on the day-to-day fires that need to be put out and neglect the overall operational needs Read More »
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The Poetry Garage
February 20, 2023Art in Themed Parking By John W. Hammerschlag The Poetry Garage is a poetry-themed self-park located at 201 W. Madison on the corner of Madison and Wells in Chicago, IL. The facility opened in 1997. In May 2002, Hammerschlag & Co. purchased the garage in partnership with Syndicated Equities Read More »
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We Are All Project Managers
February 15, 2023We Are All Project Managers By Paul Whetzel, CAPP As parking professionals, we are all project managers. Whether it be a new construction project, repair/upfit project, software/hardware implementation, lighting project, signage projects, etc. we are managing projects daily. At Charleston County, coordination is key to a successful project, and Read More »
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Why Does Parking Have to be a Bad Word?
February 14, 2023Why Does Parking Have to be a Bad Word? By Kevin White I’ve been struck during my time in the parking industry at the negativity directed by the public at parking departments, parking enforcement officers, and other parking management staff, often directly to the faces of parking staff in Read More »
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Five Languages of Love in Parking
February 13, 20235 Languages of Love in Parking By Katherine Beaty The parking industry has changed very rapidly in the last few years. Vendors/operators/parking programs can no longer be dependent on their products and services to build meaningful and stainable customer relationships. We must move beyond the widget. So how do Read More »
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a Great Opportunity
February 7, 2023Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a Great Opportunity By Paula E. Camargo On top of all the pressure in our corporate environments, we want to master diversity and inclusion. Diversity work has expanded over the years and we can see this evolution in the very names we Read More »
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Nominations Now Open for the IPMI Board of Directors
February 6, 2023Nominations Now Open for the IPMI Board of Directors The Nominating Committee of the International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) is pleased to announce the annual Call for Nominations for individuals interested in serving as members of the IPMI Board of Directors. The Role of the IPMI Board of Read More »
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Data: Can’t Live With It, Can’t Live Without It!
January 31, 2023Data: Can’t Live With It, Can’t Live Without It! By Kevin Woznicki Big data, curb management, occupancy, space counts, etc. – all need data and it must be accurate. What are some of the things to consider when going about finding the data you need to solve a problem, Read More »
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EV Design Considerations That Make You Go Hmmm…
January 30, 2023EV Design Considerations That Make You Go Hmmm… By Richard Easley Electric vehicles (EVs) are talked about all the time these days. How much more can we absorb of yet another article or presentation on EVs?? Well, here’s something new from your very own IPMI Planning Design and Construction Read More »
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The Demands and Rewards of Management
January 25, 2023The Demands and Rewards of Management By Varena Harding, CAPP Managers play an important role in the success of the organization, especially when it comes to employee satisfaction and retention. Managers deal with a lot and have a lot of responsibilities. Being a manager is a demanding position, Read More »
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Preventative Maintenance Challenges
January 24, 2023Preventative Maintenance Challenges By Paul Whetzel, CAPP The City of Charleston, South Carolina, is a coastal city offering a different set of challenges for staff when it comes to preventative maintenance. With the close proximity to the ocean, salts find their way into the garage in a variety of Read More »
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New Year Brings “Recalibration”
January 23, 2023New Year Brings “Recalibration” By Paula E. Camargo Whenever a new year comes around, I see it as a chance to catch my breath. Usually, I have been going full speed ahead, so busy crossing things off a long to-do list that I realize I often forget to look Read More »
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Accountability
January 18, 2023Accountability By Varena Harding, CAPP We have all been in a situation, especially at work, when someone asks you a question you think you should know the answer to, but honestly you have no clue. It may be easy to just come up with some answer that “makes sense” Read More »
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Art In Themed Parking
January 17, 2023Art in Themed Parking By John W. Hammerschlag The ubiquitous double-helix garage ramp design is beneficial for efficient traffic flow and enables developers to maximize stall count. A downside to this design is that it can add to customer confusion as to where they have parked their car. To Read More »
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So Why Carpe Datum (Seize the Data)?
So Why Carpe Datum (Seize the Data)? By Katherine Beaty First, data helps you make better decisions. It adds long-term value to your organization, has positive financial implications, and gives your organization competitive advantages that are achievable in no other way. All data is filled with potential if you Read More »
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Sometimes the Best Solution is the Simple One
January 11, 2023Sometimes the Best Solution is the Simple One How a Simple Idea Turned into a Priceless Community Engagement Opportunity between FLASH, Bethlehem Parking Authority, and Bethlehem Area School District By David Venancio Sometimes the best solution is the simple one. When Bethlehem Parking Authority (BPA) came to me about Read More »
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Choices at the Pay Station
January 10, 2023Choices at the Pay Station By Steven Bergin, CAPP In the City of Richmond, Virginia, we’ve offered two pay options for on-street parking for our citizens for years: Cash/credit card at the meter/pay station or pay by phone/app using one provider. Adding additional app options was recommended by our Read More »
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Understanding Curb Management: Tackling Demand at the Curb
January 4, 2023Understanding Curb Management: Tackling Demand at the Curb By Mary Catherine Snyder IPMI is starting off 2023 with the hottest of hot topics these days – Curbside Management and an IPMI spotlight on Washington DC, San Francisco, and Seattle on January 11. When actively managed, the curb space is Read More »
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Technology in Parking – A Security Challenge
January 3, 2023Technology in Parking – A Security Challenge By Cynthia Lang, CAPP, MPA Data analytics, enforcement, occupancy, turnover rate, way finding, and parking management share a need for technology. The answers to parking’s most basic questions retrieved by using tools capable of producing data points at the push of a Read More »
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Saying Goodbye to Parking Minimums
January 2, 2023Saying Goodbye to Parking Minimums By Robert Ferrin, CAPP The start of a new year is a very real reminder that change is all around us. The new year is a time to reflect on what has been and what will be. And often it’s a time to say Read More »
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Transitioning to Electric
December 28, 2022Transitioning to Electric By Cynthia Lang, CAPP, MPA According to U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, the U.S. power grid is more than 25 years old.1 Upgrading the current grid to meet President Biden’s goal to be 100% clean electricity by 2035 is a lofty goal. This change Read More »
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Life Throws Us Snowballs
December 27, 2022Life Throws Us Snowballs (or in Some Cases – Hardballs) By Kathryn Hebert I’m now at that weird age that I find myself looking back at my life and at the same time looking forward to the next opportunity. Life gets in the way sometimes. Just when you think things Read More »
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Ocean Tides, Shifting Sands, and the Changing Landscape
December 26, 2022Ocean Tides, Shifting Sands, and the Changing Landscape By Maria Irshad, CAPP, MPA Ocean tides and currents launch waves at the shore, shifting sand, grain by grain until ultimately the landscape changes. How has the adoption of technology changed the landscape of your operations? And how do you plan Read More »
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Kindness
December 21, 2022Kindness By Varena Harding, CAPP Being kind is truly powerful. Think about what we could achieve in our organization if we chose to be kind to the people we come in contact with. We wouldn’t make our coworkers feel judged, embarrassed, or not heard. They would feel seen, appreciated, Read More »
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Art in Urban Development
December 20, 2022Art in Urban Development By John W. Hammerschlag One of the many challenges institutions and building developers face when planning new developments is personality and curb appeal. How can they ensure the neighborhood’s new addition stands out in a crowd of concrete and steel? One way they are tackling Read More »
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Electric Vehicle Inequities
December 19, 2022Electric Vehicle Inequities By Kellie Dugdale In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). According to the Department of Energy, the number of EVs in the United States has more than quadrupled since 2013, with over 2.3 million EVs on the Read More »
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Impacts of COVID and Customer Service
December 14, 2022Impacts of COVID and Customer Service By Paul Whetzel, CAPP How many organizations are still dealing with impacts of COVID? I would say most still are! Charleston County employees we are still required to report a positive test to our HR Department. Currently, our Parking Operations Division is understaffed. Read More »
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The Politics of Parking
December 13, 2022The Politics of Parking By Cynthia Lang, CAPP, MPA When you hear the word “politics,” parking may not the first thought to come to mind. Those of us who work in this industry know all too well that politics can and does play a role. Let’s examine how politics Read More »
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Your Time is Valuable
December 12, 2022Your Time is Valuable By Jennifer I. Tougas, Ph.D., CAPP We are approaching the one year anniversary of devastating tornadoes that struck the southeast and Kentucky in particular. Hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed in Bowling Green alone, and 17 people lost their lives. The University was spared, Read More »
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How Will Autonomous Vehicles Impact the Way We Park?
December 7, 2022How Will Autonomous Vehicles Impact the Way We Park? By Alex Alegre The rise of autonomous vehicles is set to revolutionize the way we park. No longer will we have to waste time and fuel circling the block looking for a spot – self-driving cars will be able to Read More »
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‘Tis the Season…for More EVs.
December 6, 2022‘Tis the Season…for More EVs. By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C The US Forest Service recently announced a new pilot program in Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, in which the Forest Service EVs delivered Christmas trees from the Huron-Manistee National Forest for families in Read More »
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Passing the Baton
December 5, 2022Passing the Baton By Jennifer I. Tougas, Ph.D., CAPP I recently accepted a promotion to be the AVP for Business Services at Western Kentucky University (WKU). This opportunity allows me to contribute to the University at a higher level than I could as the director of Parking & Transportation Read More »
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Post-Pandemic and The Parking Revenue: How Can Revenues be Maximized?
November 30, 2022Post-Pandemic and The Parking Revenue: How Can Revenues be Maximized? By Cynthia Lang, CAPP, MPA On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization announced the first report on COVID-19. Within 90 days, in March 2020, COVID-19 had been declared a global pandemic. No one could have anticipated what followed Read More »
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Donations For Citations
November 29, 2022Donations For Citations By Gary A. Means, CAPP Some of our members may have heard of our Food for Fines program here in Lexington, KY, but for those who haven’t, I’ll give you a quick recap and hopefully encourage organizations to roll out a similar program in your community: Read More »
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Developing a Curb Management Strategy: Three Factors of Formulation
November 15, 2022Developing a Curb Management Strategy: Three Factors of Formulation By Andrew Lamothe and Jason Sutton, CAPP As cities navigate complex parking environments, adapt new policies, and integrate innovations, curb management continues its trend toward mainstream adoption. Most if not all parking and transportation experts across the U.S. agree that Read More »
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The EPA Congress: Broadening Thinking and Inspiring for Industry Shifts
November 14, 2022The EPA Congress: Broadening Thinking and Inspiring for Industry Shifts By Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, CAPP Last month, I was honored to speak at the 20th European Parking Association (EPA) Congress and Exhibition in Brussels, Belgium. It was an enormous privilege to represent my country and the International Parking and Read More »
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Employee Engagement Requires a Strategy and a Plan
November 8, 2022Employee Engagement Requires a Strategy and a Plan By Liliana Lasso Rambo, CAPP We often hear about the value of having engaged employees at work and how we can monetize an organization’s culture by enhancing the way employees feel at work. How do you monetize/measure the positive or negative Read More »
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Leadership Lessons from PIPTA
November 7, 2022Leadership Lessons from PIPTA By Casey Jones, CAPP, PMP I had the privilege of moderating a leadership panel at PIPTA’s annual conference recently in Salt Lake City. Thanks to Kenzie Coulson (Utah Property Management Association), Kaite Justice (Valley Regional Transit) and Ian Ortlieb (Missoula Parking Commission) for their insights, Read More »
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Increasing Parking Supply When Supply Is Constrained
November 2, 2022Increasing Parking Supply When Supply Is Constrained By Cynthia Lang, CAPP, MPA In urban areas where land use is littered with mixed-use buildings, shopping malls and high-rise apartments there are few options to increase parking supply. As cities increase multi-modal options in efforts to reduce the number of vehicles Read More »
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Benefits of Cooperative Purchasing
November 1, 2022Benefits of Cooperative Purchasing By Paul Whetzel, CAPP After attending a couple of conferences this year, I am still amazed by how many vendors and end users are not aware of cooperative purchasing. For those that don’t know how it works, it basically allows you to bypass your organization’s normal Read More »
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Frontline Fundamentals: A Platform for Education and Collaboration for Your Frontline Employees
October 31, 2022Frontline Fundamentals: A Platform for Education and Collaboration for Your Frontline Employees By Cindy Campbell The past few years have been such an intense time of change for many employees throughout our industry, especially those working on the frontlines in roles like customer service, enforcement, operations, and more. Further, Read More »
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The Power of Influential Leadership
October 26, 2022The Power of Influential Leadership By Tiffany Peebles Growing up, many of us remember the old mentality of a manager – heavily focused on policies and procedures, power and control, and instructing versus inspiring. Today, most leaders know the importance of leading versus managing. If you are fortunate enough to Read More »
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CMPA Conference – Join us in LA!
October 25, 2022CMPA Conference – Join us in LA! By Jon Hamblen The California Mobility and Parking Association will be holding our Annual Conference November 7 – 9, 2022. The Conference is our association’s opportunity to finally get together after our prior two conferences were moved to online events due to Read More »
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Dealing with Loss in the Workplace
October 24, 2022Dealing with Loss in the Workplace By Shontel Zamora Dealing with the loss of a loved one is never easy. It is usually met with a large show of support during the first initial days and weeks. There are tons of books and resources dedicated to help those who Read More »
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Infrastructure Opportunities & Challenges: What is to Come & How to Prepare
October 19, 2022Infrastructure Opportunities & Challenges: What is to Come & How to Prepare Blink Charging will be presenting a FREE Learning Lab on October 26 to discuss this topic in depth. Click here to register now! While electric vehicle sales have risen an average of 40% each year since 2016, Read More »
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Parking and Mobility Trends
October 18, 2022Which Parking and Mobility Trends Will Have the Most Impact Over the Next Five Years? By Al Carroll While it’s difficult to identify/rank one specific trend that will have the most impact to our industry over the next five years, the majority of trends we’re currently seeing and expecting to Read More »
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How Does Paid Parking Affect Downtowns?
October 17, 2022How Does Paid Parking Affect Downtowns? By Philip Oliver Republished with permission from the author’s LinkedIn Blog. Working in business development for a parking company in the South, I come across quite a few towns that are interested in implementing paid parking, but are curious about the real impacts and Read More »
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IPMI Volunteers Moving the Industry Forward
October 12, 2022IPMI Volunteers Moving the Industry Forward By Shawn D. Conrad, CAE Thank you to the hundreds of IPMI members that stepped forward in the “Call for Volunteers” to participate on our committees and task forces. These volunteers will work on projects and activities including an EV charging cohort, smart transportation, Read More »
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How To Manage And Own Your Personal Brand
October 11, 2022How to Manage and Own Your Personal Brand By Kathleen Laney Republished with permission from Laney Solutions blog. To clearly differentiate the value you bring to an organization during the interview process, you need to do more than have a good reputation. You need to have a well crafted personal Read More »
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The Fear of Failure
October 10, 2022The Fear of Failure By Adrienne Tucker, CAPP “Do not fear failure but be terrified of regret” – Deshauna Barber, Ms. USA – 2016. “Amen!” I shouted as soon as she said those words. Sure, she was giving a commencement speech and not talking about parking, but something was nagging Read More »
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Should You Consider an Early Retirement Offer?
October 5, 2022Should You Consider an Early Retirement Offer? By Mark A. Vergenes As corporate America continues to shift and reorganize, cost cutting, restructuring, mergers, buyouts, and downsizing are the norm. Amidst all this change, some companies are offering their employees early retirement packages. But how do you know if the Read More »
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Submit for Your Chance to Shine!
October 4, 2022Submit for Your Chance to Shine! By Mark Lyons, CAPP The 2023 IPMI Call for Awards is accepting entries through November 3, 2022. Now is the time to share your entries for the Awards of Excellence and Professional Recognition Awards programs! Award winners are recognized at the annual IPMI Parking Read More »
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The Devil is in The Details
October 3, 2022The Devil is in The Details By Melissa Yates, CAPP On October 19th, Laura Lierz and I will be discussing “The Devil is in The Details” where we will be focusing on the typical transactional project implementation process and how most pitfalls occur with services and anticipated functionality delivery of Read More »
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The Origin of the Spiraling-Track, High-Performance Door
September 28, 2022The Origin of the Spiraling-Track, High-Performance Door By Michael Watkins Did you know that Rytec was the first domestic door manufacturer to offer the spiraling style of high-performance doors in North America? In 1999, Rytec acquired the rights to sell this patented rigid panel, roll-up door design from a Read More »
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The Courtesy Wave
September 26, 2022The Courtesy Wave By Jennifer Carroll, CAPP The finger wave (courtesy wave) is something I only discovered after I moved south of the Mason-Dixon line. Raising your fingers off the steering wheel as a “greeting” to others passing by. It is fairly safe as you can keep your hand/thumb on Read More »
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EV Charging Stations Drive Business Loyalty
September 21, 2022Renters Want To Go Electric, But Where Will They Charge? By Margaret-Ann Leavitt I am often asked, “Why should I install EV charging stations?” There are many answers to that question: EVs are better for the environment, they reduce greenhouse gasses and they look good parked outside your business. Read More »
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What is Work-Life Balance and Why Does it Matter?
September 19, 2022What is Work-Life Balance and Why Does it Matter? By Heather Matthews, CAPP, PMP This blog was first published by the New England Parking Council (NEPC). What is work-life balance? And why is it important for Parking and Transportation professionals. Work-life balance is the balance between time spent on Read More »
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EV Charging: An Opportunity not to be Missed
September 14, 2022EV Charging: An Opportunity not to be Missed By Nick Stanton What We Have Learned So Far These last few years have seen unprecedented technological innovation in the parking, transportation, and mobility industry. Previously, an exciting new technology-solution in our industry was announced, maybe once or twice in a Read More »
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Do the Pros Outweigh the Cons?
September 13, 2022Do the Pros Outweigh the Cons? By Jennifer Carroll, CAPP As many of us continue to adapt to working from home, today I am reminded of what I miss from working non-virtually or IRL (in real life). I was always envious of my friends and coworkers who got to work Read More »
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The European Union Takes the Helm in Ending the ICE Age
September 12, 2022The European Union Takes the Helm in Ending the ICE Age Europe sets its sights on 2035 and outlaws the sale of gas-powered vehicles. By Bill Blomberg The European Union (EU) recently announced they are taking a bold, unprecedented move and will join California in ending the production and Read More »
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Big Cities at #IPMI2022
September 7, 2022By Diana Alarcon, CAPP Big cities met at the IPMI 2022 Conference to discuss what’s happening in their communities. We had approximately 20 cities participate. One of the leading topics: how we are all managing the curb? The conversation then dived into how variable/demand-based pricing for on-street and loading/unloading fit Read More »
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Are We in a Recession?
September 6, 2022Are We in a Recession? By Mark A. Vergenes Economists disagree on whether a recession has begun or may be coming soon. 58% of Americans think the U.S. economy is a recession, according to a July poll from Investor’s Business Daily. However, economic indicators, including employment, are strong, Read More »
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Work-Life Balance Post COVID
August 29, 2022Work-Life Balance Post COVID By Shontel Zamora The topic of maintaining a good work-life balance has been a point of interest for decades, even before the pandemic. The topic was quite popular early in our COVID experience as the world went virtual, and millions who had never telecommuted before Read More »
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“CAPP” off Your Parking & Mobility Career in 2023
August 22, 2022“CAPP” off Your Parking & Mobility Career in 2023 By Kathleen Federici, MEd Is last month’s IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo still on your mind? Do you find yourself thinking about how you can keep that momentum going? Did you watch as the newly minted CAPPs walked Read More »
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Top Five Trends at IPMI 2022
August 15, 2022Top Five Trends at IPMI 2022 By Mark Frumar and James Waddell After a successful 2022 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo the Spot Parking team have shared their insights into five key trends they took away from this year’s conference. Technological innovation is back on the agenda Read More »
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Analysis & Applications of Technology Course: Valuable Tools and CAPP Prep
August 10, 2022Analysis & Applications of Technology Course: Valuable Tools and CAPP Prep By Kathleen Federici, MEd Data has become an essential component of parking and mobility operations for owners and operators throughout the industry. It is all around us. Data-driven decisions are possible because of the new tools and resources Read More »
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8 Things We Learned About Customer Success at IPMI 2022
August 4, 20228 Things We Learned About Customer Success at IPMI 2022 By Sarah Becherer *Reposted with permission from the Ocra blog.* This post is a summary of our takeaways from a stellar session at IPMI featuring Brian Wolff, Jeff Johnson, and Catherine Dunwoodie. We’ve done our very best to represent their insights based Read More »
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Old Dog, New Tricks
July 27, 2022Old Dog, New Tricks By James Knickrehm, Ed.S. I was a first-time attendee at #IPMI2022 in New Orleans. My background is on the mobility side of our operation. I am sure my boss would say I know enough about parking to be dangerous. IPMI is the industry standard for Read More »
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Why I Volunteer
July 26, 2022Why I Volunteer By Casey Jones, CAPP, PMP My first IPMI conference was in 1999, and shortly thereafter I began volunteering for the organization. In 2007, I was elected to the Board of Directors and have volunteered on more committees, task forces, and efforts than I can remember. From Read More »
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This is a Crisis!
July 20, 2022This is a Crisis: What in the Wide World of Mobility is Happening Out There? By Cindy Campbell We hear about labor shortages on an almost daily basis. The Great Resignation, the Great Renegotiation, the Great Reshuffle, the Great Rethink…whatever you want to call it, the parking and transportation Read More »
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Chaos and Order
July 18, 2022Chaos & Order By Matt Penney, CAPP The Chinese image of yin and yang is a curious sight. Two bent raindrops, one black, one white, chase each other inside of a tight circle. The image has symbolized numerous differing ideas, but almost always it points to a balance of Read More »
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Quiet Quitting
July 13, 2022Quiet Quitting By Shontel Zamora After surviving the trend of ‘ghosting’ employees, an immobilizing pandemic, and the great resignation, who would have thought the next hurdle to jump would be ‘quiet-quitters‘? The new buzzword around the water cooler has sprung up, but it may not be what you think. Read More »
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Renters Want To Go Electric, But Where Will They Charge?
July 12, 2022Renters Want To Go Electric, But Where Will They Charge? By Margaret-Ann Leavitt With roughly 15% (or 6.5M) U.S. renters now considering an electric car, multifamily dwellings are quickly adding EV charging to their list of amenities – and taking advantage of free money. In 2021, the U.S. Department Read More »
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Use 529s to Pay for Education and Save on Taxes
July 7, 2022Use 529s to Pay for Education and Save on Taxes By Mark A. Vergenes 529 plans are a tax-free way to save for a child’s education. They’re also called college savings plans, qualified tuition programs, or QTPs. Like a 401(k) retirement plan, they require plan holders to invest Read More »
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Future-Proofing EV Charging Deployment
June 29, 2022Future-Proofing EV Charging Deployment By Paul Pirhofer, CAPP When planning for EV charging stations whether one to two chargers or multiple chargers, don’t minimize – instead consider a plan to future-proof deployment. Let’s focus on Level 2 charging for this discussion. Level 2 plugs into an EV’s on-board converter Read More »
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APO Standards Guiding us for New Challenges as a Municipal Operation
June 27, 2022APO Standards Guiding us for New Challenges as a Municipal Operation By Tavris Parker, CAPP Each season we huddle up and discuss the new challenges for the upcoming year. Each person’s roles and responsibilities are essential to the operations success. We follow the IPMI Accredited Parking Organization (APO) Standards Read More »
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Parking in a Post-Pandemic Economy
June 22, 2022Parking in a Post-Pandemic Economy By Robert Dunphy This article was written for and originally published in Development magazine, a publication of NAIOP. As workers return to offices and shoppers return to stores, new parking strategies may emerge. The COVID-19 restrictions that began in March 2020 led to business closures and Read More »
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Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
June 20, 2022Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign By Jennifer Carroll, CAPP Is it just too “uncool” to read signs now a days? I know most people pay attention to the stop signs, yield signs, but what about the others? I do not think it is too much to ask or expect everyone Read More »
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Parking: A Thankless Job
June 13, 2022Parking: A Thankless Job By Arishna Lastinger I have now been in the parking industry for five short – but seemingly long – years. During those five years, one thing that I’ve realized, more than anything, is that parking really is a thankless job. From the parking lot attendants Read More »
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Ethics and Meaning Behind the CAPP Pin
June 9, 2022Ethics and Meaning Behind the CAPP Pin By Sam Veraldi, CAPP You will notice a new CAPP pin being showcased at conference. The triangle shape of the pin that houses those coveted CAPP letters has been changed to a rectangle shape. Why? It is because the rectangle shape represents trust, Read More »
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Is This the Bottom of the Market Drop? Look for Three Rebound Clues.
June 7, 2022Is This the Bottom of the Market Drop? Look for Three Rebound Clues. By Mark A. Vergenes Stocks dropped again in the past few weeks, continuing a bear market that began in late April. While bad news drove the start of the market drop, successive declines are most likely Read More »
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Life Happens Fast
May 30, 2022Life Happens Fast By Steve Hernandez, CAPP NOTE: This blog was republished with permission from the MSTPA website blog. If you are new to our industry or are a young professional trying to establish yourself within your organization, I hope you find this post valuable… It is hard to Read More »
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So, You Want to Electrify Your Fleet?
May 26, 2022So, You Want to Electrify Your Fleet? By John W. Nolan, CAPP You’ve decided you want to begin to electrify your bus fleet. That was a decision I made over ten years ago, however getting there wasn’t easy. I went to numerous conferences and asked many questions to various Read More »
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Did You Make Someone Smile Today?
May 18, 2022Did You Make Someone Smile Today? By Vicki Pero, SHRM I came across an article about positivity at the beginning of this year, and it recommended keeping a joy jar. The way this is supposed to work is that you place a jar in a prominent location in your Read More »
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2022-23 Board of Directors & CAPP Certification Board
May 12, 2022IPMI Announces 2022-2023 Board of Directors and CAPP Certification Board The International Parking & Mobility Institute is pleased to announce its 2022-2023 Board of Directors and CAPP Certification Board. Elections were held by the association in April 2022. At the conclusion of IPMI’s 2022 Parking & Mobility Conference & Read More »
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Lancaster Christian Street Garage & Public Library Events
May 11, 2022Lancaster Christian Street Garage & Public Library Events By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP The last week of April was a historic week for the Lancaster Parking Authority and the City. I’d like to thank everyone for their role in helping to bring to fruition a five-year effort in the Read More »
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Understanding the Parking Lifecycle
May 9, 2022Understanding the Parking Lifecycle By Matt Davis We often think of structured parking as a process that begins with design and ends with the opening of a new facility. However, the parking lifecycle starts at the earliest planning stages of a project, whether expanding a campus, designing an entirely Read More »
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Show a Little Respect
May 2, 2022Show a Little Respect By Jennifer Carroll, CAPP In this post pandemic era, of all the challenges we face in hiring hourly team members to fill all our open positions, have you taken some time to show respect and appreciation for the team members you do have? In October 2021, Read More »
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Our Parking Management Values
April 28, 2022Our Parking Management Values By Tavris Parker, CAPP Recently our leadership and management team members were asked to come up with a mission statement and provide details on our values. We came up with an acronym of PARK. Our Parking Management Values are as simple as PARK! P – Read More »
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PPA Heads to Allentown: Learn, Connect, and Innovate
April 25, 2022PPA Heads to Allentown: Learn, Connect, and Innovate In just a few weeks, parking, transportation, and mobility professionals from throughout Pennsylvania and beyond will reconnect at the 2022 PPA Annual Conference & Tradeshow. This fantastic education and networking event will take place in Allentown, May 11-13. This year’s conference includes Read More »
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Electrifying Thoughts on Earth Day
April 21, 2022By Victor Hill, CAPP It’s exciting to watch how the tempo of conversation around electric vehicles is changing and auto manufacturers are showing off more and more vehicles. But I can’t help but wonder if the rush won’t have unintended consequences, and I’m not the only one. The desire to Read More »
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Earth Week 2022
April 19, 2022By Brian Shaw, CAPP As we celebrate another Earth Week this week, I am remarking on the progress Stanford continues to make in our sustainability efforts. We are now using 100% renewable energy thanks to the recent opening of a new solar farm near Fresno, CA. However, I also think Read More »
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From Change Management to Resiliency
April 17, 2022By Kathleen Federici, M.Ed. This blog in its entirety was originally published by Training Industry in Training Industry Magazine’s Spring 2022 edition. Change management projects and initiatives sometimes fail because the people involved are not resilient enough to deal with the change. Resilience is the quality that enables a person Read More »
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Are You A Leader Who Delivers – Or A Leader Who Destroys?
April 15, 2022by Pamela Corbin, CAPP We have all worked for various types of leaders throughout our careers, ranging from outstanding to mediocre. While it is challenging to work for individuals who simply don’t “lead”, it does provide the opportunity to gain perspective and insight on what kind of leader you want Read More »
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Inhabited Vehicles and AB1685
April 14, 2022By Christina Jones, CAPP, MBA This blog was originally published by the California Mobility & Parking Association on April 5, 2022. Assembly Bill 1685, currently circulating through the California legislature, proposes the forgiveness of up to $1,500 in parking fines and fees annually to individuals verified to be experiencing homelessness. While the Read More »
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Five Criteria for 5-Star Airports
April 12, 2022April’s Parking & Mobility magazine features the challenges and opportunities faced by today’s airports. One facility stepping up to meet customer needs in a huge way is Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport, which earned a 5-star rating from Skytrax, the international air transport rating organization. But what does it take Read More »
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Achieving Balance
April 10, 2022By Tavris Parker, CAPP What does it mean to be in balance? Achieving balance according to www.worklifebalance.com is often a daily task. The right balance for you today may be different for you tomorrow. Here are three tips for achieving balance that I have found to be very helpful: There Read More »
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Atlanta’s Grant Park Gateway Uses Parksmart, SITES, and LEED to Achieve Sustainability Goals
April 7, 2022By Trevyr Meade At GBCI, we recently celebrated Atlanta’s Grant Park Gateway, the first project in the world to achieve LEED, SITES, and Parksmart certifications. This inspirational project transformed an 8-acre parking lot into a beautiful community space that now includes a restaurant, shaded terrace plaza, acres of green space Read More »
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Keep it Positive
April 5, 2022By Julie Dixon Focus on the positive aspects of parking and make them a part of the solution. We want people to follow the rules, so let’s focus on compliance. Enforcement will be inevitable, but if we promote and initiate the positive, it starts to shift the conversation and focus Read More »
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Telling Your Story
March 24, 2022By Shawn Conrad, CAE As someone who has a keen interest in changing public perceptions, I have a specific interest in the song Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story, which is part of the final act of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton musical. The theme of this song is about Read More »
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California AB1685 Homeless Parking Fine Forgiveness Bill
March 23, 2022By Perry H. Eggleston, CAPP The California Mobility and Parking Association (CMPA) is opposing a bill in its current form that is making the rounds in the California Legislature focusing on a fine forgiveness program for those who are “verified” homeless. Assembly Bill 1685 requires parking agencies to forgive up Read More »
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Behind Every Smart City is Smart Tech
March 20, 2022The City of Pittsburgh had long been known for its steel mills and smokestacks, but fast forward to the present day and you’ll find that innovation and a focus on the future is what this big city with a small-town feel is renowned for. This evolution has, in part, been Read More »
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The Curb is One of the Most Valuable Assets
March 17, 2022By Chrissy Mancini Nichols and Jonathan Wicks, CAPP This blog is a summary of the Frontline Fundamental session titled: Curb Management – Lessons Learned. The full session is available in the IPMI On-Demand Education Library, free to members and $35 for non-members – click here to order. The Curb is Read More »
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What Does Compact Even Mean?
March 15, 2022By John W. Hammerschlag Often, we drive through parking garages and encounter “Compact Car Only” signs. What does that mean to the customer? What exactly is a compact car? The definition of compact car is left to interpretation and can result in parking stalls improperly used, impeded traffic flow, and Read More »
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Watch Me Work
March 13, 2022By Victor Hill, CAPP Yes, that’s a picture of Optimus Prime behind me. The other one features Megatron. Both pay homage to the 1986 movie that traumatized a generation of kids, me included. What, you expected to see a wall of degrees or my CAPP certificate? When I started working Read More »
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The Power of Connection
March 10, 2022By Jamie Snyder, CAPP These past two years have taught us many things. How to bounce back from adversity, how to meet unknown challenges head on, how to…. dare I say…. PIVOT. However, one of the greatest things it has taught us is how important human connection is to us. Read More »
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APO – If Not Now When?
March 8, 2022By Casey Jones, CAPP I was with a client recently who shared that they aspire to become an Accredited Parking Organization (APO)…in five years. “Five years, why wait five years? I think you’re much closer than you think,” I responded. Rationally I get it. One naturally hesitates even with a Read More »
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Positioned for Success
March 6, 2022By Robert Ferrin, CAPP Back in November I blogged about just how exciting a time it was now that an Infrastructure Bill had been passed. That excitement is starting to come in focus as guidance is being provided by the federal government on how applicants can access the $1.2 trillion Read More »
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Professional Recognition Awards: Highlighting the Best of the Best
March 3, 2022By Josh Cantor, CAPP It’s the first week of March already, which means there’s just under two weeks left to submit your application for one of IPMI’s prestigious Professional Recognition Awards. Award submissions are due before midnight on March 15, 2022. Professional Recognition Awards recognize the individual contributions of parking, Read More »
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Why CAPP? Lessons from Recent CAPPs.
March 1, 2022By Kathleen Federici, MEd One of the best milestones a parking, transportation, and mobility professional can accomplish in their career is the CAPP designation. The CAPP credential not only showcases your industry knowledge, but is a great step to highlight your expertise and commitment to your current (or future employer), Read More »
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Ask the Experts: How Do You Define Mobility?
February 27, 2022“Mobility” has been used to describe everything from shared bikes and scooters to mass transit to walking to the ability of people to simply get around. If someone outside the industry asked, how would you define “mobility”? That’s the question we posed to our Ask the Experts panel for the Read More »
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Doing Great Things…Together
February 24, 2022By Kristin Vitello These past two years have been challenging for all of us, but what I have seen is incredible perseverance. We have adapted to the “new” norm and won’t let this stop us from success! As a relatively new employee of IPMI, I participated in my first IPMI Read More »
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Baltimore Parking Professionals Step Up To Assist With a Tragic Situation
February 23, 2022by Robert Milner and Greg Smith On Monday, January 24, 202, three Baltimore City Firefighters – Lt. Paul Butrim, Firefighter/Paramedic Kenny Lacayo, and Lt. Kelsey Sadler – lost their lives in a structural collapse while fighting a fire in a vacant rowhouse in Southwest Baltimore. For the Baltimore City Fire Read More »
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How Has Managing Parking and Travel Demand Changed?
February 22, 2022By Brian Shaw, CAPP The COVID-19 Pandemic has changed commuting and travel behavior. In the past, we could count on commuters going to work five days a week. No longer is that true. What do parking and mobility professionals need to do now and for the foreseeable future to adjust Read More »
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QR Code Safety
February 21, 2022The January 2022 edition of the IPMI Insider newsletter shared a link to an article that caused quite a stir titled, “Scammers Are Using QR Codes to Plunder Parking Meter Payments.” The response from the IPMI community was swift and abundant. Several companies have shared their responses to this challenge, and Read More »
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Playing Our Part in a Bigger Cause
February 20, 2022By Tavris Parker, CAPP Recently my city welcomed back the Annual Polar Plunge. The Polar Plunge is a fundraising event for more than 23,000 athletes who participate in the Special Olympics. After a year off due to COVID, locals were eager to show support for this cause. The Plunge event Read More »
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Awards of Excellence: This is Your Year!
February 17, 2022By Mark Lyons, CAPP Have you ever thought that it would be really nice if the Award of Excellence (AOE) program felt more achievable? Or, what about if there were more winners? Then say no more. Your wish has come true! Over the past several months, the committee that oversees Read More »
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Attitude of Gratitude
February 16, 2022By Tiffany Peebles Most leaders have a desire for their teams to be GREAT! While there are many ways to assist our teams in reaching their maximum potential, one practical way to improve the chances of their greatness is simple: the attitude of gratitude. In the parking industry, we ask Read More »
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How To Unlock Your EV Charging Station’s Revenue Potential
February 13, 2022By Paul Pirhofer, CAPP This post serves as a summary and recap of the Learning Lab held on January 26, 2022. Click here to watch the full presentation. With the data showing a growing increase in Electric Vehicles (EV), along with a robust political push towards electric mobility, we still Read More »
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New Orleans in July!
February 10, 2022By Tina Altman Just coming back from a site visit in New Orleans where our July Conference & Expo will be held, and I have to say, walking into the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and being greeted by the team was a feeling like no other. We were just Read More »
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The Great Bus Driver Shortage: Where Do We Go From Here?
February 9, 2022By Sam Veraldi, CAPP The COVID 19 pandemic affected many jobs and industries in the United States in the last two years. One of those that has been materially affected the transit industry and more specifically, a bus driver shortage. This impact has had a tremendous effect on universities, transit Read More »
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Growing List of Cities Requiring New Buildings to Include EV Parking
February 8, 2022Washington, D.C., has joined the growing list of cities that are requiring new buildings to include EV parking in their plans. As reported by Smart Cities Dive, new and refurbished commercial and multi-unit buildings in Washington, D.C., that have at least three off-road parking spaces will be required to make Read More »
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The Great Resignation
February 7, 2022By Carmen Donnell, CAPP Over the last year, we have been hearing more and more about ‘the great resignation’ and perhaps more so in tech than any other industry. I read a catchy phrase the other day that suggested what is far worse than ‘the great resignation’ is ‘the great Read More »
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Words (Not) To Live By
February 6, 2022By Christina Jones, MBA, CAPP I recently participated in a conference session that really resonated with me: Words We Need to Stop Using. The main theme was to identify ways in which we can improve our communications with each other and the general public, recognizing that words may take on Read More »
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Top Reasons to Finally Take the CAPP Leap
February 3, 2022By Kathleen Federici, MEd As you likely already know, CAPP is the leading professional designation for the parking, transportation, and mobility industry. CAPPs represent the best of the industry, and as one you will be joining a unique and exclusive community of experts. If CAPP certification is something you have Read More »
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U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Availability of $1.5 Billion in RAISE Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation has published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $1.5 billion in grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program. The popular program helps communities around the country carry out projects with significant local or regional impact. RAISE Read More »
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Getting Flexible!
February 1, 2022By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE Flexibility is the new name of the game in our industry. Flexibility at the curb to adapt to new competing demands. Flexibility in our staffing to create multi-functional positions that support the customer. And flexibility in our ability to generate revenue in the face of Read More »
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Watch Your Tone?
January 30, 2022By Melonie Curry, MBA Do you remember the days of chilling in your room and your mom calls you and you yell WHAT? And she responds, you better watch your tone of voice or if you were in arms reach… you know how the story ended. As communicators, it is Read More »
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Alright Stop, Collaborate, and Listen…
January 27, 2022By Rita Pagan, DES Did Vanilla Ice get it right? Now that you have that song in your head…anyone else have a problem actively listening when others talk? My brain doesn’t stop, and I can’t help interrupting sometimes. I’m going to make it my New Year’s resolution to try and Read More »
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Why We Love Parking
January 26, 2022By Robert Ferrin, CAPP If you’ve listened to an industry podcast or interview of late you often hear the question, “How did you get into parking?” Responses vary, but two common themes emerge: one, I have no idea how I got into parking, I certainly didn’t plan to be a Read More »
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Goodbye 2021 and Hello 2022: We LOVE IPMI’s Professional Recognition Awards!
January 25, 2022By Kathryn Hebert Happy New Year! I’m sure most of you are very happy to say goodbye to 2021 and looking forward to launching into 2022 with bright eyes, new opportunities, and a chance to get back to a more balanced daily rhythm. Josh Cantor and I are very excited Read More »
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What is Normal in a New Year?
January 24, 2022By Joshua Cantor, CAPP I’ve finally accepted that 2022 is underway, not because I have some aversion to a new year or saying Happy New Year, but because I know that there is serious work to get done. Every year seems to bring new goals, challenges, and aspirations, but most Read More »
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Supreme Court Blocks Covid Vaccine Mandate for Businesses
January 23, 2022By Michael J. Ash, Esq., CRE On January 13, the United States Supreme Court rejected an emergency mandate implemented by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requiring all workers at businesses with 100 or more employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations. The emergency measure also required weekly COVID-19 testing for the unvaccinated and workplace Read More »
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Focus on Your Employees
January 20, 2022By Shawn Conrad, CAE We’ve all seen the reports around the tight labor market and rightfully so. Hospitality, construction, retail, and manufacturing industries like parking and mobility are grappling with a shortage of workers as our businesses and economy inch forward. While the search for new employees is getting a Read More »
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The Benefits of Slowing Down
January 19, 2022By Sylvia Martinez-Mullally, MPA We’re speeding back up to a fast-paced world with plenty of distractions. Back to the politics of parking, putting out fires, and making sure everyone is okay. It’s been a time for reflection, reprioritizing, and, hopefully, slowing down to put yourself first. Yes, I said it! Read More »
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How to Implement Shared Parking
January 18, 2022The dentist needs parking during the day. The restaurant needs parking at night. Why wouldn’t they share a lot? Well, because depending on the circumstances, it’s complicated–way complicated. In this month’s Parking & Mobility magazine, Carmen Donnell, CAPP, shares a plan for implementing shared parking, from considerations to common barriers Read More »
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ROPEd Into the Future
January 17, 2022By Kirk McManus The future of parking is already here. The next generation of parkers and parking entities will involve flying airships, driverless automobiles, a phone app, a web browser, and a car charger. Lift Aircraft already has an FAA-approved, single seat flying airship. A person with a backpack or Read More »
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Making Resolutions Successful
January 13, 2022By Cindy Campbell I heard an interesting statistic this week about how quickly we tend to ditch our annual New Year’s resolutions. Oh sure, we have great intentions, but our follow through seems to be tripping us up. According to an Inc. article, 80 percent of the people who make Read More »
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Five Things About the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal
January 12, 2022We know the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is important. We know it has a lot to do with transportation. But how’s a person supposed to figure out the important parts? Relax–IPMI’s got you. Don’t miss Five Things About the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal in this month’s Parking & Mobility magazine. Read More »
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The Cruising Phenomenon
January 11, 2022The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently developed a tool to help cities help their drivers find parking and stop circling–after all, circling for parking creates a lot of downtown traffic. The first thing they did was study all that circling. And what they found was surprising: The top line Read More »
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New Life for Old Batteries
January 10, 2022By Leslie L. Stone, CAPP Although the internal combustion engine is not yet on life support, the lockstep march toward zero emissions is certainly well underway. The supply of petroleum-based fuels is finite and no one is arguing against cleaner air. California is leading the way with an executive order Read More »
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Woman Launches “Don’t Curb the Access” Campaign
January 9, 2022A 21-year-old woman from Leicester, England, is getting press for her social media campaign urging drivers to be mindful of wheelchair access routes when they park. Umaymah Dakri, who has spina bifida, launched an Instagram account to document what happens to her when other drivers park blocking wheelchair routes. #DontCurbTheAccess Read More »
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Parking Challenge? Ask the Kids
January 6, 2022When on-street parking near a Cleveland elementary school became a bit more than challenging, the experts turned to a group of kids to figure things out. Fifth and eighth grade students at Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Orchard STEM School were charged with finding room for 10 parking spaces while preserving Read More »
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You Are a Content Creator
January 5, 2022By Melonie Curry, MBA The struggle is real for content creators. We are challenged weekly to think of new and attention-grabbing content about the service or products of our organizations. The reality is our perspective is limited to our experiences and exposure. We do not have the advantage of being Read More »
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Predictions for the New Year
January 4, 2022By Erik Nelson, PCIP It is a rare opportunity to write a blog post in January. Members of the IPMI’s Research & Innovation Task Force often discuss forward looking topics that are of importance to parking and mobility professionals. What better time to look forward than the start of a Read More »
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A Fee That Works. Almost.
January 3, 2022By Chuck J. Boddy, CAPP On many college and university campuses, mandatory fees can increase the overall costs to attend an institution. From technology fees to other auxiliary fees such as recreation, student activities, or a transportation fee, many services or offerings would be impossible without a fee. At UMBC, Read More »
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Detroit Launches Comprehensive Parking App
January 2, 2022The City of Detroit launched a new version of its parking app this weekend that allows users to identify where spaces are available, compare prices, and prepay for parking in off-street lots and garages. It includes parking in public and private lots and garages as well as metered, on-street spaces. Read More »
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Happy Holidays
December 22, 2021From everyone at IPMI HQ to all of our members and friends, very happy holidays and wishes for a healthy and successful new year, whatever that looks like to you. Our office will be closed from Dec. 24 to Jan. 3, and we look forward to starting 2022 refreshed, energized, Read More »
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Give Them What They Need
December 21, 2021Staffing–recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees–has never been more of a challenge. What’s an organization to do? In this month’s Parking & Mobility magazine, HR expert Julius Rhodes, SPHR, says finding out what employees want from their jobs is critical–and there are several common things most employees say they want: Flexibility. Read More »
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What is the Long-Term Impact of COVID on the Parking Industry?
December 20, 2021By Jeff Perkins The pandemic has not only changed the world forever, but has also had a significant impact on the parking industry. In 2020, the volume of parking significantly decreased, and many of the underlying consumer behaviors related to parking transformed. Now, as parking comes back and surpasses the Read More »
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DOT, DOE Join Forces to Develop Nationwide EV Charging Network
December 19, 2021The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Energy (DOE) last week announced plans to “create a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to support the deployment of $7.5 billion from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build out a national electric vehicle charging network that can build public Read More »
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‘Tis the Season: Goodwill Springs from a Parking Non-ticket
December 16, 2021A Philadelphia mom breathed a big sigh of relief and resolved to pay it forward after a Philadelphia Parking Authority officer left a note instead of a citation on her windshield. The woman’s inspection had inspired–it slipped her mind, she said–and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the Read More »
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A Unique Second Chance to Make a Great First Impression
December 15, 2021As the COVID crisis continues winding down, the parking industry has been given a second chance to make a great first impression with the customers and institutions we support. As offices, schools, restaurants, venues, and tourist attractions continue reopening and welcoming back workers, students, and guests, parking operations will once Read More »
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Tips for Efficient Cash Handling
December 14, 2021By Diane Santiago, CAPP As much as we want customers to use credit cards to pay for their parking fees, some don’t for whatever reason. Because cashiers accept cash, they need to know some basic practices: double-checking the amount tendered, not accepting counterfeit bills, counting back change, and always issuing Read More »
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Winter Break in a Small College Town
December 13, 2021By Hal Robinson, CAPP Doing anything during the holiday season can be torture for those of us who hate crowds. Oxford, Miss., has a population of fewer than 30,000. During the regular academic year, close to 20,000 additional people reside in and around the city. So, when school is out, Read More »
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USDOT Seeks Comment on Its Strategic Framework
The U.S. Department of Transportation has asked for comments on its 2022-2026 strategic framework. According to a release: DOT is asking the public to help shape the Department’s goals and priorities as we work to transform the nation’s transportation system making it safer, more accessible, more reliable, and multi-modal, in Read More »
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What’d You Say?
December 9, 2021By Kim Fernandez, CAE After two since-preschool lifetimes of power boating and with the prospect of a newly empty nest, my husband and I bought an old Flying Scot sailboat this year. We christened her “Wait Up,” to set expectations and after he did a bit of fiberglass repair, had Read More »
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IPMI 2021: The Energy We Need
December 8, 2021By Patrick L. Wells The Super Bowl of Parking Conferences just concluded, and like many organizations, we didn’t know ahead of time what to expect. We heard the rumors that clients who normally attend had scrapped travel plans from a fear of health concerns. However, upon arriving in Tampa, I Read More »
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Getting Smart
December 7, 2021By Tom Szubka, CAPP These days, everything around us is getting smart–your phone, your watch, even the light bulbs in your house. Smart can make things easier–in some places you can have groceries delivered to your door by hollering at Alexa without getting out of bed. Smart can be annoying–Alexa Read More »
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A Farewell to Arms (Gate Arms, That Is)
December 6, 2021By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP My parking journey began as a long-term parking lot attendant at the new (at the time) Charlotte Douglas International Airport nearly 40 years ago. I spent the first 20 years in operations/management and the second 20 years as a consultant. I have found parking, as Read More »
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Happy Thanksgiving
November 23, 2021IPMI sends all of our friends in parking and mobility Thanksgiving wishes for a happy holiday. We are always thankful to be part of this amazing community. The IPMI Blog will be quiet next week while we’re attending #IPMI2021 in Tampa. We’ll look forward to seeing you here when we Read More »
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Reconsidering Design to Boost Sustainability
November 22, 2021By Jim Anderson Much attention is being given to the environment (rightly so), from recycling plastics to alternative energy to carbon reduction in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are emitted in many of the things we do. Human mobility using personal vehicles, planes, trains and other combustion fueled mobility is a Read More »
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Curb Lane Management: Practical Implementation and Challenges
November 21, 2021By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP Curb lane management has become one of the biggest parking industry focus areas in the past few years. Across the country, cities are recognizing the value of their curb lanes as a finite and valuable infrastructure resource. Ultimately, the strategies being developed today to better Read More »
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Out of Office–All the Details or Not So Much?
November 18, 2021By Tina Altman With the holidays and the most exciting event in parking and mobility quickly approaching, out-of-office auto-replies (OOOs) are going to flood inboxes for sure. As an association, we get many of these. Some are direct, some are very detailed, and some make me LOL. I always try Read More »
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Thankful for Parking
November 17, 2021By Brandy Stanley, CAPP It’s the season to reflect on what we are thankful for, and being thankful that our industry is quickly recovering is near the top of my list. While it is clear that COVID caused some significant upheaval in typical parker behavior, it is equally clear that Read More »
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Innovative Collaboration: A Smart, Connected Community
November 16, 2021By Mark Santos, CAPP Interest in smart and connected communities continues to grow as the public explores and better understands the associated benefits including data-driven decision making, increased safety, sustainable initiatives, improved transportation, upgraded infrastructure, and enhanced quality of life. Lake Nona, a 17-square mile community in Orlando located near Read More »
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Investing in Infrastructure
November 15, 2021By Robert Ferrin, CAPP As parking and mobility professionals, you cannot help but get excited about the passing of the Infrastructure Bill. There is no denying our transportation, telecommunications, power, and water systems are aging and in need of modernization. The generational investment included in the Infrastructure Bill will be Read More »
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Purdue, Ford Develop What Could Be Five-minute EV Charging
November 14, 2021A joint project between Purdue University and Ford may have developed five-minute charging for electric vehicles. Researchers said their new type of charging cable is capable of carrying a much higher load without overheating, which has been the barrier to faster charging than the 30 minutes offered by Level 3 Read More »
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Climbing Up and Reaching Down
November 11, 2021By Kim Fernandez, CAE Larry Culp, CEO of General Electric, has been in the news a lot this week. I must admit that I didn’t know who he was until last winter, when my daughter and a tiny college in a tiny town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore chose each other. Read More »
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Putting Places Worth Visiting in Parking Priorities
November 10, 2021Traditional cities are typically found on and around transport routes–rivers, roads and railways. They occupy strategic locations for trade, security, crossings, and meeting points. Streets/roads define the city/urban form as both paths and edges. In the past few centuries, attempts to fix the city have focused on the restructuring of Read More »
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The Paths to Procurement: Implementing Digital Strategies for the Future
November 9, 2021By Mollie Bolin When city leaders are preparing to procure new or updated mobility solutions, they often ask questions such as, “How do I write a request that opens a bid up to a wider range of respondents?” “I have an urgent need–is there a way to speed up my Read More »
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The Truth Behind Common Parking Myths
November 8, 2021By Matt Davis and Michael Pendergrass, AIA, LEED AP, DBIA While parking structures are an extremely common building type, there are a great deal of misconceptions about them. Are parking structures as unsafe as Hollywood leads us to believe? Are they ugly, necessary evils? Is there a single, credible answer Read More »
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GM’s Cruise Shows Off First Autonomous Ride in San Francisco
November 7, 2021Cruise, GM’s autonomous-vehicle arm, showed off video of its first driverless ride in San Francisco last week. The company recently began offering the journeys in its Bolt-based autonomous cars to company employees and other invited guests in the city. Company President Kyle Vogt was the first to hail a driverless Read More »
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My Top Five TED Talks
November 4, 2021By Rita Pagan, DES One of the best things about TED Talks is that there is literally something for everyone. I try and set aside five or 10 minutes a week to watch a TED Talk. Sometimes they are inspiring or interesting, and sometimes it’s just a much-needed mental break. Read More »
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Parking and Mobility Ideas That Change the World
November 3, 2021Parking and mobility make people, businesses, and communities move–they change the world. After the 18 months or so we’ve had and all IPMI members have done for their communities, we think it’s about time everybody else knew it. Fast Company‘s World Changing Ideas competition might just be the way that Read More »
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Efficient Enforcement Offers a Path to Recovery
November 2, 2021By Melina Morokhovich and Poppy Guloien The parking, mobility, and transportation industry is always adapting to the ever-changing environment, but who knew what was headed our way in 2020? The impact of COVID-19 on the parking industry has been widespread and devastating: empty offices, hotels, stadiums, and entertainment venues; lost Read More »
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Real-life Experience with Van-accessible Parking Stalls
November 1, 2021By Diane Santiago, CAPP As a paraplegic who drives a ramp van, whether I am driving to a hospital, college, airport, or shopping area, one of my biggest anxieties is driving to a parking facility and looking for a van-accessible ADA stall–especially if I am driving alone. Many lots do Read More »
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Hertz to Rent Teslas to Uber Drivers
October 31, 2021Car rental giant Hertz announced this week a $4 billion deal to purchase 100,000 electric Tesla vehicles, and said half those cars would be made available to Uber drivers at low rates. TNC drivers with high ratings and at least 150 Uber trips in some markets will be able to Read More »
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It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like IPMI!
October 28, 2021By Shawn Conrad, CAE Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons. I love the tapestry of colors you see when walking through the woods, I get ready to follow the MLB playoffs and World Series, and I look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday, when my extended family converges Read More »
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Return to Work–Maybe?
October 27, 2021By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE We’ve been waiting forever. The return to the office. Some already clamoring to get back to full-time life. Some deciding that stay-at-home was forever. Some that just want a little bit of both. Based on projections in early summer 2021, we were all circling Labor Read More »
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From Static Storage to an Engaged Curb for People and Goods
October 26, 2021By Benito Pérez, CAPP; Lawrence Marcus; Alejandra Argudin, CAPP; and Michael Sawyer Parking management demands have evolved in the past two decades while municipal practice is catching up. There are several components for organizations to consider, including technology and workforce development to the evolution from being a storage manager Read More »
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Public Art Mural With a Message
October 25, 2021By Gary Means, CAPP Parking garages are a perfect location for public art. Not long after the murder of George Floyd, one of our Lexington Parking Authority board members asked if we would consider commissioning an art mural supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. After a short discussion, pursuing a Read More »
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Federal Climate Adaptation Plans Will Affect Cities, Transit
October 24, 2021More than 20 U.S. federal agencies released climate adaptation plans in response to an executive order asking government as a whole to address climate change. Plans to mitigate environmental effects while increasing equity and access to services that include transit were developed by agencies that include Housing and Urban Development Read More »
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Collaborating on Parking’s Big Challenges
October 21, 2021By Cindy Campbell There have been several recent Forum posts regarding the increasing hostilities our frontline personnel have been encountering with members of the public. While not unique to parking and transportation organizations, this troubling trend is affecting our organizations in a variety of ways. We hear concerns regarding employee Read More »
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How Close Knit We Are
October 20, 2021By Victor Hill, CAPP, MPA A running theme in our industry is just how tight knit we are, whether we compete for customers or work together to solve common problems. And then there was the time I reconnected with an old friend I hadn’t seen in more than 20 years. Read More »
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Toeing the Line on Towing: Balancing Parking Enforcement and Homelessness
October 19, 2021By Allison von Ebers, Kris Becker, Jacque West, and Kirstin Davis Like many jurisdictions, Spokane, Washington’s 311 system receives complaints about inhabited RVs and vehicles in neighborhoods on a daily basis. Waste, garbage, and noise can cause neighbors to call and file complaints with the Police Department and Code Enforcement. Read More »
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Negative Online Reviews: What’s Really Going On?
October 18, 2021By Melonie Curry, MBA Don’t we all cringe when we see that negative review on Facebook or Google? Because a driver made the choice to ignore the sign, we are now scammers and money grabbers. As an organization that issues parking citations, too many limit their reviews of our services Read More »
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Safe Parking for Vehicle Residents Grows
October 17, 2021Arvada, Colo., is the latest municipality to offer safe, overnight parking for people living in their vehicles as homelessness grows. Colorado Safe Parking Initiative runs several lots in the state, mostly around Denver, to provide sheltered places for overnight parking and sleeping. It’s a growing trend throughout the U.S., with Read More »
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Where Did They Go?
October 14, 2021By Kathleen Federici, MEd Recently, I have had several experiences that will not be new to most everyone reading this. Restaurants in my area are now closed certain days of the week, children’s activities and amusements closed on certain days, even our local gardens and zoos are now closed one Read More »
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How U.S. Cities Can Learn from Smart City Innovations in Europe
October 13, 2021By David Parker European cities tend to be forward-thinking on smart city topics, including smart parking. For example, the City of Cologne, Germany has deployed the world’s most comprehensive turn-by-turn parking guidance system, leading the way for cities globally to grow revenues while reducing vehicle minutes traveled, traffic congestion, and Read More »
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion In The Age of Mobility
October 12, 2021By Marcía L. Alvarado, PE For as long as it’s been around, urban planning has failed to sufficiently consider diversity, equity, inclusion, and impact. Historically “groundbreaking” urban planning trends, however well-intentioned, negatively impacted and disrupted the lives of marginalized groups. Although implemented 100 years ago, exclusionary zoning laws created to Read More »
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Industry Disconnect: Cutting Edge vs. Reality
October 11, 2021By Kevin White, CAPP, AICP I fear there may be a disconnect developing between a lot of parking and mobility industry discourse around new, “cutting edge” technology and many municipalities and parking operations across the United States and beyond. It seems every time I turn around, there are new vendors Read More »
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D.C. Considers Shrinking Residential Permit Parking Zones
Washington, D.C. is considering breaking up its residential parking permit zones. Under a D.C. Council bill, the city’s current eight zones would become 41, reducing the area where residents could park with permits. Currently, D.C. residents may park anywhere in the city wards where they live. Under the new system, Read More »
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Do Less
October 7, 2021By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C Change is hard (at least in my house). Daylight Savings time is the worst. A few years back, it dawned on me that the entire experience of springing ahead (like that’s a positive thing) put the whole family into a tailspin. Falling back Read More »
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When Emotions Don’t Match the Situation, Hide Behind Policy
October 6, 2021By Matt Penney, CAPP Baylor Parking Services has a heart for service. Staff greet customers with a smile and a hearty hello, Texas style–say howdy to everyone. As friendly as our office likes to be, there is a phrase that we use that sets a boundary for our customer service Read More »
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Not Your Grandfather’s Parking Garage: How Parking Technology Helps Parking Owners Thrive
October 5, 2021By Matt Jobin and Kevin Bopp During the past 18 months, the parking industry has experienced dramatic change, perhaps more than at any other time–at least since Model Ts started rolling off the assembly line. There’s no crystal ball that enables parking owners to see the future and recognize whether Read More »
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Embracing Culture, Looking Ahead
October 4, 2021In 2012, the City of Durham, N.C., was faced with a challenge: The downtown area was growing with planned mixed-use, residential, commercial/retail, and hospitality developments among an already overrun parking infrastructure. First, the city enlisted a consultant to conduct a needs assessment and feasibility study of transitioning an existing urban Read More »
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Cities Move to Make COVID-inspired Parking Features Permanent
October 3, 2021Delaware City became the next municipality to consider making COVID-inspired on-street parking changes permanent last week when its city council moved to keep “grab and go” downtown parking spaces for the long haul. Twenty-three such on-street spaces will stay in the downtown permanently, allowing drivers to park for up to Read More »
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Bring Mine to the Curb, Please
September 30, 2021By Tina Altman Do you think curbside pickup should continue once things get back to “normal?” I used the Walmart pick up/delivery services long before COVID-19 came along. I’m not a shopper and would much rather select what I need and move on to better things. I’m all for the Read More »
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PARCS Re-creation: Implementing a Large Project Imperfectly
September 29, 2021By Christina Ryan; Ben Schnabel, CAPP; and Brian McGann Thinking about replacing your aging parking system and equipment? Wondering what new technology would do for the efficiency of your parking environment? This type of large-scale project can seem too overwhelming to even begin to think about. Executing a large project Read More »
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Ford Invests Big in EVs, Batteries
September 28, 2021Ford Motor Company this week announced it’s investing more than $11 billion in two plants to produce electric vehicles (EVs) and EV batteries, with Executive Chair Bill Ford saying, “We’re on the cusp of a revolution.” The company will build two plants in Tennessee and Kentucky to produce electric cars Read More »
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Helping Staff Rise Above the Rudeness
September 27, 2021We’re hearing it everywhere: rudeness, conflict, and confrontational behavior are on the rise, and parking and mobility professionals–especially on the frontline–are bearing the brunt. At best, a loud encounter with an angry person can leave a professional’s day dented. At worst, it can be dangerous. It’s probably not realistic to Read More »
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Seattle Reviewing 72-hour On-street Parking Rule
September 26, 2021Caught between advocates for people living in recreational vehicles, vans, and other cars, and businesses who say such vehicles using on-street parking long-term keep customers away, the City of Seattle is revisiting its rule that says vehicles can’t stay in the same on-street space for more than 72 hours in Read More »
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Outstanding
September 23, 2021By Kim Fernandez, CAE The LaFerrari was designed to be the Italian car company’s definitive, ultimate model. It was their first hybrid and their last mid-mounted 12 cylinder, roaring with 949 horsepower while saving 40 percent fuel consumption, zero to 60 in 2.4 seconds. Only 499 were made between 2013 Read More »
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Unsung Heroes Transform Downtown
September 22, 2021By Dave Feehan Too often, people working behind the scenes never get the credit and recognition they deserve. In 1989, when I arrived in Kalamazoo, Mich., as the new president of Downtown Kalamazoo Incorporated, the challenges were many. The downtown hotel and conference center was failing. Occupancy at the hotel Read More »
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Embracing “E” Words for Campus Mobility
September 21, 2021By Sarah Blouch, Carl DePinto, Zachary Pearce, and Keith Palma Initiating changes to parking and mobility systems on college campuses can be difficult and frustrating for campus parking professionals. New solutions to old problems abound as technology and innovation flourish in the industry. But the fear of the unknown, competing Read More »
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How’s Your Curbside Management Vocabulary?
September 20, 2021Just a few years ago, “curbside management” wasn’t a thing–certainly not a thing anyone talked about. But today, it’s a very big thing, and a specialty many parking and mobility organizations are working to master. Making use of that valuable curbside real estate is a big challenge, and doing it Read More »
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Retail Giant Partners to Offer Self-driving Deliveries
September 19, 2021Walmart has teamed up with automaker Ford and autonomous start-up Argo AI (backed by Ford) to pilot deliveries by autonomous vehicle in several key U.S. markets. The retail giant, also the largest grocer in the U.S., will offer delivery by driverless vehicle in Washington, D.C.; Miami; and Austin, Texas, using Read More »
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Happy Hallothanksmus!
September 16, 2021By Rita Pagan, DES Labor Day is over, school supplies are gone, and stores have officially overloaded on Halloween decorations. Some even have Christmas items on their shelves! How early is too early to decorate and look sane? Asking for a friend. An unwritten rule tells us we’re “not supposed” Read More »
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An Unintended Side Effect of Furloughs
September 15, 2021By Katherine Beaty We are all still feeling how hard our industry was impacted by the pandemic. Many of us had to furlough staff and to date, only some of those furloughed have been rehired. An unintended side effect of these furloughs is that with less staff, there are fewer Read More »
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Address, Mitigate, Recover: Effective Emergency Preparedness
September 14, 2021By Thomas Hartley, CAPP, and Lissette Hernandez, CAPP Sometimes we are part of unforeseen events that put to the test our ability to react and take control of the situation by testing our skills and knowledge. It’s critical to establish a concise, well-organized emergency operations response plan, to help us Read More »
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Nordstrom to Disney to Parking
September 13, 2021In 1989, the new downtown management organization in Kalamazoo, Mich., began negotiating with the City of Kalamazoo to take over and manage the downtown municipal parking system, writes David Feehan in this month’s Parking & Mobility magazine. A recent survey of residents had revealed that the most hated aspect of Read More »
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Michigan City Enacts Micro-mobility Regulations
September 12, 2021E-scooters and e-bikes will be able to operate on bike paths and sidewalks just like regular bicycles while respecting pedestrians just as regular bikes must in Ann Arbor, Mich., whose City Council gave unanimous preliminary approval to a personal mobility vehicle ordinance last week. The growth of micro-mobility in the Read More »
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Some Heroes Park Cars
September 9, 2021By Cindy Campbell Did you hear?? There’s a new hero in town. Last Friday, Marvel released their latest superhero movie, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” Now, I don’t want to give away the whole story here, but there is an interesting plot twist: The title character, Shang-Chi, Read More »
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Is Your Customer Experience (CX) Good Enough?
September 8, 2021By Brian Wolff Customer experience (CX) has gotten complicated and competitive in the last five years! I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, but what started out as a location, location, location business has turned into a technology-fueled and customer choice driven business. Gone are the days when we Read More »
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Modernizing Curbside Management
September 7, 2021How’s your curbside management game? Parking and mobility professionals might have known about curb management before COVID-19 but most other people didn’t–but they learned fast how critical it is to manage that valuable chunk of real estate. In this month’s Parking & Mobility magazine, take a look at the potential Read More »
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Dyson’s Race to Develop an Electric Car–And Why It Never Hit the Road
September 6, 2021In 2014, James Dyson (yes, that one) decided to put his company’s considerable battery knowledge and resources to work developing an electric car. But not just any electric car–one that was powerful, had a long range, and was more comfortable than anything else on the road. Five years and $700 Read More »
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Yogi Berra Was Right
September 2, 2021By Shawn Conrad, CAE I recently had a flashback to the ’90s, when I and others were focused on how to fully use the data our new management system was generating. A colleague shared with me an article written by Philip Agre, a former UCLA professor. Dr Agre’s focus was Read More »
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New Ways of Thinking About Transit
September 1, 2021By Lesli Stone, CAPP In the months since we became fluent in COVID-speak and learned what a modern-day pandemic looks like, we have all become familiar with the “new normal.” Everything seems to have been touched and changed by this virus. How we celebrate holidays, how we get our groceries, Read More »
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Jump Start Employee Biking: How It Can Roll
August 31, 2021By Joshua Cantor, CAPP, and Janet Walker After the tax law changes of December 2017 eliminated the monthly $20 pre-tax bicycling commuting benefit, George Mason University needed to recalibrate its employee biking program, which is an important cog (pun intended) of the transportation program. We needed to find a way Read More »
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Take Care of Your Staff–They’re Taking Care of You
August 30, 2021By Chris Polk, CAPP There are so many businesses experiencing the difficulty of hiring and maintaining staff. The reduced staffing level is leading to a decrease in the level of customer service that is and can be provided. Both frontline and management staff who are still coming to work every Read More »
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Appeals Court Rules Tire Chalking Violates Driver’s Constitutional Rights
August 29, 2021A Michigan appeals court late last week ruled that a city parking officer who chalked the tires of a woman with 14 city parking tickets violated her constitutional rights. Alison Taylor contested a ticket she received in Saginaw in 2014, saying it was invalid because chalking her tires violated her Read More »
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Hiring During the Pandemic
August 26, 2021By Kathleen Federici, MEd Many organizations are looking to hire talent to lead their mission in some way or another. According to Employee Benefits News, while many organizations made layoffs at the start of the pandemic, more than 80 percent plan to hire new employees. So the job posting goes Read More »
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Left or Right?
August 25, 2021By Katherine Beaty Are you a left Twix or a right Twix? I love this genius marketing campaign that came out a couple of years ago. Are you curious as to what the difference is between left Twix and right Twix candy bars? It tells you right on the new Read More »
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Parking, Traffic, and Congestion at Special Event Venues
August 24, 2021By Angel Diaz, Henry Espinosa, and Mike Mckeon Have you been to a large sporting event lately and said, “WOW, that was painless getting to my parking spot?” We didn’t think so, but there is a better way–Free Flow Frictionless Parking. At LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins, getting Read More »
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Park(ing) Day Returns
August 23, 2021Park(ing) Day, the annual celebration that turns parking spaces around the world into parks, is back in full force this year. Happening Sept. 17, the event is being sponsored by Ford Mobility Company-backed Spin, which has even offered funding to help transform spaces into parks for one day. Get all Read More »
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Judge Rules California Gig-worker Law Unconstitutional
August 22, 2021A judge ruled California’s Proposition 22, which allowed transportation network companies (TNCs) and other companies to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees, unconstitutional last week. Proposition 22 was voted in last November and heavily supported by Uber, Lyft, and other companies that rely on gig workers, including Instacart Read More »
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Rethinking Mobility: Tell Us Your Story
August 19, 2021By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C To say that the last year has been challenging, and disruptive just doesn’t do our industry justice. Our members and industry professionals have displayed innovation, resiliency, creativity, tenacity and pure grit. In our Shoptalks and summits, we’ve heard you talk about adapting your Read More »
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Adaptive Reuse: Short-term ROI or Long-term Investment?
August 18, 2021For owners and developers investing in new parking facilities, adaptive reuse is a popular topic of discussion. While there is no limit to the possibilities we can imagine, the reality is that designing a parking structure to be compatible with other human uses adds to the cost. However, whether you Read More »
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Mentorships for Life
August 17, 2021By Casey Jones, CAPP Oprah Winfrey’s mentor was her fourth grade teacher. Dr. Martin Luther King drew upon his relationship with Dr. Benjamin Mays for inspiration, guidance, and wisdom through immensely difficult times, and Apple’s Steve Jobs tucked a young Mark Zuckerberg under his wing as Facebook was conceptualized and Read More »
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Protecting Parking Patrons’ Personally Identifiable Information
August 16, 2021Parking payment technology has advanced from the spare change in your wallet to an app on your phone hosted in the cloud. Digital parking apps and services provide ease and convenience to both parties to a digital parking transaction. However, while feeding quarters in a parking meter is a rather Read More »
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Michigan City Gets On-demand Autonomous Vehicles
August 15, 2021May Mobility recently launched on-demand, autonomous vehicles in Grand Rapids, Mich. “The on-demand service, which includes four May Mobility Lexus RX450h vehicles and one wheelchair-accessible Polaris GEM equipped with May Mobility’s autonomous technology, operates within a 1.36 square-mile service zone that includes more than 20 designated pick up and drop Read More »
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Tips for Tampa
August 12, 2021By Tina Altman Getting my feet wet again by going to a recent site visit in Tampa ahead of the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo felt so good! Time to dust off the suitcase and get back to some type of normalcy. The airport and flight had Read More »
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Anti-racism at Work: Honesty, Support, and Commitment
August 11, 2021“Being a Black woman in a predominantly White, male industry comes with challenges–and anyone like me can share the ones they’ve faced,” writes Reachel Knight, CAPP, business strategy coordinator with the Calgary Parking Authority. “You hear stories about demotions, being overlooked for promotions, and being denied access to certain projects Read More »
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Tackling TNCs: Curb and Congestion Management in Las Vegas
August 10, 2021By Brandy Stanley, CAPP TNCs are not a new phenomenon, but handling them effectively to reduce the congestion they cause and move people through the downtown core is quite a challenge. The City of Las Vegas is taking a two-pronged approach to helping TNCs do business downtown: Using large kiosks Read More »
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The Mighty B17 and its Secret for Success: The Checklist
August 9, 2021By Matt Penney, CAPP No one had seen anything like it. The B17 was immediately the new king of its class for large, propeller-driven aircraft. At its unveiling, a reporter dubbed it the “flying fortress” because of the numerous machine guns protruding in all directions from its fuselage. Boeing quickly Read More »
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The Electrifying Future: Experts Speak
August 8, 2021News that U.S. President Joe Biden is toughening pollution rules and pushing toward significant growth in electric vehicles came on the heels of several major automakers’ recent decisions to focus on EVs in the next 20 years. But what does all that mean for the parking and mobility industry? In Read More »
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Road Trip? Perfect.
August 5, 2021By Kim Fernandez, CAE There’s a day-long road trip in my near future. Next week, I’ll fill the tank, pop into the Wawa for my obligatory bag of Combos, head across the Chesapeake, and pick up my son from college, where he’s spent the summer in a research program. Three Read More »
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RFPs Just Not That Into You: Finding That Special Someone
August 4, 2021By Mandy Bowers My husband and I were engaged after a six-month courtship. We were introduced by a mutual friend and our first date was at a coffee shop. We pushed past the first date jitters and ended up talking for hours, finding things we shared throughout our conversation. Josh Read More »
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Learning from 2020: Why Cities Need Better Curbside Data
August 3, 2021Accelerating growth in the use of curb space has resulted in the demands on curb space to exceed supply. Today, transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft complete more than 4 billion annual trips globally–the bulk of which begin and end on urban curbsides. E-commerce continues to grow, with Read More »
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It’s Not You, Social Media, It’s Me
August 2, 2021By Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP, CCTM I grew up with a passion for public service, and while I never thought that passion would take me into parking, I am so glad it did. When I had the opportunity to take classes at the Disney Institute as part of a summer internship Read More »
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TNC Drivers Fear Losing Work with Miami, Austin Autonomous Vehicle Trials
August 1, 2021Transportation network company (TNC) drivers in Miami say they fear losing their income when 1,000 autonomous cars are launched as ride-hails later this year. Argo AI, Ford, and Lyft announced they’d trial the self-driving cars in Miami and Austin this winter. Drivers for Lyft and Uber say they’re concerned the Read More »
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Tampa, Here We Come!
July 29, 2021By Rita Pagan, DES After a year of virtual meetings, I am so excited to be welcoming our members back to an in-person meeting this fall at the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo in Tampa, Florida— with clear safety protocols in place. As we navigate this continuously changing time Read More »
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A Few of My Favorite Things
July 28, 2021By Christina Jones, CAPP, MBA When things get me down and I’m feeling unhappy, I just try to think of nice things. Editor’s note: Christina sent us this post with a note daring us to not sing. We failed–miserably. Enjoy! Wheel stops on pavement and bollards on plazas Contactless payments Read More »
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Telecommuting and Space Use at UCLA
July 27, 2021As COVID-19 took hold in spring 2020, UCLA closed its campus to all but essential employees and its world-renowned medical center, which continued to operate throughout the pandemic, as expected. Beyond that, however, nearly 80 percent of campus employees (excluding medical center staff) were sent home and asked to telecommute Read More »
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Like, Right?
July 26, 2021By Mark Lyons, CAPP Vendor interviews and presentations today—guess what word or phrase is the most overused? Used so much that I want to let everyone know how it hurts. One might think that in today’s accelerated world of constant change and trend watching, we would be hearing the most Read More »
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New Yorkers Still Loving Transportation by Bicycle
July 25, 2021COVID-19 saw a boost to micro-mobility and to biking in cities and urban areas in particular. Those numbers continue to climb, at least in New York City, where more and more residents, visitors, and commuters are embracing two-wheeled transportation through the city. “Cyclist counts on East River bridges climbed to Read More »
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My Summer Podcasts
July 22, 2021By Justin Grunert, MSM I have been seeing many different lists coming out recommending different things, notably Barrack Obama’s summer reading list and summer playlist. Well, here is my list of the podcasts I am listening to this summer! My first recommendation is called Criminal, hosted/narrated by Phoebe Judge. Judge Read More »
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Ensuring Curb Equity
July 21, 2021When we speak about curb equity, we are not speaking about proportional access to the curb. If access were proportional, national delivery fleets would dominate all loading zones and cars would dominate all other on-street inventory. When we speak about curb equity, we are referring to equitable access to the Read More »
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Washington, D.C. Joins Vision Zero to Improve Bike Lane Safety
July 20, 2021By Tim Taylor In recent years, Washington, D.C., has seen exponential growth, with more people than ever living, working, and visiting in the city. With that has come an increased demand for transportation and safety, especially for the most vulnerable commuters: those who use micro-mobility vehicles. To properly adapt to Read More »
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Is It Time for a New Kind of Adaptive Reuse?
July 19, 2021Adaptive reuse–repurposing existing buildings for new uses–has been a topic of discussion in the parking and mobility industry for some time. Now, a traffic engineering and transportation planning company CEO says it’s time to really put words into action and repurpose old parking garages for low-income housing. “Recognizing the success Read More »
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Cities Using Transit to Get People to Nature
July 18, 2021Seattle’s popular Trailhead Direct service, which shuttles people from the city and its suburbs to popular trailheads, resumed running in June after a COVID-19 hiatus. More cities are following suit, offering public transit service to trailheads, parks, and areas of nature away from the so-called concrete jungle. “Trailhead Direct represents Read More »
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Looking Through the Crystal Ball of Parking and Mobility
July 15, 2021By Shawn D. Conrad, CAE “Don’t expect what happened to the transportation industry last year to predict what will occur in the future.” This quote comes from a recent conversation I had with an IPMI member about how the industry has been affected by the pandemic. And while there are Read More »
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Gibbs’ Rules and Rules to Live By
July 14, 2021By Katherine Beaty NCIS is a CBS series that is now on its 18th season. The main character is Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who is the leader of a team of special agents belonging to the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) Major Case Response Team. Gibbs, a former Marine, Read More »
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Caring for People and the Golden Rule
July 13, 2021By Jonathan Haney, CAPP Caring for each other should be a focus in each of our lives. It is part of the “Golden Rule” to treat others as you would expect to be treated. For some of us, this can become a very trying exercise. When dealing with those who Read More »
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My Parking Career Wasn’t Over After All
July 12, 2021By David Horn, CAPP In March 2020, the beginning of the pandemic, life began to change quickly and the outcomes were a mystery to all of us. My family and I took a summer trip in late July. Upon returning to work, I was told my position would be eliminated Read More »
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The Parking Garage of The Future
July 11, 2021You’ll leave a car in the parking garage of the future, writes the New York Times. But you’ll also make dinner reservations, charge that vehicle, connect with other forms of mobility–and you’ll likely have reserved all of that ahead of time with an app. In short, parking in the future Read More »
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In a Mood
July 8, 2021By Cindy Campbell I’m in a mood today. Come to think of it, I’m in a mood every day. The power is in knowing that I have choices about my mood du jour–and so do you. Moods can positively or negatively influence every activity we’re involved in–routine interactions with friends, Read More »
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The Parking Study is Done. Now What?
July 7, 2021By Jennifer McCoy, PE, PTOA After a parking lot study has been completed in a new, shiny document, cities ask themselves, “What happens next?” Moving into the next task of sifting through parking study recommendations can be daunting. However, here are some great steps to help structure the decision-making process Read More »
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Power of the People
July 6, 2021The last year was a challenging one for people in parking and mobility, to say the least. But some creative and hardy souls not only survived but thrived, making the most of so many changes and shining as leaders of both organizations and their colleagues. Those industry professionals are the Read More »
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COVID-19’s Permanent Changes to Cities Being Deciphered
July 5, 2021COVID-19 seemed to change everything about cities for a long time–how we worked, got around, shopped, communicated, and accomplished a long list of day-to-day activities. And as the world eases into a new normal, NBC News took a look at what may have changed for good, especially in cities: More Read More »
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Rethinking Leadership, Workplaces, and Why Places are Important
July 1, 2021By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C The last 18 months have challenged leaders in every home office and corner of the world. Whether you are leading a large staff or a small but mighty team, the way we work together is fundamentally different (and yet very much the same). Read More »
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GM Commits $25 Million to Equity in Transition to Electric Vehicles
June 30, 2021General Motors announced this week the creation of a $25 million fund to encourage equity as the company and others transition to prioritizing electric vehicles. The Climate Equity Fund, company executives said, will be used to “implement inclusive solutions that bring everyone along, especially our employees and communities.” GM recently Read More »
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Creativity Changes Our World
June 29, 2021When’s the last time your organization got creative–really creative–in a customer-facing way? Our guess is if anything’s pushed you there, it was COVID-19. And lots of parking organizations pulled out the creativity to get through the pandemic, and even thrive. The winners of this year’s IPMI Marketing Awards thought way Read More »
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Putting Your Client First
June 28, 2021By John Mason, CAPP, PMP It’s tough in business sometimes to see what value there could be beyond turning a profit when it comes to implementing systems. Corporate culture tells you it’s all about making money. To some extent, that’s certainly true. You can’t stay in business if you’re not Read More »
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Why Big Tech is Building Autonomous Cars
June 27, 2021The race to build driverless vehicles is expensive, slow, and fraught with metaphorical–and real–potholes. So why are so many big tech companies jumping in? Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and others have partnered with automakers, other tech companies, and different specialists in the race to produce a truly driverless car. Analysts Read More »
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Leading Through Exhaustion
June 24, 2021By Kathleen Federici, MEd As I hear stories from others, a common theme is exhaustion. The pandemic has taken a toll on all of us in some way or another and unexpected and rapid changes have left some in a state of fatigue. Not only are we dealing with the Read More »
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Managing and Thriving Amid Disruption
June 23, 2021By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE The past 15 months have taught us many valuable lessons, including some aroudn increased awareness and adapting to change. Our industry has certainly managed this change in its own unique way, with parking and mobility programs implementing improvements that were rooted in being proactive and Read More »
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Managing Change Through Financial Diversification
June 22, 2021As an industry, we have been positioning ourselves for disruption for several years. How would we respond to impacts from micro-mobility, ride-share, and ultimately autonomous vehicles and the impending changes to parking demands and activity? In the years leading up to 2020, we spent considerable time and brainpower thinking about Read More »
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7 on 7
June 21, 2021By Matt Penney, CAPP With the close of the spring semester and the onset of summertime, there is a brief window for a sport called “7 on 7.” It’s a modified touch football game for high school students. There are no linemen, no running plays, and no rushing of the Read More »
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Paris Allows On-street, Outdoor Dining to Become Permanent
June 20, 2021Restaurants around the world turned on-street parking into “streeteries” when COVID-19 made dining inside impossible. Now that the pandemic is waning, cities are wondering how long those outside dining areas should continue. Paris, France, says forever. Under new guidance, nearly 9,800 restaurants, bars, and cafes can set up outdoor dining Read More »
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Combos, Cashews, and Calendar Dates
June 17, 2021By Kim Fernandez Depending on my ultimate destination, I stop at either the Wawa just past Annapolis or the Wawa just through Easton (about a half-hour past the Bay Bridge) every time I drive through Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The first order of business is topping off the car’s gas tank, Read More »
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Why You Should Reinvent the Wheel
June 16, 2021By Katherine Beaty The saying “don’t reinvent the wheel” is so wrong! The wheel, strictly speaking, has been reinvented tons of times. We did not always have the full rubber wheel you see on automobiles today. The wheel started from a round stone slab, then was reinvented from stone to Read More »
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Cool Tech? Look Again with Equity Glasses
June 15, 2021We have some amazing technology applications in the parking industry. Some people would be quite surprised if they knew just how “cool” technology has become for the seemingly mundane task of parking a car or a truck or a bicycle or any other means of transport using our streets (and Read More »
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Pants, Post-pandemic
June 14, 2021By Victor Hill, CAPP I’ve been thinking a lot about pants lately. The pandemic put most of our butts in home offices–and in shorts or pajamas–because who needs pants on a video conference? Then we got vaccinated and, after months of sequestering, we’re mostly safe to travel and revitalize our Read More »
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Tucson Expanding Shared Mobility
June 13, 2021The City of Tucson first piloted a shared e-scooter program in fall 2019, and extended that pilot through COVID-19. Now, with micro-mobility’s popularity growing, the city is seeking growing shared mobility program. Full details are available on the city’s website, but it’s seeking vendors and partners to make e-scooters available Read More »
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You Made It? You Win.
June 10, 2021By Kim Fernandez Apparently, a new job interview trend is to ask candidates what amazing thing they did to learn more, better themselves, or boost their careers during COVID-19. Remember last March? It felt like everything we knew, everything familiar and safe, whooshed down a giant black hole in the Read More »
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Awards of Excellence Winners Shine
June 9, 2021A mixed-use tower with garage, loads of sustainable features, and innovative design and amenities. An airport parking ramp that serves as transportation hub and offers value for many user groups. A large garage that’s incredibly sustainable and green. A surface lot that captures more than 130,000 gallons of water. And Read More »
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Giving Them the Cookie
June 8, 2021By Roamy R. Valera, CAPP A dear friend of mine recently sent me a letter he had written to his long-time airline of choice. I know my friend well and as a travel warrior myself, I knew his letter was not going to flatter anyone in the organization. He was Read More »
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Female Mobility–Movin’ on Up
By Carmen Donnell, CAPP Did you know we recently celebrated National Grilled Cheese Day? And quickly after we celebrated National Take-Out Day? For the record, I coincidentally made a grilled cheese the day before it was recognized and did order take-out on the appropriate day! I digress–however it seems there Read More »
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A Record-breaking Parking Space and a Parking Lottery for Vaccinations
June 7, 2021In parking news this past weekend is the world record for most expensive parking space being shattered in Hong Kong. An unidentified buyer paid $1.3 million for a parking space in an ultra-luxury development. The previous record for a parking space was $980,000, also in Hong Kong. Elsewhere, Trenton, Mich., Read More »
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Having a Real Desk and Four Other Things I Miss
June 4, 2021By Rita Pagan, DES I know a lot of people were forced into working from home the last year but I’m heading into almost five years. While working from home has its perks, there are certainly things I miss about working in an office: Having a REAL desk! With two Read More »
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Transit-oriented Development After COVID: What’s Next?
June 3, 2021For more than 20 years, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been a desired destination for people to live, work, and play. The opportunity to reside in a vibrant locale with convenient access to restaurants, shopping, employment, and alternative mobility options has been a preferred lifestyle for many, especially since the great Read More »
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Dog Humor
June 2, 2021By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP While navigating the pandemic, I stumbled onto a secret weapon: dogs as a role model. This began with a joke I read that hit a little too close to home: “If your dog is fat, you aren’t getting enough exercise.” -Unknown The good news is, Read More »
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Ford: 40 Percent of Its Vehicles Sold Will Be Electric by 2030
June 1, 2021Automaker Ford announced last week it expects 40 percent of its new vehicles to be electric by 2030. The announcement came on the heels of the introduction of the all-electric version of its bestselling F-150 pickup truck (pictured here), which they say boasted 70,000 reservations in the first week. The Read More »
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2021 CAPP Recertification Tips
May 28, 2021By Justin Grunert, MSM We’re looking forward to working with CAPPs who will recertify this year. Typically, recordkeeping forms would be due by Jan. 1, 2022, but since we will host the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo in late November, we would appreciate all recertification paperwork be Read More »
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Parking and Payment Processing: Why Choice is Key
May 27, 2021By Kristen Locke, CAPP The rapid acceleration of contactless payments is helping operations offer better customer experiences, reduce hardware maintenance, and streamline operations. With more electronic payments, payment processing now has a huge effect on a parking provider’s revenue. Despite all that, it’s rarely a part of discussions about long-term Read More »
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The Case for Thinking Like a Startup
May 26, 2021“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” ― Albert Einstein. A drive-through opera performance in a parking garage in Chicago? Safe curbside food pickups from your favorite restaurant? Repurposed parking lots into pop-up kitchens supporting local restaurants and delivery services? Huge surges in contactless payment options? New digitized Read More »
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The Future Impact of Autonomous Vehicles
May 25, 2021By Jim Anderson Autonomous vehicles (AVs): What are the effects on today’s transportation network and future smart-city design? There is much speculation and opinion as to the evolution of AVs and the continued emergence of transportation network company (TNC) use in the fabric of the urban transportation environment. Notable architect Read More »
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California Mandates EVs for TNCs
May 24, 2021Transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft will need to transition to electric vehicles in California by 2030, the state legislature mandated last week. The new rules, which say 90 percent of ride-share miles traveled must be in electric vehicles by the start of the new decade, also Read More »
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Got Milk?
May 21, 2021By Shawn Conrad, CAE Most of us remember the “Got Milk?” advertising campaign. A San Francisco agency developed this rather simple phrase and message in 1993 to increase sales for the California Milk Processor Board. Needless to say, the campaign’s success is almost unmatched in the world of advertising. Since Read More »
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Curb Management in the Real World
May 20, 2021By Robert Ferrin and Brandy Stanley, CAPP Everyone hears a lot about curb management, congestion mitigation and data gathering, but sometimes finding solutions in action can be difficult. Join us for a free, online, IPMI Shoptalk June 2 to learn more about the real-life solutions two cities are testing to Read More »
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True Team Effort
May 18, 2021By John Mason, CAPP, PMP Very seldom as a manufacturer or contractor do you find true team efforts when replacing a client’s legacy equipment. A true team effort is when the client fully engages in the change. It’s important as a client that you involve yourself in efforts to learn Read More »
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Minneapolis Ends Parking Minimums for New Development
May 17, 2021Citing sustainability goals and the potential for design flexibility, the Minneapolis, Minn., City Council voted unanimously Friday to end required parking minimums for new development in the city. The measure also increased minimums for bicycle parking and requires many new buildings, including residential, to incorporate transportation demand management (TDM) strategies Read More »
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Silver Linings From the Past Year
May 14, 2021By Cindy Campbell Many of the virtual trainings I conduct include a group discussion. This last year, one of my favorite discussion topics has been, “Tell us about something good that’s come out of the disruption caused by the pandemic.” Many of the responses have been incredibly thoughtful and uplifting. Read More »
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Ignoring the Elephant in the Room
May 13, 2021By Roamy Valera, CAPP I will not mention and/or refer to the significant and major event of the past 12 months or so. In fact, I will treat it as it treated my last birthday (like it never happened!). I was in a conversation right before writing this piece about Read More »
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A Primer on Parklets
May 12, 2021We used to see parklets–tiny parks, some with specific purposes, created out of on-street parking spaces–every once in awhile, most notably on PARK(ing) Day. But thanks to COVID-19 and a societal embrace of all things outdoors, parklets are having their day–and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. In the May Read More »
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The Challenge of Reopening
May 11, 2021By Chris Polk, CAPP Many states are now beginning to allow businesses to reopen due to the decrease in COVID-19 deaths and the increase in vaccinations. As states have begun to reopen for business, the demand for parking services has increased, and so has the demand for staff. How that Read More »
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Comment on Proposed MUTCD Changes
May 10, 2021By Mary S. Smith The Federal Highway Administration has published PROPOSED changes to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which is the U.S. standard for signs, pavement markings, and other devices on streets and roads. Comments are due May 14, 2020. When finalized and adopted, it will be Read More »
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Happy Mother’s Day
May 7, 2021By Michelle W. Jones, CAE, CMP According to Wikipedia: The modern holiday of Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1907, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, W.V. Her campaign to make Mother’s Day a recognized holiday in the U.S. began Read More »
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Mobility Report 2021
May 6, 2021By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I recently reviewed “Mobility Report 2021—Current Dynamics of the Mobility Megatrend.” Author Dr. Stefan Carsten is a futurologist and mobility researcher investigating which trends are driving mobility issues, how the pandemic is affecting our mobility behavior, and where mobility meets other megatrends such as urbanization, Read More »
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Resiliency is People
May 5, 2021Change is a constant–perhaps no more so than right now–and the change we’re living with is the perfect storm of volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA), and it’s fast. Change, the VUCA way, seems to be the next normal, so we need to learn to deal with it. In this Read More »
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Transportation, the Environment, and Legislation: Thinking Outside the Box
May 4, 2021By Kathryn Hebert Transportation systems produce the largest percentage of greenhouse emissions in the US (more than 28 percent). President Biden is committed to addressing environmental issues through his multi trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal. Last December, the governors of 13 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, plus the District of Columbia, signed an Read More »
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Transit Works to Win Back Riders
May 3, 2021Getting on a bus or train wasn’t a first choice for most during COVID-19. The thought of being in an enclosed space with more people than comfort allowed sent car sales soaring and boosted micro-mobility in cities. But with the pandemic waning and more people going back to work, school, Read More »
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Speaking Up
April 30, 2021By Kathleen Federici, MEd. It’s not a shock that this past COVID year (and counting) has everything and everyone turned sideways and upside-down. Nothing is the same. The school year has been very difficult for me and my children, who are not used to cyber learning, and my new gig Read More »
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Drawing Back the Curtain
April 29, 2021By Kevin White, CAPP, AICP Information is power, as they say. This is certainly true in the world of parking and mobility, where a wealth of payment, curb use, traffic, travel pattern, citation, and a variety of other data is being collected and documented. Emerging platforms and technologies bring new Read More »
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Race Relations: It’s ABC
April 28, 2021When Tiffany Peebles, director of the Parking Authority of River City, Ky., was a sophomore in high school, her parents moved the family to a mostly white neighborhood. Riding the bus on the first day of school was the first time I felt like a minority. My world had changed; Read More »
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A New IPMI Member Portal and Forum, Coming Soon
April 27, 2021In the next few days, you’ll be introduced to IPMI’s new member portal, offering a simplified, more intuitive experience. Making changes to and maintaining your member profile, registering for events, and keeping up with everything at your association is about to get easier and more efficient. Be on the lookout Read More »
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The Washington Post Pays Tribute to the Capital Garage
April 26, 2021The Capital Garage “was designed by Arthur B. Heaton, a District architect responsible for apartment buildings such as the Altamont in Kalorama and homes in Woodley Park. The limestone and glass facade was neo-Gothic, adorned with lion-headed grotesques near the top of the building. Stone bas-reliefs at the second story Read More »
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The Global Automotive & Mobility Innovation Challenge
April 23, 2021By Ben Wesley, CAPP Since 2008, when SAE and the Michigan Innovation Alliance first partnered to become what is now the Global Automotive & Mobility Innovation Challenge (GAMIC), hundreds of technical, creative entrepreneurs have competed to earn exposure, commercialization services, and cash stipends. GAMIC is “a challenge to see if Read More »
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Considering a New TDM on Earth Day
April 22, 2021The face of commuting has changed drastically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last March. Hesitancy toward transportation modes that put us close together with strangers in an enclosed space, a huge increase in working from home where possible, and even lower gas prices (for a time) have seen Read More »
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Get Out of My Lane!
April 21, 2021By Diana Alarcon, CAPP As I was driving to the grocery store the other day, I heard a person yell from their automobile, “Get out of my lane!” He was addressing his comment to a gentleman riding a bicycle on the street. I wanted to yell back that he has Read More »
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Virtual Conferences–Silver Linings
April 20, 2021By Gary Means, CAPP Back in late February, many of us attended a new IPMI conference called the IPMI Mobility & Innovation Summit. If you didn’t attend, you missed a great deal of excellent content, great speakers, and networking opportunities (a new opportunity is coming in June!). If you did Read More »
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Should Transit Agencies Manage Micro-mobility?
April 19, 2021Micro-mobility share has traditionally been managed by municipalities, campuses, or the agencies that brought it into a system. But one expert writes things like bike-share should be managed by transit agencies, and some are beginning to move in that direction. David Zipper, visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Taubman Read More »
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Walmart Jumps into Autonomous Vehicles with Investment in Cruise
April 16, 2021Retail giant Walmart entered the autonomous vehicle sphere with an investment in Cruise, General Motors’ autonomous, all-electric vehicle development arm, this week. The funding round, which included other investors, totaled $2.75 billion and raises Cruise’s value to more than $30 billion. Walmart invested about five months after entering a pilot Read More »
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On The Road Again
April 15, 2021By Matt Penney, CAPP For the first time in a year and a half, I was on the road again. I ventured outside of the Baylor University bubble in search of parking knowledge. For me, visiting other people and locations is a highlight of our parking industry. Zoom is O.K., Read More »
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Frictionless Parking: Smoothing the Ride
April 14, 2021Enhanced customer convenience, improved traffic flow, increased revenue, lower operating costs–every parking operation continuously strives to achieve these goals. And while there are many ways to accomplish them, frictionless parking is more frequently included in the discussion. The concept of frictionless parking means combining technology and operating practices in ways Read More »
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Are Flexible Work Arrangements the New TDM Tool?
April 13, 2021By Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPA Rahm Emanuel said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” I started as executive director of UC Davis Transportation Services on January 2, 2020, Read More »
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ASU Transforms Garage into Mile-long Art Show
April 12, 2021Students at Arizona State University (ASU) and area art professionals have transformed a campus parking garage into a drive-through experience of light, sculpture, pattern, and sound–an immersive, sensory art experience people experience from their cars. About 115 artists worked on “designspace,” conceived by an area designer who wondered how the Read More »
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Nobody Asked Me
April 9, 2021By Kim Fernandez My nearly nine-year-old, much beloved iMac computer is starting to get old-lady kind of loopy (I feel her pain if we’re all being honest). She hesitates before launching something new, she thinks longer than she used to before opening or closing or saving, her files are a Read More »
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The Silver Lining of Gathering Virtually
April 8, 2021By Josh Cantor, CAPP I recently had the opportunity to participate in an active transportation summit hosted by my office and coordinated with 11 other regional organizations. While the all-day Zoom meeting may have been more complicated to coordinate than the in-person conference we initially had planned, I came away Read More »
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Innovation and Collaboration at the University of Kentucky
April 7, 2021The University of Kentucky understood the need to continue to provide parking assets to support its growing campus, but also the essential component of effectively utilizing limited space for the highest and best uses possible. They also recognized the essential role of incorporating successful economic development master planning strategies to Read More »
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What Is That New Normal?
April 6, 2021By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE For the past 12 months, we have been pontificating about what the post-pandemic world might look like: Would we all just work from home forever? Would we have all of our goods delivered out of convenience? Would the state of our downtowns and campuses forever Read More »
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Analysis: Infrastructure Plan Bets on Transit
April 5, 2021An analysis of the Biden administration’s newly released infrastructure plan promises big investments–$621 billion–in roads, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure. But it also calls for an $85 billion investment in transit, and a Reuters analysis wonders if that’s the best bet at what appears to be the tail end of Read More »
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Measure, Stir, Bake, Relax
April 2, 2021By Rita Pagan, DES Have you ever watched The Great British Bake Off? It has been my go-to “Coronavirus/helping with math/if I hear pivot one more time” guilty pleasure. Although, I must admit, the recipes aren’t things I would necessarily pin to my Pinterest board. Biscuits and sponge cakes have Read More »
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Former IPI Board Member Michael Penny, CAPP: A Remembrance
April 1, 2021By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I am sad to report that the parking community lost a great professional and trusted colleague. Our friend, C. Michael Penny passed away in his sleep earlier this week. Michael had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for the past several years. He is survived by his Read More »
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Time to Re-think the Goals of Transit
March 31, 2021By Lesli Stone, CAPP I was recently listening to an NPR Podcast, All Things Considered, where the topic was “What is the Future of Public Transit in the U.S.?” There were a lot of great points made in reference to system budget deficits and what relief could be expected. The Read More »
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Revenue Control System Procurement in a New World
March 30, 2021By Don Barrett, CAPP In the past 24 years I have seen many improvements in the revenue control systems that are available on the market. We have seen some equipment providers stop production of their lines of equipment the past several years. We have also seen the number of new Read More »
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Pittsburgh Welcomes Spring with a Flea Market in a Parking Garage
March 29, 2021There’s a special kind of demand for outdoor activities and a feeling of normal this spring, including the return of flea markets. But when dicey weather, a need for social distancing, and a desire to include those who both drive and walk all come into play, what’s a city to Read More »
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The Good Things in 2020
March 26, 2021By Justin Grunert MSM Back in December and January, I kept seeing articles about 2020. You typically see year-in-review articles during that period and this year, articles called 2020 the Lost Year or the Year We Lost. I know our focus has been on the pandemic, but a few good Read More »
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Airports Transform Parking Lots into COVID-19 Vaccination Sites
March 25, 2021As travel slowly ramps back up after COVID-19, airports are donating their under-used parking lots and garages as vaccination sites for their communities: The red lot at Portland International Airport is offering drive-through vaccine services administered by the Oregon Health & Science University. Volunteers from the Red Cross are helping Read More »
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Cowboy Wisdom for Parking and Mobility Professionals
March 24, 2021By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I have an “ideas file” for writing projects: interesting news items, new product research, industry trend data, or even just photos that might be the seeds of new writing projects. This time of year (at least in Arizona) my wife, Sharon, is busy working in Read More »
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A Pop of Yellow
March 23, 2021By Jennifer Tougas, CAPP, PhD I have fond memories of walking to classes at UGA during my grad school days. From my not-as-convenient graduate student parking lot, my path would take me along East Campus Road to the biology building. During the winter months, the trek was often overcast and Read More »
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Philadelphia Lures Visitors Back with Parking
March 22, 2021Cities stopped charging for parking at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when there weren’t enough cars to justify it and businesses were struggling to survive. Now, at least one city is using free parking–with a catch–to try and get shoppers, diners, and tourists to come back en masse. Visit Read More »
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What’s Behind That Door?
March 19, 2021By Shawn Conrad, CAE Here in the D.C. metro area, we’ve had many coaches who would be considered legendary: men and woman who enjoyed tremendous and sustained success through their careers. I’m often reminded of one who accumulated an unprecedented 20 state championships. Her string of success began when she Read More »
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Business Intelligence Tools and Data-driven Decisions
March 18, 2021“Data” is definitely one of the words of the year in parking and mobility. From curb management to contactless payments to right-sizing parking to nearly every step forward, we hear a lot about it all being fueled by data. And we all know the truth: It’s fairly easy to collect Read More »
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Listening to Your Customers
March 17, 2021By Jeff Perkins One of the real challenges for parking providers is getting input from customers on an ongoing basis. The highly transactional nature of parking doesn’t always lend itself to a good feedback loop. So, as a parking provider, how do you know how you are doing? Are you Read More »
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Negative Online Reviews: To Respond or Not?
March 16, 2021By Melonie Curry, MBA “That sign was not visible.” “I’ve never heard of that parking regulation.” “Why don’t you address real crimes?” “This is just a money grab by a corrupt government agency.” Sound familiar? How many times a day do you hear these or similar comments? Receiving a parking Read More »
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Wired: Pandemic Prompts Cities to Rethink the Parking Spot
March 15, 2021It’s no news to industry members that the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a change of thinking around parking–after all, parking and mobility professionals are the ones who largely thought through and enacted curb management strategies to help businesses and communities. But as the larger world takes notice, the mainstream media Read More »
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Stop Catastrophizing the Future
March 12, 2021By Cindy Campbell Even if you were never a Boy Scout, you’re probably still familiar with their “Be Prepared” motto. Scout or not, it’s good advice. I spent the majority of my professional career planning and preparing for emergency situations: disaster planning and preparation, participation in large-scale disaster drills, and Read More »
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Managing a Team
March 11, 2021By Natnael Jowhar, CAPP As you know, the way a team is managed plays a huge role in how successful is members are. It does not matter which industry the team works in–the success of the project depends on how the leader is managing them. In my 11 years working Read More »
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Are We on the Verge of a Seismic Shift?
March 10, 2021By David Feehan In the past few weeks, both General Motors and Ford have announced plans to be all-electric with 10 to 15 years. So what can predict from these two announcements? First, the era of personal transportation is not dead. The pandemic has put mass transit systems into survival Read More »
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Boosting Campus Commute Choices at Emory University
March 9, 2021When COVID-19 hit last year, boosting contactless parking options was a no-brainer–nobody wanted to touch anything more than they absolutely had to. But as the pandemic dragged on, it became clear that some operations were going to have to think their permit systems, and nowhere was that more clear than Read More »
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Women, Parking and Mobility, and Leadership
March 8, 2021“When young girls watched Kamala Harris take the oath of office as the first woman to become U.S. vice president, they could envision their own future. It seemed a moment that showed us that a woman can achieve anything,” wrote Miami Parking Authority CEO Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, CAPP, in the Read More »
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Good Luck
March 5, 2021By Kathleen Federici, MEd With the pandemic still among us, it may be difficult for us to think about good luck. In my family, we try to make the most out of the holidays of the month. I use “holidays” loosely during some months, basically as a potentially fun escape Read More »
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Fact, Practice, and Goal
March 4, 2021By Roamy R. Valera, CAPP “Diversity is a fact, inclusion is a practice, and equality is a goal.” This is perhaps one of the more powerful statements I have come across in awhile. I have read it several times and each time, I am forced to focus on the impact Read More »
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Making the Most of 10 Percent Duties as Assigned
March 3, 2021By Irma Henderson, CAPP Listening to Steve Lerch’s keynote about finding innovation from all team members and giving people the time and freedom to find great ideas at IPMI’s Mobility & Innovation Summit last week, I know many in the public sector or union environments may think their hands are Read More »
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A Phased Re-entry
March 2, 2021By Robert Ferrin Believe it or not, we are coming up on one year since the COVID-19 pandemic started. This year has presented numerous challenges and opportunities in our professional and personal lives. We’ve had to constantly pivot to new realities and environmental factors. Through it all, we’ve created new Read More »
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Aristotle Should Have Been an Association Executive
March 1, 2021By Shawn Conrad, CAE March is upon us and for many, that means things will soon warm up and springtime activities will flourish. This is the time of year our friends in other industries seek us out to learn the results of IPMI’s Trends Survey. As in years past, planners, Read More »
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Wind Therapy
February 26, 2021By Michelle W. Jones, CAE, CMP We’ve been hearing for months that we are in tough/crazy/unprecedented times. We’re still being encouraged to stay home and limit our contact with others. It can be isolating and for some, it can be utterly depressing. Some people have found solace in enjoying old Read More »
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Which Technology to Choose?
February 25, 2021By Tom Wunk, CAPP The parking industry, like many other industries, has been profoundly impacted by the pandemic. This catastrophic event occurred as the parking industry was–and continues to be–engaged in a technological transformation. While no one can predict the ultimate “new normal” outcome post-pandemic, it is a certainty that Read More »
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I Swear by Apollo…
February 24, 2021By Casey Jones, CAPP I always believed the Hippocratic Oath was little more than a promise to do no harm. To my surprise, and in addition to swearing to the healing gods Apollo, Asciepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, there is a lot more to the promises doctors make than what was Read More »
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Top Investors Predict the Post-pandemic Future of Mobility
February 23, 2021COVID-19 changed the way a whole lot of us get around, and some of those changes look to be permanent–or, at least, have permanent effects on our transportation preferences and systems. TechCrunch this week asked 10 top mobility investors where they see the future of mobility heading, and they had Read More »
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Pandemic Squeezes Already-tight Parking for Truckers
February 22, 2021The COVID-19 pandemic emptied out airports, train stations, and malls, but it put more delivery trucks on the road than ever as people fully embraced home deliveries of goods ranging from groceries to mattresses to cars bought online. Truckers say that’s squeezed an already big problem: They have nowhere to Read More »
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People May Surprise You. Be Sure to Let Them.
February 19, 2021By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP As we hit the one-year mark of COVID-19 and the pandemic continues to disrupt our industry, it’s challenging to stay motivated, both personally and professionally. At this moment where I live, we are at eight inches of snow and counting today, Read More »
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Valuing the Curbside in a New Normal
February 18, 2021Curb management planning and strategy was already well underway in Washington, D.C., when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but the virus still managed to change almost everything. On-demand delivery services–DoorDash, Grubhub, etc.–took over crowded curbsides in what felt like overnight and demand for temporary parking space outside businesses skyrocketed from city Read More »
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Defining Our Industry’s Future
February 17, 2021By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE “Research: the distance between an idea and its realization.” -David Sarnoff, founder, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) I’ve had the good fortune to be involved with IPMI’s Research & Innovation Task Force (formerly the Research Committee) for quite some time now. As a co-chair of Read More »
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Curbside Management’s Missing Ingredient: Data
February 16, 2021“Municipalities are increasingly realizing the benefits of understanding and managing their curbs,” writes traffic operations and safety analyst Jacob Malleau on gcn.com this week. “But most cities are missing a key component to modernize their curbside management practices–the curb regulation data itself.” Malleau writes that cities are establishing and revising Read More »
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Breaking Down Parking and Mobility Silos
February 12, 2021By Laurens Eckelboom While the parking industry has always been consumer-driven, there’s little doubt that the consumers in question want more. Consider the parker: The same person who can receive online goods and groceries in a matter of days, even hours. They can instantly stream movies, TV shows, podcasts, and Read More »
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IPMI Responding to the MUTCD Comment Period
February 11, 2021By Shawn Conrad, CAE A big thank you to Benito Pérez, CAPP, from DDOT for Tuesday’s reminder of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) comment period for input on the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) national standard. The FHWA is seeking updates/improvements to the MUTCD standard, which governs all Read More »
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Going Frictionless: The Modernization of the Parking Landscape
February 10, 2021By Nick Mazzenga, PE Believe it or not, the parking industry was ahead of the curve when it came to the transition to a more frictionless environment using contactless technologies. COVID-19 only added fuel to the fire to accelerate more widespread adoption of frictionless-enabling technologies. The parking technology industry was Read More »
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Comment Now: Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 2021 Update
February 9, 2021By Benito O. Pérez, CAPP, AICP CTP, CPM Whether you are a municipal entity operating a transportation system or a product provider or service delivery company providing support in the transportation space, you may be familiar that there are not only local and state standards on transportation assets and operations, Read More »
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Micro-mobility Providers Band Together in Europe
February 8, 2021Eight micro-mobility companies have formed a coalition in Europe to claim their seat at the transportation planning table. Bird, Bolt, Dott, FreeNow, Lime, TIER, Voi, and Wind formed Micro-Mobility for Europe (MMfE), to join policy discussions and help build a framework for micro-mobility across the continent. Some European nations have Read More »
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Connecting Over Koenigsegg
February 5, 2021By Kim Fernandez Instagram populates your search page with images it thinks you’ll like based on your previous searches (and sometimes what you’re talking about, but we’ll address creepy another day). My search? All exotic cars. Bugatti, Apollo, Koenigsegg, Pagani–these were not names I knew two years ago. But they Read More »
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The Culture of Diversity
February 4, 2021When examining elite performing organizations, the common thread is culture. Organizational culture is the primary driver of group success. Great companies consistently place culture as one of the most important focuses for energy, resources, and staff. The reward is a workforce where every employee lives the company’s values and realizes Read More »
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No (Hu)Man Is an Island: Collaborative Approaches and Future-proofing Parking
February 3, 2021By Michael Back One of the many lessons learned from the ongoing global pandemic is that in times of uncertainty and chaos, community–as a social force–outperforms the individual. Slowing the spread of COVID-19 has been a group effort from the very beginning; the individualist outlook had to be tossed to Read More »
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A Parking Lesson: Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes
February 2, 2021By Scott C. Bauman, CAPP As a municipal parking manager, I often hear the following from residents; “There’s a car that’s always parked in front of my house. I want it gone. That’s MY parking space!” The passion residents feel for the on-street public parking in front of their home Read More »
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Remotely Operated Scooters Coming to U.S. Streets
February 1, 2021Boise, Idaho, will receive the first fleet of remote-capable Spin scooters in the U.S. this spring. Equipped with front- and rear-facing cameras, the scooters have the capability to park themselves in assigned locations when riders are finished using them and to be remotely called by riders via an app. The Read More »
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Please Stop Apologizing
January 29, 2021By Rita Pagan, DES Please stop apologizing during online meetings for dogs barking, cats on your laptop, kids asking for lunch, and leaf blowers. By now we all know the work-from-home quarantine COVID-19 drill. Working families everywhere have figured out how to manage this interesting time. Whether it’s a full Read More »
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Understanding Racism: An Open Conversation
January 28, 2021By Vanessa R. Cummings, CAPP, MDiv Courageous conversations are key to leadership and IPMI is opening the door to offer us the opportunity to talk about a subject that, to some, may be hard to discuss: race. No, not race car driving, but understanding racism. What it is, what does Read More »
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Curb Appeal: Data to Understand and Manage These Valuable Assets
January 27, 2021By Meera Raja The space between streets and sidewalks has become the hottest new real estate. The competition for curbside space is fierce; from delivery to drop-off and all the modes and activity in between, everyone wants a piece of the curb. Traditional street parking and freight space are battling Read More »
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Reading What Your Data Does–or Doesn’t–Tell You
January 26, 2021By Matthew Hulme, CAPP, MPA It is no secret that “data driven decision making” has become a buzzword (buzz-phrase?) in the parking industry. However, it is not a new concept. Good data provides the backdrop for strategic planning, driving new initiatives, and evaluating old ones. The key word here is Read More »
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MaaS, EV Charging, Cashless Payments Top Trends for 2021
January 25, 2021Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), electric vehicle (EV) charging, and cashless parking payments are the three top trends we’ll see in transportation this year, according to Global Banking & Finance Review. “The biggest challenge on all businesses into 2021 will be how they continue to adapt and react to the ever changing new Read More »
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The Paradox of Choice
January 22, 2021By Justin Grunert, MSM Friday night, I found myself chilling in front of the TV, wanting to watch something scary. I wasn’t having any luck finding something to watch and scrolled through thousands of options on Netflix, then Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and back to Amazon. My first-choice movie was Read More »
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Looking Back, Planning Ahead, and Changing Our Perspective
January 21, 2021By Christina Jones, CAPP Moving to Colorado in 2015 as an introvert who had been out of college longer than I care to admit, I was terrified by the idea of building a social network from scratch. So I challenged myself to try one new thing each month. It could Read More »
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Managing Commercial Vehicle Loading: Technology and Regulatory Opportunities
January 20, 2021By Dawn Miller I’ve developed an odd new habit the past year. When walking, biking, or riding shotgun in the car, I take photos of delivery vehicles double-parking. At times I capture drivers trying to maneuver around the double-parked vehicles, sometimes ever-so-carefully nosing into oncoming traffic. I also take photos Read More »
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What Cities Need
January 19, 2021By David Feehan As January 20 approaches with a new administration in Washington, D.C. (where I live), I have to express my outrage for recent events. I love living in Washington and I have great respect for the heart of our federal government. Having said that, it is important that Read More »
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Finding Inspiration in Challenging Times
January 15, 2021By Shawn Conrad, CAE I needed a bit of inspiration at the closing of 2020 and went to my old mainstay, David McCullough’s best-selling book and Pulitzer Prize winner, 1776. I find inspiration in many different ways, and this book reminded me that while 2020 was a year like no Read More »
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Customer Service Representatives: Superheroes in Disguise
January 14, 2021By Lesli Stone, CAPP Frontline parking and transportation professionals are in a unique position to be the eyes and ears of the communities they serve. Each can observe a large number of engaged people in innocuous activities, day in and day out. These countless observations provide the experience and context Read More »
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Prepare. Plan. Commute. Debrief.
January 13, 2021By Kelly Koster Uncertainty has been the recurring theme of 2020, and I doubt very much will be certain again in 2021. How do you adapt your parking and mobility program for uncertain times? Through skiing of course. Let me explain. In an effort to social distance my ski habit Read More »
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Curbing COVID-19 at the Curb
January 12, 2021By Matthew Darst, JD COVID-19 has changed how we fundamentally live and the pandemic promises to continue to disrupt curbside management for months to come. While the tunnel is still dark, there is light—in the form of pandemic relief and vaccines—in sight. There are measures that can be taken to Read More »
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New Yorkers: We Need More Bike Parking
January 11, 2021Bike shops around the world struggled to keep up with demand when COVID-19 pushed people out of transit and shared rides. Now, New Yorkers are demanding more city bike parking, saying they’ve adopted the new-to-them transportation mode and have nowhere to put their wheels. “For every bike rack in NYC, Read More »
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Keep It or Change It?
January 8, 2021By Kathleen Federici, MEd For 14 consecutive years, my husband and I held a New Year’s Day brunch for our family, neighbors, and friends. We had a themed and costumed Roaring Twenties party on New Year’s Day 2020 to welcome in the new decade that was filled with promising opportunity—at Read More »
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What a Year in Parking and Mobility
January 7, 20212020 will go down as the year lots of us are happy to forget. But like all challenging times, it also produced great innovation, from small organizational changes to big technological leaps. And lots of those things will stick around to make organizations, businesses, infrastructure, and communities better. This year’s Read More »
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The Value of Curb Space
January 6, 2021By Chrissy Mancini Nichols A century ago, in establishing the first parking regulations, planners recognized the value of curb space. In The Storage of Dead Vehicles on Roadways, William Phelps Eno discussed how parallel parking at the curb caused, “considerable waste[d] space” and that on roads dedicated to commercial purposes, Read More »
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Morphing Our Mobility Mindset
January 5, 2021By Casey Jones, CAPP In October 2018, the International Parking Institute changed its name to include mobility. “Our broadened name signifies changes in the industry and what is happening in the larger sphere, where mobility is emerging as a more inclusive term for the expanding role of parking professionals,” said Read More »
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MSNBC: Transportation Changes Equal Effect of Building Railroads
January 4, 2021An analysis on MSNBC equates pandemic-born changes to transportation with the birth of the U.S. railroads in the 19th century. “If the pandemic were to continue or a vaccine was distributed right away, it really doesn’t change anything, because this was a train already moving down the track,” said Rich Read More »
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Five End-of-Year Gifts: Day Five
December 31, 2020To celebrate the end of 2020 and kick off 2021 on a good note, we are offering five free gifts of education for you to use yourself and pass along. In our final free session in IPMI’s holiday series, we’ve selected a bell-ringer of a session from the 2020 IPMI Read More »
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Five End-of-Year Gifts: Day Four
December 30, 2020To celebrate the end of 2020 and kick off 2021 on a good note, we are offering five free gifts of education for you to use yourself and pass along. Today in our free holiday education series, IPMI takes a deeper dive into the technology driving us all forward, presented Read More »
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Five End-of-Year Gifts: Day Three
December 29, 2020To celebrate the end of 2020 and kick off 2021 on a good note, we are offering five free gifts of education for you to use yourself and pass along. Our free holiday education series in the past blog posts has offered a snapshot from our Leadership Summit and Shoptalks. Read More »
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Five End-of-Year Gifts: Day Two
December 28, 2020To celebrate the end of 2020 and kick off 2021 on a good note, we are offering five free gifts of education for you to use yourself and pass along. Next up in our Five End-of-Year Gifts series, tune into IPMI’s Shoptalk series for a recap of Planning for What’s Read More »
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Five End-of-Year Gifts: Day One
December 24, 2020To celebrate the end of 2020 and kick off 2021 on a good note, we are offering five free gifts of education for you to use yourself and pass along. First up in IPMI’s free holiday education series: revisit how authentic concern drives good business in this thought-provoking session from Read More »
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Happy New Year. Finally.
December 23, 2020We made it. Whew. It was a weird, different, challenging year to say the least. But there were some good things–new technologies, new ways of thinking, and some industry highlights among the craziness. If you haven’t already, take a look back at five of our favorite stories from the year, Read More »
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Family
December 22, 2020By Roamy R. Valera, CAPP I recently had a medical procedure that required an overnight stay at the hospital. I was clearly not planning this event, but it is 2020! I am well and feeling great and of course grateful for a team of doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals who Read More »
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The Senior Community Show Goes On–Thanks to the Parking Lot
December 21, 2020When COVID-19 halted a Minnesota musician’s performances at a local senior community, she took a hard look at her options–and her eyes landed on the parking lot. Now, she’s hooked up her electric violin 70 times there to provide music and relaxation to the community’s elderly residents. Natalie Vanburkleo-Carbonara has Read More »
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‘Tis the Season–to be Cozy
December 18, 2020By Michelle W. Jones, CAE, CMP Here on the east coast we are on the heels of our first major wintery storm. My friend in upstate New York’s car was buried under nearly a foot of snow. At my house in Virginia, we suffered downed trees and lost power due Read More »
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Giving Extra Grace While Keeping Your Staff Safe
December 17, 2020By Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP In a normal year, many mild-mannered, rational people go a bit crazy during the holidays. As evidenced by the countless news stories about pre-COVID stampedes and fist fights over that prime parking space, this time of year tends to bring out some of our less desirable Read More »
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TDM and COVID-19
December 16, 2020TDM–transportation demand management–is a concerted effort to get people to choose alternates to single-occupant vehicles (SOVs), including transit, micro-mobility, and shared rides, to get from place to place. When COVID-19 made social distancing a trend, TDM took a big hit. And now, with several vaccines in use around the world Read More »
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Academic Parking & Mobility’s Response to COVID-19
December 15, 2020By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE The fall 2020 semester for higher education campuses has been a mixture of trial and error, adaptation, and survival. With the effects of the global pandemic continuing to evolve, ensuring some level of education and campus experience has been a rapidly moving target. Within the Read More »
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Parking Meters on Parade a Highlight in North Carolina Beach Town
December 14, 2020When a global pandemic works its Grinchiness all over traditional holiday activities, it’s time to get creative. And that’s exactly what the town of Carolina Beach, N.C., did when it dreamed up Parking Meters on Parade, which encouraged residents to transform the town’s parking meters into celebrations of the December Read More »
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Breaking Down the Parksmart Standard
December 11, 2020By Megan Leinart, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C Since the launch of the Parksmart certification standard nearly a decade ago, the program has transformed the way owners and operators look at the development of their parking and mixed-use facilities. It has also served as inspiration for consultants, contractors, and solutions providers Read More »
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Calm Your Employees by Knowing What to Do if They Have COVID
December 10, 2020By Matthew Hulme, CAPP, MPA To say that the entire world is sick and tired of hearing the word “COVID” would be an understatement. And yet, here I am writing about it. It is certainly not going anywhere soon and its effects on the parking industry will be felt for Read More »
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Case Study: The South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center
December 9, 2020South Boston’s Seaport District has seen explosive development and growth in the last 10 years, so when it came time to add parking, it made sense to design and build a structure that would bring multiple modes of transportation together and help people get around no matter which mode made Read More »
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Glam Grandmother and Rapper: The Power of Radical Collaboration
December 8, 2020By Casey Jones, CAPP I met news that Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg were getting together to do a cooking show with a raised eyebrow. I’ll bet some tuned in with car-crash curiosity to witness the interaction between a retail businesswoman, writer, television personality, and former model, and a Long Read More »
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Industry Association: Truck Parking Shortage Worsening, Endangering Drivers
December 7, 2020An association of independent truck drivers says despite efforts to provide more parking for truckers to rest, shortages in every state still exist and are worsening. A spokesperson for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) told an industry publication that efforts to develop apps and other technologies drivers could use Read More »
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A Trucker’s Blinking Brake Lights
December 4, 2020By Kim Fernandez Maryland’s I-270 south splits about a mile before it ends, forcing drivers to choose which way they’ll travel around the Washington, D.C. Beltway: right for Virginia and left for Maryland. It’s the main commuting route for people who live in the outer, northwest suburbs of Washington, D.C., Read More »
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The Abundance We Share
December 3, 2020By Kim E. Jackson, CAPP ‘Tis the season–unfortunately, everyone might not be feeling so jolly right now. Many of us just experienced a Thanksgiving holiday that did not include our normal large family and friends gathering, and we now face the challenge of modest end-of-year holiday celebrations. Instead of looking Read More »
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Cookies and Radishes
December 2, 2020By Matt Penney, CAPP There was an interesting social experiment several years ago. Participants were placed in a room with a bowl of radishes and a bowl of freshly baked cookies. One group was told to enjoy all the cookies they wanted. The second group was told to eat the Read More »
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The American Dream, Parking Technology, and the Realities of COVID-19
December 1, 2020By Geoffrey Posluszny The American Dream is an entertainment retail complex located next to the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, just a few short miles from New York City. This development has been in the works for more than 20 years and has had its share of ups and downs. Read More »
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California Town Faces Backlash for Banning On-street RV Parking
November 30, 2020The City of Fullerton, Calif., enacted a ban on on-street RV parking and now faces backlash from people who live in the vehicles and feel they’re being discriminated against. Officials left flyers on RVs parked on city streets explaining the new regulation and saying the vehicles have to be moved Read More »
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Happy Thanksgiving from Your Friends at IPMI
November 25, 2020By Shawn Conrad, CAE We keep hearing that this Thanksgiving will be unlike any Thanksgiving we’ve celebrated in the past. It may be hard to find things you are thankful for in 2020, while a global novel coronavirus wreaks havoc on our health, schools, business, and communities. Thanksgiving has always Read More »
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Reflections on Thankfulness in a Turbulent Year
November 24, 2020By Kevin White, AICP Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday by far. Good food, time together with family, reflecting on what we are thankful for, and giving back to others who need a boost. With COVID-19 cases rising again after a turbulent year, this Thanksgiving will take on a new meaning Read More »
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New York Bill Would Allow Citizens to Enforce Parking Rules
November 23, 2020The New York City Council is considering allowing citizens to report parking violations and collect part of the ensuing fines. Fines would increase from $115 to $175 and citizens who used an online portal to report violations would receive 25 percent of that. The bill’s sponsors say they hope it Read More »
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Going from Grand to Ground
November 20, 2020By Kathleen Federici, MEd As we approach the holiday season, I typically look forward to attending our schools’ holiday concerts. I had no expectation of attending one this year even though both of my children are in band. My nine-year-old plays the clarinet, cello, and piano. Yes, the cello is Read More »
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A Little Radio Nostalgia for the Parking Meter
November 19, 2020Who needs a bit of warm and fuzzy this week? We found some in a Rhinelander, Wisc., radio historian’s recent report, which offered a little lesson and some nostalgia for the old-time parking meter. “Parking meters are a useful way to regulate traffic flow in areas where parking is at Read More »
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Navigating the New Normal
November 18, 2020The COVID-19 pandemic had significant effects on the way parking and mobility operates. From reductions in revenue to an accelerated push to embrace contactless payment and a new emphasis on effective and efficient micro-mobility options, the challenges have been big. As operation have navigated all of this change, they’ve found Read More »
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Changing the Culture of Parking Patrons
November 17, 2020By Keith Kennedy, CAPP After the course of many years and a consistent way of doing business, accepting changes can be challenging. The steadfast culture of how things are perceived or how they “should be” is a roadblock that must be taken down. As new technologies come into play, organizations Read More »
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Rising COVID Rates Transform Hospital Parking Garages
November 16, 2020With COVID-19 rates spiking across the U.S., hospitals are again transforming garages into triage or patient care units. One of the first is Renown Health in Reno, Nev., which turned an entire garage into a COVID patient care unit that opened late last week. The 10-day transformation from parking to Read More »
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Don’t Go It Alone! The Benefits of Attending Events as a Team
November 13, 2020By Rita Pagan, DES During the past few years, online conferences have gained traction as an alternative or add-on to in-person professional conferences when budgets are limited. With the onset of Coronavirus, virtual events have become the norm for now. I believe we’ll move into 2021 with hybrid events that Read More »
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Finding Improvement through After-action Reviews
November 12, 2020By Matthew Hulme, CAPP, MPA The after-action review (AAR) is extensively used in the military to garner feedback on how teams performed during an incident or event. In fact, it was used so often that it became the standard by which any task was deemed to be complete. Any menial Read More »
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Celebrating Veterans Working in Parking
November 11, 2020By Allen Corry, CAPP A veteran is a person with long service or experience in a particular occupation or field. It can also be a person who has served and is no longer serving in the military. Military veterans who have served directly in combat in a war are further Read More »
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Where Should the RVs Go?
November 10, 2020By Christina Jones, CAPP #VanLife hit peak viral status in 2017, with influencers providing MTV Cribs-style walk-throughs on their YouTube channels of their custom-built rigs, and Instagramming updates of the challenges and adventures of the lifestyle. Inhabited vehicles, though, have been a way of life for years for many, and Read More »
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Ways Cities are Leveraging Micro-mobility for Good
November 9, 2020Micro-mobility–shared scooters, bikes, etc.–is proving fantastic for getting people around, particularly in a COVID world. But a new resource says cities have evolved in the way they work with the vehicles and social good is coming from that. The Micro-mobility Policy Atlas, developed by the Shared-use Mobility Center, New Urban Read More »
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Building Hope
November 6, 2020By Justin Grunert, MSM As a movie buff, I love horror movies. And lately, zombies are having a moment. I have seen some great zombie movies and some really awful ones. Maybe they fit when a deadly pandemic ravages the world, causing people to become infected with a fatal disease. Read More »
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Automaker Working to Turn Greek Island into Mobility Hub
November 5, 2020Volkswagen has launched a pilot program to transform the Greek island of Astypalea into a sustainable mobility hub, with car- and ride-sharing and a fleet of vehicles operating on electric powertrains. The six-year program will replace 1,500 conventional vehicles with 1,000 electric cars on the island, and bring in electric Read More »
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Parking Helps Transform Detroit
November 4, 2020By Bill Smith If you haven’t been focused on what’s happening in Detroit, you’re missing one of America’s best stories. Businesses are returning to the downtown, restaurants and clubs have emerged, manufacturing is vibrant again, and Detroit is well on its way to becoming one of the hottest tourist destinations Read More »
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The Real Cost of COVID-19
November 3, 2020By Keith Kennedy, CAPP COVID-19 has taken a lot of people by surprise. When such events happen, everyone rallies. They hope this will be a short duration event. COVID-19 is still here–the threat is still real and still hanging around. There are so many ways this can hit us. Like Read More »
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Transportation Leaders Launch Future of Mobility Commission
November 2, 2020Mobility and transportation leaders from around the world last week announced the launch of the Commission on the Future of Mobility, “to identify opportunities across transportation and technology silos and propose a fundamentally new vision for transportation policy for people and goods.” Members include: Dr. Jared Cohon, president emeritus, Carnegie Read More »
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Undoing Unconstitutional
October 30, 2020By Shawn Conrad, CAE It may be hard to remember simpler times when we weren’t dealing with a global pandemic and the top trend and topic for our industry was curb management. It’s even harder to fathom that only a year ago, parking enforcement and specifically chalking tires was being Read More »
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Dude, Where’s My Wallet?
October 29, 2020By Chris Elliston The events industry has begun to crawl back to life and venues are reopening their doors to the public. Sports teams, entertainment and recreation sites, and universities have been busy pivoting processes to offer a safe return. As fans and guests start to revisit these familiar grounds, Read More »
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COVID-19 and Telework
October 28, 2020By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP As most of us have experienced, the COVID pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented national experiment with teleworking/telecommuting. The necessity of this has also seen a dramatic investment in the technology platforms to facilitate enhanced working-from-home communications. Many companies and institutions that had been anti-telework Read More »
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Study Reveals COVID’s Effect on How We Vacation
October 27, 2020By Brad Goldman We noticed a trend this summer: Our coworkers were driving to nearby vacation destinations and working remotely from there. We were curious to see if this was more of a macrotrend, so we surveyed more than 1,000 ParkMobile users to find out how their vacations changed in Read More »
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Standard Adopted for Wireless Electric Car Charging
October 26, 2020The ability to park an electric vehicle (EV) in a space and walk away to let it charge without plugging anything in got a boost forward Thursday with the announcement of a single industry standard for wireless charging. The standard–officially called SAE J2954–governs inductive charging (wireless) systems up to 11 Read More »
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Civic Duty & Civility
October 23, 2020By Michelle W. Jones, CMP, CAE Election Day is nearly upon us in the U.S. To say that times are contentious is a woeful understatement. Whether you follow politics regularly or you check in only during election season, there is no denying this is an important time. Each of us Read More »
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Checking Our Blind Spots
October 22, 2020By Christina Jones, CAPP How do you check your blind spots? Maybe you have systems in place that alert you when you are drifting—or maybe you are old school like me and ask your passenger if there is something there you can’t see. Ask people for feedback, they sometimes tell Read More »
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Frontline Fundamentals: Innovations in Parking
October 21, 2020By Robert Ferrin The parking industry is constantly innovating. With technology implementation moving so fast, it can sometimes feel like a whirlwind. For our employees, the change can be swift and surprising. How can our most valued assets–our employees–get involved in these innovative projects and programs and what are some Read More »
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When Your Community Speaks, Listen
October 20, 2020By Matthew Hulme, CAPP, MPA When meeting with community partners such as business councils, neighborhood advocacy groups, and resident coalitions, I don’t often hear, “We’d love to see more parking tickets issued around here.” So I tend to take notice when I do. Last time, my hope was that my Read More »
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Airports Managing Through COVID-19 Crisis
October 19, 2020Few parking sectors have been hit as hard by COVID-19 as airports–people simply aren’t flying. That said, when they do fly, driving to and parking at the airport is more attractive than using transit or transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber or Lyft, so as lockdowns ease, airport parking Read More »
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Upskilling: You’re Worth It!
October 16, 2020By Kathleen Federici, MEd Why has upskilling suddenly become so important? The short answer is the digital economy. There is a relentless commitment to achieve more with less, especially now during the COVID pandemic. Upskilling is the process of acquiring new and relevant competencies needed today and in the near Read More »
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Flipping the Switch with the BEAST
October 15, 2020By Vanessa R. Cummings, CAPP When you work with customers, which most of us do, you need to know the best way to interact with them. Some are less than friendly; we may also have colleagues, friends, or family who push our buttons. If you can relate to this, then Read More »
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Granular Choice, Reduced Parking Demand, and Delighted Customers
October 14, 2020By Chris Lechner, CAPP UCLA has long been a leader in reducing drive-alone rates. Historically, attention has been focused on subsidizing alternative transportation products, but parking policy plays a key role. Though often overlooked, daily discounted parking is crucial support strategy to meeting transportation demand management goals. UCLA has been Read More »
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Send Me Your Emails!
October 13, 2020By Matt Penney, CAPP “It is Dr. Freemont. I would appreciate you using my proper title each and every time you address me.” Great. I had contacted “Dr. Freemont” about his daughter’s use of his faculty parking permit. In the original email, I addressed him by his first name. He Read More »
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Lime Pushes for Mobility-as-a-Service Status
October 12, 2020Lime, once known for its huge fleet of ubiquitous green bikes, announced it will allow third-party transportation service providers to offer their services inside its app, growing from a bike and scooter booking service to a MaaS provider. Wheels, which offers pedal-free e-bikes, will be the first to join Lime Read More »
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Acting with Purpose and Kindness
October 9, 2020By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP In a normal year, it takes discipline to set goals and stay focused on the steps you need to take to achieve them. This year has thrown us all for one heck of a curve. It’s easy to mindlessly scroll through Read More »
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Are You Empowered?
October 8, 2020By Victor Hill, CAPP The first year I worked with license plate recognition taught me a valuable lesson in managing expectations with reality and the importance of empowering others. I managed a small campus parking operation–four full-time employees, including me, and student enforcement officers. We had high hopes for LPR Read More »
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The National Freight Strategic Plan
October 7, 2020By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao recently announced the release of the first National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP). It is the latest effort by the department to strengthen America’s economic competitiveness. The NFSP lays out “a vision for long-term investments in infrastructure, the workforce, Read More »
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Saying Yes–More Than You Usually Would
October 6, 2020By Gary Means, CAPP OK, I know in the parking and transportation business we often have to say “no”. No parking at a fire hydrant! No motorcycles in the gated garage! No walking around in the bus when its in motion! No dance parties on the garage roof! Many of Read More »
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Parking Garage Lauded for Drive-through Art Show in Dallas
October 5, 2020Area 3, a drive-through art show in a downtown Dallas parking garage, brought together 11 local artists to immerse guests in light, sound, and color and is being applauded by media and the public there. “This drive-through exhibition curated by the biennial festival Aurora is easily the coolest art event Read More »
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Growing Grace
October 2, 2020By Kim Fernandez After a socially distanced, back porch, complaining-about-all-things-Coronavirus, decidedly unhappy hour a couple of months back, two friends and I decided we needed more happy—a lot more happy. So we came up with the COVID blessing, which is something we’re grateful for that wouldn’t have happened without the Read More »
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A New Kind of Crisis Management
October 1, 2020By Casey Jones, CAPP Rahm Emanuel famously said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” In spite of the tragedy and difficulty we currently face during this once-in-a-century health Read More »
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Leading with Authentic Concern
September 30, 2020By Brian Wolff Leading in good times is challenging enough, and with all that has happened this year, the degree of difficulty has escalated by a factor of at least two. Today’s leader must be able to connect with their people on a different level to be effective. As a Read More »
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How to Network During a Virtual Event
September 29, 2020By Ashley Owens We are all working from the safety of our homes and many of our powerful engagements now happen online. While we are physically distancing, virtually we are not. Online conferences give us access to the best experts, industry leaders, and other potential assets to our network, so Read More »
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What Flyers Need to Know About Airport Parking in a Pandemic
September 28, 2020Not a lot of people are traveling by plane right now but parking is still top of mind for those who are. In response, Forbes this weekend ran a piece about what flyers can expect when they go to park their cars. “The COVID pandemic has changed the way you Read More »
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Hold On–Let Me Overthink This
September 25, 2020By Rita Pagan Feeling like every decision you make lately is questionable? I feel especially doubtful of my decision-making abilities when it comes to the health and education of my children during this pandemic. And just like my mug, I’m OK with just being “okayest” right now to help with Read More »
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California Announces Plan to Ban New Gas-powered Car Sales by 2035
September 24, 2020California Gov. Gavin Newsom said yesterday his state will decrease the number of gasoline-powered vehicles sold there until only zero-emissions cars and trucks are allowed for sale in just 15 years. He hopes all heavy-duty trucks sold there will be be zero-emissions 10 years after that, he said. Last year, Read More »
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Back to School
September 23, 2020By Brett Wood CAPP, PE The weather outside is starting to change, ushering in cooler and more palatable temperatures. That’s usually a sign that students are heading back to college and my favorite sport (college football) is about to kick off. While these things are happening, it’s obviously a slightly Read More »
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Recruiting Professionals into Parking: A Conversation
September 22, 2020“I fell into parking.” “I never thought I’d work in this industry.” We hear it all the time–longtime parking and mobility professionals say they never saw themselves in this industry but loved it once they fell or backed into it. But what if there was a concerted effort to make Read More »
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Forbes: Considering Limited-access Parking for Autonomous Vehicles
September 21, 2020Limited-access highways, which offer high-speed roadway without much interaction with adjoining property or areas, are considered a great proving ground for autonomous vehicles, allowing them to travel quickly while minimizing the potential for accidents. Today, Forbes wonders if a similar concept would be prudent for parking lots, which may present Read More »
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Up, Up, and Away
September 18, 2020By Shawn Conrad, CAE It sounds surreal to say this but I just flew on a commercial flight for the first time in six months. With a family member recovering from surgery, I was needed on the West Coast and looked forward to doing something I did numerous times every Read More »
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Ask the Experts: The Future of Micro-mobility
September 17, 2020Experts say micro-mobility will emerge as a major form of transportation, especially in cities and on campuses, as we re-open after COVID-19. How do you think the industry could best take advantage of this trend? That’s the question we posed to our Ask the Experts panel for the September issue of Parking Read More »
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Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
September 16, 2020By Tiffany Smith Emotional intelligence (EI) is incredibly complex and incredibly simple. When this became a buzzword of sorts a number of years ago, I immediately became intrigued. I consider myself both emotional and intelligent; I thought, this is a perfect adjective for my brand. Emotional intelligence is defined as Read More »
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Are You Breathing?
September 15, 2020By Kim E. Jackson, CAPP Unfortunately, as we enter into the 2020 fall and winter months, we are still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, still trying to address and better understand racial tension and injustice, and soon, those of us in the U.S. will participate in a presidential election. Many Read More »
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Beach Town Businesses Battle Paid Parking Proposal
September 14, 2020Sullivan’s Island, S.C., like a lot of cities and towns, is facing a significant revenue shortfall because of COVID-19. But when the town council proposed instituting paid parking, the beach town’s business owners revolted, saying they’d lose customers if people had to pay to park. “This is not a way Read More »
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My Flying Car
September 11, 2020By Justin Grunert, MSM As a kid watching cartoons and other T.V. shows, the idea of flying cars in the future was fantastic! But sadly, we are in 2020, and no one has a flying car yet. While scrolling through headlines, I found a short article about a Japanese company Read More »
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Return to Normal?
September 10, 2020By Josh Cantor, CAPP Starting in mid-March and the first effects of COVID-19, we started having multiple meetings a day and adjusted our operations as classes moved online for the remainder of the spring semester. By late spring, our daily meetings shifted their focus to preparing for the fall 2020 Read More »
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Parking Lots, Public Spaces, Social Distancing, and Safety
September 9, 2020By Rob Reiter Six months into dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans are finding ways to keep commerce moving amid many restrictions on use, occupancy, and physical spacing. In addition, the sharp drop in the use of public transportation has increased the pressures for re-purposing some very valuable real estate Read More »
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The Benefits of Green Infrastructure
September 8, 2020By Kathryn Hebert, PhD Green Infrastructure initiatives are used to reduce and handle the excess water storms bring in to urban environments, and even help the environment and economy. Storm runoff is a greater problem in urban areas where pavement and other non-porous surfaces prevent much of it from soaking Read More »
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Reality Checks and Great Things for Frontline Professionals
September 4, 2020By Cindy Campbell I’ve noticed that maintaining my motivation has been challenging lately. There was a time where the idea of working from home sounded so … idyllic. One heaping dose of reality later, I’m far less enamored with the remoteness of it all. Many colleagues are also feeling the Read More »
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The Metamorphosis of a Parking Authority
September 3, 2020By Tiffany Smith The Parking Authority of River City, Ky., (PARC) has made a number of transformations in the last 25 years, and I’ve been fortunate enough to witness this metamorphosis. From adopting automation ahead of the curve to implementing contactless payments system-wide, PARC has been on the leading edge Read More »
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Who Can You Reach With Your Spoon?
September 2, 2020By Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP I listened to the episode of Brene Brown’s podcast “Unlocking Us” again this week in which she interviews David Koessler, the world’s foremost expert on grief and grieving. It is a profound conversation and I highly recommend investing an hour of your time to listen in. Read More »
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Frontline Fundamentals: Building the Team–Ordinary to Extraordinary
September 1, 2020By Melissa Yates, CAPP What does it take to be a leader? No matter your position within an organization, we all have the potential to help our team move to the next level and get on the same page. But how exactly do we get the ball rolling? This was Read More »
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D.C.’s Curb Management Technology Showcased to Consumers
August 31, 2020Washington, D.C., garnered attention in the parking and mobility industry when it launched its innovative curb management program last year, installing several dozen cameras in business windows to inform systems in delivery trucks where and when they could park on the street. This weekend, the system was explained to consumers Read More »
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Re-imagining Emotional Intelligence
August 28, 2020By Michelle W. Jones, CAE, CMP Google’s English dictionary, provided by Oxford Languages, defines emotional intelligence as, “the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.” In recent years, emotional intelligence has become a more and more common topic at Read More »
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Automated, Valet Garage Concept Open in Detroit
August 27, 2020A partnership between automaker Ford and two tech companies has opened an automated, valet garage demonstration site in Detroit, in the same corridor where 40 miles of AV-only highway lanes are planned. Bosch, Bedrock Technologies, and Ford worked together to build the site, which is available for visits by appointment. Read More »
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Celebrating This Year’s Class of CAPPs
August 26, 2020Earning CAPP is a pivotal achievement for a parking and mobility professional–it puts them in an elite class of experts who’ve demonstrated their commitment to and knowledge of the industry by working for its most respected credential. This year, IPMI is pleased to welcome 43 new CAPPs to the ranks Read More »
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Case Study: National Review of Public Transit COVID-19 Delivery Programs
August 25, 2020By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I was reviewing some literature on transit operations during the COVID-19 pandemic recently and ran across a case study of transit agencies pivoting to repurposing a portion of their fleets to address COVID-related community needs. The case study, authored by Al Benedict and Mallory Livingston Read More »
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San Diego Restaurants Jump Into TNCs’ Battle About Driver Employment Status
August 24, 2020Saying their already-struggling businesses could be decimated if Uber and Lyft leave California, restaurant owners in San Diego have jumped into the legal battle around TNCs’ driver status. Even though ride-share demand is low now, they say, many eateries depend on the services bringing customers to them. Restaurant owners also Read More »
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What’s On Your Mind?
August 21, 2020By Kathleen Federici, MEd What’s on your mind these days? Our entire team is eager to hear it. This year we have asked for your submissions for our 2021 webinar series. It’s not the call for proposals for our 2021 Conference & Expo (but look for that later this year). Read More »
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Returning to Work in the New Normal
August 20, 2020By Richard L. Bradley, CAPP The University of Mississippi has started inviting faculty and staff back to campus for work. We were well taken care of during our campus shutdown, which stretched from mid-March until July 1, and paid administrative leave was allowed for those with positions not conducive to Read More »
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Keep Calm and Carry On: The Power of Resiliency
August 19, 2020By Casey Jones, CAPP I’m currently reading Erik Larson’s “The Splendid and the Vile,” an account of the year that followed Winston Churchill’s appointment as British Prime Minister and the devastation brought by Hitler and Germany’s Luftwaffe against the island nation of Great Britain. The book details many harrowing experiences Read More »
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Wired: Public Skepticism, Union Opposition Will Greatly Delay Autonomous Transit
August 18, 2020It wasn’t so long ago that autonomous buses and shuttles felt like part of the near-term future. But delays in technology and COVID-19 have put the brakes on that prediction, and now Wired says autonomous transit will have to get past public nerves and strong opposition by unions to happen. Read More »
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A Look at Facebook’s One-stop Mobility Hub
August 17, 2020When Facebook built the Menlo Gateway phase of its Menlo Park headquarters, the company knew getting employees around would be paramount. So the sprawling complex includes three parking structures, the first of which was designed to be a one-stop mobility hub that would give employees lots of choices for getting Read More »
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AVs Get Their Own Lane in Michigan
August 14, 2020Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer yesterday announced the establishment of dedicated lanes for autonomous vehicles (AVs) on a 40-mile stretch of highway between Detroit and Ann Arbor. The lanes will be built thanks to a private-public partnership (P3) and construction is expected to begin after a two-year study to determine the Read More »
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Applying Lessons from PARK(ing) Day to COVID-19
August 13, 2020PARK(ing) Day–that September day when on-street parking spaces around the world are transformed into picnic areas, yoga studios, tiny parks, art exhibitions, and anything else that might fit. Who would have ever guessed we’d use what we learned from that annual celebration to help fight a global pandemic? In this Read More »
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Mastering the Art of Effective–Really Effective–Networking
August 12, 2020By Ashley Owens Networking is such a personal activity–it is not a one-size-fits-all practice. Most people get bogged down in the details and miss out on the foundation of how to build and retain an effective network. At the end of the day, no one cares WHAT you do, but Read More »
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Masks on Miami: A COVID Safety Campaign with Smiling Undertones
August 11, 2020By Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, CAPP How do you make wearing a mask fun? With some hip music, a little swagger and an only-in-Miami attitude. That’s how the Masks On Miami campaign puts a smile on an otherwise hard situation. Aimed at keeping people safe by encouraging them to wear masks, Read More »
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Los Angeles Delays Micro-mobility Regulations Designed to Boost Equity
August 10, 2020The transportation committee of the Los Angeles City Council approved strict new rules governing micro-mobility distribution and use through the city but delayed roll-out until the end of the year. Companies providing shared scooters and bikes praised the delay, saying the new regulations are too expensive and difficult to comply Read More »
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Life Ring in a Coffee Cup
August 7, 2020By Kim Fernandez My family has been home nearly every minute of every day since March. I’m terribly blessed to have them and love them more than life itself…and they’re driving me just a tiny bit crazy. You too? It’s hard to work with so many bodies and a near-constant Read More »
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University Plans for Fall
August 6, 2020Colleges and universities are facing unprecedented challenges this fall: To return to campus, to stay all-remote, to launch a hybrid model, and everything all of those decisions entail. Health and safety have never played as big a role in a fall as they do this year, and that means parking Read More »
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Slowing Down, Reflecting More, Appreciating the Small Things
August 5, 2020By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP Among the many unexpected aspects of living through these unusual times, one that has emerged for me is an enhanced appreciation of the small but critically important aspects of day-to-day life, family, and community that can often be neglected when we are fully engaged in Read More »
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Creating Alternatives to Adaptive Reuse
August 4, 2020By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE I’ve been a parking consultant for awhile now and have done my fair share of downtown parking studies. Most of them start with trying to define how many parking spaces are occupied at peak conditions. As I look back at this experience, I cannot recall Read More »
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As RV Popularity Surges, More Walmarts Ban Overnight Parking
August 3, 2020It was a not-very-well kept secret among RV owners for a very long time: If they couldn’t find or couldn’t afford a campground while visiting a city, they could almost always camp in a Walmart parking lot overnight. But a lot of Walmarts are banning overnight RV parking–sometimes because of Read More »
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Above All Else, Be Kind: Emotional Intelligence During Uncertainty
July 31, 2020By Rita Pagan The struggle is REAL. We’re all stressed in every aspect of our lives right now. There are days I feel like I just can’t function, mentally, physically, and emotionally. It’s overwhelming. So having emotional intelligence is at the utmost importance right now. Emotional intelligence is the ability Read More »
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Valuable Lessons from Accreditation
July 30, 2020By David G. Onorato, CAPP With its 2017 recognition as an IPMI Accredited Parking Organization (APO), the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh became one of just a few initial municipal providers to achieve APO status. Awarded with distinction, the designation affirmed the effectiveness of the agency’s aggressive adoption of the Read More »
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Electrifying the Transportation System
July 29, 2020By Robert Ferrin A quiet revolution is occurring in the transportation system as national, state, and local governments are planning toward a carbon-neutral future to combat poor air and water quality and climate change. Automakers, too, are reacting to these currents of change. A recent Forbes article highlighted a dozen Read More »
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Movement for Everyone
July 28, 2020By Casey Jones, CAPP Last November, Lauren McLean succeeded four-term incumbent Dave Bieter to become Boise’s 56th mayor. To establish her agenda and set priorities for the new administration, the new mayor invited more than 70 citizens to participate in one of six transition committees tasked with forming recommendations to Read More »
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Beach Towns Try Controlling Crowding with Parking
July 27, 2020Finding themselves too crowded for comfort during COVID-19 on weekends and, in some cases, too desolate for business during the week, beach towns through the U.S. are enacting–and sometimes removing–restrictions on parking to effect traffic one way or another. A few examples: Parking in parts of Charleston, S.C., was restricted Read More »
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Reaching for the Sky
July 23, 2020It’s been a weird year in parking and mobility. Maybe that makes it a great time to tell some of the industry’s positive stories–the stories that explain why parking and mobility are vital components of successful cities, campuses, healthcare facilities, airports, and all sorts of businesses and venues. We bet Read More »
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Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
July 22, 2020By Matt Penney, CAPP I checked off an item on my to-do list this morning: After four years in my “new” office, I finally got around to a little decorating. The parking signs that had been stacked on the floor now make a border around my office. The wide assortment Read More »
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IPMI’s Roadmap to Recovery Needs Your Help
July 21, 2020By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE During the last few months, several of IPMI’s volunteer committee members have been working to assemble information about the industry’s response to COVID-19 and the overall path for recovery for parking and mobility organizations. Several pieces of information have been shared and can be found Read More »
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Cultivating the Next Generation of Industry Professionals
July 20, 2020“I fell into parking.” “I never thought I’d work in this industry.” We hear it all the time–longtime parking and mobility professionals say they never saw themselves in this industry but loved it once they fell or backed into it. But what if there was a concerted effort to make Read More »
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Dear COVID-19: I Have a Grievance
July 17, 2020By Justin Grunert, MSM Dear COVID-19: How dare you try to ruin my summer! Your infection may be forcing places to close and you may think you have ruined fun–well, think again. I will not be visiting the beaches but I will be enjoying other outdoor activities. I found quite Read More »
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IPMI, Coalition of Municipalities, Request $30B for COVID Recovery
July 16, 2020Over the next few weeks, Congress is working on a potential third stimulus package to assist various sectors of the U.S. economy. The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI), with a coalition of municipalities, is requesting an additional $30B to support cities providing essential services in response to COVID-19. Read Read More »
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Five Great Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
July 15, 2020LinkedIn has long been known as the place to socially network to hire, improve professional knowledge, network, and bump up one’s career. But it’s also one of the biggest search engines on the internet and people visit it to find all sorts of things. If your profile’s not optimized, they Read More »
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Now Is the Time to Rethink Sustainability
July 14, 2020By Jonah Eidus It shouldn’t take a global pandemic to demonstrate the benefits of a more sustainable future. Yet Los Angeles, which is notorious for its poor air quality, recently experienced some of the cleanest air in the world and its longest stretch of good air quality in more than Read More »
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U.K. Legalizes Shared E-scooters on Roads After COVID-19 Lockdowns
July 13, 2020Commuters in England, Scotland, and Wales will soon have a new way to get around: As of July 4, shared e-scooters are legal on their roads. Trips on pubic transportation are down 90 percent since COVID-19 lockdowns began several months ago, and the scooters’ introduction are intended to help people Read More »
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Music to Our Ears
July 10, 2020By Shawn Conrad, CAE I had a friend who sold machinery. He traveled long distances across North America and Europe, and I once asked him how he passed all that time behind the wheel. He told me he survived on rock-n-roll–I’m about to date myself—he traveled with a suitcase full Read More »
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Lyft’s Self-driving Cars Returning to the Road
July 9, 2020It’s been awhile since we’ve heard anything about autonomous cars getting out there–they shut down along with everyone else this spring–but Lyft’s AVs have started testing again on tracks in Palo Alto, Calif. The company said it used the three-month, COVID-mandated, off-road pause to employ machine learning and keep its Read More »
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Leveraging Analytics as Part of a Data-Driven Operation
July 8, 2020By Kevin White, AICP As businesses and cities reopen from various restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is uncertainty in how various sectors will fare and how customers and visitors will react. If your operation hasn’t already adopted a philosophy of data-driven management, the time is now Read More »
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A Seat at the Table During COVID-19
July 7, 2020By Marlene Cramer, CAPP For years, parking and mobility professionals have advocated for a seat at the table. As director of transportation and parking at a university campus, one of my collateral roles is as planning sections chief in our campus Emergency Operation Center (EOC). During the past four months, Read More »
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No More Free Parking for EVs in Hawaii
July 6, 2020A bill that would have extended free parking for electric vehicles (EVs) in state-owned facilities and at metered spaces in Hawaii died without being passed; EV drivers started paying for parking July 1. Free parking for EVs is a common perk of ownership and environmental advocates say it’s an incentive Read More »
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Urban Mobility After COVID-19
July 2, 2020More of us are working from home than ever—some with no return to office in sight. Buses and commuter trains are running nearly empty in some markets, cars stay parked for weeks at a time, and the demand for bikes is unprecedented. COVID-19 has had huge effects on the way Read More »
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Flexibility and COVID-19
July 1, 2020By Mark Lyons, CAPP Albert Einstein said the measure of intelligence is the ability to change. The demand for changes in mobility programs as a result of COVID-19 are enough to make any good mobility professional more flexible than taffy on hot day. I know you’re probably more than done Read More »
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When Will I See You Again?
June 30, 2020By Roamy Valera, CAPP Saying goodbye to someone after a visit or meeting was clearly underrated prior to the pandemic. We had become accustomed to moving freely and willingly to visit family, friends, and colleagues. In my case, getting on a plane once a week and traveling for meetings and Read More »
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Pandemic Travel Patterns Offer Hints About Future
June 29, 2020The world collectively has learned a lot since COVID-19 begin forcing shutdowns and stay-home orders. Experts say that’s true for travel patterns, and the way people shifted theirs during and after lockdowns may offer a glimpse of the future of human transportation. Bloomberg CityLab says, “The lessons of the great Read More »
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Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
June 26, 2020By Michelle W. Jones, CAE, CMP For that matter, any uncomfortable conversation can be hard. Whether you are ending a relationship, asking an aging parent about end-of-life decisions, or inquiring about the possibility of a pay raise, many conversations we have in business or in daily life are stressful. It Read More »
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Authentic Concern and The Potential of Industry Technology Suppliers
June 25, 2020By Brian Wolff “Authentic concern” is defined simply as a company that genuinely demonstrates concern, as opposed to a fake or half-hearted interaction that leaves you feeling less than appreciated or valued. If your company is delivering authentic concern, your customers feel like they are more than a number or Read More »
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Balancing the Post-pandemic Budget
June 24, 2020By Pamela Corbin, CAPP There is little doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on the budgets of parking systems throughout the country. Operating budgets are one of the most important work products in municipalities. They give the authority to incur obligations and pay expenses, allocate resources, and control Read More »
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Planning in Unusual Times
June 23, 2020By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I recently read an article by Sam Lubell about COVID-19’s effects on cities, in the Los Angeles Times. In his article, Lubell outlines how “although pandemics have long been a tragic scourge on our cities, they’ve also forced architecture and city planning to evolve. The Read More »
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Is This Micro-mobility’s Moment?
June 22, 2020Since COVID-19 lockdowns started in March, micro-mobility has struggled and several big players have either exited specific markets or left the field altogether. But with more people around the world heading back to work and wary of trains and buses, micro-mobility may be enjoying a big boom–and a chance to Read More »
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Choose Kindness
June 19, 2020By Kathleen Federici, MEd I witnessed an act of kindness about three weeks ago that has stuck with me. Kindness is everywhere. Sometimes, the act is so small we don’t allow ourselves to acknowledge it. Sometimes, the act is so large, we can’t allow ourselves to forget it. With our Read More »
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Return to Normalcy?
June 18, 2020By Josh Cantor, CAPP During many large-scale events and emergencies, such as severe weather, I am used to being an integral part of planning and response as I represent parking and transportation. It sometimes takes me being pushy, but I always want to make sure access concerns are addressed, as Read More »
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Diversify Your Portfolio
June 17, 2020By Robert Ferrin A phrase often heard from a financial advisor is resonating with municipal parking operators throughout the nation as we feel the effects of COVID-19 on our budgets. COVID-19 has affected so many things in our world, not the least of which has been parking and transportation demand Read More »
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Communication in a Virtual Training World
June 16, 2020By Kim E. Jackson, CAPP I have the distinct honor of being a trainer for IPMI. I have been training for the past 23 years and one of the major highlights has always been the face-to-face interactions with trainees. During COVID-19, I decided to participate in Frontline Training Live Class Read More »
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Forty-two Years Later, Massachusetts Man Pays Parking Citation
June 15, 2020A Massachusetts man found a parking ticket he received in Maine back in 1978 and it ate at him–so much so that he mailed the ticket and a check for the $3 fine and $1 late fee to the York, Maine Police Department. They were so surprised and amused by Read More »
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The Art–and Value–of Doing Nothing
June 12, 2020By Kim Fernandez This was supposed to be a busy year. Besides work, I had several days of out-of-state college touring with my daughter, plus a five-day trip as a chaperone with her school choir group, plus days to move my son home from college, plus a family vacation, plus Read More »
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Sharing Our COVID-19 Knowledge
June 11, 2020By Nicole Chinea, CAPP I recently went out to dinner post-COVID. I have to admit, it was a bit scary. Despite what is going on in our world at the moment, I am grateful to say that this is the first time I have felt fear from going to dinner Read More »
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What’s the Answer, Part II
June 10, 2020By David Feehan As I thought about my previous blog, I realized that there is much I wanted to say but did not. I raised the issue of diversity in the parking industry and even looked to our leadership at IPMI to ask if we were doing enough. But having Read More »
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What’s the Answer?
June 9, 2020By David Feehan These have been particularly sad and disheartening days for me. I am a native of Minneapolis, Minn., a city that has always prided itself on being enlightened when it comes to race. I owned a house just off Lake Street, where the burning and looking occurred. My Read More »
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Cities Begin Enforcing Parking Regulations as They Reopen
June 8, 2020As COVID-19 lockdowns begin to ease and people head back to their normal lives a little bit, cities around the world are beginning to enforce parking regulations: New York City, which just entered phase one of reopening, announced last night that its famous alternate-side parking rules would be relaxed for Read More »
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Austin, Texas, Expands Free Pick-up Parking
June 5, 2020While cities move toward re-opening after lengthy COVID-19 lockdowns, at least one is expanding its program to offer free parking to people picking up food and goods. Rather than building more curbside pickup zones, Austin, Texas, is offering codes people can use to park for free at any city meter Read More »
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Wrapping Up – and Taking Next Steps!
June 4, 2020By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP The past few months and weeks have been difficult—no matter what part of the industry or world you live in. As we look toward a brighter future, coming together with our IPMI community through the 2020 IPMI Virtual Parking & Mobility Read More »
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See You Monday!
May 29, 2020What a long, strange year it’s been so far, but things are starting to look up. And we at IPMI are excited to see our parking and mobility industry friends online Monday for the 2020 IPMI Parking & Mobility Virtual Conference & Expo—#IPMI2020. It’s not the same as in person Read More »
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Why is it Raining in my Parking Structure?
May 28, 2020By Scott Weiland Ever wonder why it is raining inside your parking structure? Well, it is a sign that your parking structure needs attention. Water is the No. 1 cause of parking structure deterioration. Water-saturated concrete can freeze, expand, and spall. Combined with oxygen, water can also cause corrosion of Read More »
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What Do We Do Next?: COVID-19 and the Triple Helix Model of Innovation
May 27, 2020By David C. Lipscomb This blog is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of the International Parking and Mobility Institute, Transportation for America, and Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to Read More »
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A New (Ab)Normal
May 26, 2020By Chris Lechner, CAPP As the U.S. begins to open up in ways large and small, the mobility industry is preparing for a broad range of outcomes. There are two fundamental questions facing all of us: How many people are coming back to our venues? How are they going to Read More »
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Real-life Connections in a Virtual World
May 22, 2020By Kim Fernandez Raise your hand if big-event networking can be a little overwhelming. Now raise it if the thought of that same networking during a virtual event makes your head hurt a little bit. I thought so. As it turns out—and this was news to me—virtual networking is a Read More »
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Reassessing Mobility Technology
May 21, 2020By John Nolan, CAPP, MSM Why do we spend so much money on business technology? We do so to help leverage our operations and improve business outcomes. These outcomes include our ability to deliver timely and accurate information—information that improves service outcomes but at the same time increases customer expectations. Read More »
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Learning from COVID-19: Connecting with the Research Community
May 20, 2020By Stephanie Dock, AICP, and Katherine Kortum, PhD, PE This blog post is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of the International Parking & Mobility Institute, Transportation for America, and Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the Read More »
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Stand Strong Even if You Stand Alone
May 19, 2020By Tope Longe The world has been rocked by unprecedented occurrence. The norm, as we know it, faltered. Many have been thrown into incomprehensible situations. Many more are likely to be. Change in status quo. Transition too! Transition is “the process or a period of changing from one state or Read More »
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London Begins Reopening, Sees Commute Demands Change
May 18, 2020London, England, has begun emerging from its COVID-19 shutdown and, according to the Evening Standard, is already seeing changes to demand for different commuting modes: Forty percent of Londoners say they’re hesitant to use the Tube rail system. Before COVID-19, 58 percent of people working in the city used the Read More »
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A 10-Point Roadmap for the New Normal in Parking and Mobility
May 15, 2020By Kevin White, AICP Like many other sectors of the economy, the parking and mobility industry has been affected significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite significant impacts on revenue, staffing, and other functions, municipal operations have deftly adjusted to local conditions and are planning in earnest for an uncertain future Read More »
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Are Parking Minimums a Thing of the Past?
May 14, 2020By Jonathan Wicks, CAPP In this time of evolving transportation needs and consumer preferences, municipalities and developers are asking: Are old-school parking minimums applicable to today’s usage? Developers often find them inflexible, frustrating, and costly. The planning community is increasingly opposed to parking minimums, concerned that they perpetuate an auto-centric nature of Read More »
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COVID-19 & the Curb: Private Sector Works to Adapt and Offer Creative Solutions
May 13, 2020This post is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of International Parking and Mobility Institute (IPMI), Transportation for America, and Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to COVID-19, as well as Read More »
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Parking, COVID, and Universities
May 12, 2020By David M. Feehan I have spent the last couple of years working to strengthen a business district organization in Dinkytown, the district adjacent to the main campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. This historic district is the place where Bob Zimmerman from Hibbing, Minn., got his start Read More »
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Parking Officer Documents Pandemic with Photography
May 11, 2020A Sausalito, Calif., parking enforcement officer is finding purpose and some positive attention putting a passion to work during COVID-19. Beth DiLego, who holds an art degree from Endicott College, has taken her camera along while patrolling as a city parking officer, documenting both empty streets and storefronts and returning Read More »
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My First Virtual Conference
May 8, 2020By Justin Grunert In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, IPMI decided to transition from an in-person Conference to a virtual event. Our first priority was to keep all of our attendees, sponsors, and vendors safe. It saddens me that I won’t be able to see many of you in Read More »
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Leadership is Not Complicated
May 7, 2020By Perry H Eggleston, CAPP, DPA During the last 30 years, I have seen much written and taught on leadership. I attended leadership courses and read many books that provided step-by-step instruction. I became overwhelmed with all the “right” ways to become a leader. I did realize that leadership is Read More »
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Curbside Management in a Recurring Emergency Scenario: A Municipal Perspective
May 6, 2020By Benito O. Pérez, AICP CTP, CPM; and David Carson Lipscomb, MCP This post is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of IPMI, Transportation for America, and ITE’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to Read More »
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Embracing Technology: Enhance Customer Protection and Experience
May 5, 2020By Jon Martens, CAPP, AICP Major changes have occurred since the mandatory COVID-19 restrictions. Social distancing and PPE (personal protective equipment) have become common discussion points. Grocery stores have added cashier shields, marked spacing on the floor, metered customers, and facemasks. Several retail stores are pushing scan-and-go options to allow Read More »
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Micro-mobility Providers Offer Transportation to Hospital and Essential Workers
May 4, 2020Even as micro-mobility providers struggle to operate during COVID-19 shutdowns, they’re also being offered as transportation options for health care workers and first responders trying to get to work while social distancing. In Baltimore, Md., Lime is deploying about 50 e-scooters near several downtown hospitals and the Inner Harbor area, Read More »
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All Heroes Don’t Wear Capes
May 1, 2020By Shawn Conrad, CAE I was tempted to focus this post on what potential changes our industry will experience when stay-at-home orders are lifted and we look at life post-pandemic. But as I work through my fifth week of sheltering in place, I’d like to offer an observation on the Read More »
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Parking and the Autonomous Future
April 30, 2020By Josh Naramore There has been a tremendous amount of media attention the last few years offering prognostications and insight into a future where autonomous vehicles are the norm. For the City of Grand Rapids, Mich., the future has merged with the present. In July 2019, the city with partners Read More »
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The Parking & Mobility Industry Comes Together in a Time of Need
April 29, 2020By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE This blog is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of IPMI, Transportation for America, and ITE, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to COVID-19, as well as create a knowledge base of strategies Read More »
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New Curb Management Challenges
April 28, 2020By Casey Jones, CAPP I read in the Idaho Statesman that our governor has extended the stay-at-home order in Idaho until April 30. This is not a surprise to me given the abundance of caution across the country. What is surprising is the governor’s adjustment to non-essential business. “Any facility Read More »
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Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and … Resilience
April 27, 2020By Paul Wessel I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about resilience, technically defined as “the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events.” While our country clearly has fallen short on preparing and planning for the current COVID-19 adverse event, we Read More »
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Is Sustainability Only About Going Green?
April 24, 2020By David Karwaski Sustainability is often thought of as “going green,” or being largely focused on natural environmental effects. Photos of polar bears on tiny flotsam of ice come to mind. But the natural environment is only part of the story—one-third of it, in fact. The other two-thirds are social Read More »
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Making the Switch
April 23, 2020By Conor Burke “This is not normal.” This quote has been used in many aspects of our lives the last few years, and COVID-19 has made sure this phrase will be with us in the foreseeable future. As an industry, parking and mobility has been trending to be more green-friendly. Read More »
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The Race to Profitability: TNCs and Micro-Mobility
April 22, 2020By Brian Shaw, CAPP Getting folks to reduce their driving would seem to be an ideal way to help the environment and improve a region’s traffic conditions. However, any environmental and traffic benefits depend on the mode folks switch to from driving themselves. In the case of micro-mobility and TNCs, Read More »
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Five Essential Elements for Planning a Mobility Hub
April 21, 2020By David Taxman, PE I was recently asked to develop a plan for two mobility hubs at two developments in a south Florida city. Mobility hubs are multiple modes of transportation (i.e. train, bus, bike-share, car-share, etc.) at one location, and are typically located at high-frequency, public transit stations. After Read More »
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Frontline Fridays: Taking IPMI’s Frontline Training Online
April 20, 2020By Cindy Campbell The saying goes that “necessity is the mother of invention.” True enough. We read on a daily basis about the realities of our changing world in response to this pandemic. An abundance of caution is necessary as we try to remain healthy and safe. For most, the Read More »
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Positivity During Pandemic
April 17, 2020By Michelle W. Jones, CAE, CMP There are some advantages to living in a small town. One such advantage is the mentality of, “we’re all in this together.” Local restaurants and bars are offering takeout options, even if that’s not a model they’ve ever had before. Neighbors are sitting on Read More »
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Imagining a New Working World
April 16, 2020By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE A large portion of the working world is adjusting to a new normal of working from home. Many are doing this while also being primary caregivers for a family, head of school for children, and maintainer of sanity for a household. In this current climate, Read More »
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COVID’s Effect on TDM Programs
April 15, 2020By Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPA With the COVID-19 crisis in full effect, I started to look at the post-crisis impact on traditional transportation demand planning. I work on a large university campus with an active TDM program that’s been successful in the reduction of the number of single-occupant vehicle (SOV) Read More »
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The Kids Are Alright
April 14, 2020By Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP With many of us home full-time now with kids, dogs, spouses, and other loved ones all trying coexist in under one roof, I am seeing a lot of articles focused on getting our kids into routines/schedules/anything to keep them moving forward. But what we are doing Read More »
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Parking Lots Take Center Stage on Easter Sunday
April 13, 2020With people around the world under social-distancing orders, Easter Sunday church services became a focal point of attention this weekend. And while many churches streamed their services to the faithful at home, some made use of parking lots–theirs and others–to hold services without encouraging their flocks to gather too closely. Read More »
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Be Well Among the Disruptions
April 10, 2020By Kathleen Federici, MEd The time we are experiencing right now certainly is a disruption—a disturbance or problems that interrupt an event, activity, or process. As an industry, we are not naïve to disruptions; some would dare say innovative disruptions can and have changed our work, organizations, and product lines Read More »
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Curb Management -> Measure > Manage > Monitor > Optimize
April 9, 2020By Erik Nelson The IPMI Research & Innovation Task Force is offering this blog series to help demystify the approach to implementing curb lane management strategies for the industry. The blog series will present a common model for implementing curb management: Measure -> Manage -> Monitor -> Optimize. This discussion Read More »
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COVID-19 and Our Industry
April 8, 2020Campuses have emptied out. Hospitals are busier than ever. Municipalities are trying to help communities under shelter-in-place orders. And nobody knows when airports will get back to normal. COVID-19 has affected parking and mobility in more ways than we can count, from revenue to payroll to services to security—and essential Read More »
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Reshaping Parking
April 7, 2020By David W. Burr The Coronavirus crisis has thrown our lives into disarray and has shaken up our industry. While the economic impact will linger, the public health crisis will likely pass in a matter of weeks. But even as it passes, it will be important that we as an Read More »
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Court Upholds Phoenix Airport TNC Pick-up and Drop-off Fees
April 6, 2020The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a $4 pick-up and drop-off fee for transportation network companies (TNCs) at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport late last week. TNCs had argued the fees were unconstitutional, while the airport said they would help distribute COVID-19 recovery costs between all businesses at the airport. The airport Read More »
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New York Legalizes E-bikes, Scooters, in Response to COVID-19
April 3, 2020New York City, long a holdout against e-bikes and e-scooters, this week legalized the mobility devices in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Delivery workers using the motorized devices have, until now, faced fines and having their rides confiscated, but lawmakers said e-bikes and scooters will help those people keep working Read More »
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Staying In Touch
April 2, 2020By Nicole Chinea, CAPP The last couple of weeks have been an adjustment for the entire world. I realize that many of our parking community are considered essential personnel. Not only are they adjusting to a new way of life at home, but they are keeping operations afloat and meeting Read More »
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Unsettling Times
April 1, 2020By Jennifer Tougas, CAPP, PhD When I first heard that there was a “novel coronavirus” in China and the Chinese government was taking extreme measures to try to contain the spread of the disease, it caught my attention. When it started spreading outside of China to the cruise ship docking Read More »
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Before You Repurpose Parking for COVID-19: Important Safety Information
March 31, 2020By John Purinton As healthcare workers man the front lines of the COVID-19 outbreak, one of the challenges they’re forced to confront is how—and where—to manage the dramatic increase in patient volume. This unprecedented demand for additional beds and space to treat patients has resulted in some hospitals seeking to Read More »
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Gathering Together Despite the Distance
March 30, 2020Several hundred parking and mobility professionals gathered together in two virtual IPMI Shoptalks last week, to talk about COVID-19 and operations: human resources challenges, shifting duties, curb management, revenue, garage management, and a host of other topics. They did it online during live, video-enabled events, and we invite you to Read More »
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The Stories We’ll Tell
March 27, 2020By Kim Fernandez Every so often, my dad would go into our family room and sit on the floor in between two giant, mustard-yellow fabric-covered, 1960s stereo speakers, lower the needle on a record, and just listen. He had three favorites: Juice Newton, Crystal Gayle, and Kenny Rogers. Everybody liked Read More »
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Hospital Sets Up COVID-19 Assessment Station in Parking Garage
March 26, 2020You may have seen the photos circulating online—yes, those hospital beds in a parking garage at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are real. Vanderbilt, like many hospitals, has set up a COVID-19 assessment area in its parking garage. Much like other hospitals using tents to assess and triage patients for possible Read More »
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Parking Whack-a-Mole
March 25, 2020By Blake Fitch, CAPP In my last blog post, I wrote about transformation by communication. I explained the process used for adding an additional parking zone to the City of Aspen, Colo., for the first time since 1995. It didn’t take long to see the domino effect from making this Read More »
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Social Distancing ≠ Disconnected
March 24, 2020By Bill Smith It has been an eventful week, to say the least. Many of my clients have begun to work from home and chances are, your customers have too. It’s important to remember that social distancing doesn’t mean people will be disconnected. Your customers and potential customers will have Read More »
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Unsung COVID-19 Hero: The Library Parking Lot
March 23, 2020Children around the world are transferring from the classroom to online learning as the COVID-19 virus forces them to stay home, away from their teachers and classmates. And in some rural areas, that means they’re visiting the parking lot of their local library to get their homework finished. For families Read More »
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Why Personal Resilience Can Make You a Better Leader
March 20, 2020By Rita Pagan The true grit of a leader is not how they perform during the good times, but rather how they display emotional strength, courage, and professionalism during the most trying times. It is impossible to demonstrate resilience unless you have gone through difficult times. I’ve been in that Read More »
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A Discussion About Curb Management
March 19, 2020By Benito Pérez Not since the 1930s has curbside management (formerly known as on-street parking) received so much attention among the transportation industry (and the public!). With cities far and wide densifying and becoming the centers of population activity, city transportation officials are looking at ways to optimize not only Read More »
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Talking About COVID-19
March 18, 2020By Casey Jones, CAPP Our industry hasn’t faced anything like the COVID-19 virus before and it’s affecting the way we all work and live outside of work. Working from home, not being able to work from home, refund requests, health concerns for our employees, growing or shrinking parking use depending Read More »
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Good Deed: Municipality Converts Meters to Curbside Pickup Spaces
March 17, 2020To support businesses in town, the Lexington, Ky., Parking Authority launched an effort to convert several paid parking spaces into curbside pickup-only spaces, for use by people picking up food and items from restaurants and merchants. “While supplies last, the LPA will make every effort to create these opportunities for Read More »
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Mobility of the Future
March 16, 2020As mobility technologies and services, consumer preferences and behaviors, and transportation policies co-evolve over the coming decades, there is great uncertainty about both the pace of continued change and which mobility options will be adopted. A few things, however, are certain: as the world’s population grows and becomes wealthier, the Read More »
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A Happy Parking Story
March 13, 2020By Kim Fernandez Ready for some good news and a smile? I thought so. Read this story about Bhupinder “Bob” Dhaliwal, who retired last week after 33 years as a parking attendant in the same garage in Manitoba, Canada. Saying he’s had the time of his life, Dhaliwal told a Read More »
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Hit By the Bus—and Smiling
March 12, 2020By David M. Feehan I read with a smile Kim Fernandez’s story about her stupid furnace and brand loyalty. It made me recall an incident that occurred just before Christmas. I was on my way to visit my son and his family in Brooklyn. It was a lousy night for Read More »
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Managing Homelessness in Parking
March 11, 2020By Kristen Becker, PE People just don’t realize how parking affects many aspects of our communities. It’s not just about rates and time limits; we also deal with other challenges, including the homelessness crisis. It’s a tough topic no one wants to discuss. The City of Spokane, Wash., has been Read More »
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No Scooting in Skirts? Why Women Aren’t Embracing Micro-mobility.
March 10, 2020We see shared e-bikes and scooters all over downtowns and campuses, but researchers noticed something recently: They are overwhelmingly occupied by men. Women haven’t embraced micro-mobility modes as much as men have. So the researchers got together with 40 female mobility professionals to find out why. Some of what they learned: Read More »
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Study: TNCs Generate More Pollution Than the Trips They Displace
March 9, 2020One argument in favor of TNCs such as Uber and Lyft is that they can take privately-owned cars off the road. But a new study says the vehicles actually generate more pollution than they replace. The Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit science advocacy organization focusing on environmental and social Read More »
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Which Accessibility Icon to Use
March 6, 2020By Helen Sullivan IPMI members have asked me which symbol to use to mark an accessible parking spot. Good question! I strongly recommend—without hesitation—using the traditional, upright icon to mark accessible parking spots. There is a movement to switch from the traditional accessibility icon for parking signs to one that Read More »
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Let’s Charge
March 5, 2020By Arishna Lastinger In 2018, Auburn University was selected as one of many Alabama universities to receive electric vehicle (EV) charging stations that would be supplied and installed free of charge by the Alabama Power Company. Alabama Power funded the charging stations with a grant and did not place a Read More »
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I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me
March 4, 2020By Melonie Curry, MBA I recently saw a news alert that Google purchased Fitbit. I already felt like they are tracking my every move and conversation (and they are), and I refused to provide them any additional data. So I turned off my Fitbit. Victory! I took control of my Read More »
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Micro-mobility, Parking, Data, and Your Operation: Looking Ahead
March 3, 2020By Nathan Donnell, CAPP The micro-mobility movement has exploded around the globe in the last three to five years. Government agencies woke up to find e-scooters and bikes dropped onto sidewalks for the general public to use. For the most part, the public has embraced this new form of transportation. Read More »
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Income-based Parking Fines Floated in Boston
March 2, 2020Saying they’re concerned about undue burdens that may be inadvertently placed on less prosperous residents, the Boston City Council last week floated a proposal for a sliding scale for parking fines based on income. If approved, parking fines could be based on a driver’s income taxes, which would make tickets Read More »
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Shining Up Our Spotlight
February 28, 2020By Justin Grunert, MSM Thanks to all who submitted multiple individuals and projects for IPMI’s 2020 awards programs and to all of our volunteer awards committee members for their hard work and hours of review. We enjoyed a record number of entries for our revamped Award of Excellence categories, Professional Read More »
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“Posh Parking” Trend Takes Off
February 27, 2020“Robot technology, a demand for residential space, and shrinking municipally mandated parking requirements are driving the transformation of private parking in major cities,” says an article in Business Jet Traveler. And that’s led to the birth of what the publication calls “posh parking.” Examples: The Porsche Design Tower, Miami, which Read More »
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Trends to Track
February 26, 2020By Casey Jones, CAPP With the daily grind of attending to schedules, HR issues, and constant emails, it’s difficult sometimes to do more than keep your nose to the grinding stone. But missing out on the big picture may keep an organization from adapting to our changing world and staying Read More »
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Charging Ahead
February 25, 2020By Robert Ferrin The City of Columbus, Ohio, was the recipient of a $10 million Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Grant that’s purpose was to lay a practical path to replacing carbon-based fuel consumption and inspire action to protect and sustain the environment through decarbonization and electrification. One of Columbus’ Read More »
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Parking Demand Down Due to Ride-Share at Atlanta Airport
February 24, 2020Officials at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport say parking demand is down so much that a planned garage expansion is no longer necessary, and they say ride-share is behind the drop. So many passengers are using Uber and Lyft to get to and from the airport that plans to double the Read More »
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Nice is Trending
February 21, 2020By Shawn Conrad, CAE One way I like to stay on top of things is to follow trends. I especially like to watch how issues are trending throughout the year. Current industry issues like Complete Streets, Vision Zero, regulating TNCs, or combating disabled parking abuse are trending in many municipalities. Read More »
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My E-scooter Rental Experiment
February 20, 2020By Scott C. Bauman, CAPP Last fall, I took my family into Denver for a special excursion–to rent electric scooters for the very first time and explore our vibrant downtown. The experience was quite informative. We rode all around the central business district, stopped for some famous local ice cream, Read More »
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Collaboration
February 19, 2020By Robert Ferrin The parking, mobility, and transportation industry is changing at a head-spinning rate and driving us to innovate and be responsive to our customers, new technology, and increasing demand for the curb and parking space. As the industry changes, expectations have increased for what a parking and mobility Read More »
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No Driverless Cars Yet? Blame Human Nature
February 18, 2020By some estimates, we should have been relaxing in our autonomous cars by now. But that dream keeps getting pushed back, and Fast Company says they know why: Basic human nature. Developers tend to assume that people can “partially” pay attention while using a “semiautonomous” car. Levels 2-4 describe certain Read More »
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Sorry, Were You Talking?
February 14, 2020By Cindy Campbell You’re probably familiar with the important concept of talking less and listening more. Author Susan Cain once wrote, “We have two ears and one mouth and we should use them proportionally.” It’s troubling, then, that so many abandon the practice of listening as they climb the ladder Read More »
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The Benefits of Funding Retirement Healthcare Benefits
February 13, 2020By Scott A. Petri As a result of long-standing financial prudence, the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA), a state agency, has recently been able to fully fund the present-day value of its post-retirement healthcare benefits for employees. Why is that important? When I served on the state Appropriations Committee, I saw firsthand Read More »
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The Double Parking Conundrum
February 12, 2020We see on-street parking competition from transit, bicycles, online shopping delivery trucks, shared mobility service companies, and a variety of other usages. People love convenience, but the rigid, daily demand for on-street parking has consequences, including double parking. Anyone who has driven in a city knows the frustration of encountering Read More »
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Growing Pains: Points to Ponder
February 11, 2020By Teri Morkunas, CAPP Those who work in bustling city parking facilities have a real challenge. You have major corporations moving in that buy up all of the monthly parking in garages in anticipation of future need and do not use the space because they have not completed their move. Read More »
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Nevada Drops Parallel Parking from Driving Test
February 10, 2020Nevada joined the growing fray of states to drop parallel parking from its driving test to sighs of relief from teenagers and howls of protest from many of their parents. It is the 17th state to remove the skill from licensing exams. State officials said they stopped testing for parallel Read More »
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Inconsiderate Defined
February 7, 2020By Michelle W. Jones, CAE, CMP Merriam-Webster provides a definition of “inconsiderate” as “heedless, thoughtless,” and “careless of the rights or feelings of others.” On Sunday, my 22-year-old niece posted this photo with a poignant message on Facebook: “Just because it is Super Bowl Sunday doesn’t mean it gives you Read More »
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Behind the Keyboard: Cybercrime and Parking
February 6, 2020During the past generation, parking has become incredibly technology-centric with the introduction of parking guidance technology, frictionless parking suites, and more advanced parking access revenue control systems (PARCS) making parking more convenient and manageable than ever before. Parking professionals just a generation ago could never have predicted the evolution of Read More »
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Supporting Mobility in an Open Environment
February 5, 2020By Roamy Valera, CAPP Next Wednesday, I’ll have the pleasure of presenting an IPMI webinar: Supporting Mobility In An Open Environment. Mobility is a rapidly evolving discipline within the urban planning and parking fields, and I hope to inspire a conversation about how we can do a better job of Read More »
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A Partnership for a Community Purpose
February 4, 2020By Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, CAPP, LEED AP Do you ever look at an underutilized parking lot and think to yourself, “There is so much potential to do something great for the community here!” As more and more high-rises transform the skylines and the hustle and bustle of cities are palpable, Read More »
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Driverless Buses to Hit Real Roads in Florida
February 3, 2020Twelve-passenger, driverless buses will hit real roads in Gainesville, Fla., later this year, marking the first time autonomous shuttles travel among other traffic in the U.S. Currently in testing on closed courses, the EasyMile electric buses will run four-mile routes between downtown Gainesville and the University of Florida. They’ll have Read More »
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Whatcha Reading?
January 31, 2020By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP Not all people are born readers. In school we are assigned books that are selected to shape our worldview and educate us, and hopefully open our minds to different concepts, cultures, and perspectives. As a young person, I hope you found Read More »
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Are You Too High Up to Bend Down?
January 30, 2020By Jennifer Carroll My management philosophy is to lead by example. If I can do it, you can do it too. In my first parking manager position, I worked in all the different positions we had–cashier, auditor, shuttle driver, etc. I remember when I trained with someone in maintenance, he Read More »
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The Future of Fleets
January 29, 2020Fleets of self-driving vehicles are about to become the norm. What does that mean for the parking and mobility industry? We’ll give you a hint: They’re driverless. Autonomous vehicles will change the fundamentals of the entire transportation landscape, and that includes fleets–and the way they interact with parking and mobility Read More »
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When Will They Ever Learn?
January 28, 2020By David M. Feehan I am going to be kind and not identify the exact location where the meter pictured in this photo is located. Suffice it to say that I was attending a meeting in a Washington D.C., suburb on a rainy evening. As usual, I was running late Read More »
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The Man Behind Ohio’s AV Testing Facility
January 27, 2020Most people don’t know much about the Transportation Research Center, the second largest vehicle testing site in the U.S. Established in 1962, it’s now credited as being a major force behind autonomous vehicle development; the cars and other vehicles are tested and researched on the site’s miles of track. You’ve Read More »
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The Language of Parking
January 24, 2020By Kathleen Federici, MEd Our local borough’s parking garage just moved from a pay-and-display meter to a type-in-your-license-plate and be-on-your-way meter. Change, however, is not something most folks are comfortable with. This even applies to the new meter on the bottom floor of our local parking garage. I am in Read More »
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Discovering the Future of Mobility–in a Video Game?
January 23, 2020By Matt Davis Parking does not have a lot of crossover with pop culture, so imagine my surprise to discover an innovative vision of the future of parking and mobility in an unlikely place: a video game. If you’re familiar with the video game industry or have a kid who’s Read More »
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Technological Flux and Basic Fundamentals
January 22, 2020By Tom Wunk, CAPP The parking industry has been and continues to be in a state of “technological flux.” This includes advances in parking control technology, construction, payments, and even the automobile itself (think navigation and GPS, back-up cameras, remote start, etc.). Coupled with the need to stay in touch Read More »
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U.K. District Offers Free Parking for Electric Vehicles
January 21, 2020In response to what it’s calling a “climate emergency,” one district in the United Kingdom plans to offer free parking for electric vehicles. Traditionally-fueled vehicles will continue to pay to park. The Warwick District Council announced the plan yesterday, offering parking permits at no charge to drivers of EVs; it Read More »
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My Stupid Furnace and Brand Loyalty
January 17, 2020By Kim Fernandez Three weeks ago, I realized mid-day that I was colder than usual. That was because my furnace wouldn’t kick in. I said some not-very-nice words, tromped downstairs, took the whole system down starting at the thermostat and finishing at the power source, waited a minute, brought it Read More »
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Uber Joins Call for Mandated Mobility Features, Regulations
January 16, 2020Uber, one of the granddaddies of transportation network companies, this week added its voice to those asking the U.S. Congress to prioritize the safety of bike and scooter users through a number of incentives: New mobility infrastructure legislation that would require bike lanes be included on newly repaved roads according Read More »
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Parking Takes Flight
January 15, 2020By Casey Jones, CAPP Just more than 116 years ago, Orville Wright piloted the first flight in a “heavier than air” machine at present-day Kill Devil Hills, N.C. The Wright brothers’ success was not guaranteed and plenty of people believed we’d have wings on our backs if we were meant Read More »
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Non-paying “Parkers” Causing Real Problems
January 14, 2020By William R. Conner, CAPP Hey, anybody out there have any solutions to a pigeon problem in a garage? The problem was noticed last spring on level one of the garage around the exit. Pigeons were roosting on the beams above the exit gates and depositing all their droppings on Read More »
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Survey: What Automakers are Building Isn’t Necessarily What Consumers Want
January 13, 2020Autonomous and connected vehicles are all the rage in the news and among automakers, but a new survey shows they’re not necessarily as popular among consumers. Delotte’s 11th annual Global Consumer Automotive Study asked 35,000 consumers in 20 countries about the transportation that interests them. Among the findings: Interest in Read More »
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Oregon Establishes Mobility Office
January 10, 2020Oregon yesterday named three members to its new Office of Mobility and Mega Project Delivery, which was established to find ways to ease construction and improve mobility. Among its first projects will be developing a tolling and congestion pricing model. The office’s members are experienced in transportation and tolling in Read More »
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Parking Tax Repealed
January 9, 2020By Jim Sayre, CAPP On December 20, the so-called “parking tax,” more formally known as Section 512(a)(7) of the IRS code, was repealed. This tax was enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 and was imposed on “qualified transportation fringe benefits.” In many cases, this Read More »
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From Tesla to Parking: An Executive’s Bold Move
January 8, 2020Tesla is almost always near the top of lists of innovative, disruptive companies. How could it not be? Known for its long-range, electric vehicles and increasing strides on autonomy, the company is an undisputed leader in the innovative-mobility space. So when Neil Golson, head of Tesla’s energy marketing sales and Read More »
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Working the Holidays
January 7, 2020By Jennifer Carroll, CAPP How do you spend your holidays–the same way your team does? The holidays are usually very busy or very slow for many of us. In my part of the parking world, most locations are 24/7/365. Sure, we inform all perspective employees that we are open holidays, Read More »
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NYC Begins Placard Abuse Crackdown
January 6, 2020The New York Police Department will begin a crackdown on city-issued parking placard abusers today. “Due to new laws passed by the city council on placard abuse, multiple units are tasked to enforce and document the abusers by taking photos of cars, plates and placards to record and submit to Read More »
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Ski Resort Implements Paid Parking, Season Passholders File Suit
January 3, 2020Paid parking is at the center of a lawsuit alleging breach of contract and fraud against the owner of a Lake Tahoe ski resort. Northstar California Resort announced in October that a previously free-to-park lot would convert to paid parking this ski season, with rates of $10 per day on Read More »
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Transformation by Communication
January 2, 2020By Blake Fitch, CAPP The City of Aspen, Colo., Parking Department was recently assigned the task of addressing a section of town and transforming it into an enforcement zone. The city has four residential parking zones–A, B, C, and D–that have been in effect since the inception of paid parking Read More »
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NYE on the Strip: Party with 300,000 of Your Closest Friends
December 31, 2019Editor’s Note: The IPMI Blog is re-posting some of our biggest hits from 2019 through the holidays. New posts will resume on January 2. By Bruce Barclay, CAPP It is 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Freeway off ramps leading to the Las Vegas Strip are being shut down to Read More »
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The Hype Cycle
December 30, 2019Editor’s Note: The IPMI Blog is re-posting some of our biggest hits from 2019 through the holidays. New posts will resume on January 2. By David Hill, CAPP, MA The other day, I happened upon an article that introduced me to the Gartner Hype Cycle. The Hype Cycle is a Read More »
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Inny or Outie?
December 27, 2019Editor’s Note: The IPMI Blog is re-posting some of our biggest hits from 2019 through the holidays. New posts will resume on January 2. By Casey Jones, CAPP The first time I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), I was convinced that I misunderstood some of the questions and didn’t Read More »
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Making Better Decisions Daily
December 26, 2019Editor’s Note: The IPMI Blog is re-posting some of our biggest hits from 2019 through the holidays. New posts will resume on January 2. By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE As the parking and transportation demand management industries continue to intersect and become one, we are continually learning new ways to Read More »
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In Defense of On-street Parking
December 24, 2019Editor’s Note: The IPMI Blog is re-posting some of our biggest hits from 2019 through the holidays. New posts will resume on January 2. By David Feehan The media are full of stories of cities removing on-street parking spaces to create bike lanes. Let me state at the outset that Read More »
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Happy Holidays
December 23, 2019’Tis the season, and we couldn’t let it pass without sending our warmest holiday greetings to our members—the amazing people and organizations who keep people around the world moving and make IPMI go. We hope that amid the candles, wrapping paper, and tinsel are a few minutes to breathe and Read More »
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Gig Economy Legislation Has Wide-reaching Effects for TNCs
December 19, 2019Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies (TNCs) may find themselves having to rethink their models if states and the federal government pass legislation limiting the so-called gig economy, where workers essentially freelance rather than being hired as full- or part-time workers. Legislators in California and other states have begun Read More »
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The Lost Ticket
December 18, 2019By Paul Reeves, CAPP I can feel the red-hot verbs in the message before they ever push through the hand-held radio speaker. My eyes can’t hide the frustration I feel hearing the request for manager assistance at the hospital exit lane for the ninth time in three hours. Where is Read More »
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Pittsburgh’s Downtown Housing Parking Lease Program
December 17, 2019By William R. Conner, CAPP In 1998, the City of Pittsburgh, Pa., introduced a 10-year revitalization plan known as The Pittsburgh Downtown Plan, for the central business district. The plan identified several issues in the downtown area that required addressing; the goal was to expand the downtown life to that Read More »
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WSJ: Curb Space is the New Gridlock
December 16, 2019“Curb management” isn’t a new term for members of the parking and mobility profession, but it is hitting consumer media outlets for the first time. The Wall Street Journal this weekend called the space along the curb “new gridlock in America,” and outlined why delivery trucks in particular are contributing Read More »
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Accessible Parking and DOT Grant Money
December 13, 2019By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA If you want to help make accessible parking more accessible, the U.S. Department of Transportation may have money available to support your efforts, but hurry because the funding opportunity closes January 6, 2020. At the DOT Access and Mobility for All Summit a few Read More »
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Saving Lives
December 12, 2019By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP In the aftermath of a handful of suicides from one of our organization’s parking garages, we struggled with how to deal with the issue. There was no tactical plan available to implement on this specific topic, so I worked to create a best-practices road map Read More »
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My Five Principles for Surviving the Holidays
December 11, 2019By Scott C. Bauman, CAPP As the year end approaches and the holidays are in full swing, I am reminded of a few important principles that have helped me survive this crazy time of year. Don’t forget to celebrate family. Spend quality time with your family. Loving families keep you Read More »
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As Boise Goes, So Goes the West?
December 10, 2019By Casey Jones, CAPP I would not normally suggest that Idaho or its capital city, Boise, are bellwethers for the rest of the country for nearly anything. That’s not to say I’m not proud of my community but we Idahoans are humble people typically and keeping what’s great and avant-garde Read More »
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Sidewalk Labs Named Disruptor of the Year for Toronto Smart City Project
December 9, 2019Sidewalk Labs earned the Disruptor of the Year title from Smart Cities Dive for its futuristic Quayside community on the water in Toronto, Canada. The community, the company says, will incorporate five key pillars of a smart community: Job creation and economic development. Housing affordability. Sustainability and climate-positive development. New Read More »
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Midwestern Values in Transportation
December 6, 2019By Shawn Conrad, CAE At a recent IPMI-hosted event focused on parking and mobility professionals in the Midwestern region of the U.S., we heard from many business and transportation thought-leaders–experts who know parking management techniques and technologies and current trends. A presentation from the Verdis Group highlighted consumer research from Read More »
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Town Cancels Free Holiday Parking, Blames Freeloading Commuters
December 5, 2019Bayonne, N.J., pulled the plug on its traditional offer of free municipal parking during the December holidays because, the mayor said, too many NJ Transit riders abused it, parking in the free municipal lots all day instead of lots for commuters. “In recent years, the city … has offered free Read More »
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The Great Balancing Act
December 4, 2019By John Mason, CAPP, PMP, QIR Whether we travel for work or just go back and forth from the office to home, we need balance. For me it’s a suitcase and a plane just about every week. I like life on the road but it will wear on you. Sometimes Read More »
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The Future is Here. Almost.
December 3, 2019By David M. Feehan It came much faster than I anticipated–the future, I mean. Two events told me that the future of mobility is closer than I realized, because my wife and I experienced it. My wife works for a federal agency here in the Washington, D.C., area. A couple Read More »
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2020: Year of the EV?
December 2, 2019Driverless cars aren’t ready for prime time yet but analysts say electric vehicles definitely are, and that 2020 could go down as the year of the EV. The Motley Fool says, “Range anxiety isn’t completely gone, but today it shouldn’t be any harder to drive an EV a long distance Read More »
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Los Angeles Plans to Cut CO2 Emissions, Boost EV Charging for Olympics
November 27, 2019Los Angeles, Calif., launched a massive plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost electric-vehicle charging before it hosts the Olympic Games in 2028. According to Forbes: Under Mayor Eric Garcetti, the city, surrounding communities, companies and other entities are part of a Transportation Electrification Partnership with specific goals for Read More »
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Uber Loses License in London due to Safety Concerns
November 26, 2019After drivers switched their profile photos for those of other drivers in Uber’s system, London’s transportation authority refused to renew the ride-share operator’s license. Passengers were picked up by the wrong driver more than 14,000 times, the authority said, after photo swaps were made in the company’s main system; passengers Read More »
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Baby Seal Rescued from Parking Deck
November 25, 2019Firefighters in Redwood City, Calif., don’t get a lot of calls for parking deck rescues, and certainly not to rescue baby seals out of garages. But that’s exactly what happened yesterday, and the resulting adorableness was enough to make the news (and it’s perfect for a Monday morning). Santos, a Read More »
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When Parkers are Pushed to their Limits
November 22, 2019By Cindy Campbell As a frequent flyer, you learn to roll with flight delays and cancellations—unless, of course, you enjoy unnecessary agitation and high blood pressure. A recent late-night flight out of Los Angeles was cancelled and I had the unanticipated opportunity to witness high drama at the curb. Perhaps Read More »
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Is Manhattan Ready to End Free Parking?
November 21, 2019Ninety-five percent of on-street parking spaces in New York City are free to use. Because the city has lost a good amount of spaces to bike and bus lanes in recent years, more cars are circling looking for those spots, increasing congestion and frustration. But a proposal to make on-street Read More »
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ISO Great Mobility Stories
November 20, 2019By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP You know it, I know it, and all industry insiders know it. The pace and rate of change in our industry is accelerating, especially in our cities. So how do we capture those stories of transformation and share them with our Read More »
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Smart Cities and The Critical Role of Parking
November 19, 2019By Robert Ferrin Columbus, Ohio, received a total of $50 million in the form of two grants as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation Smart Cities Challenge: $40 million from the USDOT and $10 million from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. One of the eight demonstration projects includes Read More »
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Study: Curb Reservations Reduce Parking Problems, Congestion
November 18, 2019A three-month pilot program focusing on curb management in Washington, D.C., saw double parking, bike-lane blocking, and other parking challenges reduced when delivery drivers could reserve curb space. Double parking was reduced by 64 percent in areas where curb space could be reserved for deliveries, and fewer drivers blocked bike Read More »
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REAL ID: Avoid a Real Pain
November 15, 2019By Michelle W. Jones, CAE, CMP As you may or may not be aware, October 1, 2020 is the deadline for Americans to have a REAL ID. That is, an ID that is compliant with minimum safety standards recognized by the Department of Homeland Security. The REAL ID Act, passed Read More »
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Organize Your Life
November 14, 2019By Vanessa R. Cummings, CAPP, MDiv Organizing your life is more important than you may realize. Some people work in what they call “organized mess,” while others cannot have one paperclip out of place without losing their ever-loving mind. Okay, maybe that was harsh, but you get the idea. However, Read More »
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Out of Danger
November 13, 2019It’s a scenario heard too often:Just doing his or her job, a parking enforcement officer is screamed at, threatened, berated, chased down, or, in a worst case, attacked by an irate driver with a weapon. Nobody likes getting a parking citation, but sometimes people get so angry that the situation Read More »
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Miles and Miles and Miles
November 12, 2019By Casey Jones, CAPP I’m sorry, but I just don’t love holiday shopping. Don’t get me wrong–I love nearly everything else about the season from finding and decorating a tree to celebrating with family and friends. It’s just that the shopping thing seems to get crazier each year and I Read More »
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Thank You
November 11, 2019The war to end all wars, World War I, saw its official end via a declaration of armistice that went into effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month–November 11, 1918. One year later, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as Armistice Day; it was Read More »
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Loving Your Customers
November 8, 2019By Kathleen Federici, MEd I recently had the opportunity to attend a TEDx in my hometown. TEDx includes TED Talks videos and live speakers to spark discussion and connection among the group in attendance. At this event, there were five live speakers and two speakers on video. It was interesting Read More »
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In Defense of On-street Parking
November 7, 2019By David Feehan The media are full of stories of cities removing on-street parking spaces to create bike lanes. Let me state at the outset that I am all in favor of bike-riding, though I don’t count myself among bike riders. I am also aware of and support efforts to Read More »
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Accessible Parking Controversy Raises Questions
November 6, 2019The Barcelona at Beaverton apartment complex in Beaverton, Ore., offers residents a private parking lot behind the building. Several residents with disabilities recently approached the city asking for on-street spaces to be flagged as accessible and reserved for them by apartment number instead, saying the back lot is too far Read More »
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Are Systems More Important than Goals?
November 5, 2019By Matt Penney I was recently reading James Clears’ Atomic Habits. It’s a follow-up book to one of my favorite reads, The Power of Habit, which declares that 40 percent of your decisions are not deliberately chosen but instead are habits. If almost half of all actions are not contemplated, Read More »
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Brussels, Belgium, Ditches Windshield Parking Citations
November 4, 2019The City of Brussels, Belgium, this month stopped leaving parking citations on windshields. Instead, illegally parked vehicles are scanned and citations are mailed directly to owners’ homes. City officials said too many tickets left under windshield wipers were lost, and the new system should do away with that risk. Read Read More »
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What’s Your Superpower?
November 1, 2019By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP “Talent is the multiplier. The more energy and attention you invest in it, the greater the yield. The time you spend with your best is, quite simply, your most productive time.” If you aren’t familiar with Marcus Buckingham, quoted above, I Read More »
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Tech-savvy: A Must for Parking and Mobility Employees
October 31, 2019By Heather Matthews We all have a unique story of how we landed in the huge parking and mobility industry. My background is in technology, starting as a computer lab monitor in my children’s school to have something to do, to eventually being a database/system administrator. From these roles, I Read More »
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Wired: Why Parking Lots are Tricky for Autonomous Vehicles
October 30, 2019Much was written when Teslas under a new “Smart Summon” feature started crashing in parking lots–which was exactly where the feature was designed to work. This week, Wired took a shot at breaking down what that means for autonomous vehicles (AVs) in general, and why parking lots and garages will Read More »
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Data-based Storytelling
October 29, 2019By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), shared micro-mobility devices like bikes and scooters provided more than 84 million trips across the U.S. in 2018. While these numbers are impressive and contribute to reductions in urban area congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, Read More »
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E-scooters Subject to New Rules in France
October 28, 2019In an effort to reign in shared e-scooters, France rolled out new rules Friday governing where, how, and by whom they can be used. Among them: E-scooters, hoverboards, and similar devices must be capped at 15 miles per hour. Only one rider is permitted aboard each device. No mobile phone Read More »
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Tissues and the Extra Mile
October 25, 2019By Kim Fernandez My husband tapped me on the shoulder, nodded behind me, and said, “Check it out.” We’d spent about an hour in a big showroom making one of those dreaded necessary purchases one delays as long as possible (“adulting”) and our salesperson had asked if we’d like a Read More »
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Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement
October 24, 2019By Jennifer I. Tougas, CAPP, PhD In emergency management circles, it’s called a “hot wash.” In the Army, it’s called “lessons learned.” In manufacturing, it’s called “continuous improvement.” What is it? It’s a process for reflecting on a process or event; capturing the good, the bad and the ugly; and Read More »
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Five Weird Construction Materials
October 23, 2019The closest most of us get to fungus is on the mushroom shelf at the grocery store or on the unidentifiable stuff at the back of the refrigerator crisper drawer (yeah, we know about that), and most of us are happy that way. Did you ever consider building a parking Read More »
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Smart Snow Removal Practices for Parking Garages
October 22, 2019By Scott C. Bauman, CAPP With winter at our doorsteps, let’s take this opportunity to review some best practices and procedures for managing snow events and snow removal operations for parking garages. Do not store large piles of snow on the roof of a garage. Large/heavy piles of snow can Read More »
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A Futurist Addresses Urban Mobility
October 21, 2019Signs that change messages as curb demand flexes, autonomous school buses that also deliver packages, car-free downtown cores, and friendly delivery robots are among the revelations a prominent futurist predicts for urban mobility in the not-too-distant future. Devin Liddell, chief futurist at Teague, a Seattle-based company working on transportation, outlined Read More »
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You Can’t Do a Good Job if Your Job is All You Do
October 18, 2019By Rita Pagan This year’s IPMI Leadership Summit was chock-full of juicy tools and techniques for leaders in the industry. The one that stuck out most to me was something everyone wanted help to implement in their lives: whole living and personal wellness. Ask yourself: Are you spending time doing Read More »
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Inny or Outie?
October 17, 2019By Casey Jones, CAPP The first time I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), I was convinced that I misunderstood some of the questions and didn’t answer correctly or that the test was flawed and therefore unable to accurately identify my personality type. I took the same test two more Read More »
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A Conversation About Talent Acquisition
October 16, 2019By Vicki Pero, SPHR Most people are familiar with the term “recruitment” and consider it a challenging (not the good kind of challenging) administrative task, especially when it comes to filling frontline positions. I prefer to describe these activities as talent acquisition, because the tactics associated with this approach are Read More »
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Correction and Encouragement
October 15, 2019By Tiffany R. Smith How do you reprimand a good employee? As leaders, we know good employees do bad things. The conundrum comes in how you correct bad behavior while still encouraging good. We all make mistakes but some cause more detriment than others. And when this occurs, what do Read More »
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Driverless Shuttle Pilots Show Limitations of Technology
October 14, 2019Driverless shuttles are on the road in Reston, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C., and while things are going pretty well so far, the pilot has also highlighted why driverless cars may still be some time away. The shuttles take people to and from remote parking in an area largely Read More »
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Proving the Possibilities
October 10, 2019The iconic University of Kentucky in Lexington has a long history of setting trends and being a leader in academics, athletics, and development. One great example of this is the university’s use of public-private partnerships (P3) to deliver products at its campus. Since 2011, the university has engaged in a Read More »
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Are You Available?
October 9, 2019By Robert Ferrin No, we aren’t talking about a dating pickup line. In Columbus, Ohio–America’s Smart City–our team is piloting multiple parking availability technologies to improve the customer experience and reduce congestion. In our dynamic Short North Arts District, the city selected three vendors to test sensing technology during a Read More »
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The Parking Vigilante
October 8, 2019By Frank Giles If you’re like me, when you think of a vigilante you think of Batman or some other superhero jumping from rooftop to rooftop. What about parking vigilantes? You know the ones–the people who take it upon themselves to leave a nasty note or worse on a person’s Read More »
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European Scooter Startup Gets Huge Investment
October 7, 2019Tier, a scooter-share startup with a presence in 40 cities in 12 countries, received a $60 million (U.S.) infusion it will use to further expand across Europe. With 10 million rides in less than a year, Tier claims to be the fastest growing micro-mobility startup to date. In an interview, Read More »
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I Like Fun
October 4, 2019By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA I recently got proposals from a few suppliers for a communications project. In the email the company representative sent me with the proposal was this line: “You will get the best results, the best client service, and have the most fun with us.” Well, Read More »
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The Core of Culture
October 3, 2019By George Baker Sr. In today’s professional landscape, a strong company culture is not a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have. Consider this research from Deloitte: 94 percent of executives and 88 percent of employees believe a distinct corporate culture is important to a business’ success*. Additionally, there is a strong correlation Read More »
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Parking Under the Store
October 2, 2019By David Feehan Yesterday, my wife and I stopped at a Safeway supermarket in Wheaton, Md. The supermarket is part of a mixed-use project with a high-rise apartment building on top, a Safeway on the ground floor, and a parking garage underneath. The apartment is within walking distance of the Read More »
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Five Times Your Leadership is Guaranteed to Fail
October 1, 2019By Jay Manno Done right, leadership is difficult. It brings great rewards but at great risk. You have to put yourself on the line—so when you do, you want the best possible odds of success. In some situations, though, failure is all but guaranteed. Here are five of the most Read More »
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Sensors and Tech for Autonomous Cars Includes New Lane Tape
September 30, 2019We’ve all heard about the LIDAR and sensor and road-following technology in development so cars can learn to drive themselves. As it turns out, that might include new lane-marking tape, and a Canadian company is already on top of it. 3M Canada teamed up with the company that manages Highway Read More »
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My Dog Loves Parking
September 27, 2019By Justin Grunert My dog loves parking! That might be a bit of a stretch, but he loves seeing the parking enforcement officers who patrol the streets of my community. I want to say thank you all of the enforcement officers in Wilton Manors, Fla. They work hard day and Read More »
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Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA)
September 26, 2019REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL LACMTA will receive Proposals for PS66007 – Systemwide Parking Operator Services at the 9th Floor Receptionist Desk, Vendor/Contract Management Department, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012. A Pre-Proposal conference will be held on Wednesday, October 9, 2019, 11:00 a.m., at One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA Read More »
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Bringing E-scooters Into Your Operation: Do You Need Insurance?
In cities and on campuses around the world, e-scooters seemed to have revolutionized short-distance personal transportation. Some days, it feels like they’re everywhere. And headlines trumpet the potential dangers for riders, pedestrians, and drivers as the micro-mobility vehicles grow in popularity. It all brings up an interesting question: If someone Read More »
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Scales of Justice: Rethinking Parking Fines
September 25, 2019By Matt Darst and Michael Brown On a recent trip, I counted more than a dozen illegally parked vehicles traveling from my quarters to a coffee shop just two blocks away. Despite street sweeping bans in effect, a number of motorists decided to park illegally. I wondered why so many Read More »
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Case Study: Lancaster Parking Authority Earns APO
September 24, 2019“The APO [Accredited Parking Organization] is essentially a rigorous checklist,” writes Larry Cohen, CAPP, executive director of the Lancaster Parking Authority (LPA), in the September issue of Parking & Mobility. “It evaluates every aspect of your parking organization from A to Z, including but not limited to human resources, finances, Read More »
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The Best Parking Strategy, According to Science
September 23, 2019There are, according to a newly released scientific study, three main kinds of parkers: Meek, who take the first space they see. Optimistic, who cruise and circle until they find the perfect space. Prudent, who doesn’t take the first space but won’t circle for long, either. Which group wastes the Read More »
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More to Give
September 20, 2019By Shawn Conrad, CAE When I graduated from college, I was eager to find a job, earn a paycheck, and see what opportunities might lie ahead. It had to be the right company and the right career, because I knew I would be there a long time; my father and Read More »
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University Offers Free Bike Valet Parking, Lights, on Game Days
September 19, 2019To promote alternative transportation on football game days, the University of Arkansas offers free bike valet parking at its stadium. And to ensure bikers get home safely after night games, it will give them bike lights, too. Biking fans also get free snacks and drinks–making this all quite a package Read More »
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Making Better Decisions Daily
September 18, 2019By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE As the parking and transportation demand management industries continue to intersect and become one, we are continually learning new ways to improve our business model and support more sustainable and efficient transportation ecosystems. One of the newer concepts taking hold is the idea of daily Read More »
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A Rain Forest in Downtown Des Moines?
September 17, 2019By David M. Feehan Twenty years ago, a bright, young millionaire proposed an eye-popping idea for downtown Des Moines, Iowa: a 10-acre, under glass, rain forest. Now, Des Moines is a wonderful town, but not exactly a tourist mecca. What would a rain forest the size of four Walmarts do Read More »
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Top-tier Garage Spaces a Hot Commodity in New York City
September 16, 2019In an era of tightening parking maximums for development and great calls for transit-oriented development and walkable cities, private parking has gone upscale in New York City and developers and real estate agents say it’s in hot demand at record-high prices. The New York Times this weekend ran a story Read More »
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Time to Consider Non-city Transportation Issues
September 13, 2019By Courtney Turner I hate driving. Aside from emptying the dishwasher and folding clothes, it’s my least favorite thing to do. However, I’m finding that I spend more time in my car than anywhere else–and I’m not even commuting for work. Because my kids aren’t eligible to ride one of Read More »
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Emerging Parking and Mobility Partners
September 12, 2019By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP In the past year or two, I have noticed what seems to be an encouraging trend related to an increased interest and focus on parking and mobility issues by inter-governmental and planning organizations. Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in particular have become much more active in Read More »
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Curb Management and the Smart Cities Road Map
September 11, 2019Our world is becoming more urbanized than ever before. By 2050, more than 60 percent of the world’s population is expected to live in cities, and public and private companies, as well as federal, state, and city governments, are getting involved to make the connection between people and the city Read More »
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Becoming the Social Media Hot Rod
September 10, 2019By Kim A. Spagnulo Let’s face the facts: There is a lot more to the parking industry than just pulling into a garage or valeting your car for a few hours. In an industry advertising cement parking structures and wide-open surface lots, we’re tasked with the challenge of making that Read More »
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Flying Taxis May Debut in San Francisco
September 9, 2019Don’t put those Jetsons dreams on hold just yet–a Google-related startup has eyes on launching flying taxis in San Fransicso, and they’re not kidding around. Kitty Hawk Corp., is a three-year-old company backed by Larry Page, founder of Google and CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. They say the best Read More »
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Enemy at the Gate?
September 6, 2019By Michelle W. Jones, CAE, CMP Sometimes at night I’ll watch old sitcoms. One recent evening I was scrolling the onscreen program guide, and I saw some episodes of “Frasier” coming up. In the middle of the night an episode was going to air involving a parking garage. I had Read More »
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Seattle Contemplates On-street Bike, Scooter Parking
September 5, 2019Users love the convenience of dockless, shared bikes and scooters, but not everyone is quite as enamored with the clutter they can create on sidewalks and curbs in between uses. Seattle, Wash., is considering establishing on-street parking spaces for the vehicles to help combat that. The city council this week Read More »
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A Different Fee Structure for E-scooters to Solve Curb Clutter
September 4, 2019By Nathan Donnell We live and die by supply and demand in the parking and mobility industry. We are challenged by the public, stakeholders, and business owners to have enough parking while keeping the price at a reasonable level so as to not deter people from using the curb space. Read More »
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Free, Electric Ride-share System Debuts in Eugene, Ore.
September 3, 2019Travelers in Eugene, Ore., can use an app to summon a free ride in an electric vehicle during the workweek starting today. It’s a pilot program, and organizers say local business owners, including owners of downtown shops and restaurants, need to help promote it to make it work. The service Read More »
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Stressing About Change? Try Breaking Down the Silos
August 30, 2019By Cindy Campbell Fact: Organizational change is inevitable and constant. We’re daydreaming when we entertain the notion that one day soon the pace of change will slow and we’ll be able to catch up. (Hint: The keyword of that last sentence was daydreaming.) Changes in policy, practice, services, purpose, personnel—you Read More »
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Google Maps Adds Mixed Modes to Navigation Options
August 29, 2019It’s not unusual anymore to get from point A to point B using a bus, a train, and bike- or scooter-share in a single journey. Google Maps announced yesterday it will soon add all those options and more to its trip navigation options, so commuters can plan their routes mixing Read More »
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The S.M.A.R.T. Approach to Financial Goals
August 28, 2019By Mark A. Vergenes As you move through life, it’s essential to continually establish, measure, and refine long-term financial goals. We recommend using the S.M.A.R.T. planning tool. It’s believed George T. Doran created this acronym for a management paper he wrote back in 1981 for the Washington Water Power Company. Read More »
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Prepared for That Presentation?
August 27, 2019By Casey Jones, CAPP I’m 15 minutes early for the presentation. I’ve spoken many times before but I always like to show up a little early to shake out any bugs and focus. I notice that the layout of the room is a little weird and I’m right up against Read More »
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AV Parking Simulation Results: Industry Should Prepare Now
August 26, 2019A new simulation of what autonomous vehicles (AVs) would do for parking after dropping passengers off in a city shows that owners of downtown garages should be thinking now about attracting them, its organizers say. The simulation started with occupancy and rate data for off-street garages and lots in downtown Read More »
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Because You’re Worth It!
August 23, 2019By Kathleen Federici, MEd Industry-recognized credentials (IRCs), such as CAPP, are increasingly in demand. They are used by employers to certify that an applicant is qualified for a job. People who earn industry certifications have an advantage finding high-demand jobs with good wages because the certifications are globally portable and Read More »
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San Diego State University Bans Micromobility Devices
August 22, 2019Electric scooters, powered skateboards, roller skates, and e-bikes are among the micromobility vehicles banned on the San Diego State University campus starting this fall. Citing safety, the university announced that the vehicles may be parked in eight designated parking areas, but won’t be allowed for use on the main campus Read More »
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Reducing Parking Pain at Penn State
August 21, 2019There is a spoken and unspoken hierarchy and tenure that go into parking assignments on university campuses, and decisions about who parks where can be challenging. The tough question is, who should be making these decisions? At Penn State’s University Park campus, individual departments decide who parks where, using a Read More »
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Brand Yo’Self
August 20, 2019By Madison Huemmer The first step in personal branding is to identify what presence you want to exude. Many people do not realize that your personal world and professional world world differ–but not as much as you think. If you fully cut off your true persona from your work life, Read More »
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World’s Largest Bike Parking Garage Opens
August 19, 2019A parking garage that holds 12,656 bikes opens today in Utrecht, The Netherlands. It’s the largest garage for bikes in the world and includes nearly 500 spaces for tandem, double, or odd-shaped bikes along with standard cycles. The garage is three stories tall, features electronic wayfinding and bike-finding technology, offers Read More »
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D.C. Launches Shared Mopeds
August 16, 2019Bikes, scooters, and now a new entry into the shared micro-mobility space: The shared moped has arrived. Washington, D.C. will welcome up to 400 mopeds this weekend into its growing micro-mobility system. The battery-powered vehicles will each come with two helmets, hold two riders, and travel at speeds up to Read More »
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When Fear of Failing Stops Us From Starting
August 15, 2019By Jess Cisco I had a realization as I fell asleep last night: the fear of failure sometimes causes me to avoid even starting. Here’s how I came to that conclusion. Several years ago, I bought a book called Brilliant Memory Training by Jonathan Hancock. I began reading it but Read More »
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Parking in Brooklyn
August 14, 2019By David Feehan We make a couple of trips to Brooklyn each year. My son and his family live in the Kensington neighborhood, just off Ocean Parkway. Our twin grandsons have a summer birthday, so we scheduled a weekend in the city. Expedia gave us an attractive price on a Read More »
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What Summer Can Teach Us About Surviving the Long Grind
August 13, 2019By Michael Pendergrass, AIA Ah, the traditional summer road trip. Packing the family up in the car and heading out to see far-off destinations feels like a rite of passage in the U.S. When you pull out of the driveway, you’re fueled by the excitement of the adventure to come. Read More »
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Researchers Investigate How Passengers Feel About Autonomous Vehicles
August 12, 2019How would you react as a passenger in a self-driving car? Would your hands sweat? Heart race? Would your muscles tense? Or would you sit back and relax as the automakers advise? A group of researchers wants to find out. University of Waterloo experts are recruiting volunteers to go for Read More »
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Parking Meters Help Renovate Trails
August 9, 2019You don’t often see articles about parking meters in Runner’s World, but what they’re doing with old machines in Colorado is big news for trail athletes there. Ten out-of-service meters were retrofitted with credit card readers and installed around Steamboat Springs by volunteers. People can swipe their cards while walking Read More »
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Use Your Data!
August 8, 2019By Brett Wood, CAPP I can recall a moment about 10 years ago when we were collecting and analyzing data from a major U.S. city to help validate and construct a new pricing and management scheme. I was reviewing the time sheet of one of my co-workers who was entering Read More »
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How Congestion Pricing Will Shape Parking in Manhattan, Part Two
August 7, 2019By Tim Maloney We started a conversation yesterday about how a plan to implement congestion pricing will affect parking in Manhattan. Continuing those thoughts: While New York City is working to improve the subway system, many people who value flexibility and control will still find driving to be their best Read More »
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How Congestion Pricing Will Shape Parking in Manhattan
August 6, 2019By Tim Maloney Manhattan is overflowing with more than 50 percent of trips in the central business district (CBD) made by motor vehicles, and the average speed for traffic has dropped to 7.1 mph (Mobility Report, 2018). The swollen arteries of the city cause a heart-stopping number of problems for Read More »
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Where’s My Flying Car?
August 5, 2019Raise your hand if, as a kid, you envisioned someday flying around like one of the Jetsons in your very own airborne car. You have lots of company. But is that really ever going to happen? Not likely, say experts–there are just too many hurdles to jump. But the concept Read More »
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I Feel So Much Better Now
August 2, 2019By Kim Fernandez About two months ago, we replaced the roof on the mid-’90s addition to my 1939 house. This meant matching asphalt shingles and lining them up with the original house’s slate roof, dodging a few complex angles, re-flashing a chimney, and a the onset of some heartburn for Read More »
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Ford Acquires Tech Companies as Part of Mobility Strategy
August 1, 2019In what many believe is a step toward a greater role in mobility, automaker Ford this week acquired Journey Holding Corporation, which develops intelligent transportation software, and Quantum Signal AI, which develops robotics–notably a testing simulator for artificial intelligence (AI) systems; it develops systems for the U.S. military. Ford said Read More »
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Your Seat at the Table
July 31, 2019By David Onorato, CAPP Being actively involved with IPMI has been instrumental to my career and my operation’s success. It’s also been a big piece of our staying on top of industry news and trends—the more people I meet and connect with, the more I learn. IPMI’s Call for Volunteers Read More »
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The Art of Transition
July 30, 2019By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP One thing we can probably all agree on is that change is a constant. While there is nothing new in this observation, I am currently experiencing a new perspective on it. After nearly four decades in the parking profession, I find myself planning for retirement. Read More »
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EasyPark Trades Parking Fines for School Supplies
July 29, 2019EasyPark, which operates parking in Anchorage, Alaska, is accepting school supplies in lieu of parking fines to help local kids in need. Under the program, drivers can donate 200 #2 pencils or 100 black or blue pens to pay of a $20 parking ticket; one per license plate and the Read More »
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You Get an Email, You Get an Email, Everyone Gets an Email
July 26, 2019By Rita Pagan Vacations are supposed to be a respite from work, right? What if you can’t shut down? After I scheduled a few days off to take a road trip with my children, a co-worker suggested I leave my laptop at home and delete the Outlook email app from Read More »
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Looking Forward
July 25, 2019Like so many industry professionals, David Onorato, CAPP, sort of fell into parking. “It was by luck,” he says. “I was working with the [Pittsburgh] city finance department and there was an opening in the parking authority. I was asked if I wanted to move there and I said yes. Read More »
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From the Dust, Humble Inspiration
July 24, 2019By Shawn Conrad, CAE What a nostalgic week we just experienced. Every time I turned on the TV to watch the news or click on a website to read the headlines, I was reminded that a Saturn V rocket made its historic journey to the moon 50 years ago–July 20, Read More »
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Tell Your Story
July 23, 2019By Robert Ferrin We as parking and mobility professionals are often pulled in a million directions on a daily basis. We manage complex programs, often with multiple systems and large staff bases. We also regularly find ourselves in the weeds, whether solving a customer issue, navigating a technology problem, or Read More »
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Less Parking or More? City Planners on What AVs Mean for Them
July 22, 2019Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will reduce the demand for parking in cities. Or they might increase it, depending. Same for the need for driving lanes, which affect the availability of bike lanes and pedestrian pathways. They might make cities more–or less–walkable, too. The debate over driverless continued this weekend with a Washington Read More »
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Looking for Leadership? Keep the Attitude in Check
July 18, 2019By Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPA Sitting at a recent conference, I was able to watch an usher trying to guide attendees to their respective places. While this usher was performing her job repeatedly in a black and white manner, her frustration was visible and she did not attempt to hide Read More »
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San Francisco Proposes Designated Parking for the Homeless
July 17, 2019Following several other California cities, San Francisco is considering designating a parking lot as a safe place for people living in RVs to spend the night. Two lawmakers have proposed allowing RV residents to park and sleep in a lot near a city BART station; the lot is currently used Read More »
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RVing for the Novice: Where to Park?
July 16, 2019By David M. Feehan My wife and I recently decided to embark on a new adventure. We rented a 25-foot Thor Axis, a class C recreational vehicle and began a journey into the rural areas and small towns of Virginia. One of our first stops was Fredericksburg, the long-time, former Read More »
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Ford Launches Mobility Lab in Detroit
July 15, 2019The future of real-world mobility will be the subject of a new research facility established by Ford in Detroit. Corktown, one of Detroit’s oldest neighborhoods, will become a learning lab for driverless vehicles. With the cooperation of multiple stakeholders, including local government, Ford will use the neighborhood’s streets to study Read More »
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The Accessible Parking Challenge
July 12, 2019By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Parking and mobility professionals have the power to make a difference for 30 million (and growing) Americans with disabilities–people who need to park in our communities, campuses, and complexes to live an independent life, but who often circle, circle, circle and go home because Read More »
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Sticking Points
July 11, 2019By Mike Weiler Recently my team read “Sticking Points,” by Haydn Shaw because we noticed our workforce contained members from all four generations: Born before 1945 – Traditionalists. Born 1946-1964 – Baby Boomers. Born 1965-1980 – Gen Xers. Born 1981-2001 – Millennials. The book helped our team understand the 12 Read More »
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Voting Law’s Parking Requirements Create Controversy
July 10, 2019A new Florida law that requires “sufficient nonpermitted parking” at early-voting sites has raised the ire of many who feel it excludes college-age voters from participating in elections by prohibiting on-campus voting. It’s become part of a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida, a group of Read More »
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Are You Communicating Effectively?
July 9, 2019By Jennifer I. Tougas, PhD, CAPP Communication. It’s easy, right? After all, we live in the age of communication–digital connections, chats, email, texts, social media–all at our fingertips. Yet getting information into the hands of those who need it can be excruciatingly difficult. Ever have those “does the right hand Read More »
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Autonomous Cars as Game-changers for the Elderly?
July 8, 2019Will autonomous vehicles be game-changers for the way elderly people live their lives? At least one research team is looking into it and it’s not as cut and dry as it seems. Dr. Shuo Li, an expert in intelligent transportation systems at Newcastle University, and Phil Blythe, a professor there, Read More »
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Where Do I Go From Here?
July 5, 2019By Justin Grunert, MSM I want to say thank-you to everyone who attended this year’s IPMI Conference and Expo in Anaheim. It was a pleasure to be able to put faces with names and talk with you in person. Since the Conference has ended, I have been busy responding to Read More »
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Parking Hits People Magazine–in a Good Way
July 3, 2019Las Vegas Parking Services got national attention this week when it started accepting donated school supplies as payment for parking citations. People magazine ran a story about the effort, approved by the city council. Through July 19, people can drop off school supplies of an equal or greater value than their parking Read More »
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Poll: AVs Still Scary to Most Drivers
July 2, 2019A new poll by PCMag about future technology found the scariest things about autonomous vehicles (AVs) for most people isn’t the cost, but the chance of system failure or other accident. Forty-five percent of survey respondents said safety concerns and technology failures were their biggest fears about going driverless. Price Read More »
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In Saginaw, A Court Decision That Could Undermine Downtown Planning Across the U.S.
July 1, 2019The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this spring that chalking tires for parking enforcement violates the search and seizure clause of the Fourth Amendment. The decision had potential wide-reaching implications in the parking and mobility industry. IPMI developed this opinion piece on the matter. By Shawn Conrad, CAE Read More »
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Are You Taking Advantage of Us?
June 28, 2019By Courtney Turner I had the pleasure of meeting many of you at the 2019 IPMI Conference & Expo in Anaheim. For those who didn’t make it to the IPMI Community Center or who didn’t find themselves accosted by yours truly when you sat down at one of the tables Read More »
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Creating a Sense of Community Through Parking
June 27, 2019The City of Greenville, S.C., has 11 garages, four surface lots, and 800 on-street parking spaces, totaling close to 9,000 spaces. Many of the parking facilities are tied to development projects–hotels, office complexes, event venues, residences, restaurants, and retail. When Brittany Moore, CAPP, brought her marketing background to the parking Read More »
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New Jersey Enacts Ride-share Safety Legislation
June 26, 2019New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy last week signed a law requiring ride-share (TNCs) vehicles to display more identifying information. The law came after the murder of a woman who got into a vehicle she believed to be an Uber. Sami’s Law requires TNC vehicles to: Display two identifying markers in Read More »
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Correction vs. Encouragement
June 25, 2019By Jay Manno Correction does much, but encouragement does more. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Everyone has their own unique personality and style. Without education, correction, and leadership from others, we would all Read More »
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Waymo Partners with Automakers to Research Driverless Mobility Services
June 24, 2019For the first time, Waymo (formerly the Google self-driving car project) has teamed up with two automakers to research driverless mobility services. The company will work with Nissan and Renault to work on driverless delivery of packages and people in Japan and France. Groupe Renault is the world’s largest automotive Read More »
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Challenges, Solutions, and Tenacity
June 21, 2019By Cindy Campbell Did you make it out to Anaheim? I hope you did. The 2019 IPMI Conference & Expo wrapped up just more than a week ago. As a member of the IPMI team, my role is to assist attendees with education sessions and to make the annual event Read More »
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Is FOMO Hurting Mobility Policy?
June 20, 2019Are cities quick to adopt new transportation technology (autonomous vehicles, for one) because of a fear of missing out or desire to make headlines for being first, without considering the long-term implications of what they’re doing? At least one analyst believes so, and he’s writing about it. David Zipper, fellow Read More »
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Making Time for Mentoring
June 19, 2019By John Mason, CAPP, PMP, QIR To be a mentor is more than just leading or teaching someone. If you are the mentor, you need to make time for the other person. There’s a requirement on the other end, too, for the mentee to make time in their life to Read More »
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FHWA Announces Transportation Technology Grants
June 18, 2019The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced $60 million in grants available for cities and states to enable transportation technology and improve mobility. The Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Program grants are available to cities, states, local government and transit agencies, and planning organizations. This is the fourth Read More »
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OK Google, Where’d I Park?
June 17, 2019Google is rolling out the re-launch of its Assistant parking feature, giving users the ability to ask where they left their cars and get a pretty accurate answer. Users who have location services enabled can ask their phones where they parked without checking Google Maps or needing to actively mark Read More »
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What’s in an Acronym? Opportunity
June 6, 2019By Shawn Conrad, CAE After reviewing all the programs, professional development opportunities, and number of exhibitors at the 2019 IPMI Conference & Expo in Anaheim, I had a flashback to my first association and how different IPMI is from that experience. That association was proactive like IPMI, but the industry Read More »
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A New Player in the Micro-mobility Game
June 5, 2019In what the Washington Post is saying may be the next big trend in micro-mobility, Bird will pilot a two-seater, electric vehicle with an LCD screen, hydraulic disc brakes, and a 52-volt battery. The Post called the Bird Cruiser, “a hybrid between a heavy-duty dirt bike and a slimmed down Read More »
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Follow Up: Ellicott City Flood
June 4, 2019By David Feehan Several weeks ago, I wrote about disaster planning and the horrendous flood that nearly destroyed downtown Ellicott City, Md. Now, County Executive Calvin Ball has proposed a more expensive flood mitigation plan for the city. The price tag could easily reach $140 million–no small number for a Read More »
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Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Deploys Driverless Shuttle for Mobility Study
June 3, 2019In a joint study with North Carolina AT&T State University, researchers at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute have deployed a driverless shuttle on their own entrance road to see if similar systems might alleviate help first-and-last-mile challenges for elderly and disabled travelers. Project team leaders said they think automated shuttles running Read More »
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Are You Ready?
May 31, 2019By Kathleen Federici, MEd Are you ready? It’s here! Next week thousands of our friends, friends we have yet to meet, and colleagues will be gathered together in Anaheim for the IPMI Conference & Expo. You might find it helpful to search Anaheim in your LinkedIn contacts and send some Read More »
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U.K. Enacts Data Standards for Parking
May 30, 2019The U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) has committed £1 million to research and put into place parking data standards created by the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS) to help drivers find parking more easily. Officials said it was the first time the APDS standards would be put into place Read More »
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Expanding Traveler Choices Through the Use of Incentives: A Compendium of Examples
May 29, 2019By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP Near the end of last year, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released a new report: “Expanding Traveler Choices Through the Use of Incentives: A Compendium of Examples”. Below is a brief abstract describing the document. “With increased congestion across the Nation’s roadways, transportation agencies, universities, Read More »
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City Offers VIP Parking at its Transit Station for $1,200 per Year
May 28, 2019A Chicago suburb is getting attention for its plan to offer local residents the chance to buy guaranteed VIP parking at its Metra commuter train station for $1,200 per space, per year. News outlets report it’s the first time such a plan has been launched at a public transit station. Read More »
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Are You an Only at Work?
May 24, 2019By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP We can always learn from other people. I was blessed to find a mentor in my early days as a young marketing coordinator in Philadelphia. I interviewed with her, and even though I didn’t take the job, I made a lifelong Read More »
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Starting New
May 23, 2019By John Mason, CAPP, PMP, QIR In the course of your life you will have many new starts—new starts with relationships, careers, projects, etc. There’s a wonderful feeling in a fresh start. It is a feeling of betterment and building. If you’re like me, new starts are exciting and a Read More »
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To-dos for #IPMI2019
May 22, 2019Are you ready? It’s almost time for the 2019 IPMI Conference & Expo, and we have a ton to see and do this year! Before taking off for Anaheim, we have a few suggestions: Register! If you’re not already signed up, you still have time. Visit ipiconference.parking.org to get yourself Read More »
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Projects That Will Change Your World
May 21, 2019By David M. Feehan The cover of the April issue of The Parking Professional featured a banner that stated, “Four Days to Change Your World.” Lately, I’ve been doing some research into mega-developments–projects that will change the world for many of us. I live only a couple of blocks from Read More »
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Usain Bolt Launches Tiny EV
May 20, 2019Saying his travels around the world have made it clear cities need help with congestion, retired world-record-holding sprinter Usain Bolt last week launched his own vehicle: a two-seater, electric car with a suggested price of $9999. Delivery of the Bolt Nano is scheduled to begin in 2020. It will feature Read More »
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Sheldon Cooper, Parking Priorities, and the Rest of Us
May 17, 2019By Kim Fernandez In advance of the series finale (which I have not watched yet so shhhh with the spoilers, please), TBS aired a marathon of The Big Bang Theory last night. I guess word nerds and science nerds must have a bond somewhere because Big Bang is one of Read More »
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Future $ense: Does Designing for Future Re-use Make Sense?
May 16, 2019Adaptive re-use of parking garages, turning all or parts of them into housing or offices or mixed-use when they’re not needed for as much parking, is a hot topic, and designing new garages with it in mind is top of mind with many developers. But it’s not as simple as Read More »
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Unlocking the Power of Pricing to Drive Revenue
May 15, 2019By Guy Barnes Time to plan your next vacation. Choose a destination—check. Book your flights and lodging—check, check. You’re happy to do this in advance, securing a spot and locking in your price. Travelers have grown to expect to make these purchases online. We demand a choice of products and Read More »
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How Congestion Affects Airport Parking
May 14, 2019By Tim Maloney With airports adapting to ride-share disruption with extra fees or complete overhauls of their drop-off and pick-up stations, many have questioned how to get more travelers parking. Their concerns are valid: According to the Worcester Business Journal, Uber and Lyft drivers made 12 million trips to and Read More »
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Robot Take the Wheel?
May 13, 2019A new book suggests that autonomous cars will not only cart us around, but run our errands for us when we’re not even on board. This weekend, Engadget took a look at that, considering all the things we use our cars for that have nothing to do with going from Read More »
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A Grateful Farewell and a New Hello
May 10, 2019By Kim Fernandez Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are sure to miss the future. – John F. Kennedy IPMI embraced the future by adding “mobility” to its name last fall, shifting to where members’ jobs and focuses are going as Read More »
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Columnist: Manage Demand or We All Pay
May 9, 2019Parking minimums for new construction projects are up for debate in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, including a recent four-hour session on the topic by the city council. Elise Stolte, columnist for the Edmonton Journal newspaper, took up the topic this week with an impassioned piece about the need to control parking Read More »
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Curbside Management: What it Is and Why it Matters
May 8, 2019The curb may be evolving into the hottest piece of real estate around. Thanks to the growth of transportation network companies (TNCs), bike- and scooter-share, car-share, and all those deliveries of things we used to hit the stores for, managing the curb and deciding how it will be shared among Read More »
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Changing for the Right Reasons In New York State
May 7, 2019By Jason M. Jones During the last year, the New York State Parking Association (NYSPA) has been working on a rebranding campaign, complete with a new website, enhanced social media pages, and a name change. As the parking industry continues to evolve, we needed to be sure we were not Read More »
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City Partners with Businesses to Offer Garage Parkers Gifts
May 6, 2019In an effort to spread awareness about parking options, the City of Royal, Oak, Mich., has partnered with local businesses to offer drivers gifts if they park in garages. The city owns three garages–with a fourth opening this summer–totaling 3,000 spaces, but closed a surface lot earlier this year. To Read More »
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Cops, Coloring Books, and Creativity
May 3, 2019By Helen Sullivan When it comes to life in general, I’m a big believer in coloring outside the lines, thinking outside the box, departing from the text. When it comes to parking—not so much. You all know parking lines are meant to guide drivers to park between them. That is Read More »
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Mobility: Miami’s Best Practices
May 2, 2019By Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, CAPP Mobility is the key component of a city’s transportation infrastructure. Mobility and livability go hand-in-hand in improving a community’s quality of life. As parking and mobility professionals, we need to be nimble, adaptable, and proactive to address the evolving mobility needs of the community in Read More »
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Putting Parking’s Best Foot Forward
May 1, 2019By Matt Davis and Taylor Kim How many times have you thought about going somewhere only to cringe at the thought of having to park? Parking sets the tone for our experience at a destination; if that experience is a negative one, it can detract from everything that follows. So, Read More »
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The Value of Internal Champions
April 30, 2019By Isaiah Mouw, CAPP Each year, we at Citizens Parking are tasked with outlining three goals for our department along with three personal goals. For 2018, we added a mammoth goal for our division we knew would strengthen our internal policies and procedures and provide a competitive advantage to separate Read More »
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Daimler, BMW Team Up for Mobility-as-a-Service
April 29, 2019Daimler AG and BMW have launched a new brand–NOW–to offer mobility-as-a-service to customers. “We really want to be kind of almost the PayPal of mobility,” said company North American CEO Nat Parker. The company is split into five segments: REACH NOW offers ticketing and trip planning. SHARE NOW is for Read More »
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A Sense of Urgency
April 26, 2019By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP Climate change is not a remote problem. It is relentless and as Shelley Poticha said recently at the Shared Use Mobility Summit, “it requires a sense of urgency.” It’s pretty darn overwhelming. How do we tackle climate change, build more sustainably, Read More »
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To Build or Not to Build?
April 25, 2019By Josh Naramore There are many news stories that purport the end to parking and that our autonomous future will drastically reduce cities’ needs to provide parking. However, we don’t know when or if that future may come to pass and still need to provide parking services to the customers Read More »
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The Gift of Teaching
April 24, 2019By Brian Shaw, CAPP I was contacted recently by a group of students interested in starting an airport shuttle service as a sustainability project. They believed they could reduce vehicle trips using TNCs (Uber/Lyft) while providing students a more affordable and cleaner way to get to the region’s airports during Read More »
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Preparing for a Connected, Autonomous Future
April 23, 2019By Michelle Wendler, AIA The development of connected and autonomous technology has opened up a future of endless possibilities for the parking and mobility industry, all with the potential to not only change the way we park and move but also open up new avenues of sustainable design that will Read More »
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Opening Up a Whole New Frontier: Storytelling for Sustainability
April 22, 2019By Paul Wessel The air quality in Delhi is among the poorest in the world; it’s so bad that many people are quite literally allergic to the air. Doctors told Kamal Meattle, CEO of the Paharpur Business Center, that his lung capacity had diminished by 30 percent, that he should Read More »
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Personal Ad
April 19, 2019By Justin Grunert Mentee Seeking Mentor You: Experienced parking professional. Must have knowledge about general management, project management, financial and operational auditing, operational management, marketing and public relations, and technology. Must be a current, active CAPP. Willing to mentor for six to 18 months and will receive CAPP recertification points Read More »
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Mobility and Societal Considerations: What’s Happening?
April 18, 2019More people than ever are enjoying the convenience of shared-mobility services: transportation network companies (TNCs–Uber, Lyft, etc.), bike-share, scooter-share, and other easy ways to get around. Eric Haggett, senior associate with DESMAN and a member of IPMI’s Planning, Design, & Construction Committee, found himself pondering this recently and wondered if Read More »
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Bringing Bike-share to Underserved Populations: A Case Study
April 17, 2019By David Sorrell, MOL About 10 years ago, I received my undergrad from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., about an hour west of Chicago. I was one of many without a car and getting around town, especially nights and weekends, was especially difficult. At the same time, I didn’t Read More »
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Chemical Dependency and the Circle of Safety
April 16, 2019By Casey Jones, CAPP If you haven’t read any of Simon Sinek’s books or listened to him speak, you’re missing out. He covers leadership, teamwork, and communications. I’ve just finished his second book, Leaders Eat Last, which appeared on both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestseller lists Read More »
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Survey: Love of Cars Possible Roadblock to Mobility-as-a-Service Growth
April 15, 2019Hopes for widespread adoption of mobility-as-a-service have grown as car ownership numbers among young adults have dropped. But a new survey says the picture may not be as rosy as once thought. Simply put, many older drivers have no interest in giving up their cars. Ito World, a British company Read More »
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Civility Begets More Civility
April 12, 2019By Shawn Conrad, CAE I’ve always been something of a political junkie. For years, I’ve followed congressional, senate, and presidential races and have even helped friends seek state offices. Running for office is both an honor and a humbling experience. If you ever wanted to know how people truly feel Read More »
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Robotics: The Future of Parking, or Future Nightmare?
April 11, 2019By David Feehan A few years ago while working on a parking consulting contract in Glassboro, N.J., Dennis Burns, CAPP, and I made a side trip to visit Boomerang Systems, a new company billing itself as an industry leader in designing and operating robotic parking garages. The test facility was Read More »
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Debunking Common HR Myths
April 10, 2019By Andi Campbell A simple Google search using an HR buzz word or phrase such as talent management, LMS, social recruiting, ATS, or off-the-shelf content will yield thousands and thousands of articles, ideas, and sales pitches. If you’re like most people these days, you probably don’t have the time (or Read More »
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Four Days to Change Your World
April 9, 2019Are you in? Ready to connect with the colleagues and peers from around the world who can answer your questions, brainstorm on solutions, and advance your operation and your career? Ready to find the products, services, and new technologies to catapult your business to the next level? Ready for innovative Read More »
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Most New Car Sales in Norway are of Electric Vehicles
April 8, 2019Norway celebrated a milestone last month, when the majority of its new car sales were of electric vehicles. The country reported that 60 percent of the 18,375 new cars registered in March were electric. Norway’s electricity is largely generated by hydroelectric power plants, which are cleaner than coal- or natural Read More »
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Disconnect? Good Luck
April 5, 2019By Courtney Turner When I started my first office job, my dad – naggingly — told me to turn off my email and only look at it every couple of hours. He cautioned me that email was very distracting and there was “nothing in there that couldn’t wait a couple Read More »
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City Considers Limiting Food Trucks, Night Parking to Fight Crime
April 4, 2019Glenwood, part of Raleigh, N.C., is known for its vibrant nightlife–and sometimes for noise, crowds, and crime that comes along with it. Tasked with keeping the nights alive but cutting down on rowdier late-night gatherings, the city council is considering limiting parking and restricting food trucks to help disperse crowds. Read More »
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Follow the Leader
April 3, 2019By Tiffany Smith From childhood, we have played the simple game follow the leader, where one person leads the masses. Today we still have leaders but following one individual has become increasingly more difficult to do. Why is this? I believe it’s because most leaders don’t place enough emphasis on Read More »
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The Fundamentals of Wayfinding
April 2, 2019By John Hammerschlag Below are basic fundamentals when developing wayfinding systems for your next parking project to direct parkers and pedestrians safely and efficiently: Project budget to include 10 percent for unforeseen/changing circumstances upon project completion. The project manager should complete a final walk- and drive-through in and against the Read More »
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New Model Brings Shared Micro-mobility to Small Communities
April 1, 2019Micro-mobility can be tough to bring to smaller or economically challenged communities, whose populations may not use shared bikes or scooters enough to generate providers’ minimum required monthly per-ride charges. But a startup with a new model is emerging as a possible solution. Koloni, a new provider of shared bikes, Read More »
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The Recombobulation Zone
March 29, 2019By Cindy Campbell I fully admit that I’m a strange one. Example: Two of my favorite things in this world are analogies and people watching at airports. During a recent trip through a metropolitan airport, I discovered a place where these two favorites collide. Welcome to the Recombobulation Area. Wait, Read More »
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Get to Your Computer and Vote!
March 28, 2019By Shawn Conrad, CAE We take great pride in being a very inclusive association. Each year, IPMI seeks input from thousands of volunteers, and we turn their thoughts into efforts to better the industry. Currently, 16 of those volunteers are seeking seats on IPMI’s Board of Directors–and your vote. The Read More »
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Essential Services: Parking Enforcement in the New World
March 27, 2019By Shawn McCormick Parking enforcement is taking on many new functions not considered five or 10 years ago: the increase of transportation network companies (TNCs) in urban and suburban areas, homelessness, e-scooters, e-bikes, the what’s-next mobility option, event management, and traffic management to name a few. Maintaining relevance in the Read More »
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Carbon Fiber Brings Heat to Concrete Pavement
March 26, 2019By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I read an interesting article in the ITS America SmartBrief regarding a new heat-treated pavement technology that could have big implications for parking professionals. Iowa State University engineers, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Transportation, are testing a heated-pavement technology that uses a special Read More »
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What Boeing’s Troubles May Mean for Autonomous Vehicle Development
March 25, 2019Boeing’s 737 MAX jet problems may have a ripple effect that could slow down autonomous vehicle development, experts say, though how much remains to be seen. The company’s autonomous flight stabilization system is suspected to have played a role in two crashes of the new line of planes in five Read More »
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Washington, D.C., as a Multimodal Transportation Hub
March 22, 2019By Michelle W. Jones, CMP I recently read an article touting Washington, D.C., as a top destination for public transport. The purpose of the article was to alert meeting planners, specifically in the transportation arena, to all our nation’s capital has to offer and the many accolades it has received Read More »
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March Mad-ness
March 21, 2019By Casey Jones, CAPP March is an amazing time for basketball fans when exiting matchups, buzzer-beaters, and improbable Cinderella teams knock off the heavyweights. It’s also a time to see many different approaches to coaching, which I find interesting because I’ve always been a student of leadership. There are many leaders Read More »
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Parking the Friendly Skies: How Airports are Humanizing the Passenger Experience
March 20, 2019By Michelle Wendler and Michael Pendergrass Whether it’s parking, renting a car, or finding a ride-share, air travel begins and ends with ground transportation. So how can parking design mitigate stress and create a smoother, more enjoyable experience? Functional design such as reducing congestion to creating a streamlined car rental Read More »
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Transportation Key to Costa Rica’s Green New Deal
March 19, 2019By Paul Wessel Costa Rica wants to be the little country that could by becoming fossil-fuel-free by 2050. Its greatest challenge? Transportation. Transportation is the largest single source of Costa Rica’s greenhouse gas emissions. The number of cars and motorcycles on the roads is growing fast, according to a survey Read More »
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Study: TNCs Reducing City Demand for Parking
March 18, 2019An academic study released last week showed that transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft are taking a bite out of parking demand, at least in Denver, Colo. The study found that TNCs contribute to congestion on city streets. Users elected for ride-hail instead of public transportation for Read More »
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Be Well, My Friends
March 15, 2019By Kathleen Federici, MEd As I prepare to speak to my son’s fifth grade class on Career/College Day, I find myself reflecting on the state of stress among kids in school and how that translates to the workplace. Our school district superintendent just sent out a workshop for parents on Read More »
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Now What? Mapping the Next Steps
March 14, 2019By Jay Manno In sales, we set goals and (hopefully) think about them every day. Goals are wonderful but developing a plan to reach them is an even more important effort. One of the things I’ve noticed about top performers is they not only put their focus on their top Read More »
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Your Next Hire? A Communications Pro
March 13, 2019By Moira A. Bindner What did communications look like before a dedicated communications professional was hired? Parking & transit posted on its website, had minimal response to Twitter comments, and created flyers. Outreach was limited to orientation presentations and commuter breakfasts, and the reputation of the department was primarily negative Read More »
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Parking Super Bowl 53 (Post-game)
March 12, 2019By Frank Giles When visiting Atlanta, you definitely need to consider your parking and transportation options. In an age of Uber, car-share, and those little scooters all over the place, public transportation is not the only game in town. That’s a good thing because like most major cities, downtown parking Read More »
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E-trikes Enter Shared Mobility Picture
March 11, 2019Bike- and scooter-share got a third friend last week, when Gotcha debuted an electric trike at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. The trike can seat two riders, hit a top speed of about 25 miles per hour, and go 40 miles on a charge, and features running Read More »
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#BalanceForBetter: My Experience
March 8, 2019By Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, CAPP This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme, #BalanceforBetter, couldn’t hit closer to home! As a professional in an unbalanced industry–parking–I have always strived to work hard and be confident about being able to perform at the same level, if not a higher one, than any Read More »
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Parallel Parking Sign Vigilante Lauded as Neighborhood Hero
March 7, 2019A Los Angeles man is up to here with people who leave too much space between vehicles when parallel parking and he’s taking matters into his own hands–much to the delight of his neighbors. Derek Boonstra says he’s spent too much time circling his neighborhood looking for parking spaces because Read More »
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How Often Should I Post on My Brand’s Social Media?
March 6, 2019By Stacy Stockard A few nights ago, I was finishing a design project for my local chapter of a national nonprofit. As I looked up some identity guidelines, I stumbled across the national organization’s suggested social media posting frequency. It recommended starting with five social media networks and making 60 Read More »
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Reaching Out
March 5, 2019By Mary Mabry, CAPP When we discuss why parking, mobility and transportation industry professionals love what they do, it involves many aspects of what I term conflict resolution. In my conversations with numerous professionals, I have heard how difficult it is to maneuver opportunities, provide options, and stay on top Read More »
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EVs, Compacts, SUVs Center Stage at Geneva Auto Show
March 4, 2019Lots of talk about doing business in a new trade environment, plenty of electric vehicles (EVS), and loads of both compact cars and SUVs will take center stage at the Geneva International Motor Show this week; the show is traditionally a harbinger of what’s to come on the roads. With Read More »
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Google Deletes Parking from Annual Conference
March 1, 2019Google’s annual I/O developer conference brings about 5,000 attendees to Mountain View, Calif., for three days of in-depth sessions on all things tech. This year’s event will omit one notable feature: parking. Starting last week, Google let ticket attendees know the 2019 conference is a no-cars event. “In an effort Read More »
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CAPP Compadres, Part Two
February 28, 2019By Tiffany Brander In an earlier post, you heard from my friend and CAPP Mentor Casey Jones, CAPP, who began sharing our CAPP Mentor Program experience. In this post, I’ll discuss why I’ve chosen to pursue my CAPP as well as apply for the Mentor Program. When I joined the Read More »
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Developing a Daily Kaizen Culture
February 27, 2019By LaWana Richmond, EdD Our organization is in the midst of a Shingo Lean cultural transformation. While many people are familiar with Lean Six Sigma, Shingo Lean is better suited to our organizational needs. Our customer promise is that customers will be at the center of every service we provide Read More »
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Bill May Fund Transit Access with Parking Tax
February 26, 2019A bill passed by the New Jersey General Assembly yesterday may fund projects to ease access to mass transit by placing a tax on parking. Drivers in the state’s six largest cities would pay a 3.5 percent tax on parking if the bill becomes law. The tax would not apply Read More »
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Making Curb Space More Productive
February 25, 2019Parking and mobility professionals knew this was coming: As more mobility options hit the market, competition for curb space is growing. A unique partnership in one city is trying to strike balance between users before the situation grows any more challenging. In Cincinnati, Ohio, city officials have partnered with Mobility Read More »
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An Act of Kindness
February 22, 2019By Kim Fernandez Despite four registers humming at record speed, the pharmacy line had backed up when I joined it the other afternoon. It didn’t take long to identify the holdup–the customer at register two. Her back and neck curved over her silver, tennis-ball-footed walker in a lopsided C. A Read More »
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Military Planning and Super Bowl Parking
February 21, 2019By Brett Munkel, CAPP Though I never served in our armed forces, I consider myself a fan of military history and enjoy diving into accounts of various campaigns through the centuries. An aspect often overlooked is that battles and wars are not won through the force of strength alone. What Read More »
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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
February 20, 2019By Jaime Snyder, CAPP The good, the bad, and the ugly: all adjectives that can describe the parking industry at some point in time. Some of us who have been in the industry forever have experienced all of these, but the newcomers may still be on that parking industry high Read More »
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Five Autonomous Trends on the Way
February 19, 2019Autonomous cars have seemed a long way off for quite some time, but Forbes says they’re closer than we think–in fact, they list five trends that they say we need to be ready for this year, if not soon after: Level 5 AVs. Completely driverless cars may be on the Read More »
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Trade Your Stress for Awesome
February 15, 2019By Rita Pagan There seems to be no defined line between work and home life these days. A typical work day can be as easy as 9-5 or as long and hard as working 12 to 15 hours straight, not even realizing you missed lunch and dinner. Even after hopping Read More »
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Landmark London Garage to be Demolished
February 14, 2019After a long fight by preservationists and lovers of Brutalist architecture to save it, the hammer fell earlier this week. London’s Welbeck Car Park was denied protected status and will be demolished to make room for a new hotel. Designed in the 1960s to serve customers of a department store Read More »
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Changing the Narrative
February 13, 2019By Chelsea Webster Have you ever unjustly gotten a parking ticket? Had your car towed? Encountered a broken parking meter or machine and been unable to pay for your parking session? Unsuccessfully tried to appeal a violation notice? As parking professionals, we sometimes become desensitized to these very real (and Read More »
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The Hype Cycle
February 12, 2019By David Hill, CAPP, MA The other day, I happened upon an article that introduced me to the Gartner Hype Cycle. The Hype Cycle is a theoretical model postulated by Gartner, Inc, a research and advisory firm in business, IT, and customer experience. It suggests a conceptual representation of how the Read More »
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TV Crew Follows Investigators Cracking Down on Disabled Placard Abuse
February 11, 2019California has embarked on a wide-ranging program to catch drivers illegally using disabled parking placards. The effort comes on the heels of an estimate that one in 10 placards in the state is misused, either with drivers parking in ADA-reserved spaces when they’re not driving a person to whom a Read More »
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Dockless Car-share Introduced in Ireland
February 7, 2019A new electric vehicle (EV) share model may change the way people use car-share, at least in Ireland. The twist? Park the car anywhere you want when you’re finished with it. Danish company Green Mobility operates its sharing service in operational zones, which are often defined as specific city limits. Read More »
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Pros and Cons of Mobile Apps for City Parking
February 6, 2019By Chris Everett For awhile, technology continued to advance while municipal parking operations remained stuck in the old days. Long after folks living in cities had smartphones and electronic ways of navigating through downtowns, they still had to pay for parking using coin meters and pay stations with slots for Read More »
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Alternate Project Delivery Methods: Breaking the Mold
February 5, 2019By Alex Smith, AAE Capital improvement projects are the lifeblood of maintaining a parking facility. Some projects repair crumbling infrastructure, others offer customers with value-added products, and some have an effect on parking and mobility within a community through planning studies. The vehicle by which these projects are procured and Read More »
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Will AVs Avoiding Parking Cause Gridlock?
February 4, 2019A new study says autonomous vehicles may decide to cruise around rather than parking when not in use, raising concerns that they may add to gridlock in downtown areas. Human-driven cars must be parked when the humans get out of the vehicle. But driverless cars can just keep going and Read More »
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Kickin’ Cliches
February 1, 2019By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA I am as guilty as anyone (probably more so) of peppering my writing, blog posts, emails, presentations, and spoken communications with clichés–words or expressions so overused that they lack originality. That’s why it is with mixed mortification and delight that I am sharing Robert Read More »
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Developers: There’s Really Not Enough Parking
January 31, 2019What if they built a transit station and people didn’t come, or at least took their time coming? That’s what’s happening in Tysons, Va., a busy, business-filled suburb of Washington, D.C., where parking maximums are putting the squeeze on roads–at least, according to developers. Planners said a new Metro stop Read More »
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Me, Inc.
January 30, 2019By Justin L. Grunert MSM. I am coming up on my first work anniversary at IPMI. After a year of working with great members and great coworkers and working for great bosses, I’ve been reflecting on the fact that I am very fortunate to have a work environment/culture that supports Read More »
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What if the Unthinkable Happens–Again?
January 29, 2019By David M. Feehan On July 30, 2016, a 1,000-year flood devastated Ellicott City, Md., wiping out sections of the historic downtown, carrying cars down the flooded street, and closing down businesses for months. No one predicted a flood of this magnitude, which dumped a total of six inches of Read More »
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On the Lighter Side of Leadership
January 28, 2019“First rule of leadership: Everything is your fault.” -A Bug’s Life. We’re easing back in on a Monday morning (who’s with us?) and when we saw Inc.’s story listing 17 powerfully inspiring (and funny) quotes for every leader, we couldn’t resist sharing. Because, well, everybody who’s ever led anyone has Read More »
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Parking is a Civil Right
January 25, 2019By Shawn Conrad, CAE My family wanted to bring a grandparent to a family function but learned quickly that this task would not be easy to accomplish. The grandparent used a wheelchair and needed the services of a wheelchair-accessible van. Calls were made to paratransit companies and it was rather Read More »
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Are E-scooters Here to Stay?
January 24, 2019By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP Mobility Lab has referred to 2018 as the Year of the Curb. One big reason for this was the rapid and broad emergence of dockless e-scooters. In the January 8 issue of Mobility Lab Express, Director Paul Mackie reflects on everything we know about scooters Read More »
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Autonomous Technology Good News for Detroit
January 23, 2019Waymo, Google’s self-driving vehicle arm, is looking for a built factory in Detroit to outfit cars with its autonomous technology, giving Motor City a major role in future transportation. The company received an $8 million grant from the state of Michigan to locate there, and says the factory will be Read More »
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ArchDaily: Robotic Parking Enables Urban Architecture
January 22, 2019ArchDaily this week sang the praises of robotic or automated parking, using the Dokk1 garage in Denmark as an example. The technology, says the post, saves space and time and makes parking something that can fit into tight spaces and offer a convenient option for drivers. Well, we knew that. Read More »
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Effective Osmosis
January 18, 2019By Courtney Turner My family has a whiteboard in our kitchen we use to keep track of upcoming events—things like school early release days, baseball games and practices, orthodontist appointments, etc. Pretty much our daily grind. More than a year ago, in an attempt to motivate my kids, I took Read More »
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How Davos will Advance Transportation and Mobility
January 17, 2019The World Economic Forum meets in Davos, Switzerland, next week, bringing together great minds from around the world. Transportation and mobility are high on the agenda this year and the meeting’s Future of Mobility sessions will include CEOs and executives from Uber, Boeing, Volkswagen, Volvo, and transportation officials from cities Read More »
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MaaS Initiative Launched
January 16, 2019By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) has established a mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) initiative to raise awareness of new and emerging issues/technologies. “The proliferation of ride-hailing, bike-sharing, and most recently electric scooters has expanded the availability of transportation choices and is addressing some of the first- and Read More »
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City of Eugene Parking Sponsors Safe Rides Home
January 15, 2019By Jeff Petry This New Year’s Eve, community members in the Eugene, Ore., metro area had more smart transportation options to choose from than ever before due to great collaboration between public, private, and nonprofit organizations. City of Eugene Parking Services was a sponsor of the Safe Rides Home effort Read More »
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Adaptive Reuse Becomes Reality
January 14, 2019Parking and mobility pros have been talking about adaptive reuse for awhile now, but the mainstream media has caught on. So have architects, who are designing real projects whose parking garages could be transformed into office, housing, retail, or any number of other uses should the need arise somewhere down Read More »
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Preparing for Bad Behavior
January 11, 2019By Cindy Campbell Hostility. Aggression. Belligerence. Incivility. Rudeness. All these words describe bad human behavior. Again this week, an over-the-top outburst was caught on video and went viral. Maybe you’ve seen it: A female would-be airline passenger went ballistic at the gate, reportedly because her flight was delayed. It’s disheartening Read More »
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Four Tips to Achieve Your Goals
January 10, 2019By Vicki Pero, SPHR As a new year begins, many people and organizations are focused on goal setting. Often, sometime in the first few months of the year, goals are modified or abandoned because we’ve fallen off track and achieving them seems out of reach. Instead of sharing a bunch Read More »
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Lawrence Burns and the Future of Parking and Mobility
January 9, 2019Talk about the future of mobility–specifically, shared, electric, autonomous vehicles–and it won’t be long before somebody brings Lawrence Burns into the conversation. That’s for good reason; before he wrote the bestseller “Autonomy: The Quest to Build the Driverless Car–and How it will Reshape Our World,” he was the expert Waymo Read More »
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NYE on the Strip: Party with 300,000 of Your Closest Friends
January 8, 2019By Bruce Barclay, CAPP It is 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Freeway off ramps leading to the Las Vegas Strip are being shut down to vehicular traffic. By 6:15 p.m., all major east/west arteries that access the Strip will be closed. By 7 p.m., there will be a hard Read More »
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Ford, Cities Partner on the Future of Mobility
January 7, 2019Ford Motor Company’s in-house futurist has started in-depth meetings with U.S. city leaders to try and forecast how shared, autonomous vehicles might affect daily life and what infrastructure, regulations, and other things need to be put into place before widespread adoption. A few highlights from a Washington Post story on the effort: Read More »
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New Year, New You?
January 4, 2019By Michelle W. Jones, CMP The phrase “auld lang syne” literally translates to “old long since,” and basically means “days gone by.’”* And like in the movie “When Harry Met Sally,” most of don’t really understand the song’s meaning and fake the lyrics as we attempt to sing along each Read More »
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Lighting it Up
January 3, 2019By David M. Feehan Some years ago, when I was president of the Downtown Community Alliance in Des Moines, Iowa, I had a conversation with then-City Manager Eric Anderson about signage and wayfinding. I argued we should take responsibility for a visitor’s journey into downtown and to a parking place Read More »
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Cybersecurity Concerns and AVs
January 2, 2019What happens if the autonomous vehicle you’re in gets hacked? Experts say it’s not a small concern and keeping the driverless cars’ data and systems secure should be top of mind. But they also say developers may not have considered all the possible risks. Tripwire‘s State of Security blog addresses Read More »
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Celebrating the Season
December 21, 2018By Kathleen Federici, MEd Well, it’s finally here. The season we think about all year long, yet are never prepared for when it finally arrives. In my area, free parking is being gifted as we shop during certain hours of the weekend. Everyone is a buzz, stores and parking lots Read More »
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The Road Ahead
December 20, 2018What does mobility look like going forward? It’s certainly a much-discussed question in the industry, but also a hot topic among drivers, cities, and the general public. And now the Smithsonian is taking a look into what it says might be the future of transportation. The newest exhibit at the Read More »
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Admiring the People at the Top
December 19, 2018By John Mason, CAPP One of the executives I work with started at a young age installing revenue control equipment and worked his way through the ranks of the company to the top. Even though it was family owned at the time, he pushed his way through. He became a Read More »
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Five Things to Make Every Day a Success
December 18, 2018By Jay Manno One thing we all have in common in our professional lives in the parking/mobility arena is we all want to be successful! Not just for ourselves, but for the people around us. As team leaders, it’s up to all of us to create a positive atmosphere that Read More »
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Waymo Test Vehicles Under (Literal) Attack
December 17, 2018Not everyone is in love with the idea of autonomous vehicles and Waymo, formerly known as Google’s self-driving car project, is learning about it firsthand, as a slew of their test vehicles have come under attack. Waymo vans on the road in Arizona have had tires slashed and their safety Read More »
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L.A. Metro Unveils Multi-mode Service
December 14, 2018The Los Angeles Metro has added bike-share options to its Transit Access Pass (TAP) card accounts and plans to branch out to scooter-share, transportation network company (TNC) options, and even reserving a parking space with the card in the not-too-distant future. TAP card users can reserve a bike at 90 Read More »
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Minneapolis to Eliminate Parking Minimums
December 13, 2018The City of Minneapolis, Minn., this week moved to eliminate off-street parking minimums throughout the city, becoming the third major U.S. municipality to do so. One source reported that 29 percent of renting households in Minneapolis do not own cars. The move by the city is part of its Minneapolis Read More »
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Sustainable Garages in Wood
December 12, 2018When’s the last time you saw a parking garage that featured wood as a primary construction material? Thanks to advances in technology and research, it may be coming to a facility near you. Engineered wood is strong, sequesters carbon, and produces significantly less greenhouse gas emissions during production and transport Read More »
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CAPP Compadres
December 11, 2018By Casey Jones, CAPP I’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Brander. Tiffany works for the Missoula Parking Commission (MPC), an Accredited Parking Organization in Missoula, Mont. The MPC is currently undertaking a downtown master plan update, a design-build parking garage is underway that the MPC is preparing to operate, Read More »
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Thirty-two Hours in the World’s Self-Driving Car Capital
December 10, 2018What will the world and its communities be like when autonomous vehicles rule the roads? Wired sent a reporter to Chandler, Ariz., where Waymo is large-scale testing on real streets, to find out. The first surprise was how engaged the fire department is in the testing. Would Waymo’s cars run Read More »
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Seeing Change in a More Flattering Light
December 7, 2018By Justin L Grunert, MSM At a recent conference I attended, the speaker said, “Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.” Just thinking about change, you realize it is always around you. Summer turns into fall. Sunset occurs sooner during the day. Your Read More »
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Light Bulbs and Light Bulbs
December 6, 2018By Isaiah Mouw, CAPP This year, I worked to make our house a smart home. Our Roomba vacuums our floors. Our Nest controls the temperature. Our speakers and TV are powered by Google Cast. Our light bulbs were swapped out to smart Philips Hue bulbs. Wemo turns lamps on and Read More »
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Are You an Effective Administrator? Look in the Mirror
December 5, 2018By Jason M. Jones The simple definition of micromanage is to “control every part, however small, of an enterprise or activity.” Many administrators, including me, are guilty of this more often than we think even if we don’t mean to be this way. We want everything to be perfect but Read More »
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Disney, Nordstrom, and Parking
December 4, 2018By David M. Feehan I was delighted to read the interview with Lee Cockerell in the November issue of The Parking Professional. I’ve always pointed to Disney as the gold standard when it comes to customer service. And I think every parking manager should take to heart the principles of Read More »
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Adaptive Reuse: A Case Study
December 3, 2018Adaptive reuse of parking garages has been an industry conversation topic for a few years, but now consumer-facing publications are getting in on the topic. Forbes features a story about the Motor Mart Garage in Boston, which was built more than 90 years ago. While its occupancy numbers are relatively Read More »
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“But is it worth it?” The Unseen ROI of Leadership Skills
November 30, 2018By Rita Pagan Many organizations spend thousands of dollars on professional development for their employees to master skills they think employees can immediately apply to their job and affect the bottom line. But do they truly understand the benefits of investing in leadership skills? And for more than just leaders? Read More »
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San Francisco Nixing Minimum Parking Requirements
November 29, 2018San Francisco, whose minimum parking requirements for new developments date to the 1950s, is preparing to do away with them, becoming the first major U.S. city to do that. Legislation introduced this week will do away with requirements for minimum numbers of parking spaces at new developments. City leaders say Read More »
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IPMI Chair Roamy Valera, CAPP, to Head PayByPhone U.S., Canada
November 28, 2018Roamy Valera, CAPP, has been named CEO, U.S. and Canada, of PayByPhone. An internationally respected parking industry leader, Valera is chair of the International Parking & Mobility Institute’s (IPMI) board of directors. “We are very excited to announce that Roamy Valera has joined PayByPhone as CEO, U.S. and Canada,” says Read More »
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A New Curb Management Assessment
November 27, 2018By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP It is hard to keep up with all the new research coming out about curb-lane management! I guess this reinforces the IPMI Emerging Trends survey that ranked curb management as one of the top 10 emerging trends last year. The latest curb lane management assessment Read More »
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Startup Introduces Parking Space-saving Robot
November 26, 2018Black Friday shoppers at malls in five U.S. states and Puerto Rico found a new perk this year: A fleet of robots ready to seek out and save parking spaces the old fashioned way–by sitting in them. MyPark, a Miami company, made headlines this weekend when its robots started showing Read More »
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This Holiday Season, Spread Some Parking Cheer
November 21, 2018By Matt Davis The season of giving is almost upon us. Once the turkey coma subsides, millions of shoppers will descend upon downtowns and retail centers to do their holiday shopping. During this time when parking demand is at its peak, it’s easy to lose sight of what makes the Read More »
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Making Better Places
November 20, 2018“North America, along with much of the world, has been building and rebuilding its cities and towns quite badly for more than half a century,” writes Jeff Speck. “To do it properly would have been easy; we used to be great at it.” City planner and author Jeff Speck’s Walkable Read More »
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Achievement and Great Activity
November 19, 2018By Jay Manno Early my sales career, I was a black belt of having a lot of activity. I was driven, worked hard, kept track of everything, and even when I wasn’t a high producer or hitting my goals, I felt good because I still had a lot of activity. Read More »
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Practicing My Pivot
November 16, 2018By Kim Fernandez “There is no way you’ll have a day off tomorrow,” I told my kids. “It’s November.” And at first, I was right—we woke up to a two-hour school delay. But as what was supposed to be a passing squall decided to hang around and the grass and Read More »
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Paris Prepares to Ban More Cars
November 15, 2018Paris, France, is known for its tough stance on cars in the downtown area. But this week marked the first time surrounding municipalities joined the city in a new ban on certain cars in certain areas. Depending on the year and fuel they use, some older vehicles won’t be able Read More »
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Tackling the Big Infrastructure Projects
November 14, 2018By David M. Feehan It was 20 years ago, in 1997, that Des Moines, Iowa, was about to start construction on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freeway–an elevated, limited-access highway skirting the southern edge of downtown Des Moines. Traffic engineers believed the road was needed to meet 2025 traffic demands. Read More »
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Customer Service the Disney Way
November 13, 2018“Remember that once you train people how to be professional, you’ve improved their lives. When you become great, it affects your children and grandchildren and on down the line. It becomes your legacy.” So says Lee Cockerell, former executive vice president of The Walt Disney Company, also known as the Read More »
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Thanking Our Veterans in Parking
November 12, 2018By Shawn Conrad, CAE It’s been nearly 50 years since my brother and brother-in-law returned from serving in Vietnam. I vividly remember celebrating their return with a very large meal and very large gathering of family. I don’t recall much about what happened after the party. My brother went to Read More »
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Camera Crew in ADA Parking Space Sparks Furor
November 8, 2018An MSNBC camera crew who blocked a parking space reserved for the disabled at an early voting polling place even after a disabled military veteran needed it sparked fury earlier this week. And in a sure indication that people around the world were talking about it, the facts about it Read More »
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Early BRTs Faring Well
November 7, 2018Bus rapid transit has reappeared as one possible way to decrease congestion and get people from place to place. Cities say the systems are relatively affordable and don’t required tremendous infrastructure improvements to launch. Critics say they’re not fast enough for today’s commuters and that it’s too difficult to get Read More »
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Emergency Preparedness
November 6, 2018By Kevin Emert, MEd, CAPP After Hurricane Michael, most of the southeastern U.S. is thinking about emergency preparedness. How prepared are you? Do you have a plan if something were to happen where you live or where you work? Does your workplace have a known plan in place in case Read More »
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Tesla Parking Advances, Stirs Controversy
November 5, 2018Tesla announced its cars’ popular “summon” feature, which lets them park in tight spots or shift between spaces without a driver behind the wheel, will be upgraded to let them navigate, read signs, and park on their own. Company CEO Elon Musk said in a series of tweets that all Read More »
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Hobby Your Way to CEO
November 2, 2018By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Are you working too hard to have time for a hobby? Rethink that. If you want to move up the corporate ladder, get a hobby. That’s the takeaway from a fascinating article in the October 2018 Harvard Business Review (HBR). According to HBR, many Read More »
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I Bet You Have Done This Too
November 1, 2018By Debbie Hoffmann, MS, CAPP For years, my boss has reminded us we don’t always have to create a better solution. We can just steal it– I mean borrow it–from our peers and bend or shape it to best fit our situation or application. I bet many of you have Read More »
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Parking Under the Canals
October 31, 2018Where do you put parking in a town crisscrossed by canals when almost all the land is spoken for? Under water. Of course. That’s exactly what happened in De Pijp, Amsterdam, established in the 1880s and waterlocked, so to speak. It’s a popular destination for both tourists and people eager Read More »
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The Shift to EMV Payment
October 30, 2018By John Mason, CAPP It seems like everyone is running to the EMV (also known as Europay) payment method for credit card payment. Most parking payment terminals (exit credit card verifiers, pay-on-foot machines, and fee computers [POS]) are leaving the factories ready for this newer payment method type. How much Read More »
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D.C. Ditches Parking for Drop-off, Pick-up Zones
October 29, 2018On-street parking is being traded for curbside drop-off/pick-up zones in five places in Washington, D.C., as part of an expanding program. The curb management program began at one spot on Connecticut Ave., near busy Dupont Circle. After a comment period, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced five more of Read More »
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The Best Kind of Disney Magic
October 26, 2018By Kim Fernandez The hotel was church-pew quiet when I wandered down to the lobby at about 1:30 a.m., three hours after we arrived at our Disney World accommodations. My kids were little, it had been a long and loud day, and I was wiped out. But we were all Read More »
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Mobility is an Outcome
October 25, 2018By Casey Jones, CAPP A simple but fundamental truism of our industry is that people don’t park to park; they park to do something else. Our industry didn’t always get this. In our early days, the focus was on getting cars parked between painted lines. Today our focus is on Read More »
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The Next Mixed-use
October 24, 2018Soccer fields are popping up all over Atlanta, all at transit stations. And it makes perfect sense. The city’s MARTA stations need a lot of space and the land directly adjacent to–and sometimes underneath–platforms largely went unused. They tried building an amphitheater at one in the 1970s but it never Read More »
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An Interesting Equation for Managing the Curb
October 23, 2018By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I recently read a Wired.com article entitled, “Uber Writes an Equation to Help Cities Measure–and Manage–the Curb”. The equation devised by Uber is meant to help cities evaluate how efficiently they’re using this increasingly contested space. Here is the article’s opening paragraph: “After years of Read More »
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Parking to Play Key Role in Helping Homeless Families
October 22, 2018As part of a larger program that hopes to get homeless families into housing, the City of San Jose, Calif., has established a safe parking area for those living in their vehicles to spend the night. Up to 17 families living in vehicles will be allowed to park in the Read More »
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Denver: A Model of Mobility
October 19, 2018By Michelle W. Jones, CMP This week I traveled to Denver for IPMI’s 2018 Leadership Summit. Boy, is it easy to get around here. I heard people used and enjoyed the A Line, Denver’s rail service, from the airport to downtown. Lots of us used transportation network company (TNC) rides Read More »
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Welcome to IPMI
October 18, 2018New name reflects interconnectedness of parking, transportation, and mobility industries and expanded role of parking and parking professionals The world’s largest association of parking professionals, formerly known as the International Parking Institute (IPI), has changed its name to the International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI). The change reflects the interconnected, Read More »
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Pennsylvania Toughens Up ADA Parking Regulations
October 17, 2018In a move designed to improve access to parking spaces for those with disabilities, the Pennsylvania Senate passed legislation that levies penalties on those who park in a way that blocks curb ramps and access aisles next to them. Senate Bill 888 now goes to Governor Tom Wolf for his Read More »
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Parking People
October 16, 2018By Matt Penney I just returned from a parking conference in Arkansas. I’m now sitting back at my desk trying to catch up on everything I missed during my time away. Work stacks up so quickly. As my attention span gets the better of me, I find my mind drifting Read More »
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Pedal-powered Shared Bikes: Extinct Already?
October 15, 2018That might have been fast: About a year after dockless bike-share started making headlines, many cities and suppliers are moving away from them, shifting their fleets to dockless e-bikes or scooters instead. Dockless pedal bikes have all but been replaced in Washington, D.C.; Seattle; Chicago; and Dallas; and Boston ditched Read More »
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The Look of Loud
October 12, 2018By Cindy Campbell Some time ago, I decided to invest in a compact rolling bag that would always fit easily under the seats of small regional jets. On a recent trip, a member of the airport ground crew was waiting at the end of the jet bridge to collect larger Read More »
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The Value of Local Involvement
October 11, 2018By Kevin Emert, MEd, CAPP I love the International Parking Institute (IPI); it is a great resource for all things parking. I have learned so much and met many wonderful people through IPI and the CAPP program (you should get your CAPP). It has been invaluable in my career. I Read More »
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Embracing Parking Tech? How Presidential.
October 10, 2018South Dakota isn’t known as a hotbed of traffic problems, at least until you get to Keystone. Its famous Mount Rushmore National Memorial has suffered from snarled roads and slow exits and entrances for some time. And now they’re addressing it the way parking professionals already knew would work: with Read More »
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Suicide Prevention
October 9, 2018By Jennifer Tougas, PhD, CAPP In my life, I’ve known people who have successfully fought cancer, and those who have lost that battle. I’ve known people who have beat alcoholism, and others who have died from it. I’ve known people who have successfully left emotionally and physically abusive relationships, and Read More »
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A Favorite Perk of Nobel Laureates
October 8, 2018If you work in a university setting, there’s a good chance you already know about this, but the Wall Street Journal and its readers are taking notice: One of the perks of winning a Nobel prize is often free parking for life. The story published this past weekend starts with J. Read More »
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Writing with Passion and Excitement
October 5, 2018By Kathleen Federici, MEd The IPI 2019 Call for Presentations is open now until October 24, 2018. You might be thinking, “What can I do to help me to get selected this year?” The Conference Program Task Force looks for the criteria as outlined in the call’s Evaluation Process information. Read More »
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You Dug Up What?
October 4, 2018An entire warship. An abandoned graveyard. A grouping of headless Viking corpses. And an ancient curse that would make hair stand up on the neck of even the most stubborn non-believer (it’s really that ominous). What do these things have in common? They’ve all been dug up from underneath parking Read More »
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Fixing New York’s Bus System
October 3, 2018New York City, like many urban areas, is watching bus ridership numbers fall and buses themselves get slower. It’s a cycle: More transportation options mean people opt out of the bus for cars, which means more traffic, which means slower buses, which means more people opt out, and revenue drops Read More »
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No Time Like the Present
October 2, 2018By Casey Jones, CAPP We live in exciting transportation times, where the pace of innovation, creativity, and effort by the technology powerhouses such as Google and Amazon are at a breakneck pace. In places large and small, on college campuses, at shopping malls, and at the airports we frequent, we’re Read More »
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Autonomous Shuttles Expand to More Cities
October 1, 2018Low-speed autonomous shuttles will be a common sight in more cities shortly, as May Mobility announced its debut in Columbus, Ohio, and the launch of more shuttles in Grand Rapids, Mich.. The Ann Arbor, Mich., based company will have shuttles running in Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Columbus. The Grand Rapids Read More »
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ICYMI – Initiatives by U.S. Mayors Impact Parking, Transportation, & Mobility Programming
September 28, 2018By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C A recent survey demonstrates that the United States Conference of Mayors has an impact on our industry’s programming and initiatives. The Conference has teamed up with the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) to target greenhouse gas emissions responsible for the growing Read More »
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Houston Ponders the Future of Transportation
September 27, 2018Parking minimums have been a thing in cities for a long time, ensuring people have had somewhere to put their cars when they go downtown. But with the advent of more efficient transit systems, transportation network companies (TNCs), and alternative transportation modes that include bikes and scooters and feet, along Read More »
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Economic Development, Women, and Parking
September 26, 2018By David Feehan I have the opportunity to give an Ignite presentation at the annual conference of the International Economic Development Council in Atlanta. Ignite presentations are like mini-TED talks. IEDC is to economic developers what IPI is to parking professionals and what the International Downtown Association (which I used Read More »
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A Great Way to Parksmart
September 25, 2018Want to learn how garages at universities, airports, and commercial buildings have increased efficiency and profitability while driving sustainability and customer satisfaction? Parksmart, the world’s only rating system recognizing high-performance, sustainable garages, provides you with the framework to build higher-performing parking facilities that improve access to spaces and better serve Read More »
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Gauging Handicap Parking Abuse at the Fair
September 24, 2018For the second year, officials conducted handicap parking rules enforcement at the Los Angeles County Fair, and their findings were sobering: 17 percent of those parking in a lot reserved for those with ADA permits were there fraudulently. Officers checked the placards of 1,955 cars parked in a reserved lot Read More »
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Happy Park(ing) Day
September 21, 2018It’s Park(ing) Day—that wonderful day when parking spaces around the world are transformed into lounges, yoga studios, dog parks, restaurants, game rooms, and who knows what else! Launched in 2005 by a San Francisco design firm, Park(ing) Day has taken on a life of its own. We think that’s a Read More »
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The Leading Edge of Mobility
September 20, 2018Lots is changing in the way people get from place to place, and today Forbes says the state of Michigan is at the leading edge of it all. While the state is preparing now for more alternative-fuel vehicles, shared rides, and everything we hear about the future of mobility, it’s also Read More »
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The Shuttle Predicament
September 19, 2018It’s not an unfamiliar scenario: A university (or a hospital or an airport or even a municipality) carefully crafts a shuttle system to get people around, factoring in traffic, speed limits, and stop times. And even after agonizing over every detail, the buses still don’t run on time. Argh. It Read More »
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The Art of Delegation
September 18, 2018By Jennifer Tougas, PhD I had a meeting with a colleague the other day. It was pretty easy to see that she was stressed out to the max. She was essentially doing the job of three people thanks to layoffs and job reassignments, and it was catching up with her. Read More »
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E-scooter Speed Limits on the Horizon?
September 17, 2018E-scooters pose an issue in many cities but perhaps none like New York, where they’re too slow for the street and too fast for pedestrian-packed sidewalks. The city is contemplating how to legalize the popular, often shared machines and there’s a new call for a scooter speed limit downtown. While Read More »
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Compassion
September 14, 2018By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA “What’s going on in your life?” A parent with Alzheimer’s. A sick child. A bad break-up. Loneliness. A frightening diagnosis. Depression. Infertility. Anxiety. A babysitter who didn’t show up. A wedding to plan. House guests. A friend battling addiction. An old dog. Insomnia. Stress. Read More »
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Boosting Bike-Share in NOLA
September 13, 2018New Orleans, La., jumped on the bike-share bandwagon just about a year ago, and while their blue shared bikes are a common enough sight downtown, lots of people haven’t tried them yet. So the city’s teamed up with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana to get potential riders to Read More »
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Preparing for the Storm
September 12, 2018Hurricane Florence is bearing down on the eastern seaboard of the U.S., and is likely to slam into North Carolina in the next few days. With warnings out about the strongest storm to hit that part of the country in, perhaps, decades, IPI is keeping our members top of Read More »
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Packing Heavy
September 11, 2018By Tope Longe I’m a just-in-case person when it comes to packing for a journey. And that applies to all journeys–international, local, even from home to the office! I hardly ever travel light. I pack my handbag, lunch bag, laptop bag even if my laptop is not in it. My Read More »
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Building Your Way Out of Traffic? Not So Fast
September 10, 2018The gut reaction for dealing with consistently jammed highways is to add more capacity through additional lanes or new highways. But studies say that doesn’t actually reduce traffic; contrarily, it increases the number of cars on the road so the jams come right back. Say what? CityLab breaks it down, Read More »
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On My Toes
September 7, 2018By Kim Fernandez We adopted a puppy from a shelter this summer and she is into absolutely everything. If it’s true that puppies learn by putting things in their mouths, this little one’s going to be a genius. (I am not making this up: As I typed that sentence, the Read More »
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Will They Stay or Will They Scoot?
September 6, 2018By Nathan Donnell I saw my first shared electric scooter in Santa Monica about a year ago. Since then, the scooters seem to be popping up in cities all over the country. They’re getting mixed reviews from the public. Most people I spoke to who’ve ridden say the scooters are Read More »
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Email Whitelisting and Internet Security: Smarter With Everyone’s Help.
September 5, 2018By Stephanie Santoro Whitelisting. It sounds like something regular Joes behind a desk don’t need to worry about–a drab and boring IT department thing. I know I’ve dismissed it in the past as “not that serious” and have often ignored email requests to whitelist advertisers. I’ve especially blown past whitelisting Read More »
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Dockless Bikes No Longer Free-Range in D.C.
September 4, 2018In a bit of trend-bucking, Washington, D.C., is extending its dockless bike and scooter pilot program, but there’s a catch: Dockless bike riders will have to lock their rides to something when they reach their destinations. Dockless bikes will be required to be left locked to bike racks or street Read More »
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Affordable Parking at Center Stage in Austin
August 31, 2018The City of Austin, Texas, is partnering with privately owned garages in its Affordable Parking Program to help city employees save on parking costs. The program recently expanded by 2,000 spaces in eight garages, where regular parkers can buy monthly passes for $40. The lower prices usually kick in at Read More »
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USDOT Announces Grants for Advanced Bus Technology
August 30, 2018The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced $84.5 million in grants to fund the deployment of advanced technology buses and transit infrastructure. Fifty-two projects in 41 states received grants to buy or lease hybrid or electric-engine buses and related technologies, including charging stations. Grants include: $2.25 million to Broward County, Read More »
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Managing Staff and Professional Development
August 29, 2018By Vicki L. Pero and Colleen M. Niese Leading organizations provide employees with ongoing training opportunities to continue to develop skills that result in higher quality performance and a reduction in undesirable events such as workplace accidents. Training delivery ranges from in-house to external opportunities and from formal classroom delivery Read More »
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Managing the New Employee Mindset
August 28, 2018By Kevin Emert, MEd, CAPP After being in management for 20 years and parking nearly as long, I thought I had it all figured out. I didn’t. Quickly, the world changed and so did the people. Just this morning, I whipped out my phone and ordered my groceries to be Read More »
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Meet the Army of People Behind Waymo’s Robot Cars
August 27, 2018Waymo, formerly known as Google’s self-driving car project, is getting ready to launch a robotic taxi service outside Phoenix, Ariz., stocked entirely with its autonomous vehicles. A story from Citylab says while the cars may drive themselves, there will be lots of humans behind the scenes, ready to jump in Read More »
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Let’s Reduce Disabled Placard Abuse Together
August 24, 2018By Helen Sullivan We’ve got a difficult task ahead of us. But we won’t be deterred. The new IPI-led Accessible Parking Coalition is on a mission to eliminate disabled placard (and plate) abuse and make accessible parking more available and usable to people with disabilities. If you’ve been following our Read More »
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How Much Did You Save Going to Bid?
August 23, 2018By Chris Yigit In a recent discussion with a technology officer from a large agency, license plate recognition (LPR) came up. His feedback was very candid: “We aren’t very interested in LPR,” he said. “It doesn’t work that well.” This comment was shocking–I have seen LPR work in the most demanding scenarios. Read More »
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High-Emitting Vehicle? Pay More for Parking
August 22, 2018Drivers who park in London’s financial district may look to use transit or upgrade older vehicles thanks to a new regulation that has drivers of high-emitting vehicles paying an extra tax to park. Because of the district’s adoption of an app that knows the difference between, say, a hybrid and Read More »
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Don’t Communicate. Connect.
August 21, 2018By Matt Penney When my son, Carter, was 10, he asked me to throw the football with him. It was a picturesque Dad moment. We walked out into the sunlight with a ball in hand and that’s when things started to go a little sideways. Our planned game of catch transitioned Read More »
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A Tidal Wave of AVs?
August 20, 2018The Governors Highway Safety Association is warning that there are lots of issues to be addressed before autonomous vehicles (AVs) hit the scene en masse, and they fear a tidal wave of the cars is approaching. In a new report, the association says there is a long list of questions Read More »
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Brown M&Ms, RFPs, and Rock ‘n Roll
August 17, 2018By Shawn Conrad, CAE We’ve all heard of the excesses, egos, and vanity celebrities and rock ‘n roll musicians display from time to time. One story has given a popular band a bad rap, but when you know the full story, it makes their lead vocalist comes across as a first-rate Read More »
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Trends in Parking: Future Thinking
August 16, 2018By Richard W. Willson, PhD, AICP Parking will undoubtedly be different in the future. Everything is changing–factors that affect the amount of parking used, the way it is accessed, the design of parking facilities, and parking management tools such as dynamic pricing. This is a time of rapid disruption in Read More »
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Wait, My Customers Said What?
August 15, 2018By Alex Smith, AAE Customers are the lifeblood of the parking industry, but how do you as an operator know they are satisfied, find value in your product, or have specific issues with your facility? Metrics are an integral part of a successful parking operation, but how your customers perceive Read More »
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We Are Mobility
August 14, 2018By Todd Tucker, CAPP I’m going to write something radical: the parking industry doesn’t exist anymore. Yes, you read that right. But before you open your email to send me an angry note, consider this: How do you define the parking industry? We facilitate travel and transportation. We make people’s Read More »
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High Schools Find Bright New Fundraisers in the Parking Lot
August 13, 2018High schools, which can find themselves tight on cash by the end of the academic year, have embraced a new fundraiser that’s proving popular with just about everyone. For a donation to the school, students can pick a specific parking spot and paint it any way they’d like. Every school Read More »
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More Than Driving Lessons
August 10, 2018By Kim Fernandez I’m writing this in a Starbucks, not because it’s summertime and the living is easy, but because the parking lot is where my son and I rendezvoused with a very brave ex-police officer for the teenager’s second, two-hour driving lesson. My memory of the first time I Read More »
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Dirty Hands, New Ideas
August 9, 2018By Victor A. Hill, CAPP, MPA Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. You’ll inevitably learn something about your operation or get a new idea to make something better. I have three full-time employees, not including me. If a parking lot sign needs to be fixed, I can submit a work Read More »
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How to Use Social Media in Real Time
August 8, 2018By Josh Cantor Years ago, as social media started to explode, many had hesitation about using it for business and professional purposes. I remember attending several sessions even at the IPI Conference about the role of social media in a parking operation. It certainly takes a thick skin to be Read More »
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Focus on Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
August 7, 2018By Isaiah Mouw, CAPP, LEED GA; and Brian Shaw, CAPP Technology has and will continue to change the travel options and services made available to the traveling public. It is hard to predict with certainty the long-term effects of autonomous (self-driving) vehicles, alternative transportation services such as Uber or Lyft, Read More »
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At Home in a Garage? ArchDaily Says Yes
August 6, 2018The concept of adaptive reuse of parking garages is a not-uncommon conversation between parking and mobility professionals, but now the architecture world is taking notice. ArchDaily, a leading source of news in that industry, today features a piece on the potential of turning garages into homes should city needs change Read More »
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Parking Rehab
August 3, 2018By Michelle W. Jones, CMP Fixer Upper, Rehab Addict, and First Time Flippers are just a few of the popular home renovation shows on the HGTV and DIY networks. Reality shows comprise a large piece of TV programming–and ratings. The parking industry even had a reality show, called Parking Wars, Read More »
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Parking Treasure Found
August 2, 2018Anyone who’s ever renovated an old house knows you might find just about anything behind cabinets, walls, and trim. But a renovator in Champaign, Ill., stumbled on a truly rare find—parking treasure. David Kristovich was tearing apart a closet in his 100+-year-old home to make it larger when a folded Read More »
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Thinking About the Curb
August 1, 2018By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE If you look around the parking industry today, it seems like everything is revolving around the evolution of the curb. Many presentations at this year’s IPI Conference focused on the competing interests around this space. Vendors and technology specialists are creating tools and software to Read More »
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Keeping Eyes Forward
July 31, 2018By Jennifer I. Tougas, CAPP, PhD The other day, I spoke with an employee about training that is available to become certified in his line of work. This employee has many years of experience and his response was something to the effect of, “I’ve been doing this job for years. There’s nothing Read More »
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New Data Research Aims to Help Truckers Park
July 30, 2018It’s a common challenge for long-range truckers: Where to park to get their required hours of rest. Truck-stop spaces can be few and far between, highway shoulders are dangerous and not always legal for overnight parking, and truckers say they end up spending some of their driving time just looking Read More »
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Battle Royale
July 27, 2018By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C Let’s take 100 transportation, mobility, and parking professionals and drop them into a last man- (and woman-) standing online adventure. Throw in a rainbow llama or two and a big old tornado-style storm. Better yet, let’s do it for free across all gaming Read More »
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Global Catch-Up
July 26, 2018By David Hill, CAPP I encountered a pretty interesting factoid last month: Used car sales around the world are up! Our global auto industry is pretty good at counting its own output–numbers of cars sold in each region, by country, by manufacturer, by style, by option, and a dozen other Read More »
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Feeling Innovative? Prove It
July 25, 2018You already know parking organizations are innovative—more innovative than ever. We think it’s time to tell the rest of the world. Luckily, Fast Company is ready to spread the word for the right company. The magazine and website is taking nominations for its 2019 Most Innovative Companies awards, which seem Read More »
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Scooters Could Solve Downtown Parking Problems
July 24, 2018By David M. Feehan Jon Wertjes, Minneapolis director of traffic and parking, has encountered yet another form of transportation that could cause traffic and pedestrian problems–or help solve downtown parking problems. Electric scooters have recently appeared on Minneapolis streets. St. Paul has asked the company that provides the scooters to Read More »
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Atlanta Columnist: To Fix Traffic, Fix the Parking
July 23, 2018Doug Turnbull knows a lot about traffic–he’s a media traffic anchor and The Gridlock Guy in Atlanta. So when he talks about fixing traffic jams, people listen. Last week, he wrote a column for the Atlanta Journal Constitution about just that. His best solution? Fix the parking. “Parking,” he wrote, Read More »
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No Forgiveness When it Comes to Parking
July 20, 2018By Kathleen Federici, MEd My children attend a Catholic school attached to a church. The school and church share one small parking lot. Parking is at a premium in the borough and I personally find a lot of convenience in having ties to the school and church when I need Read More »
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A Gorgeous Beacon of … Meters?
July 19, 2018Those parking meters are gorgeous. It’s not a phrase one hears often, but it’s happening in Santa Rosa, Calif., where 80 old and discarded parking meters were used to create a giant sculpture that lights up at night in changing patterns. The sculpture was born out of a contest hosted Read More »
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Controlling the Curb
July 18, 2018Delivery trucks, bike-shares, ride-shares, buses, cabs, emergency vehicles, trash trucks, pedestrians, and oh yeah—single-occupancy vehicles. They all share what’s becoming a very crowded curb in cities around the world. Curbs don’t stretch, so what’s the best way to ensure everyone has use? In this month’s The Parking Professional, Ben Winoker, Read More »
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Getting Noticed
July 17, 2018By Jason M. Jones At the end of the 2018 spring semester, the University at Albany Parking and Mass Transit Services was presented an Outstanding Service Award from the Disability Resource Center for their continued support of those in need on campus. It was such a great honor for our Read More »
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Putting the Love Back in Parking Meters
July 16, 2018Few people love the sight of a parking meter, but that’s changed in Berkeley Springs, W.V., thanks to nothing more than a little paint and some community spirit. Thirteen meters are now painted with bright colors, designs, and pictures–one looks like a gumball machine–after a town contest encouraged residents to Read More »
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Blocking Off the Lot
July 13, 2018By Kim Fernandez It sounded like a great idea at the outset: A small town near where we vacation recently secured a significant grant to close off a messy intersection and one of two entrances to its municipal parking lot and turn it all into a pedestrian plaza. Beautiful, greener, Read More »
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An Autonomous Tomorrow
July 12, 2018By James C. Anderson I came across an article that sparked my interest entitled, “When will self-driving cars arrive in your state?” by Francis Navarro at komando.com. The article describes the advancing advent of autonomous vehicles and their implications to transportation safety, efficiency, as well as the economy. It is Read More »
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Autonomous Ready? Chicago Is.
July 11, 2018Autonomous vehicles aren’t on the scene yet, but more than 500 parking facilities in Chicago are already ready–at least according to their owner. SpotHero announced this week that it’s installed the technology that will let driverless cars park themselves in half of its lots and garages in the city. The Read More »
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Uber Teams With Lime to Rent Scooters
July 10, 2018The future of transportation just got a bit murkier: Uber is teaming up with Lime to rent scooters through its app as part of a $335 million financing deal. The scooters will sport Uber’s logo and be available for rental through the Uber app. Lime scooters are available in about Read More »
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Teslas Can Now Park Themselves
July 9, 2018Remember that vision of cars that drive and then park themselves on command? They’re here. Tesla’s Model 3 can both park itself and open garage doors without a driver behind the wheel. The new feature is called Summon, and was added to the Model 3 after its launch; it was Read More »
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A Scofflaw Pays Up
July 5, 2018Someone named Dave got a parking ticket in 1974 and recently paid up–the original $2 fine plus $3 interest. Writing that he’d been carrying the ticket around all this time and felt guilty, Dave sent his money with the ticket to the police chief in Minersville, Pa., who said they Read More »
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Thing One or Thing Two: How to Choose?
July 3, 2018By Casey Jones, CAPP We’re having an interesting discussion in our office about a relatively new, on-street meter technology that can automatically issue a parking citation (electronically) for exceeded time or failure to pay violations. The discussion transpired after a colleague shared a news story about a town that has Read More »
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LeBron or Jordan
July 2, 2018By Matt Penney If you even remotely follow the NBA, you can’t avoid the conversation. LeBron James and Michael Jordan are two of the most prolific professional basketball players to ever play the game. Both hold statistics that are staggering and put them in a category above even an elite grouping of Read More »
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New Spin on Checking References
June 29, 2018By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA One of the biggest and easily put into action takeaways for me from Christine Porath’s fabulous keynote address, “Mastering Civility” at the opening general session of the 2018 IPI Conference & Expo in Orlando has to do with checking references for new hires. Instead Read More »
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Want Transit That Works? Build Affordable Housing Nearby
June 28, 2018What if developers built lots of housing near transit but nobody came to either? It’s playing out a bit in Denver, where an estimated 29 percent of new housing is within a half-mile of rail stations, but not many people are riding those rails regularly. The problem? It might just Read More »
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The Age of Autonomous Vehicles and Rideshare Companies
June 27, 2018By Maria Tamayo-Soto, MBA The transportation industry is changing and evolving with a plethora of new technology available. What does this technology mean? It means there will be more options for travel and transportation as smart cities evolve, parking options change, and the industry expands. One such technological breakthrough is Read More »
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Hiring the Right People
June 26, 2018By Jennifer I. Tougas, PhD, CAPP So much of our business depends on hiring the right person for the job. When evaluating applicants, we tend to focus on the skill set they will bring to the organization. Do they have the experience and skills to do the job we need them to Read More »
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Secret to Romance? Parking, of Course
June 25, 2018“She’s thinking, ‘If this guy can’t find a spot now, how will he provide for me if we take things further?’” So goes last week’s New York Times Modern Love podcast, read by George Alexander of Seinfeld fame, about a guy looking for parking in Chinatown, New York, on a Read More »
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You Helped Shape IPI Orlando
June 22, 2018By Shawn Conrad, CAE “I was sad to see it end,” is what I said to a number of co-workers at the conclusion of the recently completed IPI Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla. While an event this size can test your endurance, I was reflecting on what I had Read More »
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Noticing the Change
June 21, 2018By David Feehan I happened to read TimHaahs’ brochure,“The Debate is On: The Future of Parking” and another article on changes in parking, and they reminded me of an article I wrote in June 1993: “Privatization: Kalamazoo’s Autopark—Proof it Works!” Reading the first two and then reading my 1993 essay Read More »
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The Visitor Experience
June 20, 2018By Kim Fernandez Yesterday, I went with my mom to a doctor’s appointment. The doctor specializes in older patients, many of whom use wheelchairs or, like my mom, walkers to get around. He had an easy-to-find parking lot behind the building, which was great to see, but the entrance to Read More »
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Solving New York’s Parking Challenges
June 19, 2018Seventy-eight percent of Manhattan households don’t own a car, but that doesn’t mean New York City is exempt from parking problems; in fact, a recent study found drivers in one area cruise about a third of a mile when looking for parking. The New York Times yesterday took on the Read More »
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Tyke Gets a Ticket, But It’s a Good Thing
June 18, 2018Officers in Covington, La., couldn’t help but have a little fun when they noticed a kid’s toy car parallel parked on the curb just like all the grown-up cars around it. Its junior owner returned to find a parking ticket—but not the kind you think. Officers left a “ticket” saying Read More »
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Recharged and Ready for More
June 15, 2018By Cindy Campbell Inspired. It’s how I always feel after attending the annual IPI Conference & Expo. I return feeling enthusiastic and recharged. As a self-proclaimed parking geek, there’s always something magical about getting together with more than 3,000 of my closest friends. This year’s IPI Conference was a rewarding Read More »
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Suicide in the News
June 14, 2018By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Kate Spade. Anthony Bourdain. Suicide has been in the news a lot lately. Did you know it’s the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S.? Because of the stigma surrounding mental illness, very little is being done about it, but it’s a subject Read More »
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Uber: Not So Disruptive?
June 13, 2018Uber, one of the reigning kings of transportation network companies (TNCs), was supposed to disrupt a lot of things, from the way we get to and fro to the way many of us work. But a new report says that second part simply isn’t happening. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Read More »
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Recharging the Parking Professional
June 12, 2018By Vanessa R. Cummings Parking professionals know that parking is a 24/7 job. There are people parking all the time and we never know when we will get an after-hours call to handle a situation. When do we take time to plug in our rechargeable batteries and refuel our tanks? Read More »
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MSY RFP
June 11, 2018Parking Facilities Corporation (“PFC”) has issued a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) to identify and select a qualified parking and transportation management company to oversee the certain new and existing operations at Louis Armstrong International Airport (“MSY”). A new passenger terminal is currently under construction at MSY. New parking facilities are Read More »
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Las Vegas Resort Ending Paid Parking
Howls of protests rose above Las Vegas when casinos and resorts started charging for parking in late 2016. Now, one property has reversed that course. Wynn Resorts announced last week it will stop charging overnight guests for parking, folding parking into its $39 resort fee (which isn’t changing). Daily visitors Read More »
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On to Orlando!
June 1, 2018Time to pack your bags! With just a few days until the 2018 IPI Conference & Expo, staff is enroute and we can’t wait to see all of you! The Parking Matters Blog will be on hiatus until we return from Florida next Friday. We hope you’ll download and get Read More »
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The Demise of Teen Car Culture
May 31, 2018Better transit, on-demand and online services, and a video-game culture have all been blamed for the decline in teenage drivers; many teens wait until their 18th birthdays or longer to get their licenses. The Atlantic recently took on the phenomenon and came up with some different reasons teenagers aren’t as Read More »
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Mobility as a Symphony
May 30, 2018We’ve heard mobility-as-a-service referred to as lots of things—from part of the on-demand economy to the pinnacle of sustainable transportation—but a symphony? That’s exactly how Los Angeles Department of Transportation General Manager Seleta Reynolds envisions it working in her city, and she and her staff are working to rehearse for Read More »
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What Facebook’s Valets Know
May 29, 2018Many parking professionals get a great glimpse into the otherwise-hidden lives of their community members, just because of what happens in the lot or garage. Business Insider last week asked Facebook’s valets (valet parking is a free employee perk) what they knew about the company and its employees based on Read More »
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I Get a Parking Spot for That
May 25, 2018By Kathleen Federici, MEd Spring in my area of the U.S. has been quite elusive this year. We are still awaiting its arrival! However, despite spring being in hiding, I persisted with my spring cleaning rituals. Having a non-magical house that doesn’t grow in size to accommodate the stuff in Read More »
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Encouraging Civility
May 24, 2018By James C. Anderson These are interesting times. I am reading “Destiny and Power, The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush,” by Jon Meacham. The author describes Bush’s presidential election loss to Bill Clinton, then governor of Arkansas. While devastated by the loss, President Bush shouldered forward with the Read More »
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Making Parking Easy
May 23, 2018By Matt Davis If you’ve ever spent time in San Francisco, you’re probably all-too familiar with the frustration that comes with finding a place to park. And as is the case in many urban cities, even if you find that coveted spot, the experience may not be a positive one. Read More »
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Free Public Transit, 24/7
May 22, 2018The next chapter appears to be written in the effort to get people out of single-occupancy vehicles and onto transit: Estonia is about to make most of its transit free to anyone who wants to use it. Buses and rail going from the capital outward will be available free of Read More »
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The End of the Lot as We Know It
May 21, 2018Transportation network companies (TNCs) are already changing the way lots of us park (as in, we don’t all the time), but what will a future filled with on-demand and sometimes autonomous vehicles look like? Forbes took at look at the parking of the future, including some facilities being built differently Read More »
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Uber, Congestion, Taxis, and More
May 18, 2018By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C The reality is that the convenience of Uber has massive, city-altering effects. Cities like New York, London, and Paris are challenged like never before. It’s not just demand at the curb, either. This New York Times opinion piece takes a deeper dive: “Ride-hailing Read More »
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The Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles
May 17, 2018Autonomous cars can be trained to stay in lanes, obey traffic signals, watch speed limits, and react to the vehicles around them, but can they be taught to make decisions based on ethics? It’s a huge question as driverless approaches reality, and one college student made it a bit of Read More »
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Tour Apple Park’s Parking
May 15, 2018Apple Park, the tech company’s new headquarters, got a lot of attention when it opened for its streamlined, beautiful design. Now, even its underground parking is making headlines for being innovative. Business Insider features a video tour of the parking facility on its website. We spotted a lot of familiar Read More »
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Loving the Bus Again
May 14, 2018Much has been written about a recent decline in transit ridership and cities are—understandably—worried. Some municipalities are trying different tactics to get people back on buses and trains instead of in their own cars, luring them with pricing deals, creature-comforts, and education campaigns. CityLab has some different ideas and last Read More »
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A Little Can Go a Long Way
May 11, 2018By Maggie Vercoe We’ve all heard the saying, “a little can go a long way” when it comes to environmental sustainability. Install LED lightbulbs (better yet, hit the switch when you leave the room). Use a reusable water bottle. Bring your own bag to the grocery. But what about the Read More »
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Tablets are on Life Support. Now What?
May 9, 2018By Mike Weller Take a peek at recent sales statistics of tablets and you will find a negative trend. Global tablet sales in Q4 of 2017 amounted to 49.6 million units, down 7.9 percent from the previous year. This may not seem like a big deal, but considering how powerful Read More »
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A New Era of Parking Data Collection
May 8, 2018By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I looked at some pictures recently that left me with two thoughts. The first was simple amazement at the rate of technological progress that has been made. The second was, “Wow, you must really be getting old!” The first photo was of a Kimley-Horn employee Read More »
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San Francisco Regulates Dockless Scooters
May 7, 2018Much is being said about shared, dockless, electric scooters —mainly, how cities will deal with them as their popularity grows. One city is taking a crack at it. San Francisco last week passed regulations that will govern the vehicles, with specific limits on who can establish fleets, how many scooters Read More »
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Words that Change Us
May 4, 2018By Kim Fernandez The Next Big Idea Club is a curated subscription service for books: subscribers receive three books every two months, picked by a great-minds dream team that includes writer and speaker Malcolm Gladwell and introvert-writer Susan Cain, among others. It’s not cheap, but promises to “hand-pick the ideas Read More »
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Marketing the Brand: Treating Parking Like Retail
May 3, 2018By Nigel Bullers Parking is no longer an afterthought when deciding to head out for the day. Customers are Googling their route, mapping where they’ll park, and weighing cost against convenience. This is retail at its finest! Parking has made it to the red carpet. So what happens when we Read More »
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When Knowing Your Onions is Not Enough
May 2, 2018By Tope Longe Our diverse universe, though diverse, is indeed a dot. We are far, yet very near, thanks to the internet and the communication it enables. Though we are neatly connected, working times, working days, time zones, organizational culture and practices, etc., may differ. As a global industry, recognition Read More »
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An Unforgettable, Sad Moment
May 1, 2018By Michael Cramer There are few things as surreal as a life-and-death moment. Many years ago, I was working on a suburban campus. There were a couple million square feet of office and two large garages with capacity for 4,000 vehicles. It was a beautiful setting and a peaceful place. Not Read More »
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More Access to Cars: Now What?
April 30, 2018A new analysis by Governing magazine says more poor Americans have access to cars than they did a decade ago and that overall vehicle-miles traveled is up for the first time since 2007. Which seems like good news on the surface, but what does it mean for transit? Experts say Read More »
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City Disruptor: Park My Scooter, Please
April 27, 2018By Helen Sullivan Interconnected, motorized scooters are cities’ new challenge, according to an article recently featured in the business section of the Washington Post. The writer says scooterists, often unhelmeted, whizzing by pedestrians, blocking sidewalks, are leaving these tyke-like, 15 mile per hour transportation wonders wherever they choose—on the street, Read More »
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Is the Technology Worth It?
April 26, 2018By Christopher Perry Technology is advancing rapidly within the parking industry. Mobile applications, wayfinding tools, and occupancy monitoring are just a few of the latest advancements. All of these create benefits for both the operator and consumer. The puzzle is how to quantify these benefits. The analysis of such technological upgrades has gone Read More »
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Where the Sun Don’t Shine
April 25, 2018By Juan Ramos, LEED AP BD+C I recently had the good fortune to go on a work trip to The Turks and Caicos Islands (humble brag). It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, though you can’t shake the nagging thought of the effect that just a small Read More »
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TNCs and Airports
April 24, 2018By Matt Sherwood, CM The rise of transportation network companies (TNCs) has resulted in tremendous shifts in the way people move around their communities, whether for commuting, entertainment, or for incidental travel. While that shift hasn’t been quantified statistically by the primary TNC providers, the effects have been felt by Read More »
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Citizen Patrols to Tackle Disabled Parking Abuse
April 23, 2018With limited resources and growing complaints, enforcing lawful use of parking spaces for the disabled can be a challenge. One New Jersey town is about to enlist citizen patrols to help. Clifton, N.J., plans to enlist volunteers to file complaints against those who unlawfully use parking spaces reserved for the Read More »
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Choosing Matters
April 20, 2018By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C Where you shop matters. As a wannabe foodie, I like farm-to-table, local, organic, and small businesses and co-ops. Where you choose to spend your hard-earned cash matters. We make buying decisions based on our values (and the brands we prefer) all the time. Read More »
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Going Green? Swap the Lights
April 19, 2018By Josh Naramore At the City of Grand Rapids, Mich., we are committed to meeting lofty environmental sustainability goals. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and becoming 100 percent renewable-energy dependent are two of the city’s highest-priority goals. Recently, we focused on improving energy efficiency in our parking facilities by replacing old, Read More »
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Time to Upcycle
April 18, 2018By Rita Azrelyant Upcycling is the cool new way to recycle but it is not our parents’ version of recycling—it’s more sustainable. Yes, more sustainable than recycling! At an early age, we are taught to recycle in school, at home, and at work, but recycling requires a lot of time, Read More »
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More than Once a Year?
April 17, 2018By Brian Shaw, CAPP With the better weather that comes along with spring, so does the opportunity to host outdoor sustainability themed events. May will see the annual bike-to-work day in the Bay Area of California. Having been involved in motivating, managing, and monitoring commuting travel behavior for more than Read More »
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Sustainable Progress
April 16, 2018By Paul Wessel Leading up to the fourth Earth Day (April 22) since the launch of Parksmart, some reflections: We’ve inspired never-before-held conversations between architects, engineers, sustainability experts, building managers, and parking operators early in the new garage design process. The managers and operators’ wisdom and vision is increasingly incorporated into Read More »
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Yogi Berra Lives On
April 13, 2018By Shawn Conrad, CAE Baseball great Yogi Berra was known for his clutch hitting on the ball field and for his “Yogi-isms” when talking to reporters after the game. One of my favorite Yogi-isms was, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Yogi and this saying came to mind recently when Read More »
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Regional Associations and Parking Newbies
April 12, 2018By Britney Cooper In 2015, I took a leap of faith and changed professions, moving from an education background to the world of parking. As a still-relative newbie to parking, I had the pleasure of attending my second Texas Parking and Transportation Association Conference this past March in Houston. I Read More »
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April Fools? Not for This Parking Organization
April 11, 2018When is an April 1 news story not a prank? Apparently when it’s about a donations for parking citations program. University of Florida President W. Kent Fuchs announced a donations for citations program on April 1, and many students and faculty thought it was a prank. But yesterday, he announced Read More »
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Goal-line Strategy
April 10, 2018By Will Thompson In 2000, I became the head coach of my three sons’ youth tackle-football teams. Since I played through college, I felt coaching boys would be fairly easy. The first year was tough, but we managed to finish the season at 5 and 5 with a first round Read More »
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Getting People to Speak Up
April 9, 2018One of the first tenets of management is to encourage and actively listen to employee feedback. But what happens when employees are reluctant to participate in the conversation? Inc. took on the question and offered 10 ways to encourage employee participation. Some are obvious—find out why some team members don’t Read More »
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You Talkin’ to Me?
April 6, 2018By Cindy Campbell Here’s an interesting statistic regarding the primary cause of conflict: 10 percent of conflicts are due to differences of opinion. 90 percent are due to using the wrong tone of voice. Now, I can’t verify this statistic but I can tell you that it feels true. Like Read More »
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Community Participation is Key
April 5, 2018By Eric Haggett As the heads of most municipal parking operations (and the consultants who work with them) know, implementing even the slightest change to a municipal parking program can be difficult, to say the least. From a lack of political will to a lack of available funding, municipal parking Read More »
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The Sharing Economy and Mobility on Demand
April 4, 2018By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I recently rediscovered a 2016 document published by the Federal Highway Administration: Shared Mobility – Current Practices and Guiding Principles. In the past few years, the sharing economy has emerged as a developing phenomenon that is reshaping many economic sectors including financial, goods, food, services, Read More »
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The Hot, New Shared Transportation Method? E-scooters.
April 3, 2018Just when you thought you had bike-sharing down, there’s a new trend in town and some say it might make the bike-share market seem tiny in comparison. It’s electric scooter-sharing, and spurred on partially by nostalgia, partially by practicality, and partially because it’s just fun, it’s predicted to be the Read More »
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Increasing Transit Ridership: Cities that Get it Right
April 2, 2018A study earlier this year found that transit ridership is decreasing in most cities. But some stand out as having transit use rates that buck the trend and are rising. So what’s going on there? Streetsblog took a look at several cities where people are using transit more than they Read More »
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Put Some Mystery Back Into Your Life
March 30, 2018By Michelle W. Jones, CMP I remember being a teenage girl, wondering what the evening would bring as I embarked on a first date. Excitement, nervousness, the thrill of the unknown—it kept me guessing. It was mysterious. With the demands of daily adulting—work, kids, chores, commitments—it can be easy to Read More »
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Food Truck Parking Prohibitions Repealed
March 29, 2018Louisville, Ky., made headlines seven years ago when it passed legislation designed to keep food trucks from parking near competitive brick-and-mortar restaurants. Last week, the city reversed that rule. Litigation in cities with similar regulations has resulted in wins for the food truck owners, who say prohibiting them from parking Read More »
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Parking: As Easy as a TV Show
March 28, 2018By Matt Penney A few years ago, influenced by far too many home renovation TV programs, my wife and I purchased a house that just needed a few “little” updates. It couldn’t be that hard. We watched almost miraculous transformations unfold before our eyes in regular 30-minute time blocks. I had a hammer, Read More »
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Morale Starts With You
March 27, 2018By Julyanne Long Morale is an important part of every business. A pat on the back or uplifting words can go a long way. As leaders, it is our responsibility to keep morale high to keep productivity up and reduce turnover. It’s not always easy, but it is always necessary. Read More »
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Are You a Strategic Thinker?
March 26, 2018By Rita Pagan Strategic thinking is not only reserved for executives. It can, and should, happen at every level of an organization. Are you currently thinking strategically as you manage your projects? I once had a director tell me in a review that I was one of a few people Read More »
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Don’t Just Go with the Flow
March 23, 2018By Kathleen Federici, MEd. According to Mindtools.com, change management is a structured approach for ensuring that changes are thoroughly and smoothly implemented, and that the lasting benefits of change are achieved. According to thebalance.com, change management is the process of helping individuals and the organization transition from the current state Read More »
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A Simple Solution for the Dockless Challenge
March 22, 2018It’s the biggest complaint about dockless bike-share: Users, for whatever reason, leave the bikes all over the place when they’re finished riding. Going with the theory that much of the mess is because riders just don’t understand the rules, a new pilot program by the Seattle Department of Transportation introduces Read More »
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Creating an Effective Feedback Loop
March 21, 2018By Nicole Wylie Moving up the management chain has its perks: more input, more insight, and more opportunities for shaping your organization’s growth strategy. But climbing the corporate ladder also brings more responsibilities, like managing the team responsible for executing said strategy. And in addition to everything that’s already on Read More »
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Uber Halts Self-Driving Vehicle Tests
March 20, 2018Uber yesterday announced it’s halting testing of its autonomous vehicle fleet after a woman in Tempe, Ariz., was struck and killed by one of the cars. It was the first recorded death of a pedestrian hit by a driverless car. The car was in autonomous mode with a human safety Read More »
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Multitaskers Are Lousy at Everything
March 19, 2018By Shawn Conrad, CAE As you commute into work, your mind starts to prepare for all the goals you want to tackle and accomplish during the day. As often happens, you get sidetracked by a cell phone call telling you there is an access problem with faulty equipment, you walk Read More »
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New Tax Laws and Their Effect on Businesses
March 16, 2018By Bonnie Watts, CEM April 15. Most working-class individuals hear that date and cringe. I’m one of those over-zealous individuals and had my taxes filed and returned before the end of January. My tax preparer was already ahead of the game, providing me with information on how the new tax Read More »
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The Happiest, Paid Parking on Earth
March 15, 2018Walt Disney World this week announced plans to start charging its overnight resort guests for parking. Beginning March 21, drivers staying in its on-property hotels will pay $13 to $33 per night for parking. Guests at its Fort Wilderness Resort campground and day-only guests will not be charged for parking. Read More »
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Parking Work is Emotional Customer Service Work
March 14, 2018By Teresa Trussell, CAPP “I love my job, I need my job, I need my paycheck, and I cannot say what’s inside my head right now.” How many of you have repeated this to yourself as you attempt to maintain a professional demeanor while an angry customer completely unloads on Read More »
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Why Patients Benefit from Paying for Hospital Parking
March 13, 2018By Eric Williams As the health care market battles shrinking margins due to Medicare/Medicaid shortcomings and the increasing number of uninsured Americans, hospital executives are forced to evaluate every aspect of their revenue producing assets. The current operational trend in the hospital community is to trim costs and capitalize operational Read More »
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Brussels Combats Air Pollution with Free Transit
March 12, 2018Brussels has joined Paris and Madrid in offering free transit and free bikeshare use on days when air quality is particularly bad, in an effort to fight pollution. If levels of fine particulate matter in the air stay bad for 48 hours, the city’s residents will be able to use Read More »
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’Tis the Season
March 9, 2018By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C It’s the season for unexpected snowfalls, nor’easters, and snow days (for kids of all ages). It’s been a little looney at my house (even more so than average) and I am not ashamed to admit it. Late spring has been very mercurial as of Read More »
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Many Great Reasons for New Mobility Services
March 8, 2018By Alex Thibault We are in the middle of a tectonic shift in the market for mobility services. Organizations small and large are diving in every week and becoming operators in a space they wouldn’t have considered 10 years ago. For a number of good reasons, car manufacturers and distributors, Read More »
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Off the Beaten Campus Path
March 7, 2018A meter covered in gumballs. Traffic cones way up in trees. A parking manager helplessly watching chaos ensue in his garage from a stuck-between-floors elevator. And a woman getting out of her car to “help” direct traffic when she decided the parking folks were out of their element. Sound familiar? Read More »
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Six Tips for Better Networking
March 6, 2018Networking: The joy of extroverts excited about making new connections, and the bane of introverts who find small talk and introductions in crowded rooms pretty painful. Either way, it’s a necessary thing in business. Inc. this week released its list of six things smart people do to have interesting conversations. Read More »
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Transformed Urban Planning
March 5, 2018The Economist last week ran an article about “The Chance to Transform Urban Planning.” It covered new ways cities can be designed in the future, including the possibility of the “garden city” becoming a real thing, thanks to one big technology. What is it? Autonomous vehicles. Using data and trends Read More »
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Got 10? Make a Big Difference
March 2, 2018By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA You’ve probably heard about the 10/10/10 rule for making wise decisions. It’s based on a book by that name written, coincidentally, nearly 10 years ago by business writer Suzy Welch. The basic premise is to make decisions based on: How will you feel about Read More »
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Plug in When You Park?
March 1, 2018By David M. Feehan I drive a 2013 Chevy Volt, which I bought new. Chevy sells about 25,000 Volts a year, and the new Honda Clarity plug-in hybrid expects sales to be about the same. There are other at least 20 manufacturers that now offer PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles), Read More »
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Standardizing Real-Time Maps
February 28, 2018There are a lot of entities mapping city streets; from transportation network companies to bike-share operations to city transportation departments to Google Maps and Waze, the supply of real-time maps seems endless. One challenge: They’re not necessarily the same. Some show parking, some show road closures, some update more frequently Read More »
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The Future and Your Operation
February 27, 2018By James C. Anderson We live in interesting times! Driverless vehicles, autonomous vehicles, alternative-fuel vehicles, artificial Intelligence, ride-sharing, intermodal transportation, and the AV START Act. Some people are inspired and excited by these prospects while others are uncertain, uneasy, and feel angst about the possibilities and its broad implications. If Read More »
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Columbus, Ohio, Invests in EV, Infrastructure
February 26, 2018When Columbus, Ohio, won a 2016 Smart Cities Challenge grant, no one was sure what they’d spend the money on. Last week, they announced the first investments with those funds: 93 electric vehicles and 86 EV charging stations, to be funded with the grant and $1.7 million in city tax Read More »
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Skiing in the Parking Garage
February 23, 2018What do you do if you’re part of an Olympic ski team that needs a tunnel to practice in during the summer? You find a refrigerated parking garage, of course. Believe it or not, such a thing exists and the U.S. Nordic combined team really did practice there before this Read More »
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New Tax Laws and Parking
February 22, 2018By Mario Costanz Under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, employers will no longer be able to deduct expenses related to transportation benefits, including parking, transit, or vanpooling. This eliminates a major incentive for employers to provide transportation and parking to their employees or any other expense relating to Read More »
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Dubai Tests Autonomous Pods
February 21, 2018The squarish, blue and white boxes humming on Dubai roads may look a little weird, but they also might be a glimpse at the future of transportation. The city is testing a fleet of electric, autonomous pods at the World Government Summit—designed by NEXT Future Transportation, the pods can hold Read More »
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Are Parking Apps the Future?
February 20, 2018By Michael Cramer While not quite in their infancy, parking apps aren’t a mature market. Yet. Yes, I think parking apps are the future but I am not sure the form we see today will survive. Let’s look at the challenges facing apps. First, they are expensive. Too expensive? Each Read More »
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A Conversation About Aging
February 16, 2018By Kim Fernandez Somewhere along the way—don’t ask me how—my personal email address was added to a press list somewhere and every P.R. person peddling every product you can think of (and some you should be glad you haven’t imagined) started bombarding me with emails. Most days, it’s an annoyance. Read More »
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Parking Technology to Keep Truckers Safer
February 15, 2018Travel along any major highway and you’re likely to see 18-wheelers parked along shoulders and exit ramps while their drivers get some rest. Technology developed in the parking industry is about to try and change that. Minnesota has started installing technology to let truckers know in real-time where parking spaces Read More »
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Parking Districts and the City
February 14, 2018By Becky Cass The Washington Avenue Corridor of Houston is known to cater to mid-20s and early 30s professionals who enjoy bars and clubs with drinks and eats. Although the strip of Washington Ave. is full of clubs, bars, and restaurants, surrounding side streets are packed with residential condos and Read More »
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The Importance of Wayfinding
February 13, 2018By Thomas W. Gaffery, IV, MBA, CAPP Whether a university, municipality, airport, transit agency, or private parking operator, wayfinding is something we should all spend some time on. A successful wayfinding signage implementation will result in a dramatic benefit to you and your customers. Questions encountered in the field will Read More »
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Keep the Car, Sell the Data
February 12, 2018Back in the day, the most valuable part of your car besides the engine might have been its spoiler or its chrome or its stereo or its rims. Experts say that won’t be true for very much longer if it even still is, because your car’s data is about to Read More »
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Let Your Purpose Propel You
February 9, 2018By Michelle W. Jones, CMP This week I had the great fortune to hear an inspiring presentation by Roy Spence, co-founder and CEO of The Purpose Institute. Aristotle said, “Where your talents and the needs of the world meet, there lies your purpose.” Many folks may not know their purpose. Read More »
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Where the Dinosaurs Parked
February 8, 2018Plans to tear up a parking lot to make room for a new building at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Maryland were delayed not too long ago by dinosaurs. Dinosaur footprints, actually, which made it apparent that people weren’t the first creatures to park on that land. Seems Read More »
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A Drop, A Correction, or More?
February 7, 2018By Mark Vergenes Parking professionals, like everyone else, have concerns about the stock market. Last year was good. While it took the Dow 14 years to climb from 10,000 to 15,000, it took it just three-and-a-half years to reach 20,000 in 2017. Perhaps those highs made the Dow’s 1,500-point drop Read More »
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New Complete Streets Framework Released
February 6, 2018Smart Growth America recently released a new framework and scoring methodology for Complete Streets. This was, they said, a result of calls for increased equity and implementation in the program and the new policy framework is in use now. It includes more requirements and steps to implement Complete Streets. Along Read More »
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Feeling Social. Now What?
February 5, 2018The year is still in its infancy but there’s been lots of news about social media for businesses. Facebook’s new algorithm, LinkedIn’s embrace of video, and Instagram’s pushing suggested feeds are just a few examples. How does a parking organization pull it all together to make the most of social Read More »
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Connect and Succeed
February 2, 2018By Kathleen Federici, MEd I had to complete two internships for my dual undergraduate degree. I was lucky that my university had a connection with a company that was set up half as a non-profit and half as for-profit, each with their own different names, letting me complete both internships Read More »
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Dockless Bike-Share: To Regulate or Not?
February 1, 2018One of the latest trends in bike-sharing is going dockless—instead of leaving bikes in racks that lock, users can leave them anywhere in a specified area and the bikes self-lock electronically until the next user signs in to use them. The systems have begun to create controversy in cities including Read More »
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He Gets Us
January 31, 2018Pricing on-street parking, as readers of this blog already know, is about finding a balance between what people will pay, how much time they really need to occupy a space, and how far they’re willing to walk to their ultimate destinations. Parking people know this. But it appears word is Read More »
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Is it Worth the Time?
January 30, 2018By David Feehan I recently had a meeting in downtown Rockville, Md. Google Maps could get me to my destination, but where would I park? There was a municipal parking garage listed on Google Maps, but the site offered no helpful information—where to enter, the hourly rate, whether the garage Read More »
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We’re Less Afraid This Year
January 29, 2018Tides turn and that’s what’s happening in the autonomous vehicle space. A new survey finds Americans are more willing to consider trying driverless cars than they were just a year ago. The survey, conducted by AAA and released last week, found 63 percent of drivers are afraid to try autonomous Read More »
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Managing Parking and the Curb
January 26, 2018By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C “Cities across North America are recognizing the value of their curbsides as flexible zones.” You bet they are—nearly every conversation I have had with a parking professional lately mentions managing the curb, TNCs, on-street parking, and greater mobility (and therefore flexibility). (Of course, Read More »
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Forecast: Massive Growth for Smart City Technology
January 25, 2018EV charging stations, micro-grids, smart parking, and smart street lighting are among the fastest-growing transformative technologies that are forecast to boost smart city Internet of Things (IoT) revenue to $62 billion by 2026, says a new research report. Current revenue is $25 billion. ABI Research, which released its report this Read More »
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Try, Try Again: Uncle Sam Wants … Parking
January 24, 2018Editor’s note: This post, which was published earlier in the week, was a bit thwarted by circumstances out of our control. We heard from lots of you that you’d like to see the document linked at the end, which was unavailable during the federal government shutdown, so we’re republishing it. Read More »
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Just One App?
January 23, 2018By Dion Knill Remember the old days when you couldn’t send an SMS to a friend if he or she was on a different mobile network? It’s no wonder 15 years ago the U.S. had the lowest usage of SMS messaging in the world. Recently I did an informal survey Read More »
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Being Fearless
January 19, 2018By Kim Fernandez My daughter tried out for her first high school musical last week. She rose through the performing-arts ranks at her elementary/middle school quickly and thanks equally to her ability to carry a tune and never developing a fear of rejection or spotlight aversions, by seventh grade was Read More »
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Real-Time Occupancy: The Most Valuable Piece Of Parking Information
January 18, 2018By Nathan Donnell For any driver, the parking experience is often one of frustration. In downtown areas, drivers typically circle the block several times hoping a parking space opens up. Drivers naturally try to park at the closest lots to their destinations, which can lead to over-filled lots with gridlocked Read More »
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Branding to the Curb
January 17, 2018By Renee Smith, JD MBA In today’s competitive environment, branding is the name of the game. Parking owners who rely on hourly parkers to generate revenue usually face competition from other parking facilities, and the most successful know how to make theirs stand out. Organizations that provide parking as an Read More »
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Transportation, Mobility, and an Aging Population
January 16, 2018Much has been researched and written about the need for housing and healthcare as the next generation ages. But there hasn’t been a lot said about that generation’s transportation needs and what they’ll need to get around, which is a huge part of aging comfortably. TransitCenter, a foundation dedicated to Read More »
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The Automated Parking Experience in Denmark
January 11, 2018Aarhus, Denmark, has transformed its inner harbor area into a major destination for residents and visitors during the past decade. When it became clear more parking needed to be part of the equation, planners wanted to remove cars from view and make it as easy as possible for people to Read More »
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App Evolution
January 10, 2018By Paul Pirhofer, CAPP Parking apps, including some old familiar favorites, have dramatically improved. Customers and clients alike typically share opinions and feedback with me about apps for finding and purchasing on-and off-street parking. Without naming specific apps, some of the desirable features identified through feedback include: Mapping capability. The Read More »
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Need New Ideas? Ask a Student
January 8, 2018Ford’s F-150 pickup truck is the best selling vehicle in the U.S., and the automaker doesn’t take changes to it lightly. So when it started bouncing around ideas for a redesign, it turned to the future in more ways than one by asking students how they’d change the vehicle for Read More »
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Monotasking in 2018
January 5, 2018By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA I almost walked into a tree while reading a newspaper article on my iPhone at night when I was walking my dog recently. The dangers of multitasking are great and I could provide tons of emergency room stats about texting accidents (while driving, of Read More »
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Artificial Intelligence
January 4, 2018By Christina Onesirosan Martinez I bravely volunteered to write this post on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the parking industry and my initial research took me to the first floor of our office—deep into the darkest corner of the research team’s lab. They spend hour after hour looking Read More »
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Police: Don’t Call 911 About Bike Share
January 3, 2018Dockless bike share systems, which allow users to leave bikes anywhere in a geofenced area when they’re finished riding, are among the hottest trends in greater mobility. But residents of one Washington, D.C., neighborhood are so upset about a program near them that the police took to social media to Read More »
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California Enacts Law to Combat Disabled Placard Abuse
January 2, 2018A 2017 audit found about 26,000 active disabled parking placards issued to people age 100 or older in California. The problem is, there are only about 8,000 people that age in the state and very few are still driving. Last week, a new law went into effect that will match Read More »
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Proactive vs. Reactive
December 29, 2017To ring out 2017, we’re revisiting some of our favorite blog posts from the year. New posts will start Jan. 2 and it’s a great time to submit your own! By Jason M. Jones While walking back to the office from a successful problem-solving site visit, I was stopped abruptly Read More »
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First, Be Kind to Yourself
December 28, 2017To ring out 2017, we’re revisiting some of our favorite blog posts from the year. New posts will start Jan. 2 and it’s a great time to submit your own! By Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP I recently felt shame for the first time in a long time. Not your average “uncomfortableness” Read More »
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Adapting
December 27, 2017To ring out 2017, we’re revisiting some of our favorite blog posts from the year. New posts will start Jan. 2 and it’s a great time to submit your own! By Bill Gavin From the moment I started my parking journey one thing was clear: I would need to adapt. Read More »
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Parking Policy Explained: A Two-Minute Crash Course
December 26, 2017To ring out 2017, we’re revisiting some of our favorite blog posts from the year. New posts will start Jan. 2 and it’s a great time to submit your own! By Giuliano Mingardo Everyone who is professionally involved in our sector knows parking (policy) is a very emotional issue. Very Read More »
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All I Want For … Is a Little Karma
December 22, 2017By Shawn Conrad, CAE It’s said that if you sow goodness, you reap goodness. The same can be said for karma, especially good karma where if you emit a positive attitude, provide encouragement, hope or happiness, good karma will come your way. Ed Lee, who served as San Francisco’s mayor Read More »
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Collecting Parking
December 21, 2017By Larry Cohen, CAPP I have always been a collector. Growing up it was sports memorabilia. I even sold enough baseball cards to buy my first house! As a parking professional, I have a wide assortment of parking tchotchkes (Yiddish for collectibles). Every parking collector has a parking meter, but Read More »
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A Very Unique Tow
December 20, 2017Ever been tempted to hire a crane to pick up the car of that rude parking violator and plop it somewhere else? Guards at a residential property in China did just that recently, hauling the car of a belligerent driver up onto the roof of their security station, where it Read More »
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The Parking Minimum Dilemma
December 19, 2017By David M. Feehan If I am the developer or owner of a shopping center, I am faced with a dilemma. What do I do about parking minimums? Of course, many municipalities are considering this issue. Recently, Buffalo became the first American city to eliminate parking minimums. Other cities are Read More »
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Massive Chinese Bus Fleet Goes Electric
December 18, 2017Shezhen, China, will have shifted its entire fleet of 16,000 buses to electric by the end of the year, marking the first time a city has reached that goal. The city, which has more buses than New York and the next top five bus fleets in the U.S., began converting Read More »
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The Year Ahead
December 15, 2017By Cindy Campbell While we haven’t yet wrapped up 2017, it’s never too soon to start considering what we will accomplish in the next year. I’ve recently been thinking about my goals for 2018. I created my annual “to do” list, and I have to admit that I’m not at Read More »
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The Campus Parking Permit Conundrum
December 14, 2017By Thomas Gaffrey, IV, MBA, CAPP As a parking professional in higher education, I spend a great deal of my time thinking of ways to get students, faculty, staff, and visitors to not park on campus. This often involves a range of sustainable transportation offerings: free transit passes, a campus Read More »
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Grit: The New Buzzword for Success
December 13, 2017By Rita Pagan It’s everywhere! I’ve heard this term talked about at my son’s first grade orientation, a recent leadership conference I attended, and even used on a bottle of a new hair product line. But what exactly is it and do you have it? In her TEDtalk, Angela Lee Read More »
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A Holiday Stop Sign
December 12, 2017By Joseph Sciulli, CAPP One of the best gifts to give this season is a sincere smile. And an equally sincere “Thank you” and “You’re welcome.” A sincere smile is a powerful thing. It has immense power to change someone’s day for the better. But it can be hard to Read More »
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Transit as Data
December 11, 2017Much has been written about the potential of autonomous vehicles to collect data that will help make streets run more smoothly and keep everyone safer. One company’s come up with a way to do that now, using existing transit systems as the collection points. Esri, a mapping data company, will Read More »
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On Turning 50
December 8, 2017By Michelle W. Jones, CMP I was born in November 1967. “Incense and Peppermints” by Strawberry Alarm Clock had the No. 1 single. The Vietnam War was in full swing. Carl B. Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city. Read More »
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An Autonomous Future Today
December 7, 2017Imagine a community of 50,000 residents who rely on autonomous, shared vehicles for most of their day-to-day transportation needs. The cars and their homes are powered by a massive solar array during the day and natural gas at night and the entire neighborhood is built on the foundation of sustainable Read More »
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Gear Heads Unite
December 6, 2017By Shawn Conrad, CAE There are motor heads, Dead heads, and even parrot heads. I consider myself a gear head, or rather a fan of the defunct British television series “Top Gear.” Top Gear due to celebrity personalities (read: tantrums) has been transformed into a new show, but essentially this Read More »
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Hurricane Harvey Aftermath
December 5, 2017By Liliana Rambo, CAPP Hurricane Harvey came ashore late Friday, August 25, just north of Port Aransas, and caused historic flooding. In Houston, we prepared as much as we could but never expected such devastation. Harvey caused an estimated $75 billion of damage and it was felt throughout the city. Read More »
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New York to Launch Affordable, Secure Bike Parking
December 4, 2017Bicycle commuters in New York City are about to get a more secure option for parking their bikes during the day; the city plans to open three staffed, valet bike parking stations next year. The secure 25-foot by 12-foot structures will be staffed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every Read More »
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Being Nine
December 1, 2017By Kathleen Federici, MEd My son is nine years old and wants to be Santa Claus when he grows up. He makes presents for Santa every year. He has a light-up Santa face in his bedroom window, as well as “Welcome Santa” signs taped all over the walls of our Read More »
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Autonomous Vehicles or Holidays?
November 30, 2017By Mark Lyons, CAPP With all this talk about autonomous vehicles—you know, when will they arrive and how will it improve our lives—our minds roam. You know what I mean? Will I share a car with someone else or have my own? I know now where I place my coffee Read More »
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Community Service for Violations
November 29, 2017You’re familiar with donations for citations programs but here’s a new twist: Students at Missouri State University can now work off parking fines with community service. The university’s new Bear With Me program will let students work off parking violations of $50 or less by completing two hours of community Read More »
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Reducing Theft in Parking Facilities
November 28, 2017By Dan Fortinberry, CAPP As the holidays approach and parking operators start to gear up for a possible increase in automobile break-ins and thefts in their parking facilities, there are several cost-effective and long-term fixes to consider. As a former security professional, I have always viewed my subsequent careers through Read More »
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’Tis the Season…For Free Parking?
November 27, 2017Sacramento, Calif., this year joined lots of other towns and cities that offer free parking between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. Some cities say the strategy encourages people to visit downtown areas and shop with small merchants in-person; others say it’s a backfiring practice that lets people leave their cars Read More »
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Thanksgiving
November 22, 2017By Pierre Koudelka I wanted to take a moment to wish you and your families the happiest of holidays coming up. Be thankful for what you have, give others a helping hand, mend fences, give your loved ones an extra hug, and try and do something for our service men Read More »
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Status: Autonomous Vehicles. Mobility as a Service.
November 21, 2017By Tope Longe If I were to accurately fill in my status update on Facebook to reflect what’s truly on my mind, it would be a switch between “autonomous vehicles” and “mobility as a service.” The subjects have constantly been on my mind since the IPI Board of Directors meeting Read More »
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Is Parking Going to the Dogs?
November 20, 2017By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Yes, it’s true, parking is expanding with new opportunities. Parking cars? So yesterday. Parking dogs. Hip! The New York Times calls it Pooch Parking in this article about a new service that allows dog owners to house their furry friends temporarily (like when they Read More »
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There is No Crystal Ball
November 16, 2017By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C There is no crystal ball – but there are many varied perspectives on what’s going to happen with the advent of the autonomous vehicle. Bob Lutz’s comments on CNBC recently stirred the pot. Former vice chairman of product development for General Motors, he Read More »
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What To Do About Micro-parkers
November 15, 2017By Perry Eggleston, DPA, CAPP At a recent conference, I heard the term “micro-parking.” I thought this was an appropriate word encompassing drivers who stop for very short times, usually to load/unload passengers or load/drop cargo. This differs from the traditional term of parking (macro-parking?) in the sense that the Read More »
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The Lost Art of Follow-Through
November 14, 2017By Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP During the past few months, I’ve experienced instances where either professional or personal connections have committed to doing something but then never followed through. While these experiences have been disappointing—and in the case of the personal instance, a bit awkward to address—I think it’s what happened Read More »
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When Your Car Takes Over Tinder
November 13, 2017Autonomous cars are here and driver-operated automobiles are illegal. What does that mean? What does it really mean—how will it affect our day-to-day lives? The New York Times took on that question last week with an extensive report from a team of experts who addressed different ways self-driving cars will Read More »
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Staying a Step Ahead
November 10, 2017By Kim Fernandez The YMCA down a block and across the street from my house hosts a popular turkey chase race every Thanksgiving morning. Parking is a big challenge and my neighborhood’s 1940s-built streets are choked with cars by 7 a.m. A few years ago, the pastor of our church, Read More »
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Disabled Parking Cheat? Someone’s Watching
November 9, 2017Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Lopez published one of a series of columns on disabled parking abuse this week, calling those who illegally use the parking permits of others “inconsiderate, arrogant, and they’re everywhere.” The column focused on the reactions of drivers who get caught using disabled parking hangtags when Read More »
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The End of Driving As We Know It?
November 8, 2017By David M. Feehan I like to drive. I once drove straight through from New York City to Minneapolis in 24 hours, stopping only for gas and bathroom and coffee breaks. A couple of years later, I bought a new Camaro and with a friend, made a great circle tour Read More »
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Not a Dirty Word: A Changing Time
November 7, 2017By Brett Wood, PE, CAPP A few days ago, a post by colleague and friend Larry Cohen, CAPP, got me thinking. The synthesis of his blog was that the community around him was fighting back against constructing new parking facilities. As a consultant who travels the country trying to fight Read More »
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Ford’s New CEO on Future Cars
November 6, 2017Connected cars? Yes. Autonomous cars? Probably. Shared cars? Not so much. So says Ford Motor Company’s new CEO in an interview with Fast Company last week. “There’s a myth in the press that people are going to give up their vehicles,” says Jim Hackett, who was named CEO of the Read More »
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Wisdom: On Leadership
November 3, 2017By Helen Sullivan, APR. Fellow PRSA I collect quotations. The wisdom of others in a short soundbite can educate, enlighten, and entertain. Having attended the IPI Leadership Summit in Jacksonville, Fla. a few weeks ago, leadership is top-of-mind for me. I hope my favorite quotations on leadership will inspire you Read More »
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Giving Back
November 2, 2017By Gary Means, CAPP Have you jumped on the Parking Gives Back bandwagon? I have been honored and privileged to work with the Lexington Parking Authority, where three years ago. we rolled out our Food for Fines program that’s received much national and international coverage and PR. Many other parking Read More »
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Tracking Autonomous Vehicle Regulations
November 1, 2017By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP Tracking the emergence of autonomous vehicles is filling up my inbox! Here is the latest headline from one great source, the ITS America SmartBrief: “Senate Committee Adopts Bill on Autonomous Vehicle Regulations.” The article shares a number of things: Based on a report by Reuters, Read More »
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Changing Times and Poor Behavior
October 31, 2017By Shawn Conrad, CAE Don’t go changing to try and please me. — Billy Joel Actually, when things change for the good, I find this pleasing. We no longer have to wait to make a call at a bank of phones in a hotel lobby, or pay long-distance phone charges. I’m Read More »
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Parking, New Urbanism, and Small Cities
October 30, 2017By Michael Cramer Small cities are on the cusp of a redevelopment boom. They offer many of the advantages of larger cities, including healthcare, sustainable living, shopping, and eating, but with lower crime rates and small-town friendliness. Bringing parking expertise into these areas will provide long-term benefits by increasing convenience Read More »
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Preparing to Manage a Town’s Greatest Asset
October 27, 2017Jackson, Wyo., Mayor Pete Muldoon is looking to completely transform the way his resort town handles parking, for one reason. “Parking,” he recently told a local newspaper, “is one of the town’s greatest assets. If we were a business, we would never give it away for free and not manage Read More »
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A New Dirty Phrase?
October 26, 2017By Larry Cohen, CAPP Negative public feedback (“not in my backyard”), better land use, cost, debt, planning for repurposing of old garages, is new inventory really needed, and the ongoing emphasis to reduce single-occupant vehicles (SOV) in favor of alternative forms of transportation have me wondering if all of these Read More »
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Words of Gratitude
October 25, 2017By Liliana Rambo, CAPP Here are some sayings we constantly hear that have become part of our DNA—the parking geek DNA, that is: “The parking bug bit you.” “Who went to school to become a parking professional?” “We are a very tight-knit group.” “You may leave the industry but you Read More »
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A Child’s World
October 24, 2017By Jason M. Jones The other day, I was reminded how innocent a child can be. While watching the evening news, a story on our current President came on and my four-year-old daughter said, “Daddy, I love our President.” When asking why, she stated “because he is our President.” I Read More »
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The New Dream Home
October 23, 2017Jackson, Wyo., with its mountains and lakes, is a wildly popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts who flock there to vacation and, in growing numbers, live. The resort town draws lots of 20-somethings who find that even after landing one of the town’s plentiful jobs, they can’t afford its high housing Read More »
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Life Lessons
October 20, 2017By Kim Fernandez Tim Cotton is a sergeant with the Bangor, Maine, police department. He’s 53. His dad was a cop, his grandfather was a fire chief, and he became a cop at age 25 after trying out a career in radio. He worked crime for a long time and Read More »
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The Evaluation Process Never Ends
October 19, 2017By Victor A. Hill, MPA, CAPP Technology provides a multitude of ways to enhance customer service in our industry, but new-fangled gizmos can create new issues that require adjustments to our processes. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse deployed license plate recognition (LPR) at the start of this academic year, but Read More »
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Measuring Customer Service
October 18, 2017By Dan Fortinberry, CAPP Many years before the advent of my parking career, I was charged with conducting client service visits and completing monthly client service reviews (CSRs). The CSR was a simple questionnaire that attempted to measure the effectiveness of our service delivery model by rating our service on Read More »
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Parking Policy Explained: A Two-Minute Crash Course
October 17, 2017By Giuliano Mingardo Everyone who is professionally involved in our sector knows parking (policy) is a very emotional issue. Very often, a lack of understanding of how parking works leads to very emotional debates among politicians, decision-makers, retailers, citizens, project developers, and other urban stakeholders. Should parking be free of Read More »
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Massachusetts Cracks Down on Disabled Permit Abuse
October 16, 2017The Massachusetts state Senate voted to give the state’s registry of motor vehicles (RMV) more power and tools to crack down on drivers who fraudulently apply for and use parking permits for the disabled. The measure, passed by unanimous vote, would: Increase license suspensions of those who fraudulently use or Read More »
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Self Versus Time? Who Wins?
October 13, 2017By Kathleen Federici, MEd I hear many people talk about time management and that they need to manage time better. I am skeptical about this, so I researched the concept. It seems to me that we cannot manage time. There are 60 seconds in a minute no matter what you Read More »
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Down a Different Road?
October 12, 2017By David Hill, CAPP, MA A few years ago, I saw Robert Kennedy, Jr., speak at the IPI Conference about “green” issues; I’m not especially green and so it was a bit of a stretch for me. But one of Kennedy’s themes stuck with me—the idea of the emerging green Read More »
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Typoglycemia?
October 10, 2017By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP A recent Kimley-Horn internal “Quality Moves” article began: Aoccdrnig to rscheearch codnutced at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a wrod are tpyed, the olny ipormetnt thing is that the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit oredr. The Read More »
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Designing the Future Garage
October 9, 2017Lots is being said about designing the garage of the future, including a whole lot about adaptive reuse. But how will that work, exactly? How can today’s design be constructed so it’s really adaptable? DCM Architecture and Engineering teamed up with IPI’s Planning, Design, and Construction Committee to find out Read More »
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Riding Lessons
October 6, 2017By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA I was a serious equestrienne for decades, training and owning horses, teaching riding, and competing in the show ring. Here are some lessons that apply beyond the barn: He/she only “talks” a good ride. This came from a book I read as a teen. Read More »
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Ohio Workers to Get Free Transit Passes
October 5, 2017Parking shortage? Or transit issue? Columbus, Ohio has set to find out in an unusual way—by giving downtown workers free transit passes. The Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, a group working to improve downtown Columbus, got its 50 members—business and property owners—to buy transit passes for their employees. Workers will Read More »
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Parking Full? Could Be the Driver’s Fault
October 4, 2017What if an on-street parking shortage boiled down to drivers parking badly? That’s the result of a study in the U.K. that found drivers parking so badly that nearly one-fifth of available parking goes to waste. And there’s more—the study also found that if drivers used park-assist technology rather than Read More »
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First, Be Kind to Yourself
October 3, 2017By Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP I recently felt shame for the first time in a long time. Not your average “uncomfortableness” but real shame. And then immediately, I was ashamed of feeling shame. Often in my work as a public involvement specialist, I receive copies of letters that are submitted to Read More »
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Seven Ways to Welcome New Employees
October 2, 2017One-third of new hires quit within six months, says Forbes, so making new employees feel welcome and up-to-speed as quickly as possible is pivotal to long-term success. The publication’s Human Resources Council has come up with seven ways to most effectively do that: Create a welcoming environment. Respond quickly to Read More »
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Volunteers Assist with Fraudulent Permit Crackdown
September 29, 2017The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in Syracuse, N.Y., made headlines this week for confiscating several hundred disabled parking permits that were being used fraudulently, largely at large public parking areas. It’s happened during a crackdown on abuse of the placards; officers say many are expired or being used by someone Read More »
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What Do We Know About Technology in Parking?
September 28, 2017During the past several years, the use of technology has accelerated in the parking and transportation industry. As the number of cars on our roads rises and cities struggle with congestion, diminishing space, and increasing concerns over air quality, parking technology evolves to deliver solutions. With these advances come new Read More »
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A Hurricane Idea
September 27, 2017By Michael Cramer A natural disaster is a hard thing to describe until you live through one and are personally affected. During Harvey, my house flooded as did the houses of my mother and my sister. My house sits higher than my mother’s and sister’s, but I had about two Read More »
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Technology, Cities, and Adapting
September 26, 2017Technology such as autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, vehicle data connectivity, ride-sharing technologies, and others are going to transform cities, helping cut the costs of traffic congestion, accidents, and air pollution, wrote the Harvard Business Review last week. And while that’s all good on paper, the way cities manage these technologies Read More »
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You’re Worth It
September 25, 2017By Cindy Campbell I read an interesting statement in an online forum recently: “You know when you order a new item off the menu and you don’t really like it but you keep eating it—and every bite, you’re like, ‘Nope this is awful but I already committed to it’? Yeah, Read More »
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London Denies Uber’s License to Operate
September 22, 2017Transport for London this morning denied Uber’s license renewal request, saying the company is “not fit and proper” to continue operating in the city. Uber responded that it would challenge the decision. The ridesharing company says it has 40,000 drivers and 3.5 million users in London, where its current license Read More »
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Getting Parking Right
September 21, 2017By Dan Fortinberry, CAPP With the direct correlation of an efficient parking operation on successful economic development, customer experience, and business growth, it only makes sense that those in charge of parking systems, whether managed by a city department, parking authority, or private operator, must continually work toward getting parking Read More »
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Ditching the Myth with Pride
September 20, 2017By Tope Longe An unplanned change in my career—same organization, change in department and role. All my friends and family knew I had taken on a new role with added managerial responsibilities. I was a couple of years into it before they found out what I do. How could I Read More »
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The Equifax Breach: Now What?
September 19, 2017By Mark A. Vergenes Equifax, one of the three main credit reporting agencies, recently announced a massive data security breach that exposed the vital personal identification data of roughly 55 percent of Americans age 18 and older. This data breach was especially egregious because the company reportedly waited roughly six Read More »
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Improving Business, Greening Parking
September 18, 2017There’s a move afoot in Knoxville, Tenn., to both make the city greener and help small businesses succeed. Last week, the conversation turned to parking. The city council voted to update its parking ordinance on first reading, to reduce parking space minimums required in commercial areas, cap the maximum number Read More »
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Arms, Legs, iPhone?
September 15, 2017By Michelle W. Jones, CMP In terms of anatomy, when we hear “limbs,” we think of our arms and legs. I would submit that most of us now have an added appendage—our smartphone. A couple days ago, I was responsible for the setup of a meeting taking place nearly a Read More »
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Escalating Hostility
September 14, 2017By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP I’ve been in the parking business a long time and have pretty much seen it all, but a new day always brings a new experience. When it comes to paying for parking or paying for a citation, people’s normal reactions go out the door. I’m sure Read More »
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Lessons from Irma
September 13, 2017By Roamy R. Valera, CAPP Irma was the scariest storm South Florida has faced since Hurricane Andrew. Our family is blessed the eye wall missed us by 90 miles. I received a text from a friend suggesting I scratch major hurricanes from the bucket list; I replied that I’d done Read More »
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Behind the Eyes of Autonomous Vehicles
September 12, 2017David Hall looks pretty unremarkable in the photos—blonde hair, rumpled shirt, nondescript khaki pants. If you passed him on the street, you’d probably just pass without a second thought. But Hall, CEO of Velodyne, is playing a huge role in what many believe will be the next chapter of the Read More »
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USDOT Launches 2017 TIGER Grants
September 11, 2017Did you envision a new project that would have a significant effect on the country or a specific metropolitan area or region? Would it improve access to transportation, improve infrastructure, or facilitate economic growth in a rural area? The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) this week launched its 2017 Transportation Read More »
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The More You Know
September 8, 2017By Kathleen Federici, MEd “The More You Know” campaign is a series of public service announcements broadcast on NBC. I have found this campaign slogan to be more true than most. Faced with a new situation or challenge, it is best to confront it with gusto. The more you know, Read More »
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Work Rules: Meaning, Trust, Transparency, Voice, Repeat.
September 7, 2017By Rita Pagan I recently attended the Global Leadership Summit—a virtual event held at locations around the world. The speakers were industry leaders and the content was rejuvenating. This is the kind of event that leaves you with many professional and personal takeaways, and you need three Advil and an Read More »
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A Parking Pro Becomes City Manager: Meet Howard Chan
September 6, 2017Thriving cities need managers who can juggle, stay organized, negotiate like masters, and get along with everybody else—city officials and employees, special-interest groups, the media, and the public. So what’s a city to do when it needs a new manager? It turns to a parking professional. That’s exactly what Sacramento, Read More »
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How the Internet Began in a Parking Garage
September 5, 2017By Jeff Petry The entrepreneurial spirit thrives in the parking-garage-start-up culture of innovation. Apple was started in the garage of Steve Jobs’s childhood home. Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) was started in the home garage of Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. Biotech company Invitrogen was started in a garage in Encinitas, Calif. Read More »
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Harvey
September 1, 2017We at IPI have been quite relieved to hear from many of our industry friends in and around Houston this week, letting us know they’re safe. Watching the news has been difficult. Harvey left unthinkable devastation in its wake. But there are heartwarming stories, too—lots of them—that prove the graciousness Read More »
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Putting the Park in Park(ing) Day
August 31, 2017Nothing brings parking professionals together quite like a day dedicated to — what else! — parking. Park(ing) Day — the annual worldwide experiment that transforms on-street parking spaces into temporary parks — falls on September 15 this year. From lawn games to coffee bars to yoga relays, there are endless Read More »
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Off-Campus Parkers have Campus Neighbors Seeing Red
August 30, 2017The University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) is fighting a not-uncommon challenge this school semester: Students are parking lots of cars in neighborhoods around campus instead of using on-campus options, angering local residents who say their streets are clogged as a result. The university built a new parking garage this Read More »
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Setting the Tone
August 29, 2017By Andy Mach If you’re like me, you understand the raised eyebrow you get when you tell people that you’re in the parking industry. What does that mean? A parking lot attendant? The parking lot attendant is just one of many parts in the overall parking experience, and many people Read More »
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Local Agencies and Mobility as a Service
August 28, 2017Mobility as a Service—a relatively new phrase that envelopes everything parking with everything transportation and mobility into packages offered by urban areas and municipalities—has a lot of people talking. What will autonomous vehicles do? What about increasing use of rideshare services, bikeshare programs, and mass transit? StateTech takes a look Read More »
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Anything But a Blank Space
August 25, 2017By Kim Fernandez Truth: There is no fury like the angst of a teenage girl when Taylor Swift goes dark and cryptic on social media. Corollary: I’m almost out of Aleve. The start of school was pushed back a week in Maryland this year and I’d been wondering what my Read More »
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We Are All Ambassadors
August 24, 2017By Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP This is one of the tensest times that I can remember. Regardless of your political, religious, or philosophical affiliation, across the country and across the world, the news seems to go from bad to worse every time I pick up my phone. The question I’ve been Read More »
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Cruising for Parking? The Picture is Changing
August 23, 2017Conventional wisdom says 30 percent of city traffic is made up of drivers cruising for parking. A recent study by students at the University of Washington found it may be a bigger percentage, at least in Seattle. There, they found, 35 percent of traffic is made up of cruisers. But Read More »
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Autonomous Vehicles and Parking Revenues
August 22, 2017By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I have been doing a great deal of research into the potential impacts of autonomous vehicles in the past few months, but a recent article caught my attention. The article in Governing magazine is titled, “How Driverless Cars Could Be a Big Problem for Cities.” Read More »
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Seven Ways to Guarantee a Great Presentation
August 21, 2017It’s industry presentation submission time! Author and speaker Stephen Key recently offered his seven top tips to make public speakers out of almost anyone—even if you’re among the majority of people who fear large presentations. Professional presenting, after all, is among the best ways to help advance the industry and Read More »
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Detailed or Visionary?
August 17, 2017By Mark Lyons, CAPP In managing your facilities or company, do you focus on managing details so the small things don’t become the big things? Or do you remain elevated at a visionary level? Author of the book Vertigo, W.G. Sebald proposed the notion that, “Tiny details imperceptible to us Read More »
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Future-Proofing
August 16, 2017If only we had a crystal ball. The future of parking, transportation, and mobility looks incredibly bright but details difficult to predict with so much changing all at once. Peter Merwin, who heads up mixed-use for Gensler, thinks parking will look very different in an age of autonomous vehicles and Read More »
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Are You a Better Customer?
August 15, 2017By Marlene Cramer, CAPP I recently passed by our Transportation and Parking Reception Center and heard a student employee say, “Wow, that customer just gave me a compliment. That NEVER happens!” The employee went on to comment that since she has worked for parking services, she has become a better Read More »
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Driverless? Or Dress-Up?
August 14, 2017A seemingly driverless van caught the rapt attention of much of Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago. But in the end, a guy disguised as the van’s seat was actually driving it, and it was all about the attention (in a good way…sort of). The guy playing dress-up as a Read More »
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Simple Anti-Stress Tricks
August 11, 2017By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Gather ‘round ye who are under stress—and who isn’t? I just discovered a life-changing way to rethink your approach to stress that will reduce its negative impacts on your health. Turns out that if you think stress is going to kill you, it just Read More »
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Invest in People; Invest in Operations
August 10, 2017Think professional development for employees is too expensive? An Inc. contributor says you’re thinking about it all wrong and that investing in classes and training for employees is among the best investments a business can make. To prove it, Andy Lothian, Scotland’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year, recently offered up Read More »
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Employee Appreciation Can Yield Unexpected Benefits
August 9, 2017By David Feehan I recently took my wife to lunch at a popular restaurant in downtown Silver Spring, Md. This restaurant has “eggs” in its name and my wife had a taste for steak and eggs. The menu had a steak item but not a steak and eggs item and Read More »
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Become a Parking Videographer
August 8, 2017By Victor A. Hill, MPA, CAPP Videos can help educate customers about your services and editing software makes it easier than ever to produce simple, effective videos you can share on your website and through social media. We created four videos to better explain our pay stations, smartphone app, and Read More »
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The Latest on Airport Parking Trends
August 7, 2017What effects are services such as Uber and Lyft having on airport parking? What are revenues doing given new travel mode trends? And which parking services and amenities are airports embracing to make customer experiences more positive and bump up the bottom line? The Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) and Read More »
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A New Tool for Parking Professionals
August 4, 2017By Shawn Conrad, CAE It’s been more than two months since the May 22 bombing near the exit of the Manchester Arena in England. This horrific attack occurred at the end of a concert attended largely by children. Nearly every day, a concert, ballgame, or event is held in one of Read More »
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Lifetime Learning
August 3, 2017By Sean Doran Continued education through the workplace is something I have learned to love. A formal education is nice, but I didn’t get the opportunity to pursue higher education after high school so I’ve always tried to learn something or take something away from every job. I started working Read More »
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Discovering Joy and Purpose
August 2, 2017Get up, pour coffee, workout, shower, go to work. Go home, make dinner, clean up, watch TV, go to bed. Repeat. Lots of people find themselves in this cycle, working to make ends meet and counting months and years until retirement. The luckier—and sometimes smarter— find ways to connect with Read More »
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A Place to Call Home
August 1, 2017By Jason M. Jones During 18 years of my parking and transportation career, I haven’t had an opportunity to call an office home. I started as a consultant for the state police and department of transportation, making recommendations about managing traffic and response during incidents and emergencies. Every day was Read More »
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Insta-what?
July 31, 2017Parking organizations are embracing social media for its marketing promise but one platform that remains a bit of a mystery is Instagram. Online business news magazine Inc., recently ran five ways to monetize the photo-driven platform for effective marketing: Create brand ambassadors. Listen and branch out. Use video (but skip Read More »
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Service Recovery After a Failure
July 28, 2017By Cindy Campbell Let’s face it: Poor service will occasionally happen. That’s a reality. We work in an industry that can suffer from both real and perceived service failures. A service failure can be defined as any service performance that fails to meet a customer’s expectations. While we cannot always Read More »
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Parking Services with a Final Intent in Mind
July 27, 2017By Thomas Hartley As I sat around the table after entering the university community, I wondered where my contemporaries in higher education stood in their approach to their customers (students in this case). Did they see them as I did–as an institution’s most vital asset requiring anticipation of needs, focus, Read More »
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Acceleration Through Engagement
July 26, 2017By Brett Wood, PE, CAPP I got into parking about 10 years ago by mishap—somebody at my company engaged me in a parking study. I realized parking was the career path I wanted to follow when I was accepted to present at the IPI Conference about one of my early Read More »
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The 5 Ps, or Prepare for Football Season!
July 25, 2017By Mark Lyons, CAPP I was privileged once to see the great college football coach Lou Holtz speak at an engagement where he talked about the importance of the 5 Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. He spoke about the struggles of meeting high expectations in the college football arena Read More »
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Parking, Mobility Play into Detroit Downtown Perceptions
July 24, 2017The Downtown Detroit Partnership surveyed 4,000 residents about their perceptions of the downtown area and—no surprise to IPI members—parking and mobility options played a big role in the results, released last week. While most residents said they felt safe downtown, they also said there was room for improvement in on-street Read More »
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Parklets, Eh?
July 21, 2017By Michelle W. Jones, CMP My first encounter with a parklet was in Raleigh, N.C. I still carry a business card in my notebook that explains, “A parklet is a way to extend the sidewalk, creating a public space for people to sit and relax in an urban area. Parklets Read More »
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Avoiding Cyberattacks in Parking
July 20, 2017By Erik Nelson, PCIP Cybersecurity is a topic-du-jour and you may be thinking “I’m PCI-compliant, so I’m in good shape!” There is a lot more to good information security than meeting PCI standards and protecting credit cards. As recent ransomware attacks have shown, if data has value to someone, hackers Read More »
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Growth, Opportunity, and Success
July 19, 2017Roamy Valera, CAPP, credits his reputation as an industry leader, savvy businessman, and visionary, at least in part, to having worked his way up the parking ladder. IPI’s new chair got his start as a parking enforcement officer and quickly saw the potential of turning his job into a career. Read More »
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The Suburban Free Parking Conundrum
July 18, 2017By David M. Feehan As suburban areas seek to become more urbanized, the question of whether to charge for parking has become more difficult and conflicted. I’m working with two suburban business districts in the Washington-Baltimore area, and both have for decades offered customers free parking. Now, as each seeks Read More »
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Got Modes? You’re Probably Healthier
July 17, 2017Multi-modal transportation and cities that encourage it through smart design and offering several choices of getting-around methods are greener and seemingly the wave of the future, but it turns out that they also make us healthier. A study released last week found that people in metro areas with lots of Read More »
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Sprechen Zie Parking?
July 14, 2017By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C Everyone knows what a parking space is, right? And everyone knows what it means to pay for parking—in essence, a price or rate. But did you know that individual agencies and companies may define a “space” differently? There are very precise, and often Read More »
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Real Progress in the Search for Parking
July 13, 2017Someone probably slid it across your desk yesterday: A new study by INRIX found drivers still spend a lot of time searching for parking and paying for parking they don’t necessarily use. But what the news stories didn’t say is how much progress is being made by the parking and Read More »
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Adapting
July 12, 2017By Bill Gavin From the moment I started my parking journey one thing was clear: I would need to adapt. I am from Chicago and the day I moved to Houston to work for Winpark, my adaptability was put to the test. As I was moving my things from the Read More »
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Are You Keeping Top Talent Engaged?
July 11, 2017By Vicki Pero, SPHR The Gallup organization recently released their latest State of the American Workforce Report, and a shocking 21 percent of employees who participated strongly agree their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work. It can be especially challenging to keep top-performing Read More »
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A Parking Study with an Edge
July 10, 2017The City of Pittsburg, Kan., will soon have the results of a new parking study, but it’s not your average parking study. This one’s being done by MBA students at Pittsburg State University, and some say that gives it a little bit of an edge. The students conducted an online Read More »
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The Dog Days
July 7, 2017By Kathleen Federici, MEd We are all professionals and work 12 months of the year. But why do we have to work in the summer months? This is especially difficult when you live somewhere it is dark, cold, and snowy more than is it bright, warm, and sunny! Aaah, summer. Read More »
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Networking: Are You Doing it Right?
July 6, 2017Extroverts find networking with strangers a joy, while the thought of it strikes dread into the hearts of introverts around the world. But one expert says there’s a way to both overcome the fear and ensure your networking efforts don’t go to waste—and even the extroverts are likely doing it Read More »
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You Heard Him: The Toughest Job on Campus
July 5, 2017By Josh Cantor As I’ve written about before, we at George Mason University just outside Washington, D.C., get our share of high-profile visitors, including presidents, vice presidents, U.S. Supreme Court justices, senators, candidates, and foreign heads of state. In late April, former Vice President Joe Biden visited us as part Read More »
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Private Parking Meters Appear in Tourist Town
July 3, 2017Annapolis, Md., is known for its quaint waterfront, outstanding dining and shopping, and sometimes, its lack of obvious, available parking options. Now, some owners of private lots are installing parking meters for visitors to use after business hours and on weekends, when the businesses are closed and the lots can Read More »
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South Korea Embraces the Hyperloop
June 29, 2017Lots is being said about the future of urban transportation and now another country has jumped in to start building a new infrastructure to fulfill its vision. South Korea has partnered with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to build a hyperloop, super-fast train system that’s projected to cut a three-hour car commute Read More »
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A Different Take on Diversity in Parking
June 28, 2017By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I recently read “The Role of Minority Executives in the Parking Industry” in The Parking Professional. Author Raymond Mensah, CAPP, says, “Research has shown that diversity in the workplace drives innovation, makes recruitment easier, avoids high turnover, captures more of the market, increases adaptability, provides Read More »
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The Future of Driving: A Picture
June 27, 2017What’s the future of driving? That is, as they say, the $50 million question. Ohio University put together a handy infographic with some of the details. Among their findings: 61 percent of current drivers want at least some semi-autonomous features in their next cars. Lane departure warning systems top their Read More »
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University of Michigan Goes Driverless
June 26, 2017University of Michigan North Campus students will ride on driverless shuttles this fall as part of the Mcity public-private partnership to advance mobility and related technologies. The fully-automated, 15-passenger, electric shuttles will run on a two-mile route around campus, guided by a lidar system that uses laser beams to build Read More »
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Win-Win: Donations for Citations
June 23, 2017By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Whether you call them Food for Fines or Donations for Citations* programs, the concept of creating an annual event where people can pay off tickets in a way that benefits communities is a win-win. The charity recipient benefits, those with citations feel good paying Read More »
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Ready for the Blockchain?
June 22, 2017The key to shared mobility, writes Fast Company, may be the blockchain. What the heck is that? It’s a decentralized ledger shared by thousands of computers that tracks transactions in blocks. Every transaction creates a block that links to the block before and after it, and all changes are recorded Read More »
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Ralph Kramden Would Have Loved Parking
June 21, 2017By Shawn Conrad, CAE I’ve always been intrigued by the phrase, “a busman’s holiday,” which typically relates to someone spending their day off doing something very similar to his or her normal workday, like a bus driver on his holiday riding along with a friend on a bus. I used Read More »
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Parking Shortage Threatens Island Communities
June 20, 2017People who live on islands in Casco Bay, Maine, rely on a ferry to get back and forth to Portland, where many work and do all of their shopping and business. But a tightening mainland parking market, they say, threatens everything about the way they live. Development in Portland and Read More »
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Parking: A Great Idea of New Urbanism
June 19, 2017Imagine listing the 25 greatest ideas that have influenced cities, towns, and suburbs. Parking would be on our list but does it make the cut for others? As it turns out, yes (hooray!). Public Square, a publication from the Congress of New Urbanism, thinks parking is a huge influence on Read More »
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When Government Gets Involved (Not Always a Bad Thing)
June 16, 2017By Mark A. Vergenes The Pennsylvania Parking Association’s (PPA’s) members recently persuaded District 13 State Senator Scott Martin and District 22 State Senator John Blake to co-sponsor legislation that will allow many towns and cities throughout the state to assign enforcement and administration of parking laws to their parking authorities. Read More »
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More Paid Parking in D.C.
June 15, 2017Visitors to Washington, D.C., have traditionally clamored for free on-street parking around the National Mall and the Tidal Basin. That came to an end this week with the introduction of paid parking and a three-hour daytime limit on those spaces. The National Park Service said through a spokesman they hope Read More »
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A Bridge to … Somewhere
June 14, 2017By Casey Jones, CAPP Our eldest son just finished his sophomore year in high school and we’re having a lot of discussions these days about his college plans and what he has to do now to put himself in the best possible spot when application time comes. Should he take Read More »
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How to “Lean In” Without Falling on Your Face
June 13, 2017By Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP Like many professional women, I rushed out to buy and read Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. The main premise of Sandberg’s book is that to be successful, women need to more actively “lean in”—lean in so they Read More »
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University Innovation and Parking
June 12, 2017What to do when campus parking permit prices feel steep for a student’s budget and one can’t just leave a vehicle on neighborhood streets? At Arizona State University (ASU) the answer appears to be to come up with a new system. That’s exactly what two students just did and the Read More »
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Day One: Education Packed
June 9, 2017By Cindy Campbell I’ve had a week to reflect on the IPI Conference & Expo held in New Orleans. As a former university parking director, the IPI Conference was always a time of professional renewal. After all these years, it still has that same effect on me. My first IPI Read More »
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What Would You Do?
June 8, 2017Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) found itself in the news this week when it asked university employees and students to park at remote lots and shuttle in for a week while the campus hosted several high school graduations. One employee complained to the local media that she pays $75 per month Read More »
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Zero-Occupant Vehicles?
June 7, 2017By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP From an urban transport perspective, what is potentially worse than the dreaded single-occupant vehicle? The answer may be a zero-occupant vehicle! In the most recent Mobility Lab newsletter, Howard Jennings, managing director, discusses the potential impacts to communities and traffic systems autonomous vehicles might have. Read More »
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Customer Service and the News
June 6, 2017By Alex Smith In the past two months, the airline industry has come under intense scrutiny from its customers, the public, and even Congress for how it has handled customer-service issues. Every time one of these major events has occurred, they generally are plastered all over the evening news and Read More »
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Great Thoughts on Success
June 5, 2017All hail Monday (if a little sleepily): The fresh face of a new week, loads of potential ahead, and the chance for a new beginning if only on the calendar. What better day of the week to contemplate success? We thought we’d share five quotes from five great thinkers (Condoleeza Read More »
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Bottle Caps, Duct Tape, and Leaping Roadblocks
June 2, 2017By Kim Fernandez My daughter, like, I’m betting, many of your kids, has been hounding me for weeks to buy her a fidget spinner—this year’s biggest toy fad. Having survived the Rainbow Loom and affiliated rubber shrapnel in every crevice of the house, Zhu Zhu pets, Silly Bandz, and a Read More »
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Mobility Incubator Welcomes its First Two Members
June 1, 2017Jaguar Land Rover this week chose the first two startups to be part of its new transportation and mobility incubator project. The incubator, based on Portland, Ore., plans to work with about 120 startups in the next 10 years—six at a time—with a goal of developing new innovations in mobility Read More »
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Avoid, Shift, Improve
May 31, 2017By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I recently read “How Do We Get Urban Transport to Deliver on Global Climate Targets?” on the Citiscope website. The feature was written by Cornie Huizenga, Mark Major, and Karl Peet and focuses on strategies to reduce the impacts of urban transport systems (of which Read More »
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NYC, the Teachers’ Union, and Parking
May 30, 2017We’re all used to seeing familiar hot buttons when cities and teachers’ unions negotiate. Professional days, teacher-to-student ratios, healthcare benefits, and numbers of classes per instructor rarely make headlines anymore. But parking? New York Mayor Bill De Blasio made big headlines when he gave 50,000 city parking permits to teachers, Read More »
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Robotic Parking—Literally
May 26, 2017Parking professionals hear about robotic parking and picture garages equipped to lift and place cars with specialized equipment. But robotic parking is about to get literal: Stanley Robotics recently raised $4 million to begin producing actual robots that will park cars in facilities without automated infrastructures. The robots will be Read More »
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Until We Meet Again…
May 25, 2017So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen! We had a great time with thousands of parking professionals in New Orleans this week—thanks for joining us for the 2017 IPI Conference & Expo! We hope you learned as much, networked as much, and had as much fun as we did. Mark your calendars Read More »
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Autonomous = Fewer Cars? Not So Fast
May 24, 2017Autonomous vehicles, some say, will help take cars off the road, unclogging streets and helping meet sustainability goals. But a study released by the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy and University of California Davis says it’s going to take a lot more than one revolution to get there. In Read More »
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Tech and Trends and Challenges: The Experts Look Toward the Future
May 23, 2017What’s the future of parking, transportation, and mobility, especially with so much new technology and so many trends coming toward the industry? That was the topic of Monday’s General Session at the 2017 IPI Conference & Expo, and the expert panel did not fail to impress and intrigue the audience. Read More »
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The New Networking
May 22, 2017It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. We’ve all heard it and conventional wisdom generally holds true—a huge key to getting ahead in our careers is networking. Inc. came out with three networking strategies that really work and we thought they were so great we’d pass them along. Read More »
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In Memoriam: Robert Bundy, CAPP
May 19, 2017Robert Bundy, CAPP, co-founder of what would become IPI, passed away May 8 at his home in Toronto. Bundy was valedictorian of his class at Riverdale Collegiate Institute. He volunteered for service with the Royal Canadian Navy, serving as an officer aboard several destroyers and the aircraft carrier HMS Furious; Read More »
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No Parking … on the Dance Floor, That Is
By Michelle W. Jones, CMP In 1984, for my 17th birthday, I got a new stereo—with a cassette player—for my car. Up until that point, my 1973 Volkswagen Beetle (aka the Mishmobile) boasted a boom box on the front seat. (And “air conditioning” was really just the vent windows pointed Read More »
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Parking Matters—Even to Apple
May 18, 2017Apple’s behemoth new corporate headquarters, built to the vision of the late Steve Jobs, is making a lot of headlines for its design, technology and overall coolness. Apple Park, as it’s called, is like something out of a science fiction novel, with futuristic shapes and spaces and tunnels and an Read More »
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Development as Investment
May 17, 2017By Mary Mabry, CAPP “If you are not willing to invest in yourself, how can you expect someone else to invest in you?” I heard that phrase once from a mentor and it has stuck with me my entire career. It made me realize that not only did I need Read More »
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Safety: No Time Like the Present
May 16, 2017By Mark Wright How long are you willing to wait for technology to solve a stubborn parking-safety problem? Five years? A lifetime? California Assembly member Bill Quirk had an easy answer: the seconds it took for a car to crash through the front wall of a childcare center. The incident Read More »
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California Lawmaker Proposes Handicap Parking Reform Measures
May 15, 2017After a nearly year-long audit of its disabled parking permit program, California may implement strict new processes designed to curb permit abuse, at least if one lawmaker gets his way. State Sen. Jerry Hill last week introduced legislation that would require the state department of motor vehicles to conduct quarterly Read More »
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Finding the Uncommon
May 12, 2017By Kathleen Federici, MEd Each day we set out with our daily list of scheduled meetings and tasks to accomplish. This seems mundane and rote. But each day when we say yes to experiencing something new, we have the opportunity to find something uncommon in common tasks. Recently, we had Read More »
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Valet with No Dings or Dents
May 11, 2017By Jerry Mauboules Would you believe a valet operator telling you they had no paid damage claims in a year? What about two years? When I began my career in parking, the first facility I worked was an 800-space, all-valet location in downtown Houston that operated 24/7/365. The operation consisted Read More »
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An Exciting Time to Work in Parking
May 10, 2017It’s an age-old problem: not enough desirable parking spaces to accommodate every driver who wants one. The difference now is the variety, creativity, and sheer quantity of solutions to the problem. In-car apps built right into the dashboard enable drivers to find the closest parking space. Mobile apps aim to Read More »
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How to Build a Parking Yield Management Strategy
May 9, 2017By Errol Gayle Are you certain you’re getting the maximum revenue from your parking rates? A yield management strategy like those used by airlines and hotels allows parking facilities to set the right price for the right driver at the right time. Here are the building blocks for yield management: Read More »
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Leveling the Parking Citation Field for Low-Income Drivers
May 8, 2017A $200 parking ticket means a lot more to someone earning $25,000 per year than someone making four times that amount. San Francisco Treasurer Jose Cisneros says parking fees and fines are taking a huge chunk out of working-class family budgets and he wants to change his city’s parking citation Read More »
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Practicing the Hand-Off
May 5, 2017By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C The Penn Relays, the oldest and largest track and field competition in this country, has been hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Our elementary school-aged kids are invited to participate as a part of Read More »
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Royal Jelly and Your Career
May 4, 2017By Frank Giles We’ve all heard the phrase “as busy as a bee” but why do we think of bees as busy? As an employee, one would hope to have the work ethic of the noble honey bee; always on time, always on task, and always a team player. There Read More »
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The Untold Story of Paid Parking in Vegas
May 3, 2017There was lots to consider when Las Vegas’s storied casinos began charging for parking late last year. From rates to occupancy to public relations, the move to paid parking made headlines around the world. The story you haven’t heard, however, is about all the technology needed to make the shift Read More »
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High-Impact Customer Service
May 2, 2017By Julyanne Long My career in parking started at a hospital valet. It was a new operation that was “temporary during construction.” Needless to say, hospital construction and reduced parking brought a lot of unhappy customers. We were parking about 300 cars per day, rain or shine. After the patients Read More »
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MODern Parking
May 1, 2017Adaptive re-use, which involves designing parking garages so they can be shifted into other uses in time, is a hot topic, albeit somewhat abstract. Enter Andy Cohen, co-CEO of Gensler architecture, Washington, D.C. He’s not only embraced the concept but illustrated it with the MOD, a still fictional but fully-designed Read More »
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Sustainability: Your Role
April 28, 2017By Brian Shaw, CAPP Earth Day gives us an opportunity each spring to reflect and consider the health of our planet. As the largest, most complex system humans directly affect, the earth has been changed by our actions and deeds. However, as improvement in our air and water quality, recovery Read More »
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Planning Your Lighting Retrofit
April 27, 2017By Catherine Kendig As LED technology ushers in a breadth of new features for commercial parking applications, taking the right approach to planning a successful energy efficient retrofit can become an impactful part of your larger sustainability goals. With the right design, a simple swap-out of fixtures stands out. Whether Read More »
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Heart Over Head
April 26, 2017By Ron Steedly, CAPP Last week, Texas A&M University had “A Day To Ride,” our branded version of bike to work/school day (we like to have it while the students are on campus rather than in May when no one is around). We tie it to our Earth Week celebrations Read More »
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It’s in Our Hands
April 25, 2017By Paul Wessel Physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson made a powerful plea for the power of science in a Facebook post last week. In a passionate video, he laid out how science has made us great: One of the great things about science is that it is an entire exercise in Read More »
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Earth Day
April 24, 2017By Irma Henderson, CAPP In celebration of Earth Day that occurred this past Saturday, this week’s blog series is dedicated to sustainability in parking. During the past 40 years, 85 percent of Americans have driven their cars to work every day and most cars are parked 95 percent of the Read More »
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Dead Heat
April 21, 2017By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Anyone who follows racing—horses, cars, sprinters—knows it’s a dead heat when two or more in a race finish in a tie. Now that I’m in parking, the term has a far more disturbing connotation. I think of deadly heat—the kind that can build up Read More »
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Parking and the Friendly Skies
April 20, 2017By Josh Cantor By now, most have seen the troubling video of the United Airlines flight in which a passenger was dragged off the plane as officers “re-accommodated” four passengers to make room for flight crew needing to get to Louisville. Watching the video made me think of several things Read More »
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Patriots’ Stadium Among the Safest in the NFL
April 19, 2017Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, boasts the highest level of antiterrorism security standards awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The stadium, which has more than 65,000 seats, is the first sports or entertainment venue in New England and only the fourth in the NFL Read More »
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Netflix Gets it Wrong
April 18, 2017By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Netflix is making a big mistake in airing its new 13-episode drama, “13 Reasons Why.” The series is based on a book by Jay Asher that chronicles a young teen who ultimately commits suicide. There is a graphic depiction of the suicide in the Read More »
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Offering Solutions for Elon Musk’s Parking Problem
April 17, 2017Tesla, widely regarded as the maker of a very advanced automobile, has a serious parking problem. The company’s 6,000 employees make cars specifically designed to make driving easier and greener, but battle for 4,500 parking spaces. It’s a little awkward. The Mobilizing the Region blog, which normally focuses on sustainable Read More »
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Building a Bridge to Fill a Pothole
April 14, 2017By Shawn Conrad, CAE As a representative from the 18th congressional district of Illinois, Ray LaHood knew a large number of phone calls his staff received focused on filling potholes. Sixteen years—including a stint as U.S. secretary of transportation under President Obama—later, Secretary LaHood is still lamenting about potholes, both Read More »
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Developing Future Leaders
April 13, 2017The college internship: Every student wants one and many companies would like to offer meaningful experiences, but confusion on both sides of the process can lead to internships that aren’t fulfilling for anyone. In this month’s The Parking Professional, FINFROCK Executive Vice President Lloyd Kennedy explains why his company’s internship Read More »
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Power’s Out, Is Anyone Home?
April 12, 2017By Jessica Garcia Day in and day out, we run our facilities to the best of our abilities. Sporadically, something transpires that really challenges us. Imagine this scenario: your garage loses power … on a Friday morning … during the middle of rush hour! It happened to us. We had Read More »
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First-Day Parking Lessons from Campus
April 11, 2017By Linda Velazquez University of Buffalo Parking and Transportation Services shifts into high customer service gear as we welcome students back to campus each fall. Ticket writers become information ambassadors and during that first week, give out more directions than parking tickets while stationed at the entrances to some of Read More »
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MARTA Tests Website for Parking
April 10, 2017The highway bridge collapse in Atlanta earlier this month forced lots of commuters to rethink the way they get to work and around town, and many started using public transportation for the first time. While the city’s MARTA train system performed well, parking became a challenge—there wasn’t enough for everyone Read More »
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Seeing and Being Seen in Japan: It’s All about the Parking Lot
April 7, 2017If you’ve got it, flaunt it, and that’s exactly what happens in what news reports have called “the craziest parking lot in Japan”—definitely the place to see and be seen if you’re the proud owner of a luxury vehicle. The Daikoku Futo parking lot lights up at night, when car Read More »
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When Parking Becomes Personal
April 6, 2017By Ke’Shawna Walker I have been a part of the wonderful world of parking for a little more than three months now. Previously, I worked in a downtown office building, which is how I was introduced to the parking world. Tourists, new employees, and visitors came to my desk asking Read More »
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Atlanta’s Bridge Collapse Puts Mobility Front and Center
April 5, 2017By Kim Fernandez Last week’s fiery bridge collapse in Atlanta was top news all around the country, but the real story may end up being a new appreciation for—and much more use of—mass transit in and around the city. “It was nuts,” says Mark Vergenes, chair of the Lancaster (Pa.) Read More »
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When a Parking Attendant Retires
April 4, 2017There’s a smaller guy in this year’s Arizona Coyotes pro hockey team photo who’s never played pro hockey. He has, however, played a pivotal role in the team’s success. Meet Lou Monaco, age 90, who recently retired after 20 years parking players’ cars in the team lot—and whose absence will Read More »
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Play Ball!
April 3, 2017By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP Most of us grow up loving to play in the snow, but as parking professionals, many of us are responsible for removing snow from our sidewalks, ramps, and roofs. The fun days of making snow angels, sledding, and snowball fights are a distant memory, replaced Read More »
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Saying Yes
March 31, 2017By Kim Fernandez My camera’s on/off switch went wonky a few weeks ago—I had to hold it in the “on” position with my finger to take photos. It was a 2015 Christmas gift and two months out of warranty (of course) and the repair-shop estimate came back at nearly half Read More »
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Arugula, Focaccia, and a Battery Charge?
March 30, 2017By David M. Feehan Recently, I pulled into the parking lot of the Whole Foods in Columbia, Md. The lot appeared full except for a couple of spaces close to the door. Then I noticed the signs: These spaces are reserved for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. I drive a Read More »
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Most Americans Fear Fully Self-Driving Cars
March 29, 2017Automakers and tech companies promise autonomous vehicles will reduce traffic accidents and fatalities. But what if motorists are scared of the very thing that’s supposed to make them safer? According to a new AAA survey, three in four Americans said they’re afraid to ride in a fully self-driving vehicle and Read More »
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Municipal Parking Forum and Workshop in Virginia
March 28, 2017By Robert Fries, CAPP Come join the Parking Association of the Virginias’ Municipal Parking Forum and Spring Workshop on April 27 and 28 at the downtown Fredericksburg Marriott Hotel. The Municipal Parking Forum will be held April 27 and admittance is free! Topics will focus on parking enforcement, creating a Read More »
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Netflix, Pandora, Cars, and the Future
March 27, 2017What Netflix and Pandora have done for movies and music, Cadillac is trying to do for automobiles. Its new Book by Cadillac service offers up to 18 car swaps a year to subscribers who pay a monthly $1,500 fee. A similar membership service by Chevrolet lets members drive a Tahoe Read More »
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Is Strategic Planning Professional or Personal? YES!
March 24, 2017By Michelle W. Jones, CMP On Wednesday, IPI’s management team had its quarterly strategic planning meeting. As many of you know, a strategic planning session is an occasion to see where you are on your course. What’s working? What could be improved? What do we want to accomplish in the Read More »
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Boots on the Ground
March 23, 2017By Nicole Chinea, CAPP I recently had the opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with our valet teams. One of these visits was on a Friday morning when the sun was shining bright in Houston and air was crisp. I have always loved getting back in the field but my takeaways Read More »
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Tale of Three Cities
March 22, 2017By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Tale of Three Cities: Smarter Approaches to Parking Boost Revenue and Facilitate Economic Development—that’s the headline for a wonderful piece in American City and County magazine’s Smart Cities series. Read it here. We’re delighted the magazine worked with IPI to share the story of Read More »
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Stella! (Not From “A Streetcar Named Desire”)
March 21, 2017By Bridgette Brady, CAPP Everything came to a grinding halt, including most modes of transportation, in Central New York last week due to the storm so lovingly referred to as Stella. Snow days are enjoyed by many—children get a few days off from school, classes are cancelled at universities, and Read More »
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Parking Matters in Aurora, Colo.
March 20, 2017By Casey Jones, CAPP Starting a parking program from scratch is perhaps one of the more difficult tasks facing a parking professional. Add on implementing license plate recognition, a neighborhood parking permit program, pay-by-plate, and pay-by-phone, and you are talking about a monumental challenge. This is precisely what Robert Ferrin Read More »
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Irish Luck and Corporate Responsibility
March 17, 2017By Kathleen Federici, MEd. For any enlightened business, having a clearly defined approach to the effects of climate change, involvement with local communities, responsible and ethical business practices, and the creation of a quality workplace environment must be core parts of business strategy. And with a little luck, that will Read More »
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Study Finds Vehicle Ownership Rates Climbing
March 16, 2017We’ve all heard the rumors: Vehicle ownership is crashing and we’ve hit peak car. Well, not so fast—a researcher in the field says car ownership rates are actually climbing for the first time in a few years. Michael Sivak of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute found in a Read More »
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Parking in Louisville Goes Greener
March 15, 2017By Teri Morkunas, CAPP Last fall, the Parking Authority of River City (PARC), Ky., installed electronic charging stations for customers with electric vehicles. The stations are located at the Clay Commons Garage and the First and Main Garage. Each location has two charging stations. These locations were selected because the Read More »
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“Modern Family” Gets Barnacled, Parking Style
March 14, 2017Gather ‘round the T.V. this Wednesday night for the hit show “Modern Family,” which is about to showcase just how awesome parking enforcement really is. The Barnacle enforcement device—a finalist in last year’s IPI Park Tank competition—is the star of the show on this week’s episode, and if your friends Read More »
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Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Recognized by EPA
March 13, 2017Dallas Fort Worth International Airport last week was named a winner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Leadership Award for Organizational Leadership. This marks the first time an airport has been recognized two years in a row by the program, which recognizes leadership in responding to climate change and Read More »
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17.3
March 10, 2017By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP Do you know what 330,000 people in over 175 countries are doing this weekend? It’s called 17.3. And if you know a Crossfitter, chances are they have already told you about it (whether you wanted to hear about it or not). It’s called the Open Read More »
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First and Last Impressions
March 9, 2017By Shannon Mayfield I’ve worked in and around Class A office buildings for the past 15 years. During this time, I’ve seen changes to these buildings that range from new ceiling tile in the lobby to major renovations of a building’s façade. Big or small, these changes make a difference Read More »
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Oh, the Places You’ll Go
March 7, 2017By Vanessa Solesbee I travel a lot for work—a lot, a lot. Sometimes frequent travel has its perks: as I write this post, I’m sitting on a plane headed to the sunny beaches of Waikiki for a project site visit. However, sometimes I’m homesick before the plane even takes off, Read More »
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The Design of Future Carpooling
March 6, 2017What happens when private vehicles become a public resource? That’s the question addressed in a new project from IDEO, a global design firm that focused its creative and collaborative eye on driverless cars and carpools. Cars, they say, have always been designed for families and groups of friends. So what Read More »
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Ready for Your Close-Up?
March 3, 2017By Alaina Goldense In today’s unpredictable environment, you can never be too prepared for a crisis. For the parking industry, solid communication skills are your key to success. Be brave and take the opportunity to participate in Media Interview Coaching Training (offered by IPI in May—keep reading!). Learning critical skills Read More »
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Welcome Back to Parking!
March 2, 2017Remember navigating the parking permit process when you went to college? Remember how many tickets you probably received for parking in the wrong lot at the wrong time? Times have changed for the better—campus parking professionals go out of their way to help students get their permits painlessly and learn Read More »
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Stop Fighting Over Who Takes Out the Trash
March 1, 2017By Vicki Pero, SPHR Environmental sustainability has been important to me for most of my life and I’ve had the good fortune to participate in greening efforts personally and professionally. At the beginning of this year, I set a goal for myself to limit the amount of trash that I Read More »
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TED Talks and Parking and Mobility Pros
February 27, 2017The mighty TED Talk—about 15 minutes of brilliance, humor, and information we can use. They’re a great way to kick off the week—after all, who doesn’t love them? We sure do, and we featured five of our favorites in this month’s The Parking Professional—check out our list here. IPI member Read More »
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IPI Members Shine Among Best Workplaces for Commuters
February 24, 2017By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Check out the just-released list of colleges and universities that are among the larger list of Best Workplaces for Commuters published by the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida. The majority of the academic institutions on the list Read More »
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A Look Ahead: 2017 Transportation Technology Trends
February 23, 2017By Scott Reiser It’s not enough to say technology will be the next big trend to hit the parking and transportation industries. Rather, much of the talk at industry trade shows during the past year focused on how systems large and small will use technology in the year ahead to Read More »
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5 Things Every IPI Conference & Expo Newbie Should Know
February 22, 2017By Rita Pagan Last year I attended my first industry-related professional conference. No one gave me a pep talk or told me what to expect and I feel like I missed out on a ton not having some background. Here are five things I learned that other conference newbies might Read More »
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Seattle Redefines “Alternative Transportation”
February 21, 2017Job growth in Seattle is, obviously, seen as a good thing except for one concern: In a city with very little space for more cars, how are the people filling new jobs going to get around? They apparently figured it out. A new report by Commute Seattle finds that nearly Read More »
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Splitting Firewood and Words
February 17, 2017By Shawn Conrad, CAE I grew up in an environment where colloquial language was the norm. Actually, working on a farm during high school and college, the men and women I spent time with often used colloquial or informal phrases to make a point. One of my favorites was when Read More »
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Historic Town’s Business Owners Petition for On-Street Parking’s Return
February 16, 2017In the six months since a flash flood devastated historic Ellicott City, Md., 70 of 90 restaurants and shops have managed to reopen, but their owners say there’s a huge speed bump in the way of their success: on-street parking that’s still closed to visitors. Main Street, where most of Read More »
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All About Development
February 15, 2017By Robert Fries, CAPP One of Virginia Beach’s core parking goals is continuous training and ongoing education. We believe shared knowledge is one of the necessary traits to establish a high performing organizational culture that values people and the talent they bring every day. As part of Virginia Beach’s commitment Read More »
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Proactive vs. Reactive
February 14, 2017By Jason M. Jones While walking back to the office from a successful problem-solving site visit, I was stopped abruptly by a high-level university administrator. She’s having challenges with her reserved parking space and was having one at that particular moment. She thanked me for coming to see the situation Read More »
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Parking Technology Keeps Cops Safe
February 13, 2017Technology designed for parking may well be on its way to saving the lives of police officers around the U.S. Taking heed of an uptick in ambushes on police officers parked on the street, popular police-car manufacturer Dodge has repurposed its rear-facing ultrasonic parking sensors in cars made for law Read More »
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Epic and Legendary
February 10, 2017By Kim Fernandez It’s o’dark-thirty—6:15 a.m. in February–in an airport parking garage. There’s a sad, empty, disposable coffee cup in my left hand, a suitcase handle in my right (because the bag tips over if I let go), and I’m summoning every last ounce of patience on a crowded platform Read More »
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Parking Anxiety is Real
February 9, 2017By Victor A. Hill, CAPP, MPA Seriously. Google it and the first result is a blog post about anticipatory car park anxiety. So how do we mitigate it? Let’s start a conversation. I’m interested in common concerns expressed by customers and it would be great to hear from operations of Read More »
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Too Much Parking?
February 8, 2017The parking industry has come a long way as part of the greater transportation system, embracing its role in a multi-modal-focused, new way of thinking about the ways people get around. But has it already been overdone? A new study by Smart Growth America and Reid Ewing at the University Read More »
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The Super Bowl in Houston
February 7, 2017By Nicole Chinea, CAPP As I type the title of this post, the first thing that comes to mind is the old saying, “It takes a village.” Houston was home to the 2017 Super Bowl. Texas bleeds football and screamed with pride to host such an event. Upon selection more Read More »
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New Casino, New Parking, Old Cemetery
February 6, 2017Slot machines, card games, and a cemetery. In the middle of the parking lot. Odd? Yes, but also reality for the new del Lago Resort and Casino in New York, which had to build its parking around a generations-old cemetery the state said it couldn’t relocate. Now surrounded by a Read More »
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How’s the Weather?
February 3, 2017By Cindy Campbell Last November, IPI members were asked to participate in a survey about inclement weather. The responses were great! We learned a few new things (think generational communication preferences) and received members’ best advice from lessons learned. All in all, an interesting read. One of the most consistent Read More »
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Input Requested: Coordinating Downtown Parking Assets
February 2, 2017By David Hill, CAPP As we know, attitudes toward the use of personal vehicles are changing and most modern cities are actively pursuing methods of reducing automobile traffic and its related infrastructure. Where past practice has been to “build for future capacity” (build more parking stalls than are actually required), Read More »
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The Super Bowl and Your Operation
February 1, 2017By Nichole Crossland With the Super Bowl coming to Houston, everyone in the city is preparing to receive thousands of visitors and fans to our city. There is no better time for all us managing parking and transportation to shine. Here are some questions we should all be asking ourselves Read More »
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Phones and Parking: More than We Think
January 31, 2017By Matt Feagins What lies ahead in the intersection of mobile phones and their potential for good in the world of parking? A lot of people in parking are working on allowing the customer to use cell phones to facilitate payment. This is all well and good, but I am Read More »
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Smart Parking and Autonomous Vehicles
January 30, 2017Smart parking seems to be on everyone’s mind lately, even far beyond the parking industry. Navigant Research, which specializes in information about global clean technology markets, was featured in Forbes late last week for their research on how and why smart parking and automated technology will go hand-in-hand in the Read More »
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Reading and Eating Fortune Cookies
January 27, 2017By Kathleen Federici, MEd As the key contact person for all IPI Conference education, I have the super-cool job of seeing the titles of all proposed presentations before the selection committee. This year, we asked submitters to create a clever or compelling title that piques interest and describes the educational Read More »
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More from Our Experts
January 26, 2017IPI’s panel of experts answer a question in every issue of The Parking Professional. Here are some additional tidbits from a recent question—click here to see answers from the magazine. What’s your best strategy or tip for pricing parking for greatest efficiency and to balance availability and cost? Dan Kupferman, Read More »
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Proof: We Matter!
January 25, 2017By Liliana Rambo, CAPP During a recent training and development session for our managers, we decided to go out of the norm and expose them to areas of the parking, solicitation, and RFP process they do not get to deal with on a daily basis. The exercise was fun, engaging, Read More »
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365 Days Big Green
January 24, 2017By Dan Ciarcia Today’s parking owners are innovating to maximize financial and environmental value while providing higher levels of service to customers. Parking designers are crafting solutions that capitalize on location, community, and water and energy resources. Owners are also embracing multi-mobility, alternative fuels, cycling, and connectivity to the community. Read More »
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Autonomous Vehicles and the Moral Machine
January 23, 2017You’re driving down a busy city street when a child chases a ball into the road directly in front of you. You have a nanosecond to choose: Hit the child in the street or veer onto the sidewalk that’s teeming with people? Autonomous vehicles will face those sorts of choices, Read More »
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Presidents: Past, Present, Future
January 20, 2017By Michelle W. Jones, CMP Today is Inauguration Day and the D.C. Metro area is abuzz with activity and tons of visitors. Folks have been vigilant in their planning for transportation and parking. Some IPI members have been proactive in helping their customers have positive experiences on this overly congested Read More »
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Returning to Work After a Long Absence
January 19, 2017By Deara M. Person Today’s job market is extremely competitive. How can women who have separated from the workforce re-enter it? Re-entering the workforce after a long absence is challenging and women tend to face a multitude of hurdles when trying to return to work after family or medical leave. Read More »
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The (R)Evolution of Public Outreach
January 17, 2017By Vanessa Solesbee As parking professionals, engaging the communities we serve in meaningful dialogue about their parking preferences and experiences is an undeniably important of our work. Many of us have learned the hard way that if decisions are made behind closed doors, our proposed projects, policy recommendations, and/or initiatives Read More »
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A Video is Worth a Thousand Words
January 13, 2017Everyone loves a good video, right? They pop up on your Facebook feed, maybe shared by a friend who liked it, and we get to see and experience a slice of life. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and sometimes uplifting — the medium of video speaks to all of us, even Read More »
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Parking Management and Limiting Access
January 12, 2017By Gorm Tuxen There has always been a clear separation between private and public parking. Parking facilities have traditionally been either private and public—it has generally been difficult to permit private parking at certain times and public parking at other times in the same facility. However, modern vehicle access control Read More »
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Parking Lessons on the Fly
January 11, 2017Daniel Lassiter, CAPP, wasn’t thinking about work when he set out to teach his daughter how to fly fish, but it soon became apparent that the lessons of the river applied to parking as well: build trust, develop standards, organize, make decisions, delegate, take action, coach, and align performance for Read More »
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Turning of the Tables
January 10, 2017By Nicole Chinea, CAPP There have been three distinct paths of my parking career that have led me to my current position in this multifaceted and awesome industry. I was on the owner side for the majority of my career. This involved being the mover, shaker, decision-maker, and such. During Read More »
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Nobel? Here’s Your Parking Space.
January 9, 2017“You’ve won the Nobel Prize. What are you going to do now?” “Claim my reserved parking space!” Sound far-fetched? It’s actually not—check out this story about coveted reserved spaces for Nobel winners at the University of California, Berkeley. There’s a whole row of spots just for Nobel Laureates and they Read More »
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Cheerleaders and Free Parking
January 6, 2017By Bonnie Watts, CEM We’re just past the time of year where many of us rush to finish holiday shopping and errands and from one commitment to the next where businesses are hosting us at appreciation events and cocktail parties. The mailbox begins to fill up with greetings and expressions Read More »
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Moving Forward: The Next Big Idea
January 5, 2017By Stephanie Santoro What are the best ways to encourage and enable ridesharing among drivers? Smartphone apps? Eco-friendly vehicle incentives? Urban planning? Cooperative programs between public transportation and private vehicle owners? I know I’d be first in line to carpool with a work buddy who had the self-flying smart car Read More »
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Say It Loud, I Love Parking and I’m Proud!
January 4, 2017By Vanessa R. Cummings We parking professionals are unique in our passion for parking and transportation. We find ourselves more bothered by illegal parkers than the average person and do not follow the rationale of the perpetrators, who have stories as to why they were only parked for a few Read More »
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Art and the Garage: Baltimore
January 3, 2017Tiffany James, communications manager with the Parking Authority of Baltimore City, liked Robert Fries’s recent post about some great garage art in Virginia Beach so much that she sent us a note about her new installation up the highway. The parking authority installed a photographic mural outside a garage near Read More »
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Parking Makes Everything Better
December 30, 2016By Nichole Crossland I live in Houston, a city with a longstanding reputation for big trucks, long drives, and traffic jams. I grew up here and left in 2003 to pursue an environmental degree on the West Coast. To my pleasant surprise, when I returned in 2014, I came home Read More »
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What’s Your Good Health Worth?
December 29, 2016By Casey Jones, CAPP An epidural steroidal injection to the lumbar 5 sacral 1 area. That’s what my doctor prescribed to treat a tear in the tissue around a disk in my back. Probably from too much running, he said. As I lay waiting for the procedure to begin I Read More »
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From Toilet Paper to Heels
December 28, 2016By Vanessa Cummings, CAPP, M.Div. I recently had two separate experiences that reminded me parking is more than just about cars — it is about customer service. I was staying at a downtown hotel in Philadelphia a few weeks ago for a connectional (international) church conference. The meeting drew thousands Read More »
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What We Do
December 27, 2016It’s Greatest Hits week on the Parking Matters Blog. We hope you enjoy some highlights of the past year during the last week of 2016. Happy holidays! By Irma Henderson, CAPP Parking professionals often have difficulties explaining what we do to people on the outside. As it is, my family Read More »
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Survey Says…
December 23, 2016By Helen Sullivan Based on the tremendous number of responses to IPI’s Member Survey, if you are reading this post, you’ve probably taken the survey. Thank you! I have to admit I’m a bit of a marketing research nerd, and maybe this is embarrassing, but I’ve peeked at the survey Read More »
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Garage Technology in San Francisco
December 22, 2016By Frank Nagle A quandary for many municipalities with an aging transportation infrastructure—in this instance, public garages—is how to effectively integrate 21st century technology in to properties designed in the 20th century. Such is the case for the City & County of San Francisco. With several of its municipal garages Read More »
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Un-Parking Holiday Insanity
December 21, 2016By Pierre Koudelka I just purchased new cell phones for my wife and me for Christmas. At the store, the propaganda hasn’t changed. It starts with yelling that these new phones are clearer, faster, brighter, have better sound, take clearer pictures, offer the best apps. It’s the same baloney they Read More »
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Holiday Spirit on the Lot
December 20, 2016Searching for a little holiday spirit? Look no further than the Huffington Post UK and their story about what happened this week in a parking lot. Seems a driver had only one option—to park very close to another car. Fearing retribution, the driver left a note on the unoccupied vehicle Read More »
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Abu Dhabi Considers High-Tech Enforcement
December 19, 2016Parking offenders in Abu Dhabi might soon face a little high-tech enforcement thanks to Mawaqif, which manages parking in the United Arab Emirates city. They’re considering installing sensors and cameras that will record when drivers stay in parking spaces past their paid time. Currently in the planning stages, the system Read More »
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Negative Stories and Us
December 16, 2016By Shawn Conrad, CAE While traveling on the West Coast recently, I tuned in to a local radio station in time to catch the morning chatter, which was about—what else?—parking. The conversation wasn’t focused on parking availability or pricing, but instead about an individual parking attendant. The disc jockeys/dee-jays (are Read More »
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Parking Isn’t Going Anywhere (a Contest)
December 15, 2016By Stephanie Santoro People are attached to their cars. When I was a kid, my dad treated his classic vehicles with such care, you’d think they were giant, rare gems. Even though he has dialed it back a notch these days and has reduced his fleet to one vehicle—a very Read More »
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CAPP? Recertify by December 31
December 14, 2016By Lauri Chudoba The deadline to renew your CAPP certification is quickly approaching and we want to make sure you’re aware of what needs to be done – before it’s too late! First, you’ll want to download the CAPP Recertification Guidelines to know what you need to have to recertify. Read More »
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Conquering Your Fear of Writing
December 13, 2016By Kathleen Laney You are not alone. It’s a common fear. There is even a name for it—Scriptophobia. Often a result of previous unpleasant experiences, the fear of writing can creep deep into your psyche. You worry you will be rejected, ridiculed, criticized or embarrassed. Perhaps you think a reader Read More »
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Got Lot? Save a Life
December 12, 2016What if your parking lot could save a teenager’s life? That’s the potential behind the B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe) program, which uses parking lots around the country to give teen drivers hands-on experience under the watchful eyes of race car drivers, law enforcement officers, and other experts Read More »
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California Embraces Pedestrian Safety Legislation
December 9, 2016By Cindy Campbell California state lawmaker Bill Quirk was recognized by the California Public Parking Association during its recent annual conference, where the CPPA named him 2016 Legislator of the Year. CPPA lauded Quirk for his work on legislation that allows insurers to offer a discount on a property owner’s Read More »
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Oh What Fun!
December 8, 2016When the Today Show decides to dress up and spread holiday cheer, what costume do they pick? A parking professional, of course! Host Hoda Kotb geared up as a parking enforcement officer and handed out lots of fun “tickets” to unsuspecting New Yorkers this morning, with terrific results. Check out Read More »
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Better Tech, Better Management
December 7, 2016By Dave Hill, CAPP I have worked for a lot of people in my career—some pretty smart and some less so—but I have learned something from each of them. One of my bosses told me once, “You cannot manage what you cannot measure,” and that has stuck with me. When Read More »
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Art and the Garage: A New Take
December 6, 2016By Robert Fries, CAPP We can all agree that parking garages can be utilitarian, stark, and visually unappealing at times. Whether it is design, cost constraints, or construction limitations, function can override form and result in a structure without its own unique character or a lively and inviting sense of place. Read More »
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Parking Guidance for Santa’s Sleigh: There’s an App for That
December 5, 2016’Tis the season for shopping, merriment, and packed parking lots. Some shopping centers and municipalities are taking matters into their own hands, launching seasonal apps to help customers find parking. Rivertown Crossings Mall in Grandville, Mich., added a parking feature to its app this month to help shoppers find parking Read More »
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A Place to Lay Your Head in New Orleans
December 2, 2016By Michelle W. Jones, CMP Many of you will remember that the IPI Conference & Expo held earlier this year in Nashville oversold its sleeping room block until the hotel was completely sold out. While it’s great to fill our contracted sleeping room block, we don’t want our attendees having Read More »
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More From Our Experts
December 1, 2016IPI’s panel of experts answer a question in every issue of The Parking Professional. Here’s a recent question and some great answers—check out more here. We hear a lot about shared parking, especially in urban areas. How is it actually working? Leonard T. Bier, CAPP, JD Principal Bier Associates Shared Read More »
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Parking Goes to the Horses
November 30, 2016By Faith Altman The Lancaster County Amish are the oldest and largest Amish settlement in the U.S. The Old Order Amish generally live in the southern end of Lancaster County. When traveling through this area, you seem to step back in time and enjoy a much slower pace—the horse and Read More »
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Parking Garage as Art Canvas
November 29, 2016By Lauren Nelson It took a bit of persuasion but a beautiful mural in an usually overlooked area is becoming a tourist attraction. Garage placemaking is a trend sweeping the parking industry. Stimulated by the green garage movement Parksmart, the idea of placemaking helps people see the garage as part Read More »
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Illinois Launches Crackdown on Parking Violators
November 28, 2016The holiday shopping season has officially kicked off and that means more demand for parking at malls and in busy downtown areas. In Illinois, it also means a crackdown on illegal users of parking spaces reserved for the disabled. Secretary of State Jesse White announced stepped-up enforcement efforts throughout the Read More »
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Got Lighting? DOE Needs 10 Minutes
November 23, 2016IPI members are invited to participate in a 10-minute questionnaire to provide data about parking garage and lot lighting inventory to the U.S. Department of Energy Solid-State Lighting Program. Data will be part of the next update to the Lighting Market Characterization, which provides an estimated lighting inventory of installed Read More »
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Access Parking
November 22, 2016By Donald Shoup The most emotional topic in transportation planning is parking. When it comes to parking, rational people quickly become emotional and staunch conservatives turn into ardent communists. Critical and analytic faculties seem to shift to a lower level when thinking about parking. Some people strongly support market prices—except Read More »
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Buckle Up Travelers: Delays Ahead
November 21, 2016Traveling this Thanksgiving holiday? At least one travel analytics expert is warning U.S. drivers they may have a long road ahead. INRIX last week released its annual Thanksgiving traffic forecast, which says drivers may be less than thankful for all their neighbors on the road this year. According to the Read More »
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What University Business Officers are Reading
November 18, 2016By Helen Sullivan Parking Matters® to the National Association of University Business Officers (NACUBO). The cover story of a recent issue of their magazine, Business Officer, features an article chock-full of quotes and references to IPI members and our Emerging Trends in Parking Survey. The article conveys important pro-parking messages Read More »
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Wonks Recognize Parking Professionals’ Value
November 17, 2016By Paul Wessel An academic transportation journal from the University of California Transportation Center and the University of California Center on Economic Competitiveness argues that how we manage parking is as, or perhaps more, important than how much parking we have. Richard Willson, professor and chair of urban and regional Read More »
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The Struggle is Real
November 16, 2016By Amy Zaid With all the new and upcoming technology in the parking industry you might think something simple wouldn’t be hard to find! In July 2016, we automated an event-driven garage in Houston, Texas. We primarily intended to increase revenue, reduce costs, and enhance the tenant and visitor parking Read More »
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Parking Smarter (and Greener)
November 15, 2016By Brian Shaw, CAPP As the U.S. attempts to heal and come together following a contentious and acrimonious presidential election, the parking industry offers an inspiring example of how two opposing sides can reconcile and come together. You may remember a few years ago when the United States Green Building Read More »
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Parking Attendant Causes a Stir
November 14, 2016Social media accounts in Coalisland, Ireland, and local-road traffic went a little crazy last Thursday as drivers slowed down, pointed at, photographed, and documented … a parking warden. Why? Because they couldn’t remember seeing one in a very long time. Coalisland was discovered to be a bit of a parking-enforcement Read More »
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Thanking our Veterans
November 11, 2016By Kathleen Federici, MEd Growing up in a house with a father who was in the Navy was interesting. I got to hear the stories and re-live the patriotic duties my dad was assigned. He was one of the Navy crew aboard the USS Lake Champlain aircraft carrier commissioned June Read More »
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EV Infrastructure to Get Massive Charge
November 10, 2016The White House this week announced plans to launch 48 electric vehicle (EV) charging networks in 35 states and along 25,000 miles of highway, while 28 states are teaming up with major vehicle manufacturers and EV service providers to boost charging availability elsewhere on those corridors. Several other states also Read More »
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Committee Work: Finding the Balance
November 9, 2016By Jason M. Jones Many of us have been asked to serve on a committee, task force, or steering group and often jump on the chance to not only support our industry but more importantly, our colleagues. I always view it as a great honor to have someone reach out Read More »
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Parking Technology, Hospitals, and Loyalty
November 8, 2016By Chris McKenty Hospitals find themselves under continuous competitive pressure and are constantly looking for ways to attract new patients. One great way to do that is by making the parking experience easier. Automating access control equipment appeals to patients who hate having to wait in line to leave a Read More »
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Adaptive Reuse and Parking Design: The New Trend
November 7, 2016Driving habits are changing. We’ve heard it over and over the last year or so, and the parking industry is working hard to ensure that whatever new habits become dominant in the future will be reflected in effective and efficient design and management of parking facilities. Last week, Wired got Read More »
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Making Waves and Headlines
November 4, 2016By Shawn Conrad, CAE On November 1, 1948, Henry S. Truman, the Democratic candidate for President of the United States, went to bed thinking about the inevitable—that he would lose the election to Thomas E. Dewey. The outcome was so certain, the Chicago Daily Tribune printed the infamous headline, “Dewey Read More »
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Doing Well, Doing Good
November 3, 2016Gary Means, CAPP, is no stranger to community service. He’s the guy behind the Food for Fines drive in Lexington, Ky., that collected more than 10,000 cans of food for the needy last year. This year, he’s trying something a little different: spending 24 hours outside to draw attention to Read More »
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A Green Lot Opens
November 2, 2016Paul Wessel, director of market development at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), last week made remarks at the opening of Connecticut’s first “green” parking lot (read about it here). We liked them so much we wanted to share them here: Mayor Harp has called us all to embrace a Read More »
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Unexpected Detours: All in a Day’s Work
November 1, 2016By Josh Cantor In September, I wrote an article for The Parking Professional about the many presidential and presidential candidate visits we have handled at George Mason University in my 11 years here. On cue, right after the article was published, we had First Lady Michelle Obama on campus. It Read More »
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Pumpkin Carving and the Importance of Having Fun
October 31, 2016By Liliana Rambo, CAPP Sometimes we take the little things for granted, like having fun with our colleagues. While attending a Texas Parking and Transportation Association roundtable at DFW Airport last month, I was reminded that one important element to a balanced everyday work life is employee engagement and having Read More »
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Newbie to Newbie: On Speaking Up
October 28, 2016By Rita Pagan I recently came across the below picture on social media and liked it so much that I printed it out and hung it at my desk. Not only was it humorous, but it reminded me to speak up and not be afraid to voice my opinion. It’s Read More »
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Big Data and Dynamic Pricing
October 27, 2016By Kelly Clonts The parking industry lacks “industry standard.” Part of this is due to the localized characteristics of each parking location: Even two parking garages in the same city and of the same size might have completely different demand and use patterns based on ease of entry, nearby competition, Read More »
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Oh Canada! EMV Lessons Learned North Of The Border
October 26, 2016By Renee Smith, JD, MBA Parking owners and operators shouldn’t shy away from EMV conversion; they just need to look north for guidance. Owners and operators across Canada went through the process a decade ago, so they’ve already experienced the growing pains and overcome the challenges. PIN entry for chip-enabled Read More »
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Innovations and Processes
October 25, 2016By Michael Cramer Automation technology has swept into the parking industry. While we appreciate the advantages that automation provides, it also means parking managers need new methods to manage facilities. Earlier this year, we launched an initiative to review our processes to determine which needed modification or could be eliminated. Read More »
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Making a Difference
October 24, 2016A woman in Montgomery, Ala., recently made it through a family crisis and told the local newspaper that much of the credit goes to a city parking attendant. Bronett Terrell was partway through her work day when she got a call that her sister in Florida was gravely ill and Read More »
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White House Backs Smart Cities: So What?
October 20, 2016The White House this week announced more than $300 million in funding to develop technology that will boost, in part, the Smart Cities initiative, which combines open data and the Internet of Things (IoT) to make cities more inhabitable and cleaner. What’s that mean for parking? Some people think a Read More »
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Parking Makes Everything Better
October 18, 2016By Nichole Crossland I live in Houston, a city with a longstanding reputation for big trucks, long drives, and traffic jams. I grew up here and left in 2003 to pursue an environmental degree on the West Coast. To my pleasant surprise, when I returned in 2014, I came home Read More »
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Safe Parking for the Homeless
October 17, 2016Long Beach, Calif., became the next city in that state to take up the possibility of offering safe parking areas to people living in their cars or RVs. The city council, which recently enacted new parking restrictions for RVs and oversize vehicles, agreed to consider the idea at the request Read More »
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Autumn is the Warmest Time of Year
October 14, 2016By Michelle W. Jones, CMP I think autumn is the warmest time. Not because of high temperatures outside, but because I find it to be the most heartwarming time of year. The faint smell of smoke from the neighbor’s chimney, vibrantly colored leaves crunching under your feet, chilly football games, Read More »
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Become a Car Seat Technician
October 13, 2016By Victor A. Hill, MPA, CAPP Offering child car seat inspections is a great way to promote your services and build partnerships. Parking and transportation operations are ideal locations because the facilities are —at the risk of stating the obvious—ideal places to park cars and assist families. Our university began Read More »
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Carpool to the Train? Here’s Your VIP Parking
October 12, 2016It’s a not-unheard-of refrain: I’d happily take mass transit to work but I can’t find a place to park at the station. In Seattle, the local transit authority and a parking company have teamed up to solve that problem. Sound Transit, a commuter train service in the Central Puget Sound Read More »
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Not a U.S. Citizen? Plan Your Estate
October 11, 2016By Mark A. Vergenes Last week, we talked about financial planning for non-U.S. citizens. If you’re in a marriage between an U.S. citizen and a non-U.S citizen, you may face additional wealth transfer challenges that require advance planning: Estate taxes work differently for non-citizens. When two U.S. citizens are married, Read More »
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Hands-On for This Garage Art
October 10, 2016Parking garages have become popular sites for public art installations and for good reason—they’re a natural fit. But in a new twist, a garage in San Francisco hosted the community for a day of interactive, highly creative fun to introduce its newest art installation. The Moscone Center Garage introduced a Read More »
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Three Bags Full
October 7, 2016By Cindy Campbell Last week, I boarded a regional flight headed to Houston. If you’ve ever been on a small regional jet, you’re able to envision the cramped passenger seating arrangements. I buckled into my first-row seat and settled in to read my emails. The solo flight attendant was busy Read More »
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Not a U.S. Citizen? Plan Your Finances
October 6, 2016By Mark A. Vergenes “Foreign national” is a broad term that includes (from the perspective of the U.S.) both resident aliens (non-U.S. citizens who have established a legal domicile in the U.S. and have no intent to leave) and non-resident aliens (non-U.S. citizens who have not established domicile in the Read More »
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Under the Dunes
October 5, 2016We fell in love with the garage at Katwijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, the first time we laid eyes on it. So did a lot of other people; for the first time in memory, a parking garage—this parking garage—was named the Dutch Building of the Year. It’s an amazing 663-space Read More »
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Maintaining the Maintenance Checklist
October 4, 2016By Zachary Cook Maintaining cleanliness and equipment on the grounds of parking facilities is a basic and important aspect of what we do. Maintenance checklists are a tool many use to guide staff to complete daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, but are they enough? Handing frontline staff paper lists or tasks Read More »
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Tell Your Story
October 3, 2016By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C It’s funny how often parking comes up as a topic, even among the Labor Day barbecue crowd. We were talking summer trips and vacations. My mom treated the whole family to a Caribbean cruise a few years ago (way to go, Mom!) and Read More »
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White House Takes Aim at Parking Requirements
September 30, 2016A paper released by the White House Monday was supposed to be about housing but got attention—a lot of attention—for focusing solidly on parking requirements levied on developers. “Parking requirements generally impose an undue burden on housing development, particularly for transit-oriented or affordable housing,” reads part of the “Housing Development Read More »
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Shared Mobility Ecosystem Mapping
September 29, 2016By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP I recently came across a document that illustrated how far we have come in the evolution of shared mobility resources and options. This map was created for the Silicon Valley Mobility as a Service project, where mobility aggregators integrate various services. It maps out the Read More »
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Future Shock: Cars to Find Their Own Parking
September 28, 2016A whole host of apps do it. Waze has announced plans to do it. Google Maps is jumping in. And now it seems cars themselves will help drivers locate available parking spaces. Digital map service Here will start enabling some German cars, including those from Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW, to Read More »
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Parking Pro ISO Shared Parking Examples
September 27, 2016By Joseph Heyman I’m looking for examples of garages that would otherwise be empty at night being used by neighbors. The American Museum of Natural History in New York City is undertaking a major addition, which will cause disruptions to the neighborhood. As a goodwill gesture, it is proposed to Read More »
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Saving Their Parking Spaces
September 26, 2016“Save Manhattan Valley!” implored the flyers and posters circulating around the upper West side of New York City. But the neighborhood didn’t want to be saved from the usual threats of development or traffic. No, this time, they wanted to save their parking. Three garages are on the chopping block Read More »
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Waze Partners with Parking
September 23, 2016By Nathan Donnell Circling the block (or even giving up the hunt) for parking is a familiar and painful experience for drivers across the board. Last year, drivers spent an average of 55 hours searching for parking, wasting more than $600 million in time and fuel. Waze, the popular navigation Read More »
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Throw Away Your Pencils
September 22, 2016By Kyle Cashion and Ruth Beaman Since the earliest days of the parking industry, no issue has challenged parking owners and operators like revenue management. As with most cash industries, it has always been difficult to make sure that all of the money that’s collected makes it into the register Read More »
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U.S. Driverless Car Regulations Released
September 21, 2016Analysts said Monday’s release of federal guidelines for automated (driverless) vehicles was a signal that the U.S. government strongly backs the development of such cars. The Department of Transportation’s guidelines focused on four main items: A 15-point safety standard. A requirement that states develop uniform policies. Clarification about current regulations Read More »
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What’s Your Good Health Worth?
September 20, 2016By Casey Jones, CAPP An epidural steroidal injection to the lumbar 5 sacral 1 area. That’s what my doctor prescribed to treat a tear in the tissue around a disk in my back. Probably from too much running, he said. As I lay waiting for the procedure to begin I Read More »
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Survey Says: Car-Sharing a Big Perk for Students
September 19, 2016Students participating in a survey by UC Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center and Zipcar said having car-sharing options on campus is not only sustainable but improves their quality of life and makes them less likely to want their own car at school. That, of course, is music to the ears Read More »
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Park(ing) Day Completes Our Streets
September 16, 2016Editor’s note: This post was originally published on September 21, 2012. IPI invites you to participate in Park(ing) Day 2016. Send high-quality, original photos of your Park(ing) Day spaces to arpino@parking.org and they could be featured in The Parking Professional magazine. Be sure to include a brief summary of your efforts Read More »
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Communicating Change, Even at the Bus Stop
September 15, 2016By Kathleen Federici, MEd. After four years. the location of my son’s elementary school bus stop was changed from a four-minute walk around the block to a 12-minute walk two streets away. And to make it more stressful, our beloved drop-off and pick-up bus driver was changed and we now Read More »
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When the President Pays a Visit
September 14, 2016Long lines of cars waiting to park, security all over the place, sharpshooters on rooftops, secure areas, and accommodating a lot more people than usual, not all of whom are happy: This is what it looks like when the President visits a college campus. Josh Cantor, director of parking and Read More »
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Fem Parking
September 13, 2016By Frank Giles So, have you heard the one about the lady trying to pull into a parking space? Of course you have. We have all heard the female-driver jokes at one time or another. They may be insensitive and stereotypical but no one takes them seriously, right? Apparently some Read More »
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Tailgating? Invite Amazon.
September 12, 2016Forget something for your tailgate? If you’re a San Francisco 49ers fan, it’s no worries—Amazon’s on it. The NFL team this year worked out a partnership with Amazon Prime to deliver game-day essentials to specific Levi’s Stadium parking spaces before home games. Forget that extra cooler? Need a team sweatshirt? Read More »
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Lessons from a Parking Professional
September 9, 2016By Kim Fernandez “Mrs Fernandez, I’m getting your car!” I was still walking up the driveway of the Washington Plaza Hotel after lunch the other day when Zion called out to me. We’d just met 90 minutes earlier when I’d pulled up and showed her my parking reservation and now, Read More »
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Situational Awareness
September 8, 2016By Scott Kangas, CAPP My father was a safety engineer for insurance companies most of his adult life. His job was to evaluate the risk factor (or potential businesses losses) from an insurance standpoint. Because of this constant exposure and frequent dinner-table discussions, I picked up a variety of tidbits Read More »
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APO Spotlight: ParkHouston
September 7, 2016ParkHouston services and maintains 9,500 parking spaces throughout the greater Houston area. When the organization decided to measure its effectiveness as compared with other parking organizations, earning IPI’s Accredited Parking Organization (APO) certification was a natural direction. “Reviewing the matrix gave us the opportunity to identify our strengths and areas Read More »
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The World’s Loneliest, Most Beloved Parking Meter
September 6, 2016Winters, Calif., is a tiny speck of a town whose charming, four-block-long business district found itself with a parking problem. Tourists discovered its beauty and hung around in on-street spaces so long that locals couldn’t conduct their normal business. As parking professionals can predict, debates ensued—what to do? Enter the Read More »
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Ears Ringing?
September 2, 2016By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA Seventeen of your fellow IPI members are talking about you – yes, you– the IPI community of parking professionals that so generously join together to learn, advise, share, solve problems, advance the profession, and just plain have fun being part of one of the most Read More »
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Five Cool and Creative Ways to Reimagine a Parking Space
September 1, 2016By Monica Arpino What do a dog park, art installation, and yoga studio all have in common? If you said they’re all delightful gathering spaces, you’re correct but not quite on track. They all found temporary homes in metered parking spots, as part of the annual worldwide experiment known as Read More »
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APO Spotlight: Miami Parking Authority
August 31, 2016Maybe you’ve heard about IPI’s Accredited Parking Organization (APO) designation for parking organizations that have achieved a comprehensive standard of excellence, and maybe you’ve thought about starting down the road to APO for your own organization. So what’s stopping you? The Miami Parking Authority (MPA) earned APO as part of Read More »
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Being All That
August 30, 2016Teen Vogue just called a group of parking spaces “masterpieces.” OMG! You might have seen the story floating around social media: A high school in Florida had a lot of fun and raised a little money letting seniors custom-paint their parking spaces. The program was a huge hit, both among Read More »
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Inside Higher Parking
August 29, 2016You might have heard of Inside Higher Ed, the daily news publication covering colleges and universities. It’s not the kind of place one visits to learn about parking. But last week, that’s exactly the topic it covered. San Diego Mesa College, part of the San Diego Community College District, came Read More »
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Life Lessons and the Housekeeper
August 26, 2016By Shawn Conrad, CAE I was out walking during a recent trip when I passed a car that carried on its door panel the logo, “It’s in the Details.” As the women inside exited the car, I noticed that they were housekeepers unloading their cleaning supplies and vacuum cleaner. I Read More »
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What We Do
August 25, 2016By Irma Henderson, CAPP Parking professionals often have difficulties explaining what we do to people on the outside. As it is, my family and friends have given up on trying to understand what I do for a living. Last year, I was waiting for a flight and a gentleman approached Read More »
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APO Building Blocks for a Lasting Standard: Integrity (Part III)
August 24, 2016By Casey Jones, CAPP According to a paper written for the American Journal of Public Health in 1965, “Medical quackery and the promotions of nostrums and worthless drugs were among the most prominent abuses which led to the establishment of formal self-regulation in business and, in turn, to the creation Read More »
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Speak Your Heart Out
August 23, 2016By Daniel Bliley The IPI Conference & Expo features more than 3,000 people from more than 35 different countries. It’s the world’s biggest parking show. The red carpet, premier show. The best and brightest. It’s the one event you can’t afford to miss–and it needs you. The open call for Read More »
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Disabled? Prove It.
August 22, 2016Police in Foxborough, Mass., aren’t fooling around when it comes to parking for the disabled this football season: Use a parking placard while attending a Patriots’ game and you’d better be able to prove it’s legit. Officers assigned to Gillette Stadium are spot-checking cars parked in spaces reserved for the Read More »
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Long-Term Success and Short-Term Challenges
August 19, 2016By Cindy Campbell I was recently talking with a university parking program manager about the challenge of balancing priorities at work. “There’s just so much to do and it seems like there’s never enough time to get it all done,” she said. We talked about competing priorities in the workplace Read More »
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We May Have a Fraud Issue. Now What?
August 18, 2016By Vicki Pero, SPHR When the term “audit” is used in the parking industry, it covers three functional areas: loss prevention, fraud investigation, and location (internal) audit. The fraud investigation component sometimes presents a challenge because many organizations don’t have a documented process defining roles and responsibilities. Establishing a process Read More »
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Meet the APO: ParkHouston
August 17, 2016By Maria Irshad, CAPP, MPA By now, you’ve either heard or read about APO. It’s a tremendous step forward for the parking industry. It’s also a significant task to undertake as an organization. In 2014, the parking pioneers who developed the original APO framework reached out us to see if Read More »
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Enforcement and Reputation Management
August 16, 2016By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP My parking authority has been approved to take over parking enforcement starting in the new year. “Congratulations or I’m sorry are in order….” For most of us, community complaints revolve around either ticketing too much or not enough. So what is one of our biggest Read More »
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Doing Well, Doing Good
August 15, 2016Settling old parking citations while doing good in the community: Sounds like a win-win to us. That’s exactly what’s happening in Salt Lake City, Utah, where an innovative 90-day parking amnesty program just kicked off. Drivers who’ve not paid parking citations issued since July 2014 can earn up to 60 Read More »
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If You See Something, Say Something
August 12, 2016By Michelle W. Jones, CMP We’ve grown accustomed to this mantra, usually in regard to potential terrorism activity. We know to alert authorities if we see an abandoned bag in the airport or if we someone with contraband on an airplane. But there is another matter–one much more prevalent than Read More »
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CAPP Pays Off
August 11, 2016By Victor A. Hill, MPA, CAPP The road to CAPP can be an anxiety-inducing one to travel, but the payoff is worth it when you arrive. I began my parking career in 2013. My first supervisor in parking was a CAPP and he asked if I’d be interested in the Read More »
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To Apply or Not to Apply?
August 10, 2016By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C How do you know if you are ready to formally apply for the Accredited Parking Organization (APO) Program? When you submit your application, your organization will have one year to submit your comprehensive package of documentation. There is no precise formula for a program Read More »
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From Toilet Paper to Heels
August 9, 2016By Vanessa Cummings, CAPP, M.Div. I recently had two separate experiences that reminded me parking is more than just about cars — it is about customer service. I was staying at a downtown hotel in Philadelphia a few weeks ago for a connectional (international) church conference. The meeting drew thousands Read More »