Tag Archives: COVID-19

IPMI Webinar: Teleworking: An Alternate Mobility Mode. Presented by Perry H. Eggleston, CAPP & Ramon Zavala University of California at Davis.

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Teleworking: An Alternate Mobility Mode

Perry H. Eggleston, CAPP, DPA; Executive Director for Transportation Services; University of California at Davis

Ramon Zavala, Transportation Demand Manager, UC Davis Transportation Services

We are currently launching a new member portal. Please contact us at professionaldevelopment@parking-mobility.org to register.

Or purchase the entire 2021 professional development series bundle.

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.”

Last year brought discussions of campus closures, telelearning, and teleworking. Within a week, these discussions were reality. When the awareness that this COVID thing would last longer than a few weeks, we started to look at how the lull could be used to keep the momentum of teleworking going as a demand-reduction tool.

To address all the issues for making teleworking an ongoing mobility strategy, we created a telework committee. Stakeholders from human resources, technology, safety and ergonomics, employee/union relations, communications, and finance. Transportation Services coordinates the committee, which will address the physical, legal, supervisory, and training issues and keep teleworking a viable mobility option into the future.

Attendees will:

  • Illustrate how teleworking is a mobility advantage.
  • Recognize the institutional needs of a teleworking program.
  • Detail best practices and measure the effectiveness of amnesty and relief programs for constituents and revenue recovery efforts.

Offers 1 CAPP Credit towards application or recertification.

Presenters:

Perry H. Eggleston, CAPP, DPA; Executive Director for Transportation Services; UC Davis Transportation Services

Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPA, has more than 25 years’ experience developing, refining, and implementing mobility programs as an officer, supervisor, manager, director, consultant, and executive director. In his career, he has served organizations in California, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Texas. He is an active member of the IPMI and California Public Parking Association.

Ramon Zavala, Transportation Demand Manager, UC Davis Transportation Services

Ramon Zavala holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from UC Irvine, where he began his work in transportation demand management. After seven years with UCI’s Transportation department, he transferred to UC Davis’ Transportation Services, where he manages the TDM program, transit relations, and overseeing the overseeing the bicycle program.

 

Register here.

 

 

 

 

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Hold On–Let Me Overthink This

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By Rita PaganMug reading "World's Okayest Mom"

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 my overall sanity.

The pandemic that is upon us has also forced businesses and leaders to make some very tough decisions. Across the industry, leaders are deciding whether to lay off or furlough workers or initiate pay cuts, all while continuing to deliver projects and programs on time and within budget with limited resources. But how do you know if you’ve made the right decision? How much thought should you give to crisis-time decision making?

  • Ask questions and gather information. Facts are important. And it will feel reassuring to ask them ALL.
  • Remain flexible. I think we’ve seen just how quickly things can escalate. You need to be flexible and agile.
  • Know that you are not alone! Not to be cheesy but we’re all in this together. Make sure you are connected to your professional community and lean on them when needed.

While decision-making has become harder because of the pandemic, it has helped leaders with new ways of thinking and new solutions. Crises put not only your ability to make decisions to the test, but also your ability to adapt.

Rita Pagan is IPMI’s events and exhibits manager.

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Up, Up, and Away

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Man wearing a face mask on a plane.By 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 year: fly. Like many, I hadn’t been on a plane since COVID-19 hit and life as we knew it changed. I finally had a reason to go to an airport and board a plane.

I have always enjoyed traveling and for the first time, wasn’t sure what a trip to the airport would entail. Had they closed the lot where I typically park? What would the process be going through TSA lines? Would people be socially distancing and wearing their masks in the airport and on the plane?  Would I be able to explore the terminal (I love to walk the terminals, browse the shops, and watch people scurry to their gates)?  To me, it’s all part of the travel experience, but I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.

Bottom line: I was pleasantly surprised. While the experience was different from what I was used to, airport personnel had gone to great lengths to make their customers feel welcomed and safe. I especially appreciated the airline leaving the middle seat vacant during the flight. People kept their masks on and the pilots even came out to greet us as we de-boarded the plane.

Like parking and mobility, airports expect a slow recovery as the world works on vaccines to combat the virus. In the meantime, it is impressive how airports and airlines have adjusted their processes to lesson the anxiety we might have of flying–not a small feat. Kudos to all for their efforts!

And in case you were wondering, the experience of parking my car at the airport was flawless.

Shawn Conrad, CAE, is IPMI’s CEO.

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Are You Breathing?

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By 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 are still working remotely or commuting to the office just a few days each week, still trying to balance and juggle home and work life demands, etc.

Fall is often the time we might begin to reflect on the events of the past year; we begin to look forward to the holidays, the joy of gathering and celebrating with family and friends. I think this year, more than ever, we need to take this moment to recharge ourselves before the fast-paced, end-of-year activities commence. We need to take some much overdue “me time,” especially if you have been working throughout this pandemic and did not take advantage of a summer vacation.

It is time to unplug, re-evaluate our choices (both work and life), reconnect with our fitness goals and programs, and most importantly, take a mental break. Time to let go of all the craziness in the world around us and just breathe!

Kim E. Jackson, CAPP, is director of parking and transportation at Princeton University.

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Beach Town Businesses Battle Paid Parking Proposal

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Sullivan’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 to try to keep people from coming. We want to support our businesses, we want them to continue to be popular with the people in the Charleston area,” Mayor Patrick O’Neil told local channel 5 news. “But if we need to have decent streets for people to park on for those businesses, we need to be able to provide them with fire and rescue and police coverage while they are here. We need to get the money from somewhere.”

Business owners banded together to install a “No Paid Parking” banner and asked their customers to voice displeasure to the town council, which plans to meet this week to talk about the proposal.

Read the whole story here. And let us know in the comments: What advice would you give both the town council and business owners in this situation?

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Return to Normal?

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By 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 semester, with daily 8:30 a.m. Webex meetings pulling together 150 people from many departments across campus.

I got into a routine, spending a lot of time on webinars trying to learn what my peers in the industry were doing for parking and shuttle operations, reporting back about what was being done elsewhere, and formulating our plans to re-open in August. As parking and transportation seems to be part of so many campus operations, I added meetings a few times a week on subcommittees dealing with campus COVID signage and creating outdoor event spaces, many in parking lots we expected to be wide open with the reduced number of students on campus. After all this work preparing for fall semester, more classes shifted online, leaving our parking and shuttle demand at 20 percent of normal.

As we count how many cars we have on campus each day instead of empty spaces, it’s become unusually calm and almost boring at the start of the semester for our operation. While driving home the other day, I thought to myself how much I miss hearing complaints from customers that they can’t find a parking space or that the buses are full. While stressful, that might be the best sign of a return to normal in the world of parking and transportation.

Josh Cantor, CAPP, is director of parking and transportation at George Mason University.

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Parking Lots, Public Spaces, Social Distancing, and Safety

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By 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 — curbs, parking lots, and parking structures.

Restaurants are expanding out onto sidewalks and curbside locations all over the United States; more than 8,000 permits have been issued in New York City alone.  Exposure of diners and waitstaff to passing vehicles has already been documented with security camera footage from more than a half-dozen injury accidents since late June.

Restaurants are also expanding into their off-street parking areas–physical distancing requirements along with the attraction of fresh air and sunshine for people who have been staying home for so long have made such arrangements very popular. Some restaurants are handling this better than others.

Retailers of all stripes have jumped onto the curbside bandwagon at shopping malls, regional centers, and basic strip centers.  Companies providing services for retailers report doubling and re-doubling of retailers offering it along with customers taking advantage of the convenience and safety that the service offers.

I expect that 2021 will see the start of a national campaign where “Share the Curb” will become a battle zone between restaurants, retailers, rideshare providers, and local merchants like salons and small retailers who want to keep parking near their stores convenient for their customers. Read more about what this means for the parking industry and why safety is a big concern in this month’s issue of Parking & Mobility magazine.

Rob Reiter is co-founder of the Storefront Safety Council.

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Who Can You Reach With Your Spoon?

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Woman feeding man with a spoon.By 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.

During the podcast,  Kessler shares the parable of the long spoons. I was walking while listening to the podcast and the story’s applicability to what we are all experiencing with the COVID-19 pandemic–continuous waves of unsettling news washing over us daily–stopped me in my tracks. In its simplest form, the parable describes a woman’s glimpse into the afterlife. In one room, she sees an elaborate feast, experiences the smell of baked bread, and sees delicious dishes of every variety. The room is filled with people holding very long spoons; spoons too long to actually be useful to eat any of the food. The people in this room are unhappy, gaunt, silent, and starving. In the second room, she sees and smells the same delicious feast and sees again that each person has a long spoon. However, in this room, everyone is laughing, eating, and enjoying the tremendous feast together. They are boisterous and living life to the fullest. In this room, everyone is using their spoon to feed someone else.

In this unprecedented time, I encourage you to see who you can reach with your spoon. By feeding, nurturing, and caring for each other, we can and will make it through this challenging time. As we are all beginning to realize, there is not likely to be a quick return to “normal.” For the first time in many of our lifetimes, we are all in the same storm and while  each of our boats is very different, I believe that the key to our perseverance through a long period of isolation, anxiety, and ambiguous/disconnected grief can be weathered if we understand that by nourishing those around us, we also nourish ourselves.

Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP, is parking and transit manager for the Town of Estes Park, Colo., and chair of the Estes Valley Resiliency Collaborative (EVRC).

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Case Study: National Review of Public Transit COVID-19 Delivery Programs

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woman wearing mask on busBy 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 Shurna of the Shared-Use Mobility Center, and Todd Hansen of Texas A&M Transportation Institute, explores some of the examples of public transit delivery programs that arose in response to COVID-19, and highlights how they operate, who they serve, and how the differing needs of customers and geographic areas influence program design.

An excerpt gives you a good overview of the case study report:

Well before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on traditional transportation patterns and services in the spring of 2020, many transit agencies and cities were already pursuing innovative ways to meet the unique needs of customers with mobility difficulties. However, these services have taken on increased importance during the current pandemic, in part because many paratransit-eligible customers are elderly or have health complications that make them more susceptible to the coronavirus. Many agencies have also cut back fixed-route service for the time being, further challenging customers’ ability to access essential services.

The full case study addresses the following topic areas:

  • Customers and Partners
  • Operations
  • Finances and Budgeting
  • Equity Issues
  • Rural Programs

Case Study Conclusions:

Transit agencies across the country have adapted to meet the needs of their community members throughout the COVID-19 pandemic—and food delivery programs are just one example. The programs reviewed here offer a way for transit agencies to provide essential services through food, prescription, and in some cases mail and package delivery.  These services are geared toward the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly and persons with disabilities. The programs reviewed here demonstrate that these programs can be implemented without interrupting existing transit service. Given ridership is down across the country as a result of COVID-19, they often take advantage of a transit agency’s underutilized fleet and help to keep transit drivers and staff employed.

Note: The FTA clarified in June 2020 that agencies can use CARES Act funds – as well as Section 5307 and Section 5311 funds administered as part of the Emergency Relief program – for delivery of essential services through January 2021. Agencies seeking additional resources are also encouraged to look into FEMA’s Public Assistance program for the purchase and distribution of food during the pandemic.  The success of these programs may have a life beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, as there will undoubtedly be an ongoing need for certain populations to continue to access these services where traditional public transit is not a feasible option.

This case study can be downloaded here.

L. Dennis Burns, CAPP, is regional vice president, senior practice builder with Kimley-Horn.

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San Diego Restaurants Jump Into TNCs’ Battle About Driver Employment Status

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tables at an outside cafe in San Diego.Saying 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 worry that the end of Uber and Lyft in the state could spell disaster for services such as Uber Eats, which deliver takeout food on-demand. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Uber Eats has become more profitable than Uber’s ride-share arm, and does record amounts of business.

San Diego restaurant owners and employees recently rallied in support of drivers who want to continue working as contractors; at stake is a court case that might force TNCs to make drivers employees, which the companies say would be too expensive and restrictive.

Read the story here.