Tag Archives: mobility

IPMI & Member News, Management & Human Resources, Operations, Resources, Safety & Security, Sustainability, Technology, Transportation & Mobility

IPMI News: IPMI Partners with City Tech to Launch the Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab

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City Tech collaborative logoIPMI Partners with City Tech to Launch the Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab, a Cross-Sector Collaboration to Help Shape the Future of the Parking Industry

May 6, 2020

In partnership with the International Parking & Mobility Institute, City Tech Collaborative is launching a new Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab, a cross-sector consortium that will transform urban parking facilities – including Millennium Garages, which spans 3.8 million square feet beneath downtown Chicago – into testbeds to envision and implement new technology-enabled solutions and business models to help shape the future of the parking industry.

Founding Members of the Lab include Millennium Garages, SP+, and Arrive. As the world’s largest association of professionals in parking, transportation, and mobility, IPMI is a Strategic Partner to the effort.

The Millennium Gateway seeks to more fully integrate parking into the broader mobility landscape – including public transit, ride- and vehicle-sharing, electrification, and automation – as well as to explore innovative facility management, freight and logistics hub opportunities, and other creative space uses. City Tech will showcase the partnership at the IPMI Parking & Mobility Virtual Conference & Expo on June 1-2, 2020.

City Tech is an urban solutions accelerator that tackles problems too big for any single sector or organization to solve alone. The Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab is part of City Tech’s Advanced Mobility Initiative, which includes 25+ corporate, municipal, and civic partners working to create a more seamless, accessible, and far-reaching urban transportation systems. Learn more at CityTech.org.

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About the Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab:

The Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab is a groundbreaking partnership to shape the future of the parking industry and urban mobility. As a consortium of asset owners, parking and mobility operators, technology providers, policymakers, and other thought leaders, Lab participants work to integrate parking more fully into urban transportation systems, develop tech-enabled solutions for smart infrastructure management, and cultivate value-added services and space uses.

The Lab is part of the Advanced Mobility Initiative at City Tech Collaborative, an urban solutions accelerator that tackles problems too big for any single sector or organization to solve alone.  Founding members and strategic partners of the Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab include Millennium Garages, SP+, Arrive, the National Parking Association, the International Parking & Mobility Institute, and the City of Chicago. Learn more at www.CityTech.org/Parking-Innovation.

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Sustainability, Technology, Transportation & Mobility

Member News: Flowbird Uses Advanced Technology To Limit Contact During Transactions

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May 6th, 2020

Company focuses on reducing germ spread while supporting city financial health

Moorestown, NJ – Flowbird Group has announced recent developments that limit the amount of physical interaction with its parking kiosks and an alternative to avoid the kiosks altogether. The leader in curbside management, having been involved in downtown commerce for over 50 years, plays a critical role in urban mobility. The company’s solutions have helped cities worldwide collect vital revenue that is reinvested to provide invaluable services to the community. During this global pandemic, the physical and financial health of cities are being threatened, leading Flowbird to respond to the call.

One such feature is Flowbird’s latest release of pay station software called, “recall”, which is now available on the CWT smart parking kiosk.  How does it work? The recall feature makes a ‘token’ from the credit card used the first time a driver makes a transaction at a kiosk. The next time they return and swipe their card, the kiosk will suggest the same license plate number and phone number for text receipts. This limits the amount of physical interaction when entering their license plate number for pay-by-plate transactions, or entering their phone number for time expiration reminders and receipts. The recall function is an optional feature that the City operator can choose to enable on their kiosks.

While credit card use at Flowbird kiosks remain high and contactless payments rise in popularity, Flowbird reminds and encourages drivers to use ‘tap-to-pay’ methods whenever possible. Several Flowbird clients are in the final phases of launching contactless/NFC payments, including the ability to accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and credit cards with the NFC symbol.  This method of payment eliminates another touchpoint at the kiosk.

For users who are not quite ready to interact with pay stations or meters, Flowbird continues to provide and make advances to its Flowbird mobile payment application. The latest release of the app was recently launched at the end of April, giving drivers the option to search, filter, book and pay for a parking reservation before they even leave their home.  This gives motorists a completely contactless parking experience.

“Our number one concern will always be our customers and their safety,” said Benoit Reliquet, President of Flowbird, North America, “Over the last several months, we have also seen city revenues dropping tremendously, so it is important that we offer as many ways as possible for cities to continue to collect parking fees while ensuring the health and wellbeing of its citizens.”

Currently, Flowbird supports over 40,000 parking pay stations for over 600 customers throughout the U.S.  Their mobile apps have been deployed in over 600 municipalities and universities around the world including 100 locations in the United States, with over 1.5 million mobile users globally.

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Flowbird US Media Contact
Sean Renn – Vice President of Marketing & Communications
856-220-1577
sean.renn@flowbird.group
www.flowbird.group

Frontline, IPMI Blog, Operations, Resources, Safety & Security, Sustainability, Transportation & Mobility

Curbside Management in a Recurring Emergency Scenario: A Municipal Perspective

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Closed roadway lanes for widened pedestrian way in Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.

By 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 COVID-19, as well as create a knowledge base of strategies that communities can use to manage the curbside during future emergencies.

For all of us, 2020 will be the year the world changed. Seemingly overnight the hustle and bustle of life and commerce in our cities went nearly silent under government-mandated shelter-in-place orders aimed to stop the spread of COVID-19. Overwhelmed healthcare networks and essential businesses that help meet our most basic needs were thrown into crisis. This is a common reality after natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods. However, unlike those events, this is simultaneously a prolonged and global experience.

Municipal governments are vital to protecting our communities, tasked with coordinating resources to address this public health emergency while maintaining order and normalcy for residents. Curbside and parking professionals across the country have supported their municipal responses by ensuring prioritized, optimal transportation network operations in innovative, rapid-response ways including the following.

  • Restaurant Pick-up Zones. With dine-in operations banned, restaurants shifted to takeout/delivery models resulting in congestion at the curb for customers and couriers. Originating in Seattle and propagating rapidly across the country, municipalities reprogrammed segments of their curbside with temporary signage coupled with information campaigns (like the District of Columbia map) showing curbs prioritized for pick-up activity. This ensured curb turnover while supporting local restaurants.
  • Relaxed Curbside Enforcement. Shelter-in-place orders led to more stationary vehicles, which put them in violation of policies encouraging turnover. Cities like Miami, Pittsburgh, and others relaxed parking enforcement to discourage unnecessary community movement.
  • Suspended Parking Space Payment. Some communities suspended parking payment, though they did not make that decision lightly. In many jurisdictions, parking revenue is the operational funding lifeblood of their organizations. For the District, it’s about 10 percent of its annual contribution to the regional transportation system. However, costs to maintain parking payment far outweighed anticipated revenue. Additionally, reducing potential sources of infection, i.e., parking payment kiosks, was also of concern for municipal operators.
  • Prioritized/Designated Essential Service Provider Parking. Hospitals have been the front lines of this pandemic, with many facilities converting off-street parking lots and garages to triage and community testing sites. With limited public transportation services and scarce access to for-hire vehicles as drivers limit their exposure, some healthcare providers are resorting to private vehicles. With on-site parking gone, municipalities have designated curbsides near medical facilities for healthcare facility employees. New York City has issued healthcare provider parking permits to allow them to park wherever is most convenient. This may become an extended concern for other essential service staff in dense, urban areas with limited transit.
  • Expanded Sidewalks. In urban areas in particular, sidewalks are constrained by historical rights of way. That means there may be sidewalks narrower than the minimum six feet recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “physical distancing” guidelines. Places like New York City have cleared the curb, if not the entire roadway, to facilitate unimpeded, “physically distant” pedestrian routes.

These are but a few strategies that are part of cohesive and holistic community responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have a good story, please share it with benito.perez@dc.gov.

Benito O. Pérez is the curbside management operations planning manager at the District Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.

David C. Lipscomb is a curbside management planner at the District Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.

Education & Training, Resources, Safety & Security, Sustainability, Technology, Transportation & Mobility, Webinar

COVID-19 Information Clearinghouse: Events and Education

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Read all the COVID-19 Information Events & Education postings here.

To search all resources by keyword, search the Resource Library.

Submit Postings Here

 

 

Education & Training, Frontline, Resources, Safety & Security, Technology, Transportation & Mobility

COVID-19 Information Clearinghouse: Resources and Documents

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Read all the COVID-19 Information Resource and Document postings here.

To search all resources by keyword, search the Resource Library.

Submit Postings Here

 

 

IPMI & Member News, Management & Human Resources, Recognition & Awards, Resources, Transportation & Mobility

Member News: Kimley-Horn Named Best Workplace in Consulting & Professional Services 2020

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Kimley-Horn is excited to be again named one of the Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services by Great Place to Work®.

More than 357,000 U.S. employees were anonymously surveyed about 60 elements related to how their company creates a Great Place to Work For All™, including experiences of innovation, leadership effectiveness, and the company’s values. Rankings for this list are based on employees’ feedback and reward companies who best include all employees, no matter who they are or what they do for the organization.

The Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services stand out for their unique, innovative cultures, which helps them attract and retain employees. At Kimley-Horn, our core purpose is to provide an environment for all employees to flourish in every aspect of their career.

“COVID-19 creates very unpredictable and rapidly changing markets for Consulting & Professional Services companies. Companies on this list stand out for the high level of trust they have built with their entire workforce. High-trust, For All cultures enable these organizations today to quickly adjust to remote work arrangements and to successfully navigate through uncertain times.”

— Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work

To learn more about Great Place to Work and their data-driven methodology, visit Greatplacetowork.com.

Read the article here.

Education & Training, Resources, Safety & Security, Sustainability, Technology, Transportation & Mobility

IPMI Sustainability Framework

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International Parking & Mobility Institute’s

Framework on Sustainability for  Design, Management & Operations

Revised on March 2020

Sustainability in parking and transportation means meeting “the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”1 To be successful, transportation solutions and sustainable practices should balance economic feasibility, public health and welfare, and consideration of environmental effects. These sustainable practices work to reduce fossil fuel use and carbon emissions, air and water pollution, and land use.

 

IPMI serves as a thought leader, information clearinghouse, and driving force for increasing sustainability practices in the parking, transportation, and mobility industry.

1Defnition of Sustainability from the Brundtland Report, United Nations, 1987.

Sustainability Framework image 1

GOALS: IPMI’s Framework on Sustainability identifies several goals, organized into three categories:

Knowledge & Research:

Knowledge & Research:

 

  • Document case studies and research to create a body of knowledge about best practices in parking, transportation, and mobility.
  • Identify effective, innovative technologies with a proven return on investment that support sustainability goals.
  • Increase education, awareness, and information sharing to disseminate relevant knowledge widely throughout the industry.

Programs & Operations:

Programs & Operations:

 

  • Prioritize transportation demand management (TDM) and access and mobility management programs that decrease single-occupancy vehicle trips, congestion, and vehicle miles traveled.
  • Decrease reliance on fossil fuels by increasing energy efficiency, using alternative fuels, or generating renewable energy as part of daily operations. Promote fuel-efficient vehicles and accommodate the growing use of electric vehicles.

Planning, Design, & Construction:

Planning, Design, & Construction:

 

  • Promote practices in planning, design, retrofitting, and construction of parking, and/or transportation (micro-mobility, transit, shared-use vehicles, bike/ped, TNCs) facilities that reduce the long-term environmental effects of land use decisions. Ensure the facilities factor in human mobility needs as well as vehicle requirements.
  • Make informed decisions based on long-term environmental impacts, durability, payback period, and lifecycle costs related to material and technology selection, including effective natural resource management and waste reduction.

ACTION ITEMS:

IPMI supports this framework through nine specific strategies:

1. Developing and maintaining a comprehensive library of online and face-to-face training on topics related to sustainability, including learning opportunities at the annual IPMI Conference & Expo.

2. Maintaining our strategic partnership with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), and the Parksmart program--the only sustainability rating system designed for structured parking facilities.

3. Publishing resources through a variety of media, including Parking & Mobility, related trade publications, the IPMI blog, and social media on solutions that reflect a balance between economics, public health and welfare, and reduced environmental effects.

4. Encouraging and recognizing achievements and improvements in sustainable parking and transportation, in partnership with Parksmart, through recognition, press, and awards programs.

5. Providing critical sustainability content through professional development programs, including online training, the CAPP credential, APO accreditation, and the Parksmart Advisor program.

6. Creating forums for peer-to-peer sharing and best practices on sustainable parking design, transportation management, and operations, including established and expanding mobilty options.

7. Developing and sharing research, tools, and resources that result in energy efficiency, informed material and technology selection, the availability of multi-modal transportation options, effective natural resource management, and the use of waste reduction strategies.

8. Forging and maintaining strategic partnerships with government agencies and nonprofit organizations to facilitate goal setting, information sharing, and funding incentives that encourage investing in sustainable parking and mobility solutions.

9. Communicating with media, influencers, and the public to create awareness of the positive effectst parking and mobility professionals can have on sustainability initiatives and outcomes.

Sustainability Library

A Guide to Parking - IPMI coverA Guide to Parking provides information on the current state of the industry, providing professionals and students with an overview of major areas of the parking, transportation, and mobility industry.

More than 30 subject matter experts contributed to this comprehensive volume, including chapters on sustainability, transportation demand management, and more.

 

Sustainability Parking management hand bookSustainable Parking Design & Management: A Practitioner’s Handbook is the industry’s first reference book on sustainability.

 

 

 

Parksmart & the USGBC

Parksmart USGBC standard imageParksmart defines and recognizes sustainable practices in parking structure management, programming, design, and technology.

Industry-driven and field tested, Parksmart distinguishes the progressively designed and managed parking facilities shaping tomorrow’s sustainable mobility network.

IPMI is the USGBC’s exclusive provider of Parksmart Advisor Training.  Courses educate advisors on the Parksmart program and how to guide owners through the certification process.

Additional Resources

Search IPMI’s Resource Library to explore the comprehensive resources available on highlighted topics; browse categories or search by keyword.

Special thanks to IPMI’s Sustainability Committee and Parksmart community for their ongoing dedication to promoting sustainability in the industry.

Download PDF here

 

ipminstitute.kinsta.cloud

 

 

IPMI Blog, Resources, Safety & Security, Transportation & Mobility

All Heroes Don’t Wear Capes

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COVID-19 HeroesBy 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 use of the term “heroes.”

When I was younger (I am about to really date myself), I grew up watching George Reeves as Superman, Gary Cooper westerns, John Glenn circling the earth three times, and all of the Apollo 11 astronauts (Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins), or reading anything I could get my hands on about Abraham Lincoln. While I didn’t personally know these people, they were my heroes because of the way they conducted themselves, showed empathy, rushed into danger, and overcame obstacles—along with what they unselfishly accomplished. So whenever I hear the term “hero” used to describe someone, I often think back to my boyhood heroes.

Today, “hero” is used to describe medical personnel, care workers, supermarket clerks, transit and truck drivers, parents homeschooling their children, the National Guard and others feeding the hungry, and so many more people who find themselves on the front line of this pandemic. I recently heard that the term was being watered down; some complain “hero” is overused and therefore means less.

While my use of the hero label was limited, calling out a person whose altruistic acts in the service of others or for the greater good seems much more relatable now, since we actually know many of the people who fit this bill. These heroes seem more real and less mythical. The heroes of today walk among us and are a constant reminder to others to do their part. Using the hero term with a broad-brush approach sends a positive message to the young and the young at heart that the image of a hero doesn’t look like Luke Skywalker, but more like their family member or neighbor.

Shawn Conrad, CAE, is IPMI’s CEO.

Management & Human Resources, Resources, Safety & Security, Transportation & Mobility, Webinar

Free Online Shoptalk: Planning for Future Municipal On-Street Operations

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Wednesday April 29, 2020 @ 2:00-3:30 PM EST

Free Online Shoptalk: Planning for Future Municipal On-Street Operations

Free to all Industry Professionals

Access recording here

IPMI invites all industry professionals in parking, transportation, and mobility to discuss how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted your various mobility programs and options, including how we plan for municipal on street operations post COVID-19.

This online Shoptalk will address the critical questions on how we begin to plan for re-opening our cities and parking and mobility operations, with a focus first on on-street operations, staff and patron safety, and planning ahead ready for staggered and phased operations that incorporate both innovations and best practices.   Bring your questions or share them in advance with us.

We understand this is an extremely busy time and will record the online shoptalk and distribute to all members and colleagues.  If you have a question or would like to share something that has worked for your organization in advance, please email Fernandez@parking-mobility.org.

Moderator:

Scott Petri headshotScott Petri, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, is devoted to public service and committed to providing strong leadership and direction to the PPA. In 2018, he guided the authority through accreditation, resulting in the PPA being Accredited with Distinction by the International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI), the highest rating available by this trade association.

An accomplished and talented leader with years of experience in fast-paced legal and legislative environments, he has been a practicing attorney for more than 30 years, and served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he represented the 178th Legislative District from 2003 through 2017.

Scott has worked to reform the legislature by instituting new rules to make government more transparent and open. He helped re-write Pennsylvania’s House Rules incorporating new standards of conduct for members, as well as laws to protect children from abuse. The National Federation of Independent Business awarded him its Guardian of Small Business award in 2014; and in 2012 and 2016 he was named State Public Official of the Year by Pennsylvania Bio, the statewide trade association representing the life science industry, and Legislator of the Year by BIO, a national association

IPMI Blog, Resources, Transportation & Mobility

Parking and the Autonomous Future

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Autonomous Vehincles self drivingBy 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 launched the Grand Rapids Autonomous Vehicle Initiative (AVGR). AVGR is a collaborative, public-private effort to test the readiness of Grand Rapids for self-driving vehicles.

Through the testing of autonomous shuttles, the partnership aims to create more livable cities, attract next-generation innovation and job creators, and place Grand Rapids at the forefront of testing technology in the real world. The partnership has committed to engage the public, explore ridership trends, innovate accessibility for individuals with disabilities, and study impacts to the built environment. Understanding how autonomous mobility will operate in our world and how people will use or adapt to autonomous mobility is essential to making these systems accessible to people of all backgrounds and abilities. Parking and mobility professionals need to prepare for what the future holds and plan to manage it accordingly.

A future in which autonomous vehicles are the norm requires concerted effort on the part of key stakeholders—both in the public and private sector—to develop vehicles, infrastructure, and operational domain sooner rather than later. As the next wave of mobility emerges, it is vital that Grand Rapids stays on the forefront of learning and understanding how new technologies shape and cultivate consumer behavior.

Josh Naramore is director of Mobile GR & Parking Services for the City of Grand Rapids, Mich. He will present on this topic at the 2020 IPMI Virtual Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo; click here for details and to register.