Tag Archives: mobility

Recognition & Awards, Resources, Transportation & Mobility

2020 IPMI Professional Excellence Award – Operations: Corrine O’Connor

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Corinne_OConnorCorrine O’Connor

DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Philadelphia Parking Authority

In May 1990, Corrine O’Connor started her career at the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) in Pennsylvania as a parking enforcement officer. Over the years, she worked her way up and now serves as deputy executive director. She led four major projects last year that led to the integration of many customer conveniences. First, she led the roll-out of meterUP, a mobile payment application that has had over 5 million transactions and approximately 440,000 downloads. MeterUP accounts for roughly 30 percent of the parking authority’s meter revenue.

The PPA procured and began installation of new touch screen kiosks in Center City. Ultimately, over 8,000 single-head meters throughout the city will be replaced, along with 2,000 older kiosks.

The conversion of ticketing and enforcement was a major initiative and automates the towing and booting processes. O’Connor spearheaded the strategic thinking necessary to craft new solutions to a very complicated system that has been in place for over 35 years.

The PPA was tasked with overseeing the installation of speed cameras on Roosevelt Boulevard, one of the deadliest highways in the country. Last year, a vendor was selected and the cameras installed. The program has been married with the red light camera enforcement program already administered by the PPA.

O’Connor has testified before the city council and provided input into many ordinances involving on-street regulation. She has also testified before a state Senate committee regarding taxi enforcement, which is part of the PPA’s responsibilities. She has provided input into various proposed state laws regarding license-plate recognition; traffic cameras; taxi, limo, and transportation network companies; and ride-sharing.

The PPA is also preparing various technologies to assist with managing the curb. O’Connor is on several committees for related projects that include an ability to monitor truck loading zones, create and enforce demand pricing, and provide an application to determine real-time availability.

Recognition & Awards, Resources, Transportation & Mobility

2020 IPMI Professional Excellence Award- Finance: Kenneth Kimball, CAPP

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Kenneth KimballKenneth Kimball, CAPP

DIRECTOR, FISCAL AFFAIRS, HUMAN RESOURCES AND PAYROLL, IT DEVELOPMENT, IT SUPPORT
Texas A&M University, Transportation Service

Kenneth “Kenny” Kimball, CAPP, is chief compliance officer and chief finance officer, Texas A&M University Transportation Services, managing a budget of $50 million, directing the IT development and support unit, and overseeing the human resources manager and staff. He also volunteers in his church and community and for Texas A&M, leading a university committee of business administrators.

Kimball is frequently called upon by peer universities, undergraduates, and graduate students to lend help and solutions to their problems or projects. He recently wrote a comprehensive, instructive article for Parking & Mobility magazine, “Financial Success in a University Environment,” in which he outlined how to create a successful financial plan.

Kimball took the lead for his department in undertaking becoming an APO with Distinction. He met with all of the units to lay out expectations and tirelessly gathered and organized thousands of documents.

His plans help his department thrive even in lean times. In one example, Transportation Services was faced with an aging bus fleet and limited financial resources for replacement. Kimball identified a bus company to serve as a partner and led a significant cost-saving venture to remanufacture the fleet. A new bus costs about $450,000 and takes about two years to build. Remanufacturing usually takes less than a year and saves hundreds of thousands of dollars.

As the department financial adviser, Kimball’s goal is to always make sure leadership has the information needed to make sound fiscal decisions. His strength is projecting what the budgets will look like in the future and creating good models. He is also talented at building models that factor in the many challenges of budgeting for auxiliary services in a university environment. He has an intuitive sense for planning for the unknown, based on his vast experience with the many constraints a government entity is bound to produce. His presentations to propose rate, policy, and infrastructure changes are always based on a careful look at the big picture, constraints, and future projections.

Recently, he was placed on a university-level task force to explore how recent changes to federal tax law will affect parking benefits for staff and faculty.

Recognition & Awards, Resources

2020 IPMI Professional Excellence Award- Customer Service: Barbara Sails

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Barbara SailsBarbara Sails

AMBASSADOR
REEF Parking

Barbara Sails has spent over six years providing the highest quality of customer service for patients and visitors to the Markey Cancer Center in Lexington, Ky. The center is Kentucky’s National Cancer Institute-designated center.

As an ambassador, Sails interacts with dozens of patients and visitors daily. Her interactions are key to a frictionless visit, with most patients arriving for chemotherapy or radiation appointments. Sails is mindful of and sensitive to patients’ emotional state and always takes the time to listen as they share news and updates. One of her tasks is to assist with wayfinding and guidance, and her knowledge of the center is especially helpful for new patients trying to navigate their way around.

Sails’ friendly face, demeanor, and emphatic approach helps soften a frightening period in people’s lives. The job can be emotionally difficult as patients tell her about unsuccessful courses of treatment. This role requires a genuinely kind and caring person like Sails to handle the daily interactions.

Sails’ service makes a difference. She has been nominated for the Markey Difference Maker Award, which recognizes the above-and-beyond dedication and talent of those who go about the business of treating cancer patients, finding efficiencies in business procedures, improving working conditions.

Recognition & Awards, Resources, Transportation & Mobility

2020 IPMI Emerging Leader of the Year: Megan Leinart, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C

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Megan LeinartMegan Leinart, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C

PRESIDENT
Leinart Consulting

Megan Leinart, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, is president of Leinart Consulting, a professional services marketing and consulting firm specializing in the parking, commercial real estate, and professional services industries. She has over 13 years of experience in the parking industry, working with both public and private organizations. She is a LEED Accredited Professional, as well as a Parksmart Advisor through the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). She is also an APO site reviewer.

Leinart has served in numerous leadership positions throughout her career; she is a member of IPMI’s Sustainability Committee, a past member of the IPMI Research Committee, and a past member of the Pennsylvania Parking Association board. She was the marketing chair for the Green Parking Council (now Parksmart/USGBC); a board member of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, Philadelphia Chapter; and a board member of the Delaware Valley Smart Growth Association.

Leinart has served on the IPMI Sustainability Committee for a number of years. In that role, she has spoken at numerous state, regional, and national conferences, educating attendees on the latest sustainability trends, technologies, and advancements in the industry.

Leinart co-founded IPMI’s Young Professionals in Parking (YPIP). She has also been very involved in the commercial real estate industry, specifically with the Urban Land Institute, where she has worked to highlight the advancements of the parking, transportation, and mobility industry. She served as membership chair and young leader chair for the Urban Land Institute Philadelphia Chapter, as well as a vice chair for its national Urban Development and Mixed-Use Council. She has also contributed articles on parking to Urban Land magazine.

Her background in the parking, transportation, and mobility industry includes experiences in a wide range of areas, including planning, design, and construction, as well as operations and management.

Recognition & Awards, Resources, Transportation & Mobility

2020 IPMI Parking Organization of the Year: Philadelphia Parking Authority

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Philadelphia Parking Authority

Philadelphia Parking Authority

The Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) in Pennsylvania serves the parking needs of the sixth-most populous U.S. city, with more than 1.5 million residents. The PPA—which has achieved an Accredited Parking Organization with Distinction designation—recently developed a three-year strategic plan, with the goal to advance economic development and improve quality of life while reducing the environmental impacts of single-occupant vehicle use.

Read more about our 2020 Parking Organization of the Year here.

The PPA is dedicated to implementing the latest parking, transportation, and mobility technologies to enhance user experience and improve efficiency for employees. In 2017, the PPA implemented its new mobile parking payment app, meterUP, which has transformed how residents and visitors interact with parking. Users can pay for parking with their smartphone, which notifies them before their session expires. They can also end their sessions early and receive a refund for unused time.

The PPA recently updated its towing system, allowing for complete automation of the towing process through handheld devices. The devices can send assignments directly to tow truck drivers, while parking enforcement officers (PEOs) can request a tow. This system has helped improve the jobs of PEOs and tow truck drivers, while creating a more safe and efficient process.

To provide a paradigm shift to the meaning of enforcement, PEOs now provide drivers with written reminders when their vehicle registrations expire (given in the first 15 days of the month). This allows the public to see officers from a different perspective and provides education, not punitive action, with the goal of improving public safety.

PPA Executive Director Scott Petri has created a podcast aimed at informing the community of the PPA’s efforts. He interviews employees about PPA initiatives so the public can better understand projects, programs, and technology.

The PPA has worked with the city to implement its Sustainability Action Plan, focusing on enhanced recycling; reducing waste, energy, and emissions; and conserving water. The PPA has implemented sustainability initiatives throughout its facilities and management procedures, including using low-emitting and fuel-efficient fleet vehicles, energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems, and halon-free fire suppression systems. It has also implemented parking guidance systems, electric-vehicle charging stations, tire inflation stations, and off-street bike racks. The PPA is also working with Philadelphia’s regional transit agency, SEPTA, to address congestion along bus routes. PEOs conduct targeted enforcement in bus lanes to reduce traffic delays, congestion, and the resulting emissions.

The PPA is responsible for a number of unique tasks in Philadelphia that are not typically the responsibility of municipal parking authorities. These revolve mostly around community safety. The city participates in the Vision Zero Network, an international initiative aimed at reducing the number of injuries and deaths from traffic collisions each year.

The PPA takes part by managing red-light and speed-camera enforcement, identifying the most dangerous intersections, installing signage, and conducting community outreach to encourage traffic calming. This initiative has helped modify the city’s curb behavior and resulted in a significant drop in violations at these locations. In addition, the PPA supports bicycle mobility and collaborates with the local Bicycle Coalition. In fiscal year 2019, 5,438 tickets were written to enforce clearing bike lanes.

The PPA’s unique combination of responsibilities highlights its ability to manage the comprehensive nature of this changing industry, with the integration of transportation and mobility initiatives.

Recognition & Awards, Resources

2020 IPMI Emerging Leader of the Year: Benito O. Pérez, AICP CTP, CPM

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Benito PerezCURBSIDE MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS PLANNING MANAGER
District Department of Transportation, Washington, DC

Benito O. Pérez, AICP CTP, CPM, has been advancing curbside management in the nation’s capital and throughout the industry for the past five years. Pérez has been curbside management operations planning manager for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) in Washington, DC, since January 2018. Before that, he was curbside management operations planner.

In his early days of curbside management, Pérez helped structure and build out a framework and culture on data-driven, performance-based, and context-sensitive curbside management planning for operations. That involved creating a curbside analyst internship program with DDOT’s Parking and Ground Transportation Division (PGTD).

Pérez is leading the scoping and rollout of next-generation, regionally holistic, curbside asset management solutions such as digital curbside permit management, mobility wallet/payment and data aggregator, and comprehensive curbside asset management services. He was also instrumental in crafting DDOT’s Parking Services Industry Day, which showcases innovations to regional curbside managers and the public. He’s also been involved with analysis and community advocacy work with the Penn Quarter/Chinatown Multimodal Value Pricing Project and recalibrating the Stadium Event Performance Pricing Zone from fixed rate event pricing toward customer- and enforcement-friendly progressive duration pricing.

He has been involved in the design, rollout, and communication of the District’s Pick-up/Drop-off Zone program since 2017 and revamped the accessible meter parking program toward a more asset-light approach paired with rolling out pay-by-plate metering in the District.

Pérez is a noteworthy advocate in advancing and documenting the state of the practice in curbside management, presenting at the Transportation Research Board, Railvolution, American Planning Association, and the National Association of City Transportation Officials.

He started a regional dialogue on curbside management; it has regional implications and has garnered regional cooperation and collaboration in curbside management planning, operations, and procurement. Pérez has spent considerable time helping DDOT PGTD recalibrate its curbside management practice, which has included ensuring better curbside accessibility for mobility impaired and/or limited-English– proficient customers. That has led to publications such as “Parking 101,” the forthcoming consolidated ParkDC website, and a curbside mobility photoshoot to better visually document user experiences.

IPMI Blog, Management & Human Resources, Resources, Safety & Security, Sustainability, Transportation & Mobility

What Do We Do Next?: COVID-19 and the Triple Helix Model of Innovation

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triple helix association
Graphic: Kimatu, J.N. / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

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

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, jurisdictions around the world are preparing to shift from emergency response to recovery with forward-thinking sustainability in mind. The status quo is untenable, meaning innovation will be essential to restoring our way of life.

Enter the triple helix model of innovation which describes the relationship between academia, industry, and government as it pertains to social and economic development. At the model’s core, academia supplies education and research, governments fund or influence educational priorities and regulate industries, while industry provides jobs, infrastructure, and taxes, though these are not rigidly set roles.

Where the triple helix may be most evident is how federal and state COVID-19 response guidelines affected government operations, educational institutions, and businesses. The trickle-down effect has led to ever-evolving resource collaborations and emergency changes to curbside operations and mobility management.

NYU’s C2SMART produced an invaluable tool for municipal responders: an interactive dashboard and white paper on the impact of COVID-19 on transportation in the New York metropolitan area. NYU students also learned how to use modeling techniques to predict the effects of pandemics on transportation systems. Their findings give key insight into mode shifts likely to shape future policy.

Retailers will have a key role in innovation as they adapt to consumer trends. Adobe Analytics data showed a 208 percent increase in curbside pickup during the first three weeks of April. Many jurisdictions face questions about the necessity and sustainability of curbside management strategies to facilitate on-demand delivery services like Uber Eats, GrubHub, Postmates, and DoorDash, which generate about $82 billion and are projected to more than double by 2025. These trends have started to influence government policy and operations with Seattle announcing in May the rollout of curbside pick-up zones for retailers. Future considerations of infrastructure or operations that limit personal contact or facilitate quick curbside access will depend on clear communication of needs.

In the technology world, Apple and Google are working on contact tracing technology that would integrate with government health agency apps. The apps would alert users when they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, though challenges around privacy, data integrity, and participation remain. Still, successful implementation of this technology could empower users or transportation systems managers to make better real-time transportation decisions based on risk.

The Triple Helix Association is calling for papers on innovation in pandemic and societal crisis response; transportation will be an integral part.

What innovation looks like going forward remains to be seen, but opportunity abounds. For example, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) hosts an internship program in conjunction with the Howard University Transportation Research Center. These students play a critical role in expanding the DDOT’s work capacity (including now as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic). In turn they gain real-world experience to boost their careers in the public, private, or academic sectors.

These are a few examples of how governments, academia, and private industry are jointly responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’re aware of other examples, please share it with david.lipscomb@dc.gov.

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

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

A New (Ab)Normal

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transportation, parking, curbside COVID-19By 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 get there?

The answers will determine our ability to accommodate mobility demand and allow us to begin to explore policy responses to the new (ab)normal.

We know that many businesses are increasing telecommuting and educational institutions are preparing to extend remote instruction. Many businesses have had to reduce their workforces, and local and state regulations have barred whole categories of activities. Even before formal lockdowns were implemented, many services were already experiencing cancellations of reservations and declining business. All of these factors would indicate that for the vast majority of use cases, total demand for mobility will be down.

Mobility professionals are well aware that most of the approaches to reducing traffic and parking congestion–buses, carpools, vanpools, and rail–require density and close physical contact. If people are unwilling to get onto densely packed modes of transportation or if those transit systems reduce their capacity to provide for physical distancing, people will be forced back into their cars or choose not to make those trips.

The balance between less demand for mobility in total and less demand for shared mobility as a percentage of the whole will dictate what our streets, structures, and curbs look like for the foreseeable future.

Chris Lechner, CAPP, is manager, data analytics and strategic projects, with UCLA Events and Transportation.

Education & Training, IPMI & Member News, Outreach and Media Relations, Recognition & Awards, Resources, State and Regional Associations, Transportation & Mobility

SRA News: MAPA 2020 Scholarship Extends to June 30th

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MAPA 2020 SCHOLARSHIP

APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE

The Middle Atlantic Parking AssociationDEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 30TH!

Each year MAPA awards Scholarships to deserving students. The award(s) are for one academic year. Applicants may reapply for subsequent years but may only win once The scholarship award may be used towards an accredited institution of higher learning or professional parking certification program. The Deadline is June 30, 2020 and the scholarship will be awarded directly to the institution in August.

Click Here for Full Program Guidelines
Click Here for the Application

Eligibility:

To be eligible for the MAPA Scholarship Award you must be:

1. An employee (full-time, part-time, or student) of a MAPA organization member.

2. A spouse or dependent child of an employee of a MAPA organization member.

3. An employee must be employed for one year at the time of application.

Find out more