Tag Archives: parking

IPMI Blog, Resources

In Saginaw, A Court Decision That Could Undermine Downtown Planning Across the U.S.

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The 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

The federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Michigan recently issued a decision that, if it stands, could have major repercussions for cities across the United States. The court found that the act of “chalking” tires as part of a municipal parking enforcement program constitutes a warrantless search and, without a search warrant, is illegal under the Fourth Amendment.

Tire chalking is a common practice across the country. It’s done to monitor whether a vehicle remains parked in a given space longer than the permitted amount of time. While conducting rounds, a parking enforcement officer discretely places a chalk mark on vehicle tires. When the officer returns, generally several hours later, it is clear which vehicles have overstayed their parking session by the chalk marks on tires.

The court’s ruling may seem like an obscure one, but its implications are potentially far-reaching. Parking time limits are a vital element of downtown urban planning. It is essential to keep parking spaces turning over throughout the day, particularly in downtown business districts. The general rule of thumb is that cities want 15 percent of their spaces to be available on each block to ensure that people who need parking can find it quickly and safely. The more quickly and conveniently drivers can park, the faster they can get to the shops, restaurants, service providers and other businesses they intend to patronize.

The economic benefits of this type of downtown planning are easy to see. Businesses are more likely to thrive if their customers can find convenient parking close by. But there are other benefits as well. For example, when parking is available and easy to find, cars aren’t circling blocks waiting for parking spaces to become available. This reduces congestion and creates a much safer environment for pedestrians and other drivers. It also provides environmental benefits because cars aren’t unnecessarily burning fuel and emitting carbon monoxide. By supporting local businesses, reducing congestion, and promoting more sustainable urban planning, parking time limits dramatically promote the welfare of communities and improve the quality of life of citizens and employees of local businesses.

By every indication this issue isn’t settled yet. Higher courts may weigh in, and we hope they’ll consider the important role parking time limits play in downtown parking and transportation planning. The courts should recognize that chalking and other strategies designed to keep parking spaces turning over regularly aren’t infringements, but rather essential strategies for promoting economic welfare and improving the quality of life for citizens.

Cities must be able to place limits on how long parkers can remain in downtown spaces. It doesn’t matter whether cities chalk tires or use more sophisticated technologies like license plate recognition. It is vitally important for cities to be able to monitor lengths of stay. Ultimately, everyone—drivers, residents, and local businesses—benefits greatly when parking laws are enforced.

Shawn Conrad, CAE, is IPMI’s CEO.

Parking & Mobility Article, Resources, Transportation & Mobility

Thoughtful Management: A county’s division of parking management shines in the close-in suburbs of Washington, D.C.

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By Sindhu Rao

IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD., the Department of Transportation’s (MCDOT) Division of Parking Management has served the parking lot districts (PLDs) of the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Wheaton for more than 60 years with thoughtful parking management techniques.

Charged with addressing on- and off-street parking needs while supporting economic and transportation-­related initiatives, the PLDs con­tinually implement new parking management and operations solutions to enhance the competitiveness of these traditional and urban environments. The PLDs receive no direct government subsidies and are responsible for generating sufficient revenue to cover capital, operational, and debt service costs. Additionally, a certain amount of PLD funds are transferred to the county for the promotion of tran­sit benefits, streetscape and lighting improvements, and other public amenities.

Organizational Structure

MCDOT’s Division of Parking Management is respon­sible for the administration of the county’s three PLDs. The division’s mission is to promote economic growth by offering sufficient parking, encouraging efficient transportation mode choice through a careful balance of parking rates and supply, and developing parking management strategies to maximize the usage of avail­able parking.

The PLDs are a single administrative entity, giving it full control over on- and off-street parking manage­ment, regulatory and compliance coordination, and customer service. As an enterprise fund, the PLDs must generate enough revenue on an ongoing basis to not only be self-sufficient, but also to transfer millions of dollars to transit funds, urban districts, and the county’s general reserve every year.

The division governance structure is organized into four sectional units: administrative management, financial management, engineering and capital project management, and parking operations. Their roles are divvied up in the following ways:

  • The administrative management section manages the planning, information technology, and customer and administration services staff to optimize organi­zational effectiveness. The section plans for the stra­tegic redevelopment of PLD real property. The plan­ning team leads the division’s innovation initiatives and plans for growth in the PLDs through short-term demand studies and long-term strategic plans.
  • The financial management section has overall responsibility for recording and reconciling all revenue, the management of the encumbrance and invoice payment process, the revenue bond debt, and budget. In 2018, the section was responsible for man­aging program-wide revenue of nearly $38 million.
  • The engineering and capital project management sec­tion provides engineering and project management for the design and construction of new parking facilities. The program ensures the preservation and structural integrity of existing parking facilities. It also provides services such as snow and ice removal; housekeeping services; equipment maintenance for elevators, elec­trical, and HVAC systems; and groundskeeping care.
  • The parking operations section is responsible for collecting and processing parking revenue from the many methods of payment offered by the division. It is also responsible for managing the parking citation database, providing onsite security, and overseeing the appeal process for parking tickets.

Biennial Customer Service Survey

As bounded by Montgomery County government bylaws, the Division of Parking Management is required to conduct a park­ing customer service survey every two years to gauge custom­ers’ perception of the public parking system’s performance. The division hires a consultant to administer the survey, ensuring it is completed in an independent manner. The survey targets two subgroups—permit holders and visitors—and offers those customers an opportunity to provide feedback on a wide range of parking issues. The survey results are used by MCDOT staff to measure the division’s performance. In the most recent sur­vey, visitors and permit holders gave their highest marks to the conditions of facilities, safety and security, and convenience to destination. Overall satisfaction with the PLD’s facilities was high, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.

Recent Accomplishments and Initiatives

The county recently became one of the first jurisdictions in the U.S. to partner with two mobile payment vendors. The two-vendor mobile payment system was phased in during six months and is now available at more than 10,000 meters throughout the county. By offering two choices, MCDOT is providing greater flexibility and convenience for parkers.

Another technology adopted by the division is a digital parking guidance system, which offers ­real-time message signs outside and inside garages to direct people to available parking. This information is published to websites and mobile applica­tions as well. The division’s electric vehicle (EV) infrastruc­ture overview plan addresses the need and pathway for install­ing electric-vehicle charging stations in PLD facilities. To date, 16 charging stations that can serve 32 vehicles system-wide are operational with plans to install additional stations.

Another positive change the division made in its parking operations is an upgraded lighting system in each of the di­vision’s 20 garages. The new high-output lamps are not only brighter but have saved the division around 20 percent in ­energy-related expenditures per facility.

Finally, with its partnership with Zipcar, the division has been a leader in promoting the usage of car-share. The division has more than 30 car-share spaces in a mixture of lots, garag­es, and on-street. To promote the visibility of car-share and encourage MCDOT’s alternative transportation objectives, the division has located the on-street car-share spaces near vibrant retail centers.

Additional initiatives implemented recently include a new residential permit program using mobile license plate rec­ognition (LPR) enforcement, modernization of four parking facilities from single-space parking meters to master meters, a variable parking policy program, a dynamic parking map embedded on the county’s website, the county’s first “cy­cle-track” bike lane, and revamping the Ad Valorem tax pro­gram that helps fund the PLDs.

To support the general tax base and improve pedestrian experience, the division has repositioned land by developing three surface lots into mixed-use centers. As part of a pub­lic-private partnership, the division transformed an existing 200-space parking lot in downtown Bethesda into a 950-space subterranean parking garage with first-floor retail and a multi-story residential building above. The publicly owned and operated garage was needed to release pressure off a nearby garage that frequently operated at capacity during peak hours. The project included wider sidewalk space, a pedestrian cut-through connection to an adjacent trail, a public plaza, restau­rants, and the addition of hundreds of residents within a short walk of a transit station.

Two other public-private partnerships are currently un­derway. In Wheaton, the division is redeveloping a 160-space parking lot; by 2020, it will have been converted into a 400-space underground garage with first floor retail, a town square, and a 310,000-square-foot office building above. And in Silver Spring, construction recently wrapped up on a 162-space underground public parking garage with a residential tower above and associated plaza on what was formerly the site of a county parking lot. Beyond these projects, the division is in var­ious planning stages for the future redevelopment of additional PLD lots and garages.

Dual Vendor Mobile Payment System

Mobile payment technology is a win-win. For customers, it is a convenient cashless solution. For parking management agencies, it requires little financial investment or continual operating costs. As the second largest jurisdiction in the Washington met­ropolitan area, Montgomery County has a significant demand for parking from employees, residents, and visitors in its urban areas. In 2010, the division introduced a mobile payment solution to its payment ecosystem. The division partnered with MobileNOW, and success followed immediately with high adoption rates. To­day, the program processes more than 150,000 parking sessions monthly and has generated over $30 million in revenue since its inception.

To build on this success, the county explored solutions to fur­ther increase mobile payment use for several reasons. First, mo­bile payment systems have minimal infrastructure requirements and limited ongoing operational costs and lack credit card pro­cessing fees. Benefits flow to customers too, including the ability to conveniently pay for parking, receive a text message when parking time is close to expiring, extend the parking session remotely, pay for only time parked, and track personal parking activity.

Second, the county serves a cross-jurisdictional consumer base. A substantial portion of MCDOT’s parking facility users come from outside the county. Consequently, these parkers are accustomed to using the mobile payment provider offered in their hometown, which may differ from Montgomery County’s. Wanting to avoid balancing multiple payment accounts, there’s a segment of the customer base that’s disinclined to register with the county’s vendor’s app. Therefore, to mitigate the downside of parkers eschewing mobile payment due to unfamiliarity with the county’s vendor, improving mobile payment access became a division priority.

Ultimately, the county decided to become one of the country’s first jurisdictions to provide customers with a choice of mobile payment vendors. The county wanted to capitalize on the op­portunity to nudge customers in the mobile payment direction. The county issued a request for proposals in early 2017, and following the bidding process partnered with its existing vendor, MobileNOW, and a new vendor with a well-estab­lished presence in the Washington, D.C.-area market, ParkMobile.

Prior to the rollout, a few issues needed resolution. For example, the county needed to get both vendors on board with a sign package. To keep sign clutter to a minimum, it was apparent that both vendors’ branding would have to be integrated into the same signs. The county spearheaded the design process, contracted with a local graphic designer, and developed instruc­tional signage to be installed in visibly prominent loca­tions within garages. Both vendors provided feedback during the design process and approved final drawings. The result was a cohesive sign package that reduced visual clutter in parking facilities.

Another issue impeding a smooth deployment was enforcement complications. The county was challenged with integrating both vendors’ parking en­forcement technology into a single software platform. MCDOT collaborated with the vendors’ IT teams for workable solutions, and the county’s enforcement of­ficers are now able to view transaction data from each vendor on their handheld devices in real time.

Decals on meters inform customers of the mobile payment option. However, relinquishing space on me­ter heads exclusively to vendor decals could have nega­tive future consequences if either vendor folded or did not meet contractual obligations. To work around this potential problem, the county configured a consistent meter layout with four distinct decals:

  • MobileNOW’s decal displaying a QR code and space number.
  • ParkMobile’s decal displaying a QR code and space number.
  • A Montgomery County decal displaying the space number.
  • A Montgomery County decal displaying a URL address directing patrons to the county’s website with mobile payment instructions.

This approach eases the transition if the partner­ship with one of the vendors were to end. That com­pany’s decal could be removed or replaced without disrupting the mobile payment program.

By late 2017, the county began an incremental launch. A phased approach was adopted as staff was tasked with installing the four decals on more than 10,000 meters throughout the PLDs. By mid-2018 the launch was complete with 10 garages, 20 lots, and more than 2,300 on-street meters in the PLDs outfitted with dual vendor mobile payment capability. The county plans to expand the program to additional facilities, including pay-by-space environments.

Program Outcomes

Due to the widespread diffusion of mobile technol­ogy, consumers have come to expect convenience in many aspects of their lives. While the county has modernized the payment systems in several facilities, budgetary realities have prevented the county from modernizing the entire parking system. This has given rise to frustrated customers. Paying for parking with coins is a common pain point. Indeed, the dual vendor mobile payment system has provided MCDOT and its customers with tangible benefits and improved expe­rience. For MCDOT, the system has proven powerful because it does not require new equipment or main­tenance costs. For customers, it has aligned with the convenience that technology has brought elsewhere in their lives.

The county has access to a comprehensive web-based collection of reports from both vendors, enabling analyses of mobile payment activities. To benchmark success of the program, the county tracked mobile pay­ment sessions and revenue per facility in the months leading up to the dual-vendor implementation and tracked sessions and revenue post-implementation. Since implementation of the dual vendor system, year-over-year total parking sessions increased over 20 per­cent and revenue by $1.3 million.

MCDOT plans to expand the dual vendor mobile payment system to additional parking facilities. The system is currently only available in facilities operated by single-space meters and pay-and-display environ­ments. The county anticipates rolling out the dual ven­dor system in its pay-by-space garages and lots soon. With this impending expansion, MCDOT will reap further benefits, and greater convenience will flow to additional county parkers.

Read the article here.

SINDHU RAO is IT specialist III in the Division of Parking Management of the Montgomery Department of Transportation. She can be reached at sindhu.rao@montgomerycountymd.gov.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Creating a Sense of Community Through Parking

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Parking & Mobility June 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 industry and faced its sometimes negative connotations in the community, she decided to put her expertise to work to change people’s minds–and it worked.

In this month’s Parking & Mobility magazine, Moore, assistant general manager of parking services with the City of Greenville, shares how small changes, smart marketing, and working to build relationships changed how people see parking and helped foster a sense of community around it. With lots of takeaways and new ideas, it’s a great read–check it out here and let us know on Forum what you think.

 

IPMI Blog, Resources

Challenges, Solutions, and Tenacity

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By 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 a positive and meaningful experience for everyone. Even though I’m on staff, the reality is that I’m still just a parking girl, hoping for a great conference event–and I sure found it in Anaheim.

From the welcoming event block party to the general sessions, the education sessions and Shoptalks, and of course, the always phenomenal Expo, I’m hoping you share my observation that it accomplished the mission to enlighten and inspire our industry.

What was the hot topic “du jour” for you this year? There are always several that rise to the top, but the one that I heard most about probably won’t surprise you at all: curb management. There were various education sessions, group discussions, and solution-based inquiries around the Expo hall–most of the industry is challenged at some level by the ever-changing role of the curb and how we facilitate and manage that finite space for optimal effectiveness. An ongoing challenge for sure, but I have great faith in both the industry thought leaders and our broader membership. We’re a tenacious lot that seems to appreciate a good challenge. Technologies, policies, case studies, and lessons learned: Our colleagues never seem to shy away from sharing what’s worked and what hasn’t, and that’s not an attitude that every industry enjoys.

Yes, we’re a lucky bunch, we parking and mobility professionals. Always willing to share, to learn, and to help. All you have to do is ask.

Looking forward to doing it all again next year in San Antonio.

Cindy Campbell is IPMI’s senior training and development specialist.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Making Time for Mentoring

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parking, mentoring, mentor By 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 be mentored. It’s a two-way street in which both parties make a place in their life for the other.

This holds true professionally or personally. There is someone with a desire to learn or do something they can move toward though a mentoring relationship, and there is another person with a desire to teach or just have a companion with a common interest.

No matter which end you’re on, you should respect and appreciate the fact that someone has made time in their life for you. You only get one pass-through and time is the most precious commodity. Make the most of your time together: Know what you want to cover, as well as how you are going to cover it. You need to not only be efficient but make it interesting as well. If it is a success for everyone, the relationship extends.

John Mason, CAPP, PMP, QIR, is project manager with HUB Parking Technology.

Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

CLIMBING THE LADDER

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Proven techniques to establish yourself as an industry leader.

By Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPH

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF DEFINITIONS OR 19-06 Climbing the LadderPROCESSES for professionals to become leaders. All industries, including parking and mobility, attempt to incorporate some form of leadership requirement into their programs. Dictionary.com defines leadership simply as “the action of leading a group of people or an organization.” However, this definition does not define what the specific actions are in leadership. The question is: Which leadership actions must one use? “Leadership” is simply an accumulation of specific social/management skills applied at the proper time to motivate those who are led.
Law enforcement is one industry that created formalized leadership training for its employees. In California, the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute is a program in which law enforcement sergeants complete a curriculum of study, read­ing, and reports on various leadership styles and theories. They take part three days a month for nine months.

Warren G. Bennis, a pioneer in the field of leadership studies, said, “Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.”
Management is easier to define. Merriam-Webster Online Dic­tionary defines management or manage as “to act or direct with a degree of skill.” It seems leadership and management are syn­onymous. Both definitions require the development of skills, and those skills are teachable. However, effective leadership uses tim­ing and application of management to motivate employees, unlike management, which relies solely on authority for motivation.

Eight Competencies for Leaders

In their book, “Leadership for the Common Good: Tackling Pub­lic Problems in a Shared Power World,” authors Barbara C. Cros­by and John M. Bryson present eight competencies for effective leadership. Because the parking and mobility industry affects the quality of life for their communities, most mobility adminis­trators are expected to use all eight competencies at some point during their careers.

While all the competencies are important, their differences are slight, and as a group, they will almost appear equal. How­ever, when looking closely, the differences are logical and easily ranked in importance:

  • Personal Leadership: understanding and deploying personal assets on behalf of beneficial change.
  • Organizational Leadership: nurturing humane and effective organizations.
  • Leadership in Context: understanding the social, political, eco­nomic, and technological givens as well as potentialities.
  • Visionary Leadership: creating and communicating shared meaning in forums.
  • Ethical Leadership: sanctioning conduct and adjudicating dis­putes in court.
  • Team Leadership: building effective workgroups.
  • Policy Entrepreneur: coordinating leadership tasks over the course of a policy change cycle.
  • Political Leadership: making and implementing decisions in legislative, executive, and administrative arenas.

Foundational to the first seven competencies is personal leadership. This is further defined as a leader’s passion in sharp­ening the competencies not for personal gain, but for the better­ment of the organization. Personal leadership is who we are as leaders. These are internal morality and ethics that are ingrained while growing up by social and environment factors.

Steps to Leadership

Once emerging leaders have defined how they want to be known, they can focus on organizational leadership and leadership in context. As an emerging leader, it is important to nurture an effective organization by determining the skill sets of the team and to understand how external forces affect the organization. The emerging leader will better use the remaining competen­cies by understanding how the internal and external players affect the organization.

The policy entrepreneur and political leadership competencies are external to the organization and those over which the new leader has the least control. However, mastery of these two are important to the well-being of the organization, which can affect the morale of the employees.  When there are policy direction changes coming from a new campus president (or other administrators), new mayor (and/or city council), or a new board of directors, the previous organizational goals are threatened. How the policy entrepreneur and political leader navigate these new forces will affect their status as a leader, both internally and externally to the organization.

Research

Up to this point, the discussion has focused on general leader­ship competencies to better understand how organizational leadership is seen in differing contexts. However, contemporary non-academic articles provide some of the best suggestions to specific leader actions that are useful for the parking and mobili­ty professional. The majority of the literature can be broken into three general topics:

  • Communicate. Be a master communicator. As Stephen Covey wrote in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Most people listen so they can prepare for a response instead of listening to under­stand the message. This takes being quiet and listening, rather than speaking. It takes humbling oneself by taking the time to understand the message, rather than forcing a message. Praise in public, counsel in private, but remember to take personal responsibility when things go wrong. Don’t blame others!
  • Teach instead of direct. Leadership is not knowing every­thing. That is why teams are created—so each member can bring a particular skill to the team. Teaching others your skills allows you to become a teacher instead of just a boss. Included in teaching is challenging yourself and your team to achieve sustained results. Remember, it is influence, and not authority that makes a great leader. Teach to gain respect, and be willing to learn from others. Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s, said, “When you’re green, you are growing. When you’re ripe, you rot.” Especially in the parking and mobility industry and its your integrity. Integrity keeps your message authentic.ever-changing technologies, be willing to keep learning or your effectiveness as a leader will rot.
  • Be passionate and humble. Be passionate about your employees, care for your organization’s mission, and encourage your staff to accomplish impossible tasks. Be inspirational by showing empathy and maintaining your integrity. Integrity keeps your message authentic.  A true leader parks his or her ego at the door and aspires to be respected as a person instead of demanding respect due to title or position. Lead by example, but let others shine. Leaders are only as successful as those they lead. Your credit comes when the team shines, so give them the most shares of the credit. Leader­ship is not about you; it is about those you are serving.

 

Using the Skills

Leadership skills are learnable, but like any soft skill, they are acquired by repetition and education. They will dull without consistent use. While some are born leaders, most of us must make positive efforts to learn leadership and practice them daily. Many job descriptions, especially for supervisory and manage­ment positions, expect some level of leadership competency. However, these same industries do not provide leadership train­ing. The expectation is that employees must obtain leadership training from outside the organization via university courses or other channels.

Parking and mobility industry professionals have access to formal and informal leadership training opportunities. The CAPP program through IPMI includes a section on leadership while other leadership training opportunities are available through the regional parking and transportation organizations. A method of self-study is also available. There are numerous authors: Stephen Covey, Peter Drucker, and Warren Bennis are great places to start. Be curious! The best leaders are always seeking new and better ways to lead, and our industry is chang­ing too fast to stop.

Read the article here.

PERRY EGGLESTON, CAPP, DPA, is director, SP+ University Services. He can be reached at peggleston@spplus.com.

PARKING & MOBILITY / JUNE 2019 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

Parking & Mobility Article, Resources, Sustainability, Technology

Leading Mobility

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By Bridgette Brady, CAPP

MOBILITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN a part of our lives. Howev­er, the recent and swift evolution of interconnectivity, mobility-as-a-service, curb management, and so many other holistic approaches to transforming the facilita­tion of movement means the industry needs to pause and understand its foundation. As with any paradigm shift, understanding what we know now—the foundation of existing ­conditions—is critical.

At its core, mobility is about people, not a marketplace for mobility goods. Of course, the market provides the options in which to serve various mobility needs, but it is paramount we remember the human element belongs at the beginning of the process as we visualize mobility impacts.

Mobility Leaders

If mobility is about people, it is also about the need for strong, adaptable leaders at every level. In a recent constructive and in-depth conversation with a cus­tomer base group, I was enlightened by a comment. A very astute individual with a distinctly different background in infor­mation science remarked that it appeared that our jobs as leaders in the mobility space isn’t as much about vehicles or the reductions thereof, but rather about change management.

What does the leader of mobility change look like to both internal and ex­ternal customers? How does this leader help the foundation of mobility—people—maneuver the swiftly evolving changes of opportunities and challenges in their needs to get where they want or need to be? Here are a few ideas:

  • Use data-driven processes to quantify the benefits and opportunities that will occur with the implementation of new mobility initiatives.
  • Use case studies as examples to identi­fy the intended outcomes and change associated with new mobility invest­ments, identifying relatable real-world examples.
  • Use open and continuous communi­cation to support change by helping people along at their pace, which will help them adapt more naturally.

 

Leading Change

Change-capable leadership requires the ability to influence and enthuse, in addi­tion to the ability to make knowledge­able, data-based, and strategic decisions. It isn’t surprising that communication is at the top of the list of essentials to be­ing a successful leader of change. A few opportunities for communication in the change-management realm:

  • Internal program workshops to discuss the intentions of changing mobility and how to educate customers and end users.
  • Community-driven outreach focused at educating users how mobility deci­sions can improve commute, access, and movement.
  • On-the-ground conversations aimed at promoting use of alternate mobil­ity options and enabling better daily decision-making.

What is different from strictly strate­gic leadership is not only explaining the “what” but also explaining the “why.” Collaboration in many forms is necessary, most importantly with engaging employ­ees early in the decision-making process. Change-capable leaders will need the courage to commit to the “why” and perhaps stretch outside of their comfort zones.

Getting There

IPMI has a wonderful start on developing leaders in the industry with its Leader­ship Summit and various trainings aimed at developing the leaders of tomorrow’s parking and mobility industry. The as­sociation has also been arming leaders with knowledge and resources from the formation of the organization. A few examples of IPMI’s industry-leading resources include:

  • “A Guide to Parking,” the first textbook for the parking and transportation industry, which provides the foundation for greater mobility research (parking-mobility.org/textbook).
  • Cutting-edge education on trends and tech that are trans­forming and disrupting the industry, including specific resources and best practices shaping curb management (­parking-mobility.org/education).
  • Unique partnerships designed to expand and grow our shared knowledge and expertise, such as our relationships with the Alliance for Parking Data Standards, the U.S. Green Building Council, the Transportation Research Board, and multiple uni­versity relationships, to foster new research.

 

Resources

After much conversation with IPMI’s strategic partners about preparing for the future, it’s clear that a resounding understand­ing that reliance on research and reputable resources must be a foundation to advance the profession. As industry leaders in parking, transportation, and mobility, it’s incumbent upon us to help drive change in a meaningful way, using our understand­ing of parking and mobility to help our customers, employees, and colleagues make decisions that improve their lives and the environment around them. As change leaders, we should be prepared to:

  1. Lead by example, making decisions related to the intersection between parking and mobility that influence a better tomor­row and promote a more balanced transportation system.
  2. Focus on the people who are influenced by mobility decisions and help them understand the importance of change and the positive benefits of their decisions.
  3. Use data and real information to define change and influence decision-making.
  4. Create strong and open communication plans to help educate our constituents and promote change.
  5. Lean on IPMI to help develop supportive research and metrics to drive change and support industry growth.

 

Read the article here.

BRIDGETTE BRADY, CAPP, is senior director of transportation and delivery services at Cornell University and co-chair of the IPMI Research Committee. She can be reached at bb635@cornell.edu.

 

Outreach and Media Relations, Parking & Mobility Article, Research, Resources, Sustainability, Technology, Transportation & Mobility

Eyes on the Trends

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By Brian Shaw, CAPP

AS MOBILITY PROFESSIONALS, we have to try to stay aware of trends in our industry. Most of us were caught off guard with the advent of transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft and the impact they have had on curb space, traditional taxis, car-sharing, transit usage, parking demand, and traffic. What could be coming next that will affect our profession and industry? I will attempt to make some predictions, and I will be interested to see how right or wrong I am in the coming years.

Electrification of Transit Fleets

Batteries continue to get better. Consistent range, per­formance, and safety have made moving bus transit to an electric platform feasible, viable, and cost-effective. China has led the way in this trend, and North Amer­ican transit properties, universities, and airports have begun to transition their bus fleets to electric. Bus manufacturers have emerged who specialize in elec­tric buses while also collaborating with traditional bus companies on conversions.

EV Charging?

Many of us have installed electric-vehi­cle (EV) charging stations in our facil­ities. This may be due to a code require­ment or as a way to attract EV owners to park in our facilities. But the range for EVs has dramatically improved; some EVs can go 100, 200, or more miles on a charge. Is EV charging still needed at worksites as battery range im­proves? Should EV charging be done at home, and should EV charging be free? Should fast or slow chargers be the option?

Transportation Network Companies

Is the growing use of Lyft and Uber a prelude to how life will be with autonomous vehicles (AVs)? Will we own cars in the future and need to park them? How should our facilities be designed and what features do they need if the vehicles can park them­selves? For now, it may be prudent to develop staging areas for TNCs.

Pickup/Drop-off Curb Space

Given the increasing use of TNCs and the likely future advent of autonomous vehicles, our built environments will need to develop new design standards and op­erational use criteria to make the best use of limited curb space. Perhaps when parking demand declines, the curb space issue will be addressed by having fewer curbs in use for parking. At least for the foreseeable future, curb use and availability will remain a challenge.

Technology Instead of Travel

In more urban and suburban areas, this could lead to a growing need for short-term loading zones to accom­modate delivery activities. Commuters may commute less or to various remote locations to facilitate remote working/working from home, reducing demand for monthly permits and parking and increasing need for daily permits. Meetings may take place online with improving video conferencing, reducing mid-day trips and parking demand. Why go to the theater if you can see the next Oscar winner from home? If your dinner can be easily delivered from your favorite restaurant, why go out? This trend should reduce retail parking demand, but it will increase demand for curb and loading areas, particularly in urban settings.

Microtransit

Will microtransit services reduce parking demand? Are they shifting trips from transit or using a personal bike? Are these inducing travel by making it easier and faster to travel short distances? Dockless electric scooters are making inroads in some cities and are becoming more regulated. Perhaps converting or adding dockless device parking where bike parking is located is prudent. It remains to be seen if these microtransit services will be profitable and worth incorporating into planning processes. When mobility-as-a-service becomes possible, microtransit should have a place in travel planning and seamless paying.

LPR and Gateless Parking

Can parking garages and lots be operated with license plate recognition (LPR)-based payment and enforcement exclusively?

Have we seen the end of parking meters, pay stations, and gate arms? Can parking be factored into emerging mobility-as-a-service solutions via LPR? When parking facilities become staging areas for TNCs and/or autonomous vehicles, automated vehicle detection and payments will be needed. While vehicles could be equipped with a device like an E-ZPass, all vehicles have a license plate that is valid everywhere. Perhaps LPR

becomes a way for AVs to pay for parking/staging/charging at a parking facility. If that is the case, will gates and pay stations be necessary? Until cash is gone and humans no longer drive and park, parking equipment should continue to be useful. However, the day is coming when barrier-free, LPR-based parking payment and enforcement will be the norm.

Amplification of Transportation

Is it possible to crack the challenge of real-time ride-sharing—trip, location, and time? Is this service best accomplished with TNCs and ride-matching apps versus dedicated vehicles and routes? When AVs can carry larger passenger loads, perhaps services such as Chariot and RidePal will be economically viable. Until then, daily ride-matching apps seem to have found a viable place. Combining daily ride-matching with LPR-based parking management should allow use of preferred carpool parking and sharing commuting costs for daily carpools. Transit agencies have begun considering using TNCs to provide on-demand trans­portation, particularly for lightly used routes or during off-peak service hours. Arguably, TNCs can be a more cost-effective way to provide needed transportation when ridership loads are low.

Adaptive Reuse

Under what conditions does it make sense to pay the extra upfront costs for adaptive reuse (see p. 36 of the May 2019 issue for more)? Depending on the location of the facility, age, design, and ownership, it may or may not make financial sense to build a parking facility to accommodate an autonomous vehicle future. Can the property be redeveloped? If so, perhaps when parking demand declines to the point where a garage is no longer needed, it may be best to redevelop the property.

A growing aspect of our roles as parking and mobility professionals is to stay aware and informed of these and oth­er trends and advances in our profession. In some cases, our best approach is to wait and see how the trend plays out.

Read the article here.

BRIAN SHAW, CAPP, is executive director of parking and transportation at Stanford University, and co-chair of the IPMI Sustainability Committee. He can be reached at bshaw2@stanford.edu

IPMI Blog, Resources

Unlocking the Power of Pricing to Drive Revenue

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By 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 services, and we want what we buy to be digitally-accessible, convenient, and immediate.

Now back to booking your trip…have you thought about whether space in your preferred parking lot will be available when you get to the airport? If only you could pre-book a parking spot and lock in the price you will pay.

Trailblazing airports around the world, like Raleigh-Durham and Avinor Oslo, are actively growing pre-book parking and using data and analytics to offer the right parking product to the right customer, at the right price, at the right time. It’s a practice called revenue management and it’s been used by airlines and hotels for decades. Not only does it improve the traveler experience, but it optimizes occupancy and maximizes parking revenue.

It’s quite simple. A parking spot, like an airplane seat, is a perishable asset. If the spot isn’t filled, it doesn’t generate any revenue for that day. If it’s filled at a low price when the consumer is willing to pay more, the business misses out on additional revenue.

It’s also quite complex. How do you pick the perfect price that factors in demand, price sensitivity, and varied arrival dates and lengths of stay? Thanks to advances in automated analytics technology, sophisticated tools are now available that replace guesswork with empirical science and data-driven pricing decisions.

It’s only a matter of time before booking a place for your car to stay is just another step in the planning process of your next getaway.

Guy Barnes is head of global sales, parking, with IDeaS Revenue Solutions. He will present on this topic at the 2019 IPMI Conference & Expo, June 9-12 in Anaheim, Calif. For more information and to register, click here.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Putting Parking’s Best Foot Forward

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By 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, how can we create a parking environment that enhances the beginning and end to the user journey?

Lighting and signage can go a long way toward making a garage feel more welcoming, whether you are designing new parking or simply looking to spruce up an existing asset. Adding architectural appeal is another way to make parking an enjoyable experience. Likewise, public art–from painted murals by local artists to large-scale, intricate installations–provides an opportunity for a parking facility to express its identity and connect to its surroundings in unique ways. A public plaza can further integrate parking into the context of its environment.

The parking experience is about far more than aesthetics, however. Parking guidance systems that take the stress out of finding a space, and amenities such as valet can set a destination apart from others around it.

Would you like to see real-life examples of parking that has accomplished this, and more? Join us along with Josh Kavanagh, CAPP, director of transportation at UC San Diego, in Anaheim for the 2019 IPMI Conference & Expo. Our panel, Putting Parking’s Best Foot Forward, will explore the different ways parking can create a transformative experience.

Matt Davis is an associate principal and Taylor Kim is a project manager with Watry Design, Inc. They will present on this topic at the 2019 IPMI Conference & Expo, June 9-12 in Anaheim, Calif. For more information and to register, click here.