Parking & Mobility — May 2023

Future Trends: What Comes Next?

What the future holds for parking and mobility as technology evolves at the most rapid pace in modern history.

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INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE

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Defragmenting Parking Technology

A Practical Guide to Streamlining & Optimizing Your Ecosystem Without Adding Complexity

By Christopher Perry, Sarah Becherer, and Michelle McDonald on behalf of the IPMI Technology Committee

Curbing the Airport Bottlenecl

Strategies to Optimize the Curbside Experience

by Steven Aiello, CAPP

V2G

How Vehicle-to-Grid Technology Creates Passive Income and Eases the Burden of EV Regulations

By Robert Ferrin, CAPP, Jeffrey Sallee, PE, John Wheeler, and Brian Zelis

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The Connected Stadium

Venue Management’s Most Exciting Technology Had Its Roots in Parking

By Bill Smith

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Plain Bagel Tactics

Empowering Operators Through Integrations, Transparency, & Partnerships

By Chris Everton

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Building Technical + Human APIs is the Future

How Tech API & Human API are Both Critical to Success.

By Brian Wolff

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COLUMNS

4 BOARD PERSPECTIVE

The Future of Parking, Mobility, and Technology

By Gary A. Means, CAPP

6 INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

Let’s Talk Pilot Speak

By Henry Espinosa

8 DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION

Impactful and Sustainable Corporate Culture Must Be Supported by a Strong DE&I Focus

By Ann Jackson

10 THE GREEN IMPACT

The Grid May Be Ready to Grow Wheels

By Matt McCaffree

14 HR PERSPECTIVE

Fueling Growth Through Feedback

By Andy Santos

16 LEADERSHIP MOMENT

Leadership Legacy

By Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, CAPP

20 STATE & REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Get to Know the Parking Association of the Virginias

By Rob E. Maroney, CAPP

22 PARKING SPOTLIGHT

UNLV Tropicana Parking Garage Expansion Kimley-Horn

24 ASK THE EXPERTS

What new technology, innovation, or strategy for parking and mobility are the most exciting to you in terms of the future of the industry, and why?

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF PARKING AND MOBILITY LOOK LIKE?

The theme of this May issue of Parking & Mobility magazine is Future Trends: what does the future hold for our industry? As technology evolves at the most paid pace in modern history, how will it impact parking and mobility? What comes next? IPMI exists to provide you with the resources you need to develop your plan for the future. Let’s start today.

This issue begins to answer some of those questions, at the same time inspiring a continued dialogue that we invite you to be a part of. A sampling of the thought-provoking content packed into this issue includes:

● A discussion on how new technology has led to fragmentation among parking technology, and how to regain efficiency while still moving forward.

● Two different pieces on Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology, from two different perspectives.

● The “Connected Stadium” provides fans the ability to use one credential from initial purchase through to leaving the event—from tickets, to parking, to concessions and souvenirs.

● How technology is helping airports to better monetize the curb.

● and much more!

This issue is a great launch point for the discussion on future trends. Where is your organization in the timeline of technological evolution? What challenges and victories have you experienced? We as a community need to keep these conversations going and share information. The more we can pass along to others on what is working, and the more available to us on how to solve our challenges, the better chance the parking and mobility community must keep up with this technology explosion.

We want to hear all about your organization, your challenges, and how IPMI can continue to be your partner as we move together into the future of parking and mobility.

What does the future of parking and mobility look like? I, for one, cannot wait to find out.

Melissa Rysak, editor rysak@parking-mobility.org

PUBLISHER

Shawn Conrad, CAE conrad@parking-mobility.org

EDITOR

Melissa Rysak, CPSM rysak@parking-mobility.org

TECHNICAL EDITOR

Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C yoka@parking-mobility.org

ADVERTISING SALES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

Tina Altman taltman@parking-mobility.org

PUBLICATION DESIGN

BonoTom Studio info@bonotom.com

For subscription changes, contact Tina Altman, taltman@parking-mobility.org or 888.IPMI.NOW

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Copyright © International Parking & Mobility Institute, 2023. Statements of fact and opinion expressed in articles contained if Parking & Mobility are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent an official expression of policy or opinion on the part of officers or the members of IPMI. Manuscripts, correspondence, articles, product releases, and all contributed materials are welcomed by Parking & Mobility; however, publication is subject to editing, if deemed necessary to conform to standards of publication.

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The Future of Parking, Mobility, and Technology

By Gary A. Means, CAPP

THIS MONTH’S ISSUE OF Parking & Mobility magazine focuses on future trends in our industry. There are many topics that have our community buzzing, and the future success of our organizations depends on our ability to keep up. Here are a few of the topics I see having the most impact as we look toward the future of parking, mobility, and technology:

Curb Management

Ok, I know we’ve talked about this topic a lot in the past only to be accelerated ten-fold during the pandemic. However, as an industry, we have a long way to go. There is a lot more to do and accomplish around curb management. The use of sensors at the curb has been experimented with and utilized in many situations. Now, cameras with artificial intelligence are being used in the on-street environment and several pilots and actual practices are in place to charge delivery vehicles of all types for their micro-use of the curb. This is coming on fast, but many communities still have old policies/regulations in place that do not allow for charging in loading zones or parking citations being issued by mail rather than on the windshield. Look for advancements in this area to happen rapidly.

Data Aggregation & Management

We’ve been talking about data, data, data for more than a decade in our industry. There have been some front runners around APIs and aggregation of data, and many organizations and their customers have benefited greatly. Still, as an industry, we are far from being where we could be in the realm of data mining, and more importantly, the use of data for real actionable decisions, policy influence, and public transparency.

Asset Light

The use of hardware is decreasing in all industries, and ours is no different. Most of the manufacturers of meters and PARCS equipment as well as paper ticket suppliers

Payment Apps

Mobile payment technologies are front and center, and usage in both on-street and off-street environments continues to increase. Communities and campuses are accepting multiple mobile payment platforms to better serve their customers, especially those who travel and have a favorite app already installed on their mobile devices. Text-to-park has seen a strong increase over the past year or two and doesn’t show signs of slowing. The future of mobile payments lies in two areas from my perspective: in-vehicle payments and GPS-based payments. Both already exist, but most auto OEMs have only recently added these features to their in-dash systems. That means many car owners do not have these features—yet. Whether it’s a mobile device or a vehicle, anytime we can remove some of the steps or friction from making a payment the customer benefits. Soon we will not have to enter a meter number or a location number as the app will know where you are, and you can just start your transaction and it can end when you pull away.

Public Outreach

This is one area that is ripe for advancement. Public outreach comes in many forms, but the more we can rely on technology the better. Many companies and organizations rely on mass media, but most have shifted to digital media including social media to help get the word out about their products or programs. Is that enough? To manage demand, for example, how can we let customers know that meters or facilities in one area are more costly than in another area? Or, how do we best let drivers know about road closures or delays on their way to an event or on their commute to work or school? Intelligent Transportation Systems are increasing in their usage and impact, and some communities are already working with apps like Waze or Google to communicate in a crisis or to encourage carpooling etc.

Employee Relations

The use of technology for employee recruitment, relations, and retention has expanded greatly and will continue to do so in the future. How we find the best candidates, onboard, train, embrace, encourage, and create opportunities for advancement has shifted in so many ways due to technology. If you want to be relevant you must jump on this bandwagon.

EV Charging & EV Parking

I’m separating the electric vehicle conversation into two buckets as some EV owners may charge at home and then

park in our facilities, while others may park with us to charge their vehicles. We need to be prepared for both. We have realized that many of our above-grade facilities may not be designed to withstand the weight of many EV vehicles which typically weigh over 30% more than non-EVs, requiring a change in how we design and upgrade these facilities.

Parking Facility Design/Mobility Hubs

A few years ago, our industry engineers and architects rightfully began to educate us about the adaptive reuse of parking facilities - the idea of repurposing a facility that was once a parking facility into something else like housing or office space. Generally, this topic has been discussed in dense metropolitan areas with very high land values, etc., but I predict these practices will become more mainstream in the coming years. Existing parking facilities can be converted into mobility hubs even now, and I believe we’ll see more of that sooner than later.

Funding Sources

Finally, as an industry, we must figure out how to pay for all of this. Some topics mentioned above, such as the “asset light” concept and the use of digital solutions, may save us money on maintenance, but many of our future solutions and enhancements will require additional funding that may need to come from some non-traditional practices, including offering high-level service at a higher price. VIP parking and reservations with higher pricing for the popular spaces close to the elevator, stairs, or exits are just a few ways to do this. We also need to think about advertising again: how can we generate more income through advertisements on our websites, in our apps, or on our vehicles or facilities? I realize many government entities are not allowed to advertise, so maybe we can be more creative in other ways like leasing out unused parking spaces for non-traditional uses.

What do you think? What do you see as the future trends impacting our industry?

I hope to see all of you at the IPMI conference. If we haven’t met, please grab me and introduce yourself. I look forward to it!

GARY A. MEANS, CAPP , is Executive Director of the Lexington & Fayette County Parking Authority, and chair of the IPMI Board of Directors.

Let’s Talk Pilot Speak

By Henry Espinosa

CONSIDER WHAT IS REQUIRED for an efficient parking experience for a customer. Note that by “customer” I’m including individuals as well as commercial operators like delivery and rideshare companies. Ideally, they would know where they are going to park before leaving for their destination. Efforts have been made by navigation providers and others to provide this information but with so many providers and vendors involved, it is nearly impossible to gather accurate information. It turns out that one of the keys to improving curb efficiency is improving communication.

Now I’m going to talk about flying airplanes. Stay with me, it’s related. Pilots rely on the airport Air Traffic Control to provide information about other planes in the airspace and to coordinate takeoff and landing procedures. All pilots, regardless of company, plane type, or nationality use the same language and protocols to communicate with each other. Building a language and protocols like “pilot speak” for all curb users is a necessary step for properly managing the curb. Here is where Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) come in.

APIs are the computer version of standardized communication protocols and luckily, much work has already gone into developing these protocols. APIs like the Alliance for Parking Data Standards and the Curb Data Standard from the Open Mobility Foundation are gaining traction in the industry. Their goal is to allow all stakeholders to communicate parking information to all other stakeholders without having to create customized software integrations between them. I’ll use the Miami Parking Authority’s plans to illustrate how these APIs can improve both communications and by extension, the parking experience for all stakeholders.

We have a GIS database of all our parking assets and the policies associated with them. Assets are any kind of managed curb space. The policy determines the use case, price, restrictions, and any other valuable details for the space. Ideally, every individual and company that needs to use the asset would be able to query our database for up-to-date information. In practice, this does not happen because the format of my data is unique to my organization. To correct this, we plan to reorganize the data using these new, standardized formats.

We are also starting to require that vendors who provide curb technologies like payment processing, monitoring, enforcement,

and reservations ingest our policy in this format. The idea is that all vendors will be able to process policy changes in real-time. Furthermore, we are going to require that vendors provide their data to us (and in some cases to each other) in the same format. Initially, I thought that we would get pushback from vendors but I’m seeing the opposite. Everyone we speak to understands that if they can send and receive data from us in a standard format, they’ll be able to do the same with any other municipality that adopts the standards. This drastically reduces the cost of implementing a solution.

Another advantage for vendors is that often they are asked to share information between them. In our case, for example, we have a curb monitoring system that cross-references our payment systems to determine the level of compliance. Vendors that adopt these standard APIs know that they can easily communicate with other vendors without the cost of bespoke programming.

I expect that as adoption increases, we’ll see a synergistic feedback loop where real-time policy and utilization information can be pushed to users who can make better-informed decisions about accessing the curb. We, in turn, will be able to better track utilization. Ultimately, I expect that improved communication will allow us to extract additional utility from the assets we have, and will inform our decisions about where and what type of new assets are required.

HENRY ESPINOSA is Director of Information Technology for the Miami Parking Authority. He can be reached at hespinosa@miamiparking.com

Impactful and Sustainable Corporate Culture Must Be Supported by a Strong DE&I Focus

By Ann Jackson

CORPORATE LEADERS ACROSS THE NATION looked at Summer 2020 as a flashpoint for their organization’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), as well as to building a company culture that is inclusive. Unfortunately, rather than understanding that this awareness is key to their success—as important as EBIDTA, revenue growth, profits, and all traditional measures of success—many simply took it as a “nice to have.” This short-sighted way of thinking has left some companies still looking for their footing in the DE&I space and suffering because of it. These companies are having difficulty attracting and retaining the talent needed to set up or continue their success.

The labor market and workforce have elevated the significance of social justice, making it imperative that companies move DE&I from a “nice to have” to a “must have” across all sectors and industries—a realignment that can be accomplished through thoughtful, intentional, and strategic planning and execution. Focusing on DE&I in all corners of an organization will help create an environment that precipitates a culture of mutual respect, open opportunities, and most importantly, trust.

Building culture and a workplace that truly enlivens and emboldens a DE&I strategy is a marathon, not a sprint. Although Human Resources and/ or the DE&I lead play pivotal roles, the responsibility does not sit solely with them and must be the duty of everyone in the organization. How you get employees to understand this collective decree is what keeps DE&I practitioners up at night. This is why appropriate, systemic, and comprehensive planning is key; specifically, naming what DE&I means and intentionally putting processes and practices in place that will support underrepresented groups and support an inclusive workplace. Providing training, tools, and resources creates the foundation on which a successful DE&I strategy sits. Once organizations define what DE&I looks like and

set up their teams for success, the culture will grow and become impactful.

At Oak View Group, we look to follow a roadmap that allows us to reach our goal as an employer of choice, which is directly correlated with a great culture. We look at where we want to go but also meet our team where they are now. Being a young and rapidly growing organization, we are at the foundational stage when discussing culture. This allows us to build something that is not just sustainable but also nimble. We look at talent acquisition, talent development, employee experiences, community partnerships, and so much more—and we attach our DE&I strategies to all.

When we think about our hiring process, we look with intention at labor markets that will increase our exposure to qualified candidates from underrepresented communities. However, it doesn’t stop there. We intentionally (there’s that word again) have processes and practices in place that provide our new employees a sense of inclusion: sponsored memberships to organizations that focus on specific underrepresented communities, a performance and development process that not only holds everyone accountable for our culture but rewards them as well, regular review of pay

equity and pay transparency, encouragement to volunteer as an individual and as an organization, and generous paid time off (PTO) that allows employees to design a positive balance for their families and their lives. We also look at benefits that support the needs of our employees through fertility coverage, mental health support, and generous parental leave.

Another way to think about building an impactful culture is to look at it from a belonging perspective. In this ever-evolving space, belonging plays the greatest role. Many practitioners believe D+E+I =B, but B actually equals DE&I. If we view our corporate culture as one of belonging, regardless of who you are or what you do, it will demonstrate that our culture values and promotes equity and inclusion. We can find the best

diverse people, but if we do not work on having an environment that encourages and supports their success, then our efforts are hollow.

If there was any advice to share it would be this: to build an impactful and sustainable culture, commit to being intentional. Push through discomfort, be open to looking through a different lens, understand change is necessary, lean in, and hold each other accountable. ◆

We integrate with new and legacy systems

ANN JACKSON is Chief People & Culture Officer with Oak View Group. She can be reached at AJackson@ oakviewgroup.com

The labor market and workforce have elevated the significance of social justice, making it imperative that companies move DE&I from a “nice to have” to a “must have” across all sectors and industries.

The Grid May Be Ready to Grow Wheels

What Operators and Asset Owners Need to Know About Vehicle-to-Grid Technology

By Matt McCaffree

MOST TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS require a shift in the consumer mindset. We are seeing that today with EVs: about four in five EV drivers charge their vehicles at home versus driving their vehicle to fueling infrastructure. But another shift is coming. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which allows for bi-directional charging and discharging of energy from EVs, will teach us to look at personal vehicles through an entirely new lens. Our cars, although they reliably get us from point A to point B, have been solely a source of energy demand subject to changes in the commodity price of fuel. With conversations about V2G coming to fruition, there is an opportunity to start thinking about personal vehicles as mobile storage resources that can serve both the vehicle owner and provide critical grid services. A win-win, right?

For some background, vehicle-to-grid technology uses bidirectional capabilities of a capable electric vehicle and EV charging infrastructure to discharge energy back into the power grid, a building, or a home, which allows for the EV to be used for reliability, load-balancing, or as a peak load resource. However, there’s much to understand about our cities’ infrastructure, capabilities, and processes before we can make V2G a reality, but don’t get too discouraged—years ago there were many skeptics around electric vehicles and if they would ever become accessible to the non-ultra-wealthy. Now, look how far we’ve come—over 130 new EV models will be available for purchase in 2024.

Where are we on the V2G journey?

There are three clear stages that parking operators (and consumers) need to understand when categorizing the evolution of V2G.

The good news: we have practically completed the first phase. The “crawl phase” of transitioning EVs into highly dynamic resources happened when more consumers became comfortable with the thought of transitioning to greener, more efficient

options. We are past the era of EV early adopters and now know that the future is electric.

Today, we are at what I like to call the “walk phase”—the most complex of the three. This phase is multi-faceted, but it starts with getting people to think about their personal vehicles as a dynamic charging resource. Parking operators and drivers need to think about how vehicles are charged, and when, as a critical strategy in affecting another entity (the grid); this is also where load management comes in. This starts with the uni-directional charging, V1G or managed charging for load control, where we develop the ability to control the load going into electric vehicles at enough scale to manage energy use at a site, help balance energy consumption with a large commercial building, or even reduce system peak.

Before getting to the bidirectional flow (V2G) of electricity, it’s a matter of controlling the load out on the energy grid in a way where vehicles become a grid-edge resource and provide demonstrable benefit to the grid. It all boils down to having a solid load management strategy in place, which is new territory for many parking operators.

Another key consideration within this walk phase is decentralizing consumer feelings around fueling habits, moving from a fuel-up-and-go culture to getting more comfortable charging publicly or even at home. Parking operators should take note of this shift and adapt accordingly by providing customers with spaces to charge, as it’s only going to become more necessary the closer we want to get to V2G. Once more people participate in charging, we can layer existing data on driving patterns and consumer profiles with charging data to provide reliable load management solutions at parking sites. This is a foundational step before moving to full integration of mobile and highly flexible battery resources in our energy infrastructure.

The phase of the future, the “run phase,” is where V2G becomes a reality. A select few light-duty vehicles have this capability and there are already some mechanisms in place in wholesale power markets that allow for V2G resources to participate directly. Once the technology becomes integrated into more light- and medium-duty vehicles, fleet operators and mass market consumers will need to think about their vehicles’ energy production as much as their consumption. I believe that shift can happen rapidly if parking operators are prepared to provide energy solutions that align with driving habits and consumer demand. Mass-market V2G solutions are the future and parking operators need to begin thinking about dynamic energy solutions at their facilities.

What should parking operators know?

Parking operators must understand how big of an opportunity this development will be for them. Operators are going to have to think about more complex energy issues, something they haven’t needed to prioritize before—not at this scale.

First, I recommend operators begin to understand the role of their electric utility, either directly or by working with a partner that has subject matter experts on hand. Second, I recommend operators become more familiar with EV charging technology and load

management capabilities. Consumers will begin to expect some level of EV knowledge in the near future and operators need to be prepared to respond. Third, operators need to be prepared to be more involved in their energy management on-site. There are a number of energy products in the market today that can help reduce energy bills and provide energy flexibility as more EV chargers are added to your site. With a new source of electricity demand on the horizon, operators will need a partner who can help manage that resource, provide the right technology and make sure the chargers they have on-site are both functional and reliable.

Implementing EV chargers in parking garages— especially ones that work seamlessly—at its simplest level is and will increasingly be a market differentiator for operators. Consumers are only going to continue to demand better charging experiences as the world becomes more electric—and it’s up to parking operators to find the right partners and solution providers to create this holistic energy consumer experience.

This industry is moving toward a much more complex operating environment, where energy infrastructure will become a critical part of the business. There is a tremendous opportunity for parking sites to become essential energy resources, particularly when they are in the middle of some of the most congested electrical distribution networks in the country. There is a lot of work to do before we are all backing up the grid, but the technologies will evolve rapidly as will customer expectations. Companies that understand the direction of EV charging and anticipate the changes ahead will be able to take the greatest advantage of the opportunities ahead.

MATT MCCAFFREE is VP of Utility Marketing Development for FLASH. He can be reached at matthew.mccaffree@flashparking. com

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which allows for bi-directional charging and discharging of energy from EVs, will teach us to look at personal vehicles through an entirely new lens.

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Fueling Growth Through Feedback

By Andy Santos

“How am I doing in my role?”

“What do employees think of our new mentorship program?”

“Is there something I should do differently?”

WHETHER YOU’RE AN EXPERIENCED MANAGER or a fresh grad who is just starting out in their career, feedback is and will always be a key element to your personal and professional growth. Everyone experiences challenges, setbacks, and learning curves. And without the help of feedback, we may struggle to move forward because of our blind spots. For organizations, fostering a culture of feedback is essential in boosting workforce performance. According to Gallup, a company that specializes in measuring and understanding human behavior, employees who receive daily feedback from their manager are 3.6 times more likely to strongly agree that they are motivated to do outstanding work compared to employees who only receive annual performance feedback. In essence, consistent and effective feedback loops not only benefit employees but also the performance and growth of the organization.

People managers have an important role in providing feedback to employees to help guide them toward meeting and exceeding their performance goals and career aspirations. Zenger Folkman, a company that develops models that help leaders and organizations succeed, conducted a study about preferences on giving and receiving feedback. In this study, 94% of recipients stated that corrective feedback improves their performance when it’s presented well. However, feedback is only helpful when it’s meaningful and actionable. In fact, Gallup found that only 26% of employees strongly agree that the feedback they receive helps them do better work. For many managers, providing meaningful feedback is a learned skill that takes practice. So how do people managers ensure that they are providing their employees with meaningful feedback? It starts with knowing what makes feedback meaningful.

Meaningful feedback is:

■ Specific and descriptive. Meaningful feedback lets the person receiving the feedback know specifically what they did that can be improved and when

it happened. It’s also important for the person receiving the feedback to know the impact of what they did.

■ Focused on the behavior, not the person. Providing feedback can sometimes be a difficult conversation to have, especially if the feedback being shared is constructive. To avoid your feedback from coming across as a personal attack, remember to focus on the specific action that needs to be resolved.

■ Helpful and personally owned. Providing meaningful feedback means sharing something actionable that you personally observed, and not what you’ve heard from others.

■ Provided in a timely manner. Don’t wait too long before providing feedback, but at the same time, make sure you are providing feedback at a time that works for the other person. If you can, try not to give feedback to someone when they’re having a rough day or are just not able to focus on the feedback you’re about to share. Schedule a day when the person receiving the feedback can be fully present and actively listen.

■ A dialogue. A meaningful feedback session includes listening to the other person’s side of the story. Having a dialogue also allows you to confirm if the other person understands your feedback.

■ Followed up as needed. After an employee moves forward with an understanding of what they need to do and improve, following up on their performance and providing feedback on their progress will help them stay on track.

Giving meaningful feedback is a great way to help others as they progress in their careers. However, we also must think of our own growth and be able to gather meaningful feedback that can help us. A Zenger Folkman research study involving over 50,000 leaders showed that leaders who ask for feedback are perceived more positively than those who simply are good at giving feedback. With this in mind, asking for feedback is also an expertise that we should consider upskilling when we think of our own career growth.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when asking for meaningful feedback:

■ Be specific. Just like when we provide meaningful feedback, we must be specific when asking for feedback and indicate exactly what we would like to get feedback on.

■ On-the-spot feedback vs prepared feedback. Give the person you’re asking for feedback time to prepare and put together their thoughts. If possible, let them know ahead of time if you have a presentation or project

that you’d like to get feedback on, so they are able to prepare and take notes as needed. Avoid asking people for feedback on-the-spot as they won’t have enough time to provide the most meaningful feedback they can give.

■ Transactional feedback vs relationship-based feedback. Asking someone to provide you feedback just because they are likely to give you positive feedback may not be the best way to uncover your blind spots. This type of feedback ends up being transactional instead of meaningful. Instead, seek out people who are invested in your growth and will provide you with honest and actionable ideas to improve. By building the skill of effectively providing and asking for meaningful feedback, we promote a feedback-driven environment where employees feel valued and supported. Meaningful feedback has the power to cultivate growth for both employees and organizations. For employees, it’s an opportunity for them to uncover their blind spots and have a clear understanding of the steps they need to take to advance in their careers. For organizations, meaningful feedback drives performance enablement for their workforce, leading to increased productivity and growth.

ANDY SANTOS is Director of People and Culture at SpotHero. He can be reached at andy. santos@spothero.com.

Leadership Legacy

Leadership Leaves Behind a Legacy that Will Uplift the Community We Serve.

By Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, CAPP

LEADERSHIP IS NOT THE POSITION WE HOLD but the imprint that we leave in the lives of others. It catalyzes change for organizational and societal betterment. This thought process has always punctuated my personal and professional philosophy.

My leadership philosophy was tested almost immediately upon being named chief executive officer of the Miami Parking Authority (MPA). A few days after assuming the position of CEO, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, and Miami shut down for about two months.

We did not have a playbook to deal with COVID, but we viscerally knew that, as a public organization, we are called to support the public we serve while girding ourselves for the unknown.

Thus, on March 16, as we witnessed the sudden drop in parking occupancy, it became clear that people needed to work and patronize businesses in Miami. In no uncertain terms, we knew that our community was in distress, and we had to act quickly.

The first order of business was to stop enforcing parking, except in prohibited or restricted zones. The second action was establishing a program to help alleviate the loss of revenues that the hospitality sector was experiencing. As a result, staff started setting aside free parking spaces and posting customized signage in front of establishments to provide some relief to customers and business owners alike.

On the morning of March 13, 2020, I would have rolled out the ambitious blueprint I had laid for the first 100 days of my job as CEO. But, unfortunately, at a pivotal moment in the world’s history, that day, COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, and suddenly, everything changed. Rapidly, the blueprint morphed into a survival plan to, first and foremost, protect and safeguard the health of staff and customers.

I paused in the disconcertment of the moment. Then, I pondered what the Miami leadership had done during contemporary crises. In every difficult situation, such as the 1992 catastrophic Hurricane Andrew, Miamians rose to the occasion and rallied behind the neediest of our community.

The next step was to look ahead and start preparing for Phase 1 of the reopening of Miami. Inspired by the vision of many other leaders before me, the “Welcome Back, Miami” campaign was born. Predicated on the premise of servant leadership, the campaign offered customers one free hour of on-street parking per day when they used PayByPhone. By the end of this initiative, it is estimated that MPA had doled out approximately two million dollars in free parking to the community.

Fast forward to today, when the opportunity to redevelop two 50+year-old marquee garages in a coveted area of the Miami central business district came about, I acted on it. Miami’s astronomical urban growth presented the MPA Board of Directors with a unique opportunity to redevelop these two facilities under public-private partnership (P3) agreements at no cost to the Authority.

Meet our parking experts at Booth 1531 during the 2023 Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo in Fort Worth!

Preemptively, and as a foretaste of the housing crisis reaching a crescendo in Miami, these two garages will be redeveloped into mixed-use projects, including housing. Of paramount importance, the decision to include workforce housing units in one of these redevelopments was made on the heels of Miami-Dade County being described as one of the most unaffordable places to live in the U.S. This statement made a significant impact on our decision to allow several moderate-income individuals and families the ability to live in large employment centers, such as downtown Miami, close to opportunities for advancement and economic prosperity.

I have always said that our decisions must address the needs of today and future generations. We share the responsibility with our partners in the public and private sectors to leave our community better than we found it. The key to economic expansion is redeveloping the aging urban infrastructure to attract and retain residents, entice new

businesses, improve road mobility, and inject energy into the community’s quality of life. We are carving out a vision not only for today but also for the future of the city of Miami residents.

Leadership is not static. Instead, we grow, transition, and morph as leaders, adopting the fundamentals that foster an organizational culture that infuses passion, inspires, and engenders excellence, transparency, and fairness. These foundations of leadership are anchored in profound and sincere purpose in our decisions and are aimed to leave behind a legacy that will live on for the betterment of society.

Leadership is breathing life into our community by positively impacting people’s lives. ◆

ALEJANDRA “ALEX” ARGUDIN, CAPP , is Chief Executive Officer of the Miami Parking Authority, and Chair-Elect of the IPMI Board of Directors. She can be reached at aargudin@miamiparking.com

Get to Know the Parking Association of the Virginias

By Rob E. Maroney, CAPP

THE PARKING ASSOCIATION OF THE VIRGINIAS (PAV) serves the parking industry throughout Virginia and West Virginia by providing educational and networking opportunities. Our membership includes parking and transportation professionals from cities, universities, hospitals, airports, parking management, technology companies, and many other partners and vendors that support the industry. PAV offers multiple learning opportunities including our annual conference, workshops, roundtables, and various other networking events throughout the year.

Recent Events

Building on our recent successful collaborations with other associations, PAV held a joint Spring Workshop with the Mid-Atlantic Parking Association (MAPA) and the Washington D.C. Parking Association (WPA). The event took place from May 2-3, 2023, in Washington DC, and included educational sessions, frontline training, and networking events.

Upcoming Events

Our Annual Conference is returning to Williamsburg, Virginia, this fall from October 23-25, 2023, and will be held at the picturesque Kingsmill Resort on the James River. The Conference kicks off with the annual PAV golf tournament on Monday, October 23rd, where golfers will tee it up on the historic River Course at Kingsmill. We are very excited to return to Kingsmill as this has

Parking Association of the Virginias

2022–2023 Board of Directors

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

BOARD DIRECTORS:

EVENTS MANAGEMENT

historically been one of our best conference locations that generate high attendance and a lot of excitement from our members.

For more information on upcoming events, please visit www.pavonline.org

Paying Tribute to an Impactful Career

This year, PAV has lost several board members to retirement and career changes. We have been very fortunate to welcome new members that quickly volunteered to fill vacant seats and offer new perspectives. However, there is one board member whose shoes (or clogs) will be nearly impossible to fill. In June 2023, Rebecca (Becca) White will be retiring from the University of Virginia and giving up her seat as Treasurer of the Board. Becca has been a tremendous friend, colleague, and mentor to us all over the years. Starting in 1988, when the director of UVA’s Parking and Transportation Department, Mr. Al Walley, invited scores of parking professionals from around Virginia to explore the possibility of forming an association of parking professionals. We were fortunate to have IPMI (then known as IPI) headquartered less than 100 miles away so the alliance and support they rendered was a perfect match. 35 years later, after surviving some typical ups and downs that all volunteer organizations experience, PAV remains a great resource for parking professionals to network, learn, and invest in the future.

Sitting in that room 35 years ago as PAV was formed was Becca White. PAV’s longestcontinuous member, who over the years has served as a board member, treasurer, president, speaker, recruiter, and any other role necessary, is about to start her next chapter in life—retirement! When asked to reflect on her experiences in PAV, she appreciated the significance of the programming, profession, and accomplishments, but spoke mostly of the people along the way that defined the success. Too many to name, but ever present, the volunteers who built a solid foundation, rebuilt it during hard times, and now enjoy connecting with fellow professionals are what kept Becca so active in PAV for 35 years. Friendships and joys found in the meeting rooms, on the golf course, in the bowling alley, at a sports arena, or over a beer; it’s the buddies on the same journey that made it most meaningful to her. Becca humbly thanks everyone who has given so much as well as those that are just discovering what they can give for a wonderful, satisfying, sometimes difficult, many times hilarious career full of great memories.

PRESIDENT Rob Fries, CAPP City of Virginia Beach

VICE PRESIDENT

Lynne Lancaster, CAPP City of Richmond

SECRETARY Rob Maroney, CAPP LAZ Parking

TREASURER Becca White, CAPP University of Virginia

Justin Nelson Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS)

Frank Kollmansperger Entry Guard Systems

Chris Polk, CAPP PCI

Scott Silsdorf Old Dominion University

Rick Siebert City of Charlottesville

Henri Stein McCartney Fairfax County

Ray Stoner City of Norfolk

Dawn Marti

ROB E. MARONEY, CAPP , is Vice President, Government and University Services for LAZ Parking and Secretary for the PAV. He can be reached at rmaroney@ lazparking.com

Rebecca (Becca) White

UNLV Tropicana Parking Garage Expansion

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS (UNLV) is implementing a parking study and campus master plan that focuses on prioritizing academic and student-centric activities in the center of campus and moving parking options to the edge of campus. One of these campus parking options is the Tropicana Parking Garage, located south of the Las Vegas Strip near the Thomas & Mack Center. The Tropicana Parking Garage receives an influx of traffic from both entertainment venue visitors and university students, and it required upgrades to the existing garage as well as a massive expansion.

To meet the needs of the student population and Las Vegas community, UNLV brought on Kimley-Horn as their representative to oversee each stage of the project. The Kimley-Horn team engaged with multiple project stakeholders to manage timelines, budgets, and challenges, made site visits, and attended design and construction meetings to advocate for UNLV’s objectives. The team also developed 30% level design plans and bridging documents, including preliminary structural

and parking plans and specific recommendations for technology and visual parking garage improvements. The existing Tropicana Parking Garage improvements primarily focused on security, technology, and aesthetic upgrades, and the new garage expansion was designed to mirror the existing garage for a cohesive visual and parking experience. One challenge the team encountered was a roadway reconstruction project on Tropicana Avenue that was being designed simultaneously to the

FIRM: Kimley-Horn

LOCATION: Las Vegas, NV

OWNER: University of Nevada, Las Vegas

PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS:

● Design-Build: McCarthy Building Companies

STAFF:

● Ken Ackeret, PE, PTOE, Ph.D., Principal-in-Charge

● Ben Henderson, PE, SE, Project Manager

● Thomas Ackeret, PE, PTOE, Project Engineer

Tropicana Parking Garage expansion. The Kimley-Horn team collaborated with Clark County, UNLV, and the construction team to plan for site access and ensure smooth and successful design processes for both projects.

The finished garage is four levels and four bays wide, with more than 1,000 parking stalls added in the expanded garage for a total of more than 2,000 parking spots. Of these parking stalls, eight are equipped for electric vehicle charging currently and 50 more have the potential for EV charging infrastructure to be added in the future. Additionally, upgrades were made to IT, cell infrastructure, and technology operations to enhance the parking experience, and the garage was designed so that a solar roof over the entire garage could be added in the future.

In addition to practical upgrades and expansions, the Tropicana Parking Garage also embraced the challenge

“Kimley-Horn has been a valued consultant for the expansion of the UNLV Tropicana Parking Garage. Their expertise and desire to do the very best for their clients was very apparent on this project and others they have worked on over the years. Every question, need, or concern is always immediately addressed with the utmost professionalism.”

Tad McDowell, Director of Parking and Transportation Services, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

of creating a visually synchronized structure that epitomizes UNLV’s brand and regional aesthetics. The red signage, external sloping imagery, and dynamic slatted designs emphasize the iconic life of the campus and Strip. Ultimately, the Tropicana Parking Garage upgrade and expansion project promotes a streamlined user experience, sustainable transportation, and a gateway to all UNLV and Las Vegas have to offer. ◆

K. Ackeret B. Henderson T. Ackeret

ASK THE EXPERTS

What new technology, innovation, or strategy for parking and mobility are the most exciting to you in terms of the future of the industry, and why?

of Wisconsin, Madison

Utilizing video analytics for multi-modal traffic volume, counts, and patterns to inform transportation planning decisions. Technology is more readily available, and it can differentiate between modes of travel to help to better plan for roadway, parking, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure needs.

Tiffany Peebles President For All Things Parking,

LLC

Unequivocally, I would say technology around starting and completing transactions with your mobile phone. Often in this fast-paced world, I will leave behind my wallet and walk in a grocery only to be reminded I have left my wallet behind. I rarely, if ever leave my phone or watch. To continue with your dayto-day activities by completing a transaction with your phone is convenient and saves time.

Parking enforcement by mail has me most excited as far as the future of our industry. We enforce highway tolls with camera enforcement across the country. We also enforce traffic lights and speed limits with camera enforcement across the country. I can go on and on, but with parking we are just now scratching the surface of this technology. Parking operations across the world are leaving millions on the table from manual enforcement, but the technology is now there for parking garages, parking lots, loading zones, bus zones and more to drastically increase capture rate with enforcement by mail.

Jeff Barnes, CAPP Director of Parking Services Kansas State University

In my opinion, it is the combination of parking apps and license plate recognition (LPR). The use of parking apps eliminates so much infrastructure that operators needed to install and adds convenience for the customer, and LPR increases efficiencies for better compliance.

Gabe Mendez, CAPP Director of Transportation Operations University

Isaiah Mouw, CAPP President, Municipal PAVE Mobility

Roamy Valera, CAPP President Automotus

The USDOT recently awarded $18M to cities for curb management related projects. Vision software and policies that support the deployment and scale of the automation of the public right away is the future.

Jim Anderson Market Development Manager Master Builders Solutions US LLC

The parking design industry will continue to develop and embrace ESG and carbon reducing strategies in the design and delivery of new structured parking. Governmental, educational, and corporate owners will demand the attainment of meaningful climate centric, sustainable solutions for their parking asset investment.

Kayla Gordon Senior Mobility Partnerships Manager Populus

When it comes to new parking and mobility innovation, GPSenabled curb management solutions, or “Digital Smart Zones,” are the future of the industry. They allow cities the most flexibility when it comes to managing the curb, and ultimately, in reducing congestion and carbon emissions related to commercial delivery services. Digital Smart Zones enable cities to actively monitor and manage curb use by leveraging GPS data, so there is no need for the financial and time investment required by other hardware-based solutions. Digital Smart Zones also produce robust datasets that enable cities to better understand demand for the curb and allow them to develop more responsive curb policies and allocation.

Nick Mazzenga, PE Associate Kimley-Horn

As technology rapidly evolves, new ways to interact with the parking and mobility ecosystem are emerging. Smartphones and linked credit/ debit cards are becoming key interfaces between individuals and the parking and mobility systems they access. However, it is important to note that there are still individuals who do not have access to these technologies (15% of the U.S. population do not have a smartphone, Source: PEW Research Center, and 4.5% of US households are unbanked, Source: FDIC), and the parking and mobility industry must ensure that similar levels of service are provided to this minority group as technology continues to permeate through the industry.

Wood, CAPP, PE President Wood Solutions Group

I’m excited to see how the advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning will help to streamline program management, data analytics, and the evolution of parking and mobility programs. One of our biggest challenges in the past decade has been finding ways to easily harness data and provide a much better means for making decisions that are data driven. With the right data streams, we could really begin to tailor program decisions to the actual demands of a community.

Shawn McCormick Director—Parking Enforcement and Traffic

SFMTA

EV charging is going to come fast, and it will change our industry drastically in the next 10 years. While it is difficult to predict what charging and parking will look like, developing operational, infrastructure and technology solutions for it is truly fascinating.

While many significant advancements help improve the customer’s experience, the biggest, if not most subtle, innovation is the inclusion of customer reviews and ratings into the search algorithms. The net result is that operations prioritizing customer service will flourish while those who don’t pay attention will slowly lose business as their information will not be shown when people look for parking online. With this simple change, Google, Bing, and Apple have hugely impacted parking by forcing us to provide the best possible service experience.

San Francisco is already seeing driverless cars from several companies. Next, I expect to see driverless delivery trucks. The future will likely lead us to address enforcement in a virtual way as well. HAVE A QUESTION? Send it to editor@parking-mobility.org and watch this space for answers from the experts.

of the International Parking & Mobility Institute

Brett

Brandy Stanley, CAPP, MBA Vice President, State & Local Market Development FLASH

Andrew Sachs, CAPP President Gateway Parking Services

Technology

Parking: An Accelerating Ecosystem

The parking industry is ripe with innovation, and new technologies are entering the marketplace faster than infrastructure is being built that enables them to communicate.

By Christopher Perry, Sarah Becherer, and Michelle McDonald on behalf of the IPMI Technology Committee

Forward-thinking operators are enhancing their tech stacks by the day with the aim of creating operational efficiency and surfacing data insights that will allow them to better focus on their core business (parking cars)—but fragmentation remains a roadblock.

Today our industry is in a position where leaders across all markets and sectors agree that we need to build a solution. We share a vision, we recognize the need, and we’ve rolled up our sleeves. We agree that data is not worth it’s salt unless you can act on it -

and that defragmentation is the

answer.

By building flexible architecture that allows different systems to interoperate, we can begin to break down barriers that are holding us back from the open exchange of data and the ultimate frictionless customer experience.

“Norming and Forming” Data with Integrations

There are myriad technologies on the market. Parking is a highly competitive landscape. When a parking manager uses a “build, partner, or buy” framework to assemble their tech stack, the likelihood of it being a carbon copy of the one assembled by the parking manager next door is slim to none. This ecosystem of disconnected technologies causes friction for everybody:

● For operators—when integrations between the systems in their tech stack don’t exist (which as we’ve mentioned is too often the case), they need to be manually

accomplished. This is an enormous lift for operators and often unsustainable.

● For customers—siloed technology can lead to confusion and frustration because of how that dissonance and inconsistency impact their experience at facilities.

Customers having to manage credentials and payment methods for multiple apps is certainly inconvenient (and not uncommon for parkers in cities where multiple operators are present). But the worst friction occurs when those apps aren’t talking to the technologies nestled at the inflection points that define the customer experience (ex. redemption, entry/ exit, occupancy indication, wayfinding).

Consolidation isn’t the solution being proposed here—in fact, quite the opposite. The flora and fauna of the parking technology ecosystem must continue to thrive in a hothouse of innovation. That innovation is what makes the need for integration and universal data standards set by the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS) and other regulatory organizations even more urgent.

Defining Defragmentation

Defragmentation is the reorganization of disparate fragments of related data. When we think about this definition applied to parking data, the concept seems sound.

● There exist many data sets from many distinct inflection points.

● These inflection points can be connected to paint a bigger picture.

● With this accomplished, reporting, data analysis, and info-sharing will be more efficient, and the data available will always be up-to-the-minute and accurate. Basically: knowledge is power; ergo, more information is better.

But data alone is not information. Many parking systems include silos of technology and therefore silos of data. As standalone silos, this data has diminished value. Until it is viewed as one set, it cannot be considered viable information.

This is demonstrated by the various ways that customers can access and pay for parking at the curb. Mobile apps and parking meters control most curbside parking transactions with many municipalities leveraging several of each.

Each of these technologies includes its own reporting and administrative platform. The more technologies that are added to the municipality’s ecosystem, the more platforms there are to manage.

So, what happens?

● Operating rhythms become syncopated.

● Time and resources become scarcer.

● The margin for human error increases.

● More opportunities to maximize yield go unnoticed. There are more places to log in. More credentials to manage. More permissions to set up and more read/write access to grant. More people who need different info in various capacities at specific times. More places to make changes when changes need to be made. More places to pull reports from and more data to manually consolidate.

And if you’re a technology vendor trying to convince your operator prospects your solution isn’t going to pile on more work… well… you better think about your product and positioning in terms of adding unique value without adding complexity. Because as the appeal of and demand for digital mobility solutions increases, so does the stress inflicted by defragmentation.

Defragmentation as a Catalyst for Change

Defragmentation can be a catalyst for a more efficient and equitable environment. It’s too often that parking data is viewed as a benefit for administrators and operators and not as something that provides value to the public.

Thinking about curbside activity:

● Occupancy reports help guide enforcement operations and policy changes, but they’re equally helpful to drivers searching for available parking. Integrating occupancy data with wayfinding, navigation, and signage technologies can point customers to available spaces. This cuts down on the amount of time they’re circling the block and reduces emissions.

● Parking limits and tariffs are tools that can be used to accelerate turnover and foster a vibrant curbside. Drivers use this info to locate parking options in areas they want to visit, which stimulates local commerce (especially beneficial for neighborhoods not easily accessible by public transit or where parking is notoriously difficult to find).

● The concept of equity is fueled by holistic integrated data. Equity is not simply about vehicular access; it includes the individuals inside those vehicles and the businesses they frequent. The curb is a dynamic environment where deliveries are made, vehicles are parked, and businesses are visited. Facilitating access to these methods and locations for all people is essential to serve a community.

Extending these benefits to operators:

● One thing we talk about when we talk about the customer experience is seamlessness during inflection points like transaction, redemption, entry, and exit. We know that customers who experience friction are more likely to churn and less likely to represent a consistent revenue stream.

● The other thing we talk about is acquisition and retention. Data indicates to operators how to get the biggest bang for their marketing buck. Integrations with third-party aggregators can give operators conversion data (ex. what percentage of people who view in-app end up transacting). Integrations with PARCS illuminate when and for how long parkers park during any given period.

● Real-time occupancy data and reliable predictive forecasting are essential to informing pricing structures. Customers perceive value based on how much they’re paying for the time they need. Offering more time than is needed for slightly more than the customer is willing to pay can impact conversions. It also keeps the space “occupied” after the customer exits, reducing turnover and yield-per-stall.

And to equipment and software providers:

● Open API integrations unlock opportunities for technology and equipment companies to form profitable and mutually beneficial partnerships and/or co-develop products to keep up with the rabid demand in the market.

● Technology companies can stop competing to win in one of the silos and rather collaborate and share data.

● Defragmentation is critical for the construction of a fully digitized ecosystem that will be the framework for future mobility solutions. Those vendors that participate in building this digital ecosystem will be cornerstones for its framework.

Limiting Factors & Roadblocks for Defragmentation

It’s critical to recognize that defragmentation and data-sharing require developing the mechanisms to do so. This uses valuable resources that could be earmarked for other initiatives. Looking through this lens, one easily sees how this could be perceived as a cost that outweighs whatever benefit.

This is even more reason for technology companies to form strategic alliances and build solutions that can be integrated into a parking system without increasing complexity.

Another limiting factor of defragmentation efforts is taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach. There isn’t a world where every curb or facility has an identical configuration of technologies— nor should there be. Thinking about the catch-all “best” tech and focusing solely on forming integrations between those is counterproductive and limiting.

The lack of data standardization is a colossal issue as well. Organizations like APDS and the Open Mobility Foundation-Curb Data Standards (OMF-CDS) are imposing much-needed rigor in how we refer to and exchange data.

We also need to be thinking ten steps ahead and asking questions like, “What’s coming after smartphones?” The smartphone is so deeply ingrained in today’s parking systems and experiences. But ultimately the future may look like having your electric autonomous vehicle know exactly where to drive and park based on the real-time data it consumes from various systems for parking reservations and guidance.

What will those integrations look like? And how do we create an environment for them?

The Philosophy of Defragmentation

There are a few philosophical ideas that inform successful defragmentation efforts in the parking industry. Let’s take a look:

1. Systems Thinking

Systems thinking emphasizes the interconnectedness of different parts of a system. This means thinking about parking as part of a broader transportation system and developing an understanding of how parking interacts with other modes of transportation: public transit, walking, biking, and micro-mobility, among others.

2. Customer-Centricity

Customer-centricity is a methodology that highlights the needs and experiences of the customer and focuses on solving customer pain. It brings a crucial element into developing technology: empathy. Viewing parking through the lens of the driver is imperative because understanding their frustrations and pain points is how we build parking solutions that are intuitive, userfriendly, and stress-free.

3. Sustainability

All of us are working towards a more sustainable future. Every year, we’re seeing more and more cities implement sustainable future planning that emphasizes the longterm health and well-being of the environment and society. We can quite literally deliver the blueprint—or “greenprint”, if you will—that communities are looking for by prioritizing the use of sustainable materials, energy-efficient technologies, and green infrastructure.

Future-forward cities like Colorado Springs, Colorado, are investing in their city’s mobility future through the digitization of their infrastructure, curbsides, and off-street parking assets.

Unifying all these technologies and their important data (like payments, occupancy tracking, permitting systems, enforcement, and LPR) into a single unified interface improves traffic flow, reduces congestion, and optimizes the efficiency and yield of existing parking assets.

Everybody benefits!

Roadmap for Defragmentation

Like all approaches formulated to tackle deeply ingrained problems, talking about defragmentation is much easier than executing it. But it can be broken down into digestible and executable elements:

Implement systems thinking

Think big before you hone in. You may have a specific use case right in front of your face, but it’s critical to consider the impact of establishing an integration in the larger context of your other technologies and customer touchpoints.

Sit down with your team and collect information on all aspects of how the system works before deciding which route to take. These conversations shouldn’t just consider past and current data sets… it’s not a historical process. Look back and look forward and set yourself up for success in the long term.

Define the scope

We all know that integrating datasets is a highly technical process that creates an environment where more efficient reporting and data analysis can occur. But what this process doesn’t reference is all the other

processes that need to occur so that this merged data can work together.

Take, for instance, a scope of work that includes the reporting of transactional data on a block-face basis. Are the current datasets structured this way? What if Vendor A reports on a space basis while Vendor B reports on a zone basis?

On the surface, these datasets do not match. Adjustments or mapping must be done to correct this. A successful scope will include an initial analysis of what this data looks like and which modifications or mapping must occur to make it work.

Set long-term objectives

Implementation requires planning and establishing the near-term and long-term objectives for your parking system. These objectives may range from introducing multiple mobile payment options to positioning the system to accommodate autonomous vehicles.

While these examples vary in terms of complexity, both will be advanced by processes that organize data and information.

The former (introducing mobile payment methods) requires data-sharing to make the administration of these applications more efficient.

For example, you can use integrations to surface essential reservation data to customer service reps in real-time so they can more efficiently solve friction for customers who hit the call button with issues related to third-party reservations.

#1

Debit cards are the #1 preferred payment method for everyday transactions. 1

66%

66% of consumers have debit cards as the default payment type in their preferred digital wallet. 1

The latter (accommodating autonomous vehicles) is heavily reliant on information, as scenarios like autonomous TNCs will require data to function properly.

Can an autonomous transportation network company (TNC) double-park to conduct passenger pickup/drop-off (PUDO)? Likely not. These technologies will need data from all parts of the parking system to navigate safe and approved parking locations.

Build the execution framework

After defining your goals in the context of the larger parking system, you can determine which “building blocks” you need and how to procure and manage them. The building blocks may include in-house talent, tools, software, equipment, or marketing budget.

Recognize that your end goals may be moving targets; that’s normal. Keeping one eye on the future allows you to make short-term decisions about budget and resourcing with the end goals still in sight.

Make decisions about how to organize and store data

Parking managers must make decisions about how best to organize and store the data. No easy feat but much simpler to accomplish with the right information and infrastructure in place.

Start asking questions like:

● Are we looking at outsourced solutions or do we have something internal already in place?

● Are these solutions able to provide data, analytics, and reporting?

● Are they built to securely share data with third parties? Regardless of whether you build, buy, or partner, adhering to data-sharing standards like the APDS and the OMF-CDS will standardize the process of transmitting data to and from external sources.

Vet and select vendors

Prudent vendor selection and favorable contractual terms are key elements for success. Data integrations can be costly and time-consuming to build and maintain, and your organization may not want to shoulder that complexity.

Technology companies and other vendors that develop solutions with defragmentation and connectivity in mind should be prioritized, as those efforts future-proof them as partners and ensure flexibility on both ends.

You can also add contractual terms to ensure that this occurs. Of course, the TNCs must follow a properly communicated scope of work so that all parties are aware of the objectives and developments involved.

Examine past projects to learn how to

manage stress points

● Implementations are seldom (really, never) perfect. Defragmentation projects include multiple stress points that rely on collaboration to successfully move past. The more fragmented the system, the more stress points we’ll encounter.

In Conclusion

Defragmentation is a work in progress and will remain so as long as new technologies continue to enter the market. What we can do to prepare for and preempt these challenges is:

1. Build solutions from the ground up that can successfully integrate into the larger ecosystem and choose vendors that take this approach.

2. Lead with a systematic, customer-centric, and sustainable philosophy so that we can approach decision-making with long-term goals in mind.

Einstein’s classic statement, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” certainly applies here!

Ongoing iteration, learning from the past, and doing our due diligence when vetting vendors will ensure we’re alchemizing past challenges with defragmentation into future successes. ◆

CHRISTOPHER PERRY is CRO at Umojo and a member of the IPMI Technology Committee. He can be reached at cperry@ umojo.com

SARAH BECHERER is VP of Growth at Ocra and a member of the IPMI Technology Committee. She can be reached at sarah@ getocra.com

MICHELLE MCDONALD is former Chief of Staff and Business Development Lead at Modii and a member of the IPMI Technology Committee. She can be reached at michelle@ modii.co

High-Performance Doors WOW on Renovation of Class A Building

By Alice Permigiani

IN 2018, Fourth River Development LLC, a full-service commercial real estate company, renovated the 225 Boulevard of the Allies Class A office building located in the Central Business District of Pittsburgh, PA. Class A buildings have high-quality standard finishes, state-of-the-art systems, a defined market presence, and exceptional accessibility.1 And, more efficient accessibility of the building’s parking garage was a priority which meant a new and improved entrance/exit door would be an important aspect of the renovation.

The process of selecting an aesthetically pleasing and highly functional door that would match the modern building components involved a team approach. Fourth River Development LLC (owner) and Pieper O’Brien and Herr Architects agreed on a high-performance door. According to the Door & Access Systems Manufacturing Association International (DASMA), a high-performance door is a power-operated rolling, folding, or sliding non-residential door, characterized by either 100 or more cycles per day or having an opening speed of 20 or more inches per second.2

Curb Appeal + Functionality

John Watson, Managing Principal for Fourth River Development LLC, had previous experience with steel overhead-style doors but knew he wanted a door with more curb appeal than that type of door could offer. He previously worked with Hörmann and was familiar with their range of door models. Hörmann’s sales manager collaborated with John and the architect to choose the most appropriate high-performance door that would satisfy the desired aesthetics and functionality requirements, while at the same time, accommodating the garage exhaust system and ventilation louvers. This involved determining the ideal door opening dimensions of 17‘6“ wide by 8‘0“ high to accommodate ventilation louvers and still allow for two cars to enter/exit together.

The Speed-Guardian™ Solution

The Speed-Guardian™ 5000 CV rigid high-performance door was the specified product. Its streamlined looks and silver vision slat frames closely coordinate with the building design, while extremely fast operating speeds support efficiency so cars can quickly exit the busy city street. A complete view vision curtain allows exiting drivers to see the road and traffic as they approach the door.

“From the start, Hörmann worked with the design team and the Owner (as well as the contractor and installer) to deliver the right product to meet the criteria of the project by making themselves available from concept through construction. The result was an installation with no surprises and all needs accounted for in the Contract Documents” said Loren C. Wright, AIA, of Pieper O’Brien and Herr Architects.

“I wanted the building updates to look modern and stylish. The looks and functionality of the high-speed door achieve that,” commented John Watson.

The Future

With the growth of the U.S. population expected to remain moderate in the coming years, the need for new facilities will be less, encouraging the modernization of existing structures, and resulting in an increase in renovations.3 When parking garages are included in the plans, high-performance doors are well worth consideration.

ALICE PERMIGIANI is Chief Editor for Hörmann. She can be reached at a.permigiani@hormann.us.

NOTES

1: BOMA International: Metropolitan Base Definitions, Class A

2: DASMA: https://www.dasma.com Technical Data Sheet #451

3: AIA: The Business of Architecture 2022 Firm Survey Report

Curbing the Airport Bottleneck

Strategies to Optimize the Curbside Experience

by Steven Aiello, CAPP

TECHNOLOGY HAS UNDOUBTEDLY MADE AIR TRAVEL EASIER. Previously, an airport terminal that was designed to process one million annual enplaned passengers needed a ticket lobby that could process one million passengers per year. Now, that same ticket lobby can handle four to five million passengers annually. These types of efficiencies have not always translated outside of the terminal. In many major airports, the passenger bottleneck has moved from the airport’s interior to the airport’s front door. Highways, access roads, and curbsides designed for a one-million-passenger airport have become gridlocked by increased traffic. This is only compounded during airport construction and new infrastructure projects.

Shortages and poor management of curb space also increase emissions due to vehicles searching for parking and can create unsafe conditions from vehicles double parking.

The good news is that very congested curbside pick-up and drop-off areas can offer a dramatic increase in curbside real-estate value. Let’s look at some strategies and technologies that can help improve land-side operations, increase airport revenue, and provide an enhanced passenger journey.

The TNC Dilemma

Transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft have rapidly changed the ground transportation landscape at major airports. TNCs, taxis, vans, and buses are all vying to pick up and drop off travelers, all while dodging each other at the curb.

This not only negatively impacts the passenger experience, but it can cut into overall profits. According to the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), although many airports receive significant revenue from TNCs, others have recorded declines in other ground transportation modes such as parking revenue and rental car transactions. This has led to a push toward enhanced compliance with TNC activity and fee collection. Several airports have implemented access fees for TNC pick up and drop-offs. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), began charging for TNC rides in 2016, which added nearly $9 million in revenue, while rental car revenue on a per enplanement basis fell by nearly 12% in the same year.

A geofence zone around the airport terminal access roads can accurately capture TNC use and charge the companies a fee for

each drop-off or pick-up trip. The latest geofencing technology, in combination with operations software, can provide better tracking and monitoring for revenue collection, rule enforcement, and analytics to shed light on traffic patterns.

Expanding the Curb

Prompted by heavy traffic caused by vehicles dropping off and picking up passengers during peak travel times, Tampa International Airport (TPA) overhauled its curbside operations by implementing 16 new express curbsides tailored to passengers without checked luggage. Departing guests will take an escalator or elevator straight to the transfer level, then hop on a shuttle to the airside. Passengers without a boarding pass can print one along the way at conveniently located kiosks. Arriving travelers will be able to quickly access ground transportation without interacting with baggage claim activity.

Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) debuted what it calls the third curb, an area dedicated solely to TNC pickups. The new system is designed not only to relieve congestion but to make it easier for passengers using app-based ride services to connect with their drivers. The new TNC curb stretches almost 500 linear feet and includes a steel canopy to protect passengers from inclement weather while they wait, and to help redistribute vehicle volume.

Moving Away from the Curb

Making the most out of usable curbside real estate may mean relocating some activities to remote areas. In fact, remote dropoffs may become the norm for passengers at many airports, with

curbside access treated as a premium paid product. Airports can then use branding and pricing signals to differentiate between high-value curbside areas, nearterminal pickup/drop-off areas, and remote pickup/dropoff areas with shuttle bus services to terminals.

Supplemental areas such as cell phone waiting lots and free short-term parking near the terminal can shorten vehicle dwell time in passenger pick-up zones. Cars coming to pick up passengers wait at a distance from the main airport until their party has disembarked and picked up bags. The traveler texts or calls when ready for pick-up. While this service is usually free, it means cars do not wait at the curbside. However, these lots can compete with on-airport short-term parking, so there are revenue trade-offs that need to be evaluated.

During the height of its terminal re-development construction, LAX lost 30% of the inner-lane curb space that is currently used for passenger pickup and drop-off. In response, the airport “LAX-it,” a centralized area for guests to pick up a taxi or ride app service, and avoid traffic in the Central Terminal Area (CTA).

Remote baggage check-in is also gaining popularity. Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) was the first to introduce off-airport baggage drop in May 2006. Travelers can drop off their bags at one of the five remote locations — three hotels, a convention center, and a car rental facility. Bag check-in points have been installed in the airport’s car parks where passengers can drop them off, before picking them up again at the

terminal. Although this is not a large revenue generator (and can become a loss for operators) the convenience, particularly for families, may outweigh the cost in terms of customer satisfaction.

Monetizing the Curb

Some airports are eyeing the concept of charging higher fees based on how close to the airport curb that a pickup or drop-off would occur. The assumption is that travelers who are time sensitive and less cost-conscious would likely opt for a more convenient curbside pickup with a higher fee, while someone else, like a leisure traveler or travelers looking for a more affordable option, would likely opt for a garage and the longer walk associated with this location.

In March, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) launched a limited curb pricing pilot in March 2019 to test if a $3 discount would be effective at diverting rideshare pick-ups to Level 5 of the parking garage. Pickups at the terminal curb were charged a $5 fee, while pick-ups on L5 were charged a $2 fee. SFO’s goal was to divert approximately 45% of all rideshare trips from the curb to the garage. While the pilot did not achieve SFO’s desired target, it did show that a modest $3 discount can incentivize 10% of rideshare trips to shift to a less congested pick-up location.

A Smarter Infrastructure

Many of the approaches to curbside management are reactive because they are based on old information. Fixed pricing policies only work if the demand for a given area never changes. Yet, the value of the curb is constantly fluctuating. Real-time visibility into peak demand, turnover, and traffic flow is essential to making smarter decisions that increase revenue and ease congestion. Digital solutions are the only way to really

Real-time insights from this data can help forecast the optimal use of space, implement dynamic pricing models, and roll out premium services such as valet or EV charging.

gather this kind of information.

Since digital technology seems to connect almost everything today, it is no surprise that airports are themselves becoming more digitally connected. Numerous technology upgrades are now available, such as touchless technologies, mobile payment, contactless card readers, and license plate readers and sensors, each collecting valuable data.

By adopting a cloud computing infrastructure, data from these disparate parking operational sources can be fed into a single data lake to provide actionable data. Real-time insights from this data can help forecast the optimal use of space, implement dynamic pricing models, and roll out premium services such as valet or EV charging.

Business intelligence tools are also available that allow customized shuttle and transportation programs. This right-sizing approach better meets peak demands and seasonal changes. Additional technologies can be added to improve busing operations including parking guidance systems, passenger count systems, next bus info, and pre/post trip management.

Turning Movement into Data

Airports can also use digital tools to mitigate congestion within the airport and on arterial roads. Among the fastest and most promising developments is the development of smart cameras and video telematics.

Many airports already use camera systems to monitor queues. If a queue becomes too long, staff will direct the passengers to a different security lane. Today, smart cameras (equipped with vision processing and AI) can also be used to optimize parking and curbside management by monitoring traffic density trends, vehicle wait times, and idling and parking lot management.

This information can then be used to identify trends and assess the impacts of

existing curb policies and usage on the airport’s transportation network. These real-time insights can also provide people counts at taxi lines and shuttle stops, minimizing wait times. Long-term, the data can help identify physical improvements such as widening or lengthening the roadway, providing alternative pickup/ drop-off areas, and constructing additional curbside levels.

Dashcams have transitioned from cameras that simply record, to powerful sensors that can process video in real-time and provide a wealth of information about both the vehicle and its operator. Video telematics combines video data, computer vision technology, and vehicle data to deliver insights that telematics alone cannot. In addition to enhancing safety, there are significant cost savings that fleets can realize through the implementation of video telematics. The information contains insights on how to make things better, faster, and more affordable in every area, from operations to customer service. Fleet tracking solutions offer visibility over all vehicles in the field to improve response times, boost productivity, and work more efficiently for improved fleet performance.

Smarter Decisions for the Future

With land-side revenue composition changing, airport operators need to adapt with creative ways to revamp the ground transportation experience, appropriately monetize TNC access, and plan for the next wave of mobility innovations such as connected autonomous vehicles.

Advancements in digital platforms and analytics can help airport operators identify the ease and efficiency of arrival at the terminal, the fluidity of traffic circulation, potential monetization of curbside elements, real-time demand monitoring, and dynamic usage policies that vary by time of day or demand.

As the airport transportation industry continues to evolve, airports need to plan now for further mode share shifts and for the emergence of more advanced mobility technologies (like autonomous vehicles) to incorporate these plans into infrastructure design and timing.

STEVEN AIELLO, CAPP , is Senior Vice President at ABM. He can be reached at steven.aiello@ abm.com

How Vehicle-to-Grid Technology Creates Passive Income and Eases the Burden of EV Regulations

By Robert Ferrin, CAPP, Jeffrey Sallee, PE, John Wheeler, and Brian Zelis

The electrification of the transportation system is presenting parking and mobility practitioners with a generational opportunity to impact the communities where they live and work. True to industry patterns over the last decade, technology is continuing to lead the way in how we electrify parking and transportation programs. Asset owners, managers, and operators must understand how quickly technology is changing, and the options available as they investigate how to plan, procure, install, and manage electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in parking facilities. At its core, practitioners should understand how this EV infrastructure affects the financial bottom line.

Change is coming to the industry. Current and future market forces and policy directives will dramatically impact the parking and mobility industry. Today there are two million EVs on the road, with eight million expected by 2025 and 30 million by 2030. A recent LA Times article revealed that, in California alone, 35% of new 2026 car models sold must be zero-emission, ramping up to 100% by 2035. Furthermore, automobile manufacturers are increasing EV production goals to keep up with changing legislation, green initiatives, and public interest. For example, both Nissan and GM have announced 100% electric fleets by 2035 and 2040, respectively. Together, these companies sell approximately 6 million vehicles every year.

Meeting Demand

What does this mean for the industry? This exponential growth of EVs in the U.S. will drive demand for charging infrastructure, with a need for an estimated 9.6 million new EV charging stations by 2030, according to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. While many of these new charging stations will be installed at home, there will be an increased need for workplace and destination charging. The demand is also driving changes in the regulatory landscape; updated building and zoning codes

in many states require new construction to install EV charging infrastructure for new buildings and parking garages. These EV-ready provisions have been adopted by many states and major cities around the U.S.

Consider the new International Code Council (ICC) guidelines that call for installing electrical panelboards, outlets, and conduits capable of charging at least one full-size EV in a single-family garage overnight. Multi-family buildings will need two spots, along with more that can be easily retrofitted, a standard known as “EV capable.” The ICC expects building owners to save money in the long haul when implementing EV infrastructure as part of new construction. Retrofitting sites with EV charging equipment can be up to three times the “EV Capable” cost.

With all of these new demands and policy directives, it is not surprising that, for many, the thought of installing EV charging infrastructure comes with large, assumed costs, with little in the way of revenue to offset these new expenses. However, as EV and EV charging technology improves, revenue opportunities exist beyond simply charging users for parking and charging their EVs. Parking asset owners, managers, and operators have a new revenue opportunity with Vehicle-to-Grid technology (V2G).

What is V2G?

Put simply, V2G is bidirectional charging—and the benefits differ significantly from unidirectional charging. Most legacy EV charging infrastructure currently in parking lots and garages are unidirectional chargers, which only send power one way: from the utility grid through the charger to the vehicle battery. This creates more energy load for a utility to manage, thereby generating costly demand charges for parking operators which can raise asset owners’ electric bills. Bidirectional charging systems can move power to an EV battery but can also pull power from the vehicle’s battery to supply localized building load or the utility-wide grid demand. Bidirectional chargers paired with a V2G software platform can manage both the charging and discharging of the energy stored in EV batteries. This “two-way charging capability” essentially unlocks the value of EV batteries by redefining EVs as dispatchable mobile energy storage that supports grid resilience.

EVs are batteries on wheels and utilities need gigawatts of dispatchable energy to meet energy demand and to help better manage renewable energy (e.g., solar, wind) sources. Traditionally, utilities have relied on stationary storage to meet this need; however, building stationary energy storage assets is expensive. Fermata Energy highlights data published in a BloombergNEF study, that the road-going population of the USA EV

Fermata Energy highlights data published in a BloombergNEF study, that the road-going population of the USA EV fleet, holds greater than ten times the battery capacity of commercially available, deployed stationary storage.

fleet, holds greater than ten times the battery capacity of commercially available, deployed stationary storage. This means the potential of EVs as energy storage is virtually untapped across the country.

Benefits: Utilities Pay for Energy

As utilities look at the potential demand for electricity— particularly with EVs coming into the market, they are increasingly adding programs that pay EV fleet owners and operators to send energy stored in EV batteries back to the grid when it is needed most, such as during climate shock heatwaves like those felt in New York City last summer. This is particularly important for parking and mobility practitioners that manage fleets that are either planning EV adoption or have already begun fleet electrification efforts.

Depending upon local and regional utility programs, a bidirectional EV charging platform (software and charger) enables EV fleet operators to earn revenue by sending stored energy in an EV battery to the grid (V2G), or save on their electricity bill by discharging EV batteries to send energy to their building (V2B), avoiding costly peak demand charges. See Figure 1.

The concept of selling power back to the grid is not new. Owners of solar energy systems have been selling their excess electricity to utility companies for years. Like solar panels, EVs are grid-edge resources that can earn a passive income while parked. “People buy an EV to drive, but 95% of the time that vehicle is parked,” says Fermata Energy founder and CEO David Slutzky. “EVs are batteries on wheels that come free with leather seats and air-conditioning. They are an underutilized, untapped resource.”

FIGURE 1. Bidirectional charging manages the charging and discharging of an EV battery, enabling EV fleet owners to earn revenue from their local utility.

Source: Fermata Energy

Utilities will pay for that dispatchable energy. The difference between the ROI of a unidirectional charger and a bidirectional charging platform is significant. EV fleet owners with a bidirectional charging system can earn enough passive income from their parked EVs to pay for vehicle leases or to cover the costs of the charging infrastructure. The potential earnings (or savings) from utilities depend upon the utility program and whether the EV fleet operator participates in that program. The EV operator always has the choice of whether to drive the vehicle or park it, plug it in, and profit. For example, Figure 2 illustrates a $45,000 swing in value. In fact, the bidirectional charging system can deliver enough profit

(either earnings or savings) by year three to pay for the cost of the EV charger. See Figure 2.

For instance, a single EV paired with a bidirectional DC fast charging system at the Burrillville Wastewater Treatment Facility in Rhode Island has earned more than $8,000 over two summers in 2021 and 2022 from the local utility. The fleet EV duty cycle was not impacted because the power peak, both for demand charge management (DCM) and system-wide utility demand response (DR) is typically between 3pm and 8pm. The V2G activity activated well outside the typical fleet vehicle operational use. Ultimately, the number of hours the vehicle was parked and in discharge mode was minimal, as compared to the total time available necessary for driving.

Parking demand profile differs from application to application. Other possible V2G cost avenues to consider are airport shuttles, as well as campus and hospital shared vehicles. Slutzky points to other examples, “School buses are parked during the summer, and city buses run all the time. EVs with a predictable charging schedule work well to maximize revenue.”

The Software in Bidirectional Charging Systems

An AI-driven bidirectional charging system manages the state of charge so that an EV’s battery will not

be discharged below an operator selected level. This ensures that an EV can still do the work required of it and that the vehicle is ready when the driver is ready. Sending power to the grid won’t cause the battery to die, easing “charge anxiety”.

While this may seem counterintuitive, Slutzky suggests that a bidirectional charger will not shorten battery life. “An EV needs to be driven,” he explains. “With a properly managed charger keeping the batteries at a healthy level, you will manage the battery, not degrade it.”

Currently, the Nissan LEAF, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs, and Phoenix Motorcars use the CHAdeMO charging standard and are the EVs on US roads today that are bidirectionally enabled. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) recognize the value of EV batteries to their customers and utilities. Many major auto manufacturers have announced plans to add bidirectionally enabled EVs to their lineup within the next few years. Fermata Energy is currently working with charger manufacturers and OEMs to enable EVs with CCS charging systems to be bidirectional.

The importance of battery health matters to EV owners and, of course, to OEMs. The Fermata Energy bidirectional charging platform is the only one approved in the U.S. by Nissan not to impact the battery warranty.

FIGURE 2. Expected profit swing between unidirectional charging and bidirectional charging. Earnings are dependent upon the utility program and may vary depending upon the utility offering and EV utilization.

What does all this mean for the parking & mobility industry?

Current and future market forces and policy directives will create demand from fleets, commercial real estate developers, parking lot operators, consumers, and others for easily accessible, well-managed EV charging stations. These stakeholders will increasingly want EV charging opportunities in parking lots, garages, and on public streets.

Although EV charging is currently seen as an amenity for customers, the availability of EV charging will soon become a market differentiator for parking operators that can drive occupancy and revenue for a facility and program. Implementing an EV charging solution for your facility will look different for each location and industry vertical, whether it be an airport, higher education campus, municipality, or commercial property. The same can be said for operators investigating fleet electrification, whether to meet climate action and sustainability goals, for economic reasons, or both. With all these changes occurring around us, what are some steps that parking and mobility practitioners should consider?

Understand Your Regulatory Landscape

Does your organization have sustainability goals that impact your operation? When looking at a fleet replacement, what options and programs are available to go all-electric? Has your local jurisdiction or state updated building or zoning codes required new buildings to include Net-Zero, EV-ready, EV-capable, or EVinstalled infrastructure? Are there incentive programs to help achieve these new goals and requirements? These are all important points to consider. Ensure you have scanned your organization’s regulatory landscape to avoid pitfalls in the approval process or hidden fees in your project or program.

Know Your Parking Demand Profile

Having a clear grasp of the parking demand profile of your facility is critical to determining what EV charging infrastructure makes sense to install. Does your tenant require a provision for EV charging to support their employees or guests? Long dwell times may lead you to consider Level I or Level II charging infrastructure. For short stays and quick turnover rates, you may consider Level III/DC Fast charging options

for your customers. Matching your parking demand to your EV charging solutions is an important step in the electrification process.

Charging Station Installation is the Beginning, Not the End

Once an EV charging station is installed, it is imperative to understand that uptime and availability of the station are required to make it a beneficial asset. During the planning phase of your EV charging project, determine how you will own, operate, and maintain the station. There are various business models available, such as complete ownership, operation, and maintenance; third-party ownership, operation, and maintenance; and everything in between. Choose the model appropriate for your operation.

Understand the Worth of Your Asset

Each parking stall is an asset. By adding unidirectional charging to a stall, you are adding value to that asset but not generating much, if any revenue, from it. By adding bidirectional charging to a stall, you not only enhance the value of that asset but create a real revenue stream Parking managers and owners who also own EV fleets or support a mobile security patrol asset can maximize this revenue stream through V2G and profit while their fleet EVs are parked. ◆

ROBERT FERRIN, CAPP , is Mobility & Parking Senior Project Manager with KimleyHorn, a member of the IPMI Board of Directors, and Chair of the IPMI Electric Vehicle Readiness Cohort. He can be reached at Robert.Ferrin@ Kimley-Horn.com

JEFFREY SALLEE, PE , is an Electrical Engineer with Kimley-Horn. He can be reached at Jeffrey.Sallee@kimley-horn.com

JOHN WHEELER is Co-founder and Chief Strategy Financial Officer for Fermata Energy. He can be reached at john@fermataenergy.com

BRIAN ZELIS is National Sales Director for Fermata Energy. He can be reached at bzelis@ fermataenergy.com

Smart Parking Boosts Deadwood Visitor Experience

By Julia Scholl

SETTLED IN 1876 DURING THE BLACK HILLS GOLD RUSH, Deadwood, South Dakota has a history synonymous with the Wild West. Deadwood gained notoriety as a lawless boom town where opportunistic pioneers, frontiersmen, prospectors, and outlaws risked it all in pursuit of fortune.

Present-day Deadwood presents a journey through history. Visitors are captivated by historic attractions, national monuments, and reenactments, and enjoy abundant opportunities for events, gaming, and outdoor adventures.

Deadwood is nestled in a gulch around three miles long and half a mile wide. Accessible parking is a significant contributor to hospitality. The challenge is to provide convenient parking options within limited space.

Says Kevin Kuchenbecker, Historic Preservation Officer, “With three million visitors each year we need to find a place to park everyone. To maintain our historic district, we must manage our existing parking well, not create new spaces. Our new system helps us track our parking needs and accommodate that appropriately.”

Parking Troubles are Put in the Past Parking wasn’t always easy in the historic town. Coin-only meters impeded walkways, experienced frequent downtime, and detracted from the historical ambiance. Deadwood managed parking with disconnected systems lacking data insights that reveal revenue-generating opportunities.

As tourism expanded, so did capacity needs. Deadwood took the recommendation

of Rapid City to contact IPS Group. The IPS Fully Integrated Smart Parking Ecosystem centralized real-time integration, management, and business intelligence for pay stations, enforcement, permitting, and mobile payment.

Welcome to a Seamless Parking Experience

Parking evolved from a mere necessity into a substantial source of revenue that could fund improvements that impact customer service and protect Deadwood’s history and character.

● Replaced meters with IPS Pay Stations to reduce service issues, and improve curb management and customer satisfaction.

● Implemented IPS Enforcement Management Solution to increase citation efficiency and decrease delinquency.

● Deployed PARK SMARTER™ mobile payment to support a contactless parking experience.

● Managed secure, seamless API integrations with the IPS Data Management System to enable a real-time 360˚ view of parking operations.

● Enabled a gateless garage and validation service using IPS Permit Management Solution integrated with third-party License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology.

A Partner to Lean On

Support from IPS has empowered Deadwood to make policy decisions that align with its historic preservation and tourism goals.

Says Jeramy Russell, (former) Planning and Zoning Administrator, “IPS was able to identify every problem and provide a solution. As we transitioned to IPS, it was a happier feeling coming into work because I knew it was an integrated system with everything working together.”

For the full case study, click here

About Us

IPS Group has delivered Smart Community technology solutions for over 20 years. Learn how the IPS Group Fully Integrated Smart Parking Ecosystem helps communities optimize resources, and improve efficiencies and quality of life. Click here to schedule a Q&A today. ◆

JULIA SCHOLL is Marketing

Content Manager

for IPS Group. She can be reached at julia.scholl@ ipsgroupinc.com

How a fully integrated parking ecosystem supported historic preservation, increased revenue, and improved efficiency.

“It is tremendous to be recognized as contributing at a higher level, and to be included in higher-level discourse throughout the industry. It positions me to give back to the profession, and I am excited to begin service on the CAPP Certification Board this June.”

Victor Hill, CAPP

The Connected Stadium

Venue Management’s Most Exciting Technology Had Its Roots in Parking

By Bill Smith, APR

WHEN Major League Soccer’s newest franchise, St. Louis CITY SC, hosted its inaugural game at CITYPARK on March 4, 2003, soccer fans enjoyed an extraordinary experience thanks to groundbreaking Connected Stadium technology. The technology allows fans to use a single credential on their smart phones to access everything the stadium has to offer. When fans arrive at the stadium, their credential connects the fan’s device to an enterprise platform which allows them to access and pay for parking, enter the stadium, and even pay for concessions and souvenirs. There are no paper tickets and there’s no need for cash or credit cards.

The Connected Stadium was developed by SKIDATA. The technology utilizes a combination of specialized software, web-based services, and hardware to improve the fan experience while opening new revenue streams for stadiums and the teams they host.

“The connected stadium is the future of venue management, providing complete access to an event and all the associated services with a single credential,” said Andrew Feffer, Head of Venues and Events for SKIDATA. “There is no better way to provide an exceptional fan experience.”

The Connected Experience

The fan’s experience begins when they purchase their tickets. When fans buy tickets to a game or another event, they are also able to reserve parking for that event. The game ticket or credential also serves as a parking pass, and the parking fee is automatically charged to the purchaser’s account. Once the fan reserves parking, the system sends an email or text confirming the purchase and providing directions to the area within the parking facility providing the most convenient access to their seats.

The credential includes a bar code that is associated with the account, and it is integrated securely into Apple or Google wallets for easy access. When the fan pulls up to the parking gate, they merely hold their phone next to the reader and the equipment lets them into the parking facility. The system records their entry and subsequent exit times and bills the account accordingly.

In facilities offering EV charging, the system can also be used to reserve an EV charging space, assuring that charging will be available when the fan arrives. EV charging services can be integrated into the facility’s PARCS system, and the charging fee can be added to the cost of parking.

When it is time to enter the stadium, the same credential functions as the event ticket, with the bar code providing access to the stadium at ticket gates. E-ticketing has become the standard at many stadiums, arenas, and concert venues, and Connected Stadium technology takes it to the next level.

Once inside the event, the fan’s personal device provides access to all the services that are typically offered at sporting events, including concessions and souvenirs. When purchasing these items, fans merely scan their credential, and their accounts are automatically charged.

A More Targeted Fan Experience

The Connected Stadium provides a much more convenient and enjoyable experience for fans, but it also benefits the team. The platform provides rich data to the stadium’s operations managers so they can better understand individual fan preferences and behaviors. This allows them to craft an individualized experience for each fan.

But the Connected Stadium’s benefits to stadium managers really begins before the event itself. The platform allows stadium managers to conduct a pre-event check allowing them to virtually test all issued tickets to make sure operations will work seamlessly on the day of the event. If any issues arise during the pre-event check, stadium and event managers can adjust where needed.

The pre-event check can also have security implications. The simulation can be set to check all tickets based on whitelists and blacklists to identify whether any fans have been banned from the

stadium for previous bad behavior. This is an important benefit for stadium security officials who are responsible for the safety of participants, fans, and staff.

But the biggest administrative advantage is the way the technology allows teams and stadium managers to cater the stadium experience to individual fan preferences. For instance, if a fan uses their credential to purchase food, the platform creates a record of what that fan bought. When the fan returns to the stadium for another game or a special event in the future, the team can offer special promotions or discounts on the food the fan has purchased in the past. Likewise, if a fan buys a jersey or another souvenir, the team can use a record of that transaction to suggest a particular souvenir purchases at future games.

These special offerings can extend outside the stadium as well. For instance, if a St. Louis CITY, SC fan purchases a Roman Bürki jersey at a game, the team gets a record of that purchase. The next time Bürki does a public appearance locally, the team could invite that fan—and anyone else who purchased his jersey—to the event. It’s a great way to tailor the fan experience to individual preferences.

Professional teams from the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLS have been introducing elements of the connected stadium for years. St. Louis CITY SC is the first professional sports team in the U.S. to completely integrated the technology into their operations.

“As one of the few professional sports teams with our new stadium, offices, practice facilities, and parking structures all located within one urban setting, we chose to invest in campuswide technologies that support a seamless and fully connected fan experience,” said Matt Sebek, St. Louis CITY SC Chief Experience Officer. “This approach allows us to manage the entire guest journey from parking to ticketing to multi-channel commercewhile also simplifying the operational management of many roles and permissions on our campus.”

at bsmith@ smith-phillips.com

◆

BILL SMITH, APR , is principal of Smith-Phillips Strategic Communications. He can be reached

“The Connected Stadium will quickly become the norm when it comes to event management. The technology gives teams, stadium managers, and other event managers the ability to provide the most convenient fan experience possible. And it provides new avenues for generating revenue and connecting, in the most personal way, with fans.”

Bagel TacTics

Empowering Operators Through Integrations, Transparency, & Partnerships

By Chris Everton

IN MY DECADE PLUS YEARS IN OPERATIONS before hopping over to the tech side, my top priority was to use the best mix of tools and data on the market to maximize yield and deliver a top-tier experience to parkers at my facilities.

In other words, I wanted to see those dollar signs multiply—and I welcomed conversations with any tech partner who could possibly support me with that goal.

During that period, I was on the receiving end of hundreds of pitches from technology vendors: equipment manufacturers, payment processing companies, digital marketing agencies, third-party reservations platforms, and anything and everything in between.

When they’d got me in a room (or on a Zoom), here’s what I’d tell them: Plain bagel, plain cream cheese, untoasted. In other words:

● Break it down.

● Keep it simple.

● Give it to me straight.

And that doesn’t stop with the pitch, either.

Once we signed the contract and started building and growing a long-term partnership, I’d keep asking for that bagel, as plain and simple as can be.

● Level with me.

● Tell me where we’re at.

● Let’s fix this together.

Because here’s what I really think:

The most exciting thing about tech isn’t the razzledazzle; it’s the proven-out possibility to fundamentally transform my business by enriching, not razing and replanting, the ecosystem that I already have in place. And to have a productive conversation about what that looks like, we need to speak in plain bagel language

No fluff, no buzzwords, no unfounded assumptions.

Nada. Zip. Zilch.

In this article, I’ll be donning my operator cap to share a couple of “plain bagel tactics” that, in my experience on both the operations and vendor side, help tech companies empower their partners through solutions and integrations:

1. Take tech-savviness out of the equation.

2. Show how you fit into existing operating rhythms.

3. Prove your partnership to be net positive.

4. Be radically transparent about where you are with your platform engineering, bug fixes, and product roadmap.

5. Take customer success seriously. Through the lens of simple, straightforward, no-BS communication, we’ll define what it takes to be a good partner to operators.

It’s so easy for even the most well-meaning vendors to over-salt these relationships or toast them to a crisp in the evaluation, implementation, expansion, or success stages.

Let’s dive into why...

Plain Bagel Tactic One

Like many parking professionals in leadership roles right now, I’m someone who is objectively pretty darn tech-savvy.

I grew up with it. My ears are as finely tuned to the early aughts AOL dial-up ditty as my Great Dane’s are to the clink of food in his dish.

It’s occurred to me to set up an IT ticketing system for friends and family who ask me for help with troubleshooting their networks and devices.

And in my current role, my brain is constantly whirring with how to enhance our platform and accomplish custom, complex integrations with channel partners.

All that, though? It doesn’t make one whit of difference in how I wanted to be approached as an operator, or in the way that I communicate with Ocra’s operator partners today.

Here’s what an operator’s level of tech fluency may impact:

● A tech company spending more/less time explaining certain concepts.

And here’s what it doesn’t:

● That all successful operator-tech partnerships are rooted in the same exact thing: that a solid API integration is exchanging meaningful info in a standardized way, openly, and in real time.

In user interviews we’ve conducted with our operator partners, our team has heard many variations on the following:

“If you’re not up-front and transparent, you’ll lose credibility with us. We don’t want to hear ‘oh, we don’t know what’s happening…’—we want the opportunity to be proactive to jump in and help find the solution. And if we don’t have the capabilities to do that, at least we know what’s going on and can trust that you’re working on it.”

Makes all the sense in the world, right?

Any other way of communicating is like slathering strawberry cream cheese on a burnt jalapeno cheddar bagel.

What can I say? Remember, straight and plain, I want to know exactly what I’m getting.

Plain Bagel Tactic Two

A major philosophical consideration for technology companies working with operators is that, as a general rule, large-scale change is hard to implement.

As transformative as a technology can be, it needs to fit into the operator’s existing rhythms to be useful.

If the tech vendor is presenting something that is a large divergence from how the operator does things today, they’ll be met with aversion.

There are simply too many stakeholders in the decisionmaking process—operators, asset managers, owners, handson users, and more—to tolerate the friction that large-scale change inflicts for one or more of these groups.

More friction = less adoption.

Less adoption = lower perceived value.

Lower perceived value = higher churn, more difficulty justifying the price tag.

Tech companies should be asking themselves:

1. Is bringing on my solution accomplishable without disrupting any of the operator’s current rhythms?

2. Is my solution fool-proof and easy to adopt?

3. Is my solution built to be flexible enough to grow along with how their operations evolve as new tech and integrations emerge?

One way that tech companies can set themselves up for a resounding “yes!” to all three of these questions is by engineering lightweight solutions that are built on wide foundations for rapid scalability.

Another is to adhere to data-sharing standards—for example, the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS).

“Speaking the same language” (in terms of sharing and surfacing data) as other equipment and technologies in the operator’s current, and future, tech stack future-proofs the tech partner’s solution.

Stability and scalability are non-negotiable for any operator being asked to consider such a hefty investment of time and capital.

“I’m going to be straightforward with you.”

“Here’s how we fit into your operations today.”

Plain Bagel Tactic Three

One of the major benefits for operators that partner with technology companies is the ability to better react to the market.

Technology integrations that de-silo and surface real-time data about consumer behavioral shifts, abrupt microclimate events, demand fluctuations, etc. empower operators to be light on their feet and maximize yield regardless of which way the wind blows.

(This, of course, is part of a greater sea change. Defragmenting and standardizing data has skyrocketed to the top of everyone’s priorities list. In addition to reading the data, we realize we need to be able to understand it.)

So, what does this mean for tech companies seeking mutually beneficial long-term partnerships with parking operators?

It means that their solution’s got to get three straight A’s:

1. Ancillary—provides necessary support to current/future infrastructure.

2. Agile—easy to implement and integrate.

3. Action-oriented—lets operators make the adjustments on the fly required to actually react to the market.

With more info at hand and more data being surfaced, operators will develop a stronger understanding of the risk involved, as well.

An operator looking at a tech solution may think, “Sure, I could make 30% more upon implementing this; that represents significant revenue for me. But on the other hand, if something goes wrong, I could make 30% less.”

To prepare for that meticulous risk assessment, tech vendors need to be ready-set-go with packaged proof points and pilot-stage KPIs:

● In the eval stage, tech companies can build and package success stories from their current partners to share with the operator prospect.

● Post-close, tech companies should work with their operator partner to define KPIs early and revisit them often, ensuring that both businesses are on the same page re: what success looks like.

One example that comes to mind pertains to yield management enabled through integrations: our partner didn’t think they could sell parking online. They didn’t have a way to inventory spaces or any data to back up utilization. We drove change by helping them see the incremental value of looking at parking as a revenue source.

Using integrations with demand channels (like online aggregators), we were able to help them get their inventory online, optimize their pricing structures, and bring in new customers bit by bit—for 5 spaces at first, then 15, 25, 35, and more.

The result: thousands of new dollars per day in parking for sporting events. This deeply resonated with the ownership group. Today, we continue to accelerate that relationship, and it’s a success story that is meaningful to some of our other partners, as well.

Consumable, clear, concrete proof. Full stop.

Plain Bagel Tactic #4

I will say this until I turn blue in the face:

You’re not making anyone’s life easier by adding work to their plate.

Integrations and technologies are not useful when:

● Data exchanged isn’t automated.

● Data exchanged isn’t standardized.

● Data isn’t exchanged in real time.

● Data isn’t exchanged at all.

● Data is surfaced without context (i.e., it’s a bunch of 1’s and 0’s).

By default, the onus should never be on the operator to accomplish or maintain complex integrations or do anything else that takes resources away from their core business of parking cars. Tech

vendors are, without exception, accountable for ensuring that their technologies can talk to the other systems that the operator is leveraging.

And if they can’t (or they can’t right now but will be able to later, after some further development), plain bagel transparency is required up front.

We’ve completed integrations with many leading consumer demand channels already. But we’re not done; there are many more to come. When we have operators ask us when an integration with Channel X will be accomplished, we’re perfectly frank about where it sits on the roadmap and why. Their input can effect change; that’s happened before!

“You can rely on us as a net positive.”

“You don’t need to maintain this on your own.”

Having that back-and-forth conversation about timeframe and allocation of engineering resources can be difficult, but it’s always better to have a difficult conversation than a vague, opaque, misleading one.

My recommendation to tech companies is to think about what value can be front-loaded for operators if your platform isn’t exactly at their ideal state in terms of flexibility, lightweightness, and integrations.

They should ask themselves questions like:

1. How easy is it to use my product right now?

2. Could I be providing more education for users to help them maximize the product’s capabilities in its current state?

3. What are those resources, and where/how do I make them available?

4. How would my operator partners describe the quality of customer support that I’m providing?

5. Would my partners be disappointed if my product vanished tomorrow?

Education correlates with higher feature utilization, which results in a better experience for users of the platform. One way to do this may be setting up an automated email nurture campaign that sends platform users one thoughtful, useful email every week containing some key info/resources that will help them:

● Fit your product seamlessly into their daily operator rhythm.

● Understand the value of interacting with your product.

● Notice and use unique features.

● Know who they can reach out to for help.

And real quick, because we’re on the topic, let’s double-click on marketing communications—emails, chatbots, in-app notifications, etc. It is my 100% honest belief that automated communication can be an enormous benefit for your customers, especially if you have a lean team. We use it as one of many parts of our customer success strategy, because we’ve heard from operators that the availability and expertise of our team is what sets us apart as a partner.

I once heard customer success professionals referred to as “human APIs” that connect the customer (one endpoint) to whoever they need within the organization (the other). It should be all hands on deck when it comes to resolving friction items, supporting general inquiries, and identifying growth opportunities.

It’s our goal to be a true strategic partner that helps our operator partners increase their valuation and be more successful enterprises.

For us, and for many tech companies, that means nailing two things:

1. Continually building and maintaining a scalable product and flexible integrations that will serve them long-term, and

2. Providing not just reactive support, but proactive consultative expertise customized to the needs/goals of their business.

When I was an operator, if a tech vendor knocked it out of the park in these two core areas, I considered them to be a potentially viable partner—one worth investing in and growing hand-in-hand with.

In conclusion

“Creating connectivity” to empower operators is something that technology vendors do not just with their products and platforms, but with their partnerships, as well.

As a former operator, my experience is that regardless of perceived tech-savviness, the best tack that a tech partner can take is to be:

1. Straightforward about how their solution fits into the way that I know how to do things (AKA my “operating rhythm”).

2. Upfront about where they are with their product: what hiccups arise, how they’re being handled, and what is being done to prevent them from reoccurring.

3. Clear about the value they provide, with success stories and proof points to back it up and KPIs in place to measure it.

4. Transparent about the level of support and education that they’ll provide on an ongoing and/or as-needed basis.

My #1 tip to tech companies is to show, not tell, operators that they are engineering solutions intentionally, with scalability and the defragmented future in mind.

Tech companies that prepare for this fully-connected era—by building on wide foundations, embracing data standards like the APDS, and staying lightweight and easily insertable into existing operating rhythms—will be the most successful partners in the long term.

Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a plain bagel somewhere, untoasted, with my name on it—and I’m ready for a bite. ◆

CHRIS EVERTON is VP Product & Partnerships for Ocra. He can be reached at chris@getocra.com

Parksmart Advisor Training

Learn how to guide teams through certification for sustainable, highperforming parking structures.

September 19, 21, 26, & 28, 2023

Limited class sizes. Offers 9 CAPP Points, 9 GBCI CE points, & .09 CEUs.

Advisors are promoted in IPMI Member Directory and official, Parksmart Advisor Roster on the USGBC/GBCI website.

IPMI/USGBC Member Rate: $275

Non-Member Rate: $495

Private training available for 7 or more registrants.

Technical + Human Building is the Future APIs

by Brian Wolff

THE WORLD IS CHANGING FAST. Everywhere we turn, the global digital transformation occurring around us, in every industry, is making our lives easier through connected experiences. This is happening by friction being removed from a system of disparate technology platforms. Different companies are connecting behind the scenes. Today, you can walk into a store, place items in a basket and walk out without stopping to pay or without interacting with a human or a scanner. It’s also possible to rent a car without ever stopping at a counter to sign anything or to be goaded into purchasing insurance or gasoline that you don’t need.

Consider this: the internet and the first internet browser were launched less than a generation ago, and since that time, the technology to support and exploit global internet connectivity has gone from birth to bulletproof in 29 short years. With these changes, the world is transforming digitally to take advantage of new and better ways to find, procure and receive goods and services. Parking is undergoing its own digital transformation and considering the industry in more than 100 years old, it has taken advantage of many of these technological changes.

Every day, the parking and mobility industry takes ever larger strides towards their own version of a frictionless experience. Parking companies and the myriad vendors supporting parking are finding new and innovative ways to make the experience more convenient and seamless. Much progress has been made, but there’s much work to be done to close the gap. The key to narrowing the divide will take equal parts technological evolution and human effort through partnerships and collaboration. Jeff Johnson, Chief Customer Officer at FLASH, put it best during a 2022 IPMI Conference panel discussion. He introduced the concept of two different types of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs): a technology API and a human API. Both will be critical to the success our customers are rapidly expecting to experience.

To appreciate how far the industry has come, one must go back to when parking was born and appreciate all the progress that has been made. At the outset, everyone paid for parking the same way, with cold hard cash. Three generations later, there are still many places where cash is accepted, but some operators, like Peak Parking’s Will Spielhagen in Austin, Texas have taken the bold step in some facilities to remove cash and expect all customers to pay by card or mobile app. With each innovation, there’s been a focus on rooting out “silent partners” in the business (aka attendants who stole cash, as dubbed by Parker Technology’s SVP of Business Development Scott Gould), to removing cashiers in the lane altogether and replacing them with credit card payments and automated parking equipment. Given the demographics, and the experience that this next generation expects, removing cash is perfectly acceptable. But in the early days, operators weren’t even thinking about customer experience or marketing. They were busy counting cars and money by hand.

Longtime parking veteran Brett Harwood shared the perspective that the parking operator’s focus early on was on one thing and one thing only: “Focus was not on customer acquisition or customer experience—it was about controlling the cash. The marketing was a sign in front of the location.” Success in those days was driven by three things: location, location, location. In fact, Harwood told a story about the most successful campaign they ever launched—a billboard to point the parking customer to his location. Today, we can buy a ticket to a sporting event or concert and in the same window, reserve and pay for the parking that goes with it. That didn’t happen by magic; it took businesspeople seeing the need and building relationships and technology integrations to make that happen—human and technology APIs.

As these types of conveniences get more pervasive, customers’ expectations will rise and walls to this kind of success will need to be taken down. One contributing obstacle to realization of the ultimate seamless parking experience are the many systems a customer or transaction must traverse to complete the parking journey. Often these systems do not communicate with each other and because they don’t, the user is forced to bridge the gap between them. Many in the parking industry believe bridging the gap behind the scenes is the urgent critical path forward. Roamy Valera, CAPP, President of Automotus, puts it this way, “If we really want to reduce the friction consumers experience in their journey, we must agree that integration and connectivity must be a priority.”

Increasingly, companies are modernizing their technology platforms to enable the type of API connectivity and collaborative model Valera references. However, modernization and the will to collaborate, while good steps forward, will require an evolved way of exchanging information. That evolved thinking will need

to be based on common ground and common vocabulary to get it done. In other words, the industry must become standards based. Mike Drow, President of PRRS served on the IPMI Technology Committee as one of the industry leaders spearheading efforts to create a standard. The way he explained it, the standards are like encouraging everyone to speak English.

The analogy is a powerful one because it underscores the critical need to communicate with words that have common meanings. But it’s more complicated and goes deeper than using the same language. That same language still has regional nuance, so only a translation layer can ensure different words with the same meaning are related to one another. For example, in one region a parking garage is a parcade or facility or ramp or carpark. The industry took a giant leap forward in 2022. Drow and other parking leaders’ efforts culminated last March with the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS) announcing the International Standards Organization (ISO) adoption of a global parking data specification based on APDS specifications for vehicle and mobility data.

At the time, Nigel Williams, Chair of APDS, offered insight into the importance of this global milestone, “The official adoption of the APDS specifications under the aegis of ISO offers tremendous benefits to the parking, mobility, and logistics sectors. APDS will drive change in those sectors by providing a universal language to facilitate sharing essential data across a multitude of technologies and platforms. We are extremely grateful to our APDS Sponsors, volunteer experts, and the parking and mobility community at large—their combined efforts and input have made this achievement possible.”

To be sure, adoption of the standard was critical. Yet, Drow equates the standard as being one of several critical elements necessary to build a road. The APDS standard could be thought of as the bedrock layer before concrete is poured. The next layers required for success will be elements like common definitions, common format, privacy, and contractual frameworks. For example, a license plate stored in a database is not necessarily sensitive information in isolation, but with a name and a location that information becomes extremely private information that will require a company with these types of information to protect it. Taking the example a step further if the license plate, name, and location are being exchanged between platforms, there must be a handshake between with permissions about how the information can and will be shared to insure the chain of custody and obligation to keep this private information safe and assure it’s being used for noble reasons.

Despite this significant milestone, adoption and utilization of the APDS standard is still uneven to say the least. As the standard leaves the “ether” of possibility and lands in the real world, Drow

asserts one more important industry mind shift will need to take place. All industry participants will need to embrace the notion that this magic standard data will not reside in a single system. It will reside everywhere, and the standard will ensure any system needing to access the most accurate version of it will be able to traverse a standards-driven “road” to the correct record where it originated. For the skeptics, one can see this coming together as designed in Europe, where several UK municipalities have paved the way for universal information sharing and universal payment through collaboration and standards. Of course, Europe is not the United States, but those closest to the advances being made are hopeful that the success in Europe can be “boxed up and shipped” to the U.S. as a base example for what’s possible.

When that box arrives, a growing number of companies and operators here in the U.S. are eager, willing and able to embrace the change. One of those leaders is Don Charley, the Assistant Vice President of Transportation and Parking for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He is a champion for the hard work that must be done to make parking a better experience. Charley put it this way “Think about it, people rarely go somewhere to simply park. They typically have an itinerary like meeting a friend for coffee, traveling to the airport or going shopping, and often see the task of finding and paying for parking as an annoyance. Parking should be a seamless part of those plans, and not a hassle or inconvenience. In the case of an open parking ecosystem, the more providers and options that parkers can choose from, the more likely mobile transactions will occur, thus increasing revenue. So, if you can give people the option to park using the navigation app that directed them to their parking space, the lifestyle app they ordered food through or just their preferred everyday app, this creates and sustains the seamless parking experience for them.”

The success in the U.S. in emulating Europe needs to look no further than the interstates upon which we rely so heavily today. Inspired by the network of high-speed roads he saw in Germany during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower championed the passing of the FederalAid Highway Act of 1956. The law funded the first 41,000 miles of paved glory that made up the early U.S. interstate system, which now boasts 46,876 miles and runs through all 50 states. Today, we take our highways for granted, not realizing the massive planning and backbreaking work it took to create them. However, with each completed mile of highway during the 17-year long project, tremendous commerce and freedom grew.

Just like this massive and impressive network of roads, parking is on the path to making this kind of ease and convenience a reality with each connection and collaboration created through human and technology APIs, unleashing a massive wave of opportunity for those entities that sign-up and participate in an open ecosystem of parking availability and commerce. Valera put it best as he signaled a tone of warning for those who insist on operating under ‘business as usual,’ when he said “Clients (cities/operators) cannot continue to operate in multiple silos because of the fear vendors have of adopting a collaborative model with other technologies.” The brave new world of a seamless parking experience demands leaders commit to building collaborations. Embracing human APIs and platform integrations via technology APIs, will make the parking experience as easy as ordering a cup of coffee on your phone, paying for it, and having it waiting for you when you arrive.

BRIAN WOLFF, is President & CEO of Parker Technology and a member of the IPMI Technology Committee. He can be reached at brian.wolff@helpmeparker.com

◆

“The official adoption of the APDS specifications under the aegis of ISO offers tremendous benefits to the parking, mobility, and logistics sectors. APDS will drive change in those sectors by providing a universal language to facilitate sharing essential data across a multitude of technologies and platforms. ”

—Nigel Williams, Chair of APDS

Opening

Join us at River Ranch Stockyards for a night of cattle, cowboys, and line dancing! River Ranch is in the heart of the world-renowned Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District.

IPMI’s Opening Welcome Event is known for high-energy networking, captivating entertainment, and a taste of the host city. This evening of unique flavors, sounds, and culture is one you won’t forget. Entertainment will keep you moving through the night while enjoying refreshing beverages and all the networking you can handle!

Transportation will be provided. Stay to the end for a big bang send off! Included with Full registration, Pre-Conference Course registration, Booth Staff registration and Sunday Daily registration.

Sponsored by: SILVER BRONZE

Charity Spotlight

I PMI HAS A LONG HISTORY OF GIVING BACK to our extended community and supporting our members’ efforts to do so as well. This year, we have two partnerships to share these efforts with all our Conference attendees, in addition to our ongoing fundraising to support the CAPP scholarship. Read on to find out more about our partnerships to support CAPP scholarships for eligible candidates, and our partnerships with Duncan Solutions and HONK. For the full Charity Partner Profiles, please visit our #IPMI2023 Conference & Expo Website.

Duncan Solutions and Boys & Girls Clubs: Supporting Social Mobility

Duncan Solutions is committed to promoting mobility on our roads and in our communities. At the 2023 IPMI Conference & Expo, we will host many young people and staff from Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County. They will join us in our booth and take tours to meet and learn from experts in the exhibit hall. We also will contribute $25,000 to their Club organization.

At the 2022 IPMI Conference & Expo, Duncan hosted participants from Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana. We donated more than $29,000—including $3,000 from partners—so the Clubs could buy and distribute additional school supplies to their members. Angel Nelson, President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana, said, “This generous gift will support our core Academic Club programing, ensuring success is within reach of every young person who enters our doors, with all members on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future.”

You can join the cause by making your own contribution, and by visiting booth 1415 to share your career advice and industry expertise with teen visitors from the local Boys & Girls Club. (For each business card we collect, we also will contribute an additional $5.) Thank you for joining us in helping local youth realize their full potential.

Duncan Solutions hosts young people and staff from Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana at the 2022 IPMI Conference & Expo.

Thanks to $29,000+ in contributions from Duncan Solutions and our partners, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana was able to buy and distribute additional school supplies for members. Donate to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County.

Exhibitors can leave show items that you do not plan to ship back on the event floor, and they will be donated to a local charity on your behalf. In doing so, you will reduce shipping costs as well as carbon emissions from transportation. Your items will be distributed to the Wellman Project.

Waste output generated by businesses and lack of resources in our schools: The Wellman Project uses one idea to tackle these two seemingly unrelated problems in the local Fort Worth community. The solution is simple, but often overlooked: reuse.

If you would like to donate materials, please bring your donation to the registration desk at the conclusion of the event. IPMI will coordinate the pickup of these items to local charities.

PREFERRED DONATION ITEMS ARE:

•Show bags, pens, and notepads.

•Promotional and giveaway item.

Support CAPP Candidates to Advance the Profession

CAPP is respected worldwide as the leading credential in parking and mobility. CAPPs represent the best of the industry advancing the profession and leading with innovation, professionalism, and expertise. Anyone who is pursuing CAPP within the next two years or any current CAPP who has accumulated six CAPP points may apply for scholarship funding.

Your contribution goes directly to support these candidates. Candidates apply for funds to offset registration fees, travel, and lodging expenses for all IPMI Professional Development opportunities.

•Furniture and household items.

•Bottled water.

IPMI and HONK are partnering in an important sustainability and outreach effort to support the local Fort Worth community.

Announces 2023-2024

Board of Directors

New slate of directors takes effect following the IPMI Conference & Expo June 11-14, 2023.

THE INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE is pleased to announce its 2023-2024 Board of Directors. Elections were held by the association in April 2022. At the conclusion of IPMI’s 2023 Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo in Fort Worth, Texas, June 11-14, IPMI’s 2023-2024 board will begin their term.

Continuing his two-year appointment as Board Chair will be Gary Means, CAPP, Executive Director, Lexington & Fayette County Parking Authority, Lexington, Kentucky.

Four newly elected board members who will serve for the next two years include: Irma Henderson, CAPP, Director of Transportation Services, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California; Carmen Donnell, CAPP, Managing Director, North America, PayByPhone, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Gabe Mendez, CAPP, Director of Transportation Operations, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, Wisconsin; and Shawn McCormick, Director, Parking Enforcement and Traffic, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), San Francisco, California.

Re-elected board members who will serve an additional term through 2025 include: Josh Cantor, CAPP, Director of Parking & Transportation, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia; and Richard B. Easley, CAPP, President, E-Squared Engineering, Ashburn, Virginia.

The entire 2023-2024 IPMI Board of Directors, effective June 14, 2023, is:

● CHAIR: Gary Means, CAPP, Executive Director, Lexington & Fayette County Parking Authority, Lexington, KY.

● CHAIR ELECT: Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, CAPP, Chief Operations Officer, Miami Parking Authority, Miami, FL.

● TREASURER: Robert Ferrin, CAPPP, Senior Project Manager, Kimley-Horn, Columbus, OH.

● PAST CHAIR: David Onorato, CAPP, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Parking Authority, Pittsburgh, PA.

● Josh Cantor, CAPP, Director of Parking & Transportation, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.

● Pamela E. Chikhani, MSc, General Manager, Secure ParkingUAE & Qatar, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

● Marlene Cramer, CAPP, Director of Transportation and Parking Services, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

● Carmen Donnell, CAPP, Managing Director, North America, PayByPhone, Vancouver, British Columbia, CN.

● Richard B. Easley, CAPP, President, E-Squared Engineering, Ashburn, VA.

● Irma Henderson, CAPP, Director of Transportation Services, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA.

● Maria Irshad, CAPP, Deputy Director, ParkHouston, Houston, TX.

● Casey Jones, CAPP, Senior Director of Customer Success, FLASH, Boise, ID.

● Shawn McCormick, Director, Parking Enforcement and Traffic, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), San Francisco, CA.

● Gabe Mendez, CAPP, Director of Transportation Operations, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.

● Tiffany R. Peebles, President, For All Things Parking, LLC, Louisville, KY.

● Shawn Conrad, CAE, CEO, International Parking & Mobility Institute, Fredericksburg, VA.

IPMI Announces 2023-2024 Certification Board

New slate of directors takes effect following the IPMI Conference & Expo June 11-14, 2023.

THE INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE

is pleased to announce its 2023-2024 CAPP Certification Board. Elections were held by the association in April 2022. At the conclusion of IPMI’s 2023 Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo in Fort Worth, Texas, June 11-14, IPMI’s 2023-2024 CAPP Board will begin their term.

Continuing his three-year appointment as CAPP Board Chair will be Hal King, CAPP, Parking Manager, City of Lansing, MI.

Victor Hill, CAPP, of T2 Systems, joins the CAPP Board as the newest director and Gwendolyn Bolden, CAPP, was re-elected to serve another three-year term.

The entire 2023-2024 IPMI CAPP Certification Board, effective June 14, 2023, is:

● Chair: Hal King, CAPP, Parking Manager, City of Lansing, Lansing, MI.

● Chair Elect: Sam Veraldi, CAPP, Director, Business Development EV Charging, FLASH, Austin, TX.

● Past Chair: Isaiah R. Mouw, CAPP, President, Municipal, PAVE Mobility, Chattanooga, TN.

● Gwendolyn Bolden, CAPP, Director of On-Street & Metered Services, Pittsburgh Parking Authority, Pittsburgh, PA.

● Victor Hill, CAPP, Account Manager Team Lead, T2 Systems, Indianapolis, IN.

● Vanessa Solesbee Schnipkoweit, CAPP, Parking & Transit Manager, Town of Estes Park, CO.

Parking Industry Leader Jonathan Evens

Joins

eleven-x to Help Drive the Company’s Expansion in North America

Bethlehem Parking Authority Receives 2023

Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence

THE BETHLEHEM PARKING AUTHORITY is proud to announce that they are among a select group of organizations chosen by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) to receive the 2023 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. The Bethlehem Parking Authority was selected to receive this prestigious award for its Park Green Program.

ELEVEN-X , developers of the award-winning eXactpark™ smart parking solution, a real-time stall occupancy monitoring sensor and software platform, is pleased to announce the addition of industry veteran Jonathan “Jon” Evens as Vice President of Sales and Business Development. In this new capacity, he will be responsible for supporting the company’s expansion across North America by developing and executing strategies to continue eleven-x’s customer growth in the municipal and academic campus sectors. Evens will be based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Evens has more than 15 years of experience in the parking industry as well as the software as a service and hardware as a service spaces. Before joining eleven-x, he was the Regional VP for FLASH Parking where he was responsible for building out and managing a Central U.S. sales team. Prior to that, Evens was the VP of Sales for Evens Time, an Indianapolis-based parking technology company founded by his family. During his 13 years there, he quadrupled the company’s territory and grew its range of services.

“I am extremely excited to be joining the eleven-x team. I was very impressed with the company’s innovative eXactpark solution and I believe it will take parking experiences to incredible new levels,” said Jon Evens, VP of Sales, eleven-x. “I look forward to leveraging my deep experience in the parking industry to help address issues such as traffic congestion, compliance and inefficient operations through this innovative, ‘smart’ technology.”

Evens received his B.A. in Selling and Sales Management from Purdue University. He also served in the United States Marine Corps for four years.

The Bethlehem Parking Authority’s Park-Green Program incorporates sustainable practices into the organization’s operations as an example of continuous sustainability improvement. It aims to reduce environmental impacts by focusing on realistic and attainable goals targeting the organization’s daily operations. Some of the program’s accomplishments include,

● Over 50% of the fleet is electric vehicles.

● Twenty-four Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in all Parking Garages and multiple Parking Lots.

● All Parking Garages and Parking Lots have efficient LED lighting.

● Reducing vehicle idle times at Parking Garage Exit Gates by offering and promoting Digital Ticketing Technology.

● Committing to building new parking garages using Sustainable Design Standards.

● Sustainable Idea incentive program for Team Members.

● A partnership with the Bethlehem Area School District to help lead after-school program instruction on Sustainability.

“We are thrilled to receive this prestigious award from the Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. “We’ve had some great support from Mayor Reynolds and the City of Bethlehem and Senator Lisa Boscola,” said Steven Fernstrom, Executive Director. “We are committed to continuing our efforts to minimize our environmental impact and promote sustainable practices,” he added.

The Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence are presented yearly to highlight the best environmental innovation and expertise throughout the Commonwealth. The award is open to any Pennsylvania business, farm, government agency, educational institution, and individual that has created, or participated in, the development of a project that promotes environmental stewardship in Pennsylvania.

Passport launches Text to Pay for parking in cities nationwide, including Atlanta and New Orleans

PASSPORT , the leading mobility management platform provider, is bringing ease and optionality to parkers across the country with the launch of Text to Pay. This new functionality allows users to quickly pay for parking through the convenience of text messaging and is now available in Atlanta, Ga., Decatur, Ga., Gretna, La. and New Orleans, La. More cities will launch in the coming months, including Annapolis Md, Beaufort, S.C. and Harrisburg, Pa.

The launch of Text to Pay creates a frictionless experience for the end customer in how they pay for parking. A motorist now has the option to simply text to park without downloading an app or can choose their preferred app through ParkingApp.com. Providing more payment options for parking has been found to increase willingness to pay, ultimately driving better parking compliance.

“With the addition of Text to Pay, drivers who do not want to download or use an app to pay to park are now one text message away from enjoying the same type of convenient parking experience in Atlanta,” said Calvin Watts, Transportation Director. “This launch is a great example of leveraging a single platform to provide more optionality and convenience, and we are excited to be working with Passport to improve the payment experiences for the people in our City.”

In addition to providing another convenient option to pay for parking, Passport also improves operational efficiency for the cities. Specifically, all parking transactions are now consolidated into one backend platform and reporting system in these cities, and all related payments are reconciled to the appropriate app partner. Now, these cities can focus on their parking operations and not be burdened with managing backend transactional and operational logistics.

This specific Text to Pay functionality in these cities is being enabled through a partnership with SP Plus Corporation (SP+) via its Parking.com solution.

“We are thrilled for the opportunity to demonstrate our unique ability to reconcile payments from various applications and to bring an innovation like Text to Pay to life. Now we can increase operational efficiency and save motorists time with a fast, secure, and efficient option to navigate the parking experience,” said Jason Sutton, VP of Channel at Passport.

Flash and One Parking Announce Enterprise-level EV Charging Agreement

As the Exclusive EV Charging technology provider, Flash will extend One Parking’s best-in-class service to include seamless parking and charging experiences.

FLASH , the only global platform connecting cloud parking software to electric vehicle charging, has entered into an enterprise-level EV Charging agreement with One Parking, a leader in best-in-class parking management. Flash is rapidly deploying its integrated software and hardware solutions across One Parking’s portfolio of commercial, residential, and mixed-use assets. The partnership will empower One Parking to deliver one-of-a-kind reservable parking plus EV charging experiences to its customers while accelerating electrification in major cities Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, and more.

One Parking sees an opportunity to extend its services and further encourage an exceptional consumer experience with EV adoption in a commoditized market by leveraging Flash’s platform. From installation to charger maintenance, Flash is the only platform to seamlessly integrate parking plus charging management into a single platform.

“We felt it was an important and necessary step to implement a portfolio-wide EV charging strategy, especially for our assets in cities, like Washington, D.C., that are experiencing a sharp increase in EV adoption,” said Mark Pratt, President and COO of One Parking. “Aligning with Flash, our long-time technology partner, to take advantage of their full platform to include charging for a seamless EV consumer experience was the obvious next step in realizing our goals.”

“As sales of electric vehicles continue to grow, access to a reliable, properly maintained EV charging network is imperative for EV consumers,” states Ben Davee, GM of EV Charging Division. “This Enterprise-level agreement is a testament to One Parking’s commitment to delivering next-generation smart parking services and cutting-edge EV charging technology that provide reliable, reservable EV consumer experiences, in a way that only Flash can deliver.”

To learn more about the only charging and parking platform that delivers a reservable EV charging experience, please visit www.FlashOS.com.

Save e date!

2023

MAY 8

Free IPMI Parking Garage Safety Symposium

How Safe are Your Parking Facilities? Best Practices & Operations to Protect Your Patrons and the Public

MAY 10

Free Virtual Shoptalk Planning for an EV Future: Avoiding Pitfalls and Planning Future Forward

MAY 11

Free Member Chat

New Members

MAY 17

IPMI Webinar

Delivering the Goods: Making Sense of Commercial Access in Commercial Areas

JUNE 1

Free Member Chat Conference & Expo First Timers Orientation

JUNE 6

Free Virtual Frontline Training

Honing Your Personal Brand

JUNE 11–14

2023 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo Fort Worth

JULY 11

Online, Instructor-Led Course Analysis & Applications of Technology

JULY 12

IPMI Webinar

What Affects the Cost of Building a Parking Space?

JULY 19

Free Virtual Shoptalk

Turning Parking Data Into Valuable Insights

JULY 20

Free Member Chat

New Members

AUGUST 15

Free Virtual Frontline Training

The Benefits of Understanding the Parking Lifecycle

SEPTEMBER 7

Free Member Chat Awards

SEPTEMBER 13

IPMI Webinar

EV Readiness: Develop & Execute an Effective Plan in your Parking Operation

SEPTEMBER 19, 21, 26, 28

Online, Instructor-Led Course Parksmart Advisor Training

SEPTEMBER 20

Free Virtual Shoptalk

University Shoptalk: Guiding Your Team to Serve Your Patrons

OCTOBER 5

Free Member Chat CAPP

OCTOBER 10

Free Virtual Frontline Training

Implementing License Plate Recognition on Campus

OCTOBER 17

Online, Instructor-Led Course

Accredited Parking Organization

(APO) Site Reviewer Renewal Training

OCTOBER 18

Free IPMI Municipal Member Roundtable

Virtual Roundtable limited to members from cities and municipalities.

OCTOBER 19

Free Member Chat

New Members

NOVEMBER 2

Free Member Chat

APO

NOVEMBER 8

IPMI Webinar

How Parking fits with Transportation: Path to Greater Mobility in Nashville

NOVEMBER 15

Free Virtual Shoptalk

Airport Shoptalk: Operating LargeScale Airport Operations

DECEMBER 12

Free Virtual Frontline Training

Procurement—Best Practices & Lessons Learned

State and Regional Events Calendar

SEPTEMBER 6–8

Pacific Intermountain Parking & Transportation Association (PIPTA)

Annual Conference & Expo

Seattle, WA

SEPTEMBER 19–22

Carolinas Parking & Mobility Association (CPMA)

Annual Conference & Expo

Myrtle Beach, SC

OCTOBER 1–4

Campus Parking and Transportation Association (CPTA) Annual Conference

Columbus, OH

OCTOBER 23–25

Southwest Parking & Transportation Association (SWPTA) Annual Conference

Las Vegas, NV

NOVEMBER 7–9

California Mobility and Parking Association (CMPA) Annual Conference & Tradeshow

San Jose, CA