PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
AWARDS
Shining the spotlight on the people of parking and mobility.
Shining the spotlight on the people of parking and mobility.
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46
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Parking and mobility professionals continue to set the bar of excellence in customer service and innovation at a time when automation is the new buzzword.
Philosophy in Parking
Parking innovation in Allentown takes its cues from Plato.
By Jonathan Haney, CAPPManage the Man
Normalizing and encouraging mental health discussion among male employees.
By Patrick Babb & Zach Barlowe58
Revamping the Image
Addressing the perception and image of parking and transportation professionals.
By Kevin White, AICP, CAPP62
Stories from the Frontline
We all have our stories of how we ended up in parking.
By Katherine Beaty66
Planning EV Infrastructure
Harness the EV revolution to increase revenue without busting your budget.
By Ryan Gram, PEFRONTLINE EMPLOYEES ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF parking and mobility. Your organization can have all the best equipment, state-of-the-art technology, and the most detailed plans for operations. Without the people to execute, failure is certain.
By Stephen Coleman KennyNo matter how “touchless” our parking interactions become, our Frontline employees will still be our face, handling the often-strenuous interactions with the public and representing all of us.
By Bill Smith By Julius E. Rhodes, SPHRAnd they do so with grace and professionalism.
What can we do to thank them? Educate them. Show them that the parking and mobility industry is not a stop; it is a destination. Create a career path for them leading to a long-term, two-way relationship between the Frontline employee and your organization.
Invest in them, personally and professionally.
By Carmen Donnell, CAPPIs their position becoming redundant due to new technology? Upskill them. Are they extraordinary? Promote them. Pay them. And ask them what they envision as their next step.
By Lisa BurkeWhat should we not do? Ignore them. Consider them transient or temporary. Because if we treat Frontline employees as expendable, they will be.
July’s issue is focused on our Frontline. We will hear stories of advancement, both of individuals and organizations, and we celebrate the recipients of the 2023 Professional Recognition Awards. These are the people and organizations that are doing it right, and we can all learn from their example.
Do you have a Frontline story to share? Reach out—let’s talk.
Melissa Rysak, editor rysak@parking-mobility.orgPUBLISHER
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
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AS SOCIETY LOOKS AT THE PANDEMIC in the rearview mirror, the parking and mobility industry did not escape the disruptive impacts. Our industry saw garages nearly emptied, suspension of meter enforcement, quiet quitting, difficulties in retaining and hiring all positions, whether union or non-union, and all transactions going contactless. Vital curb space was being utilized for extended seating capacity for local businesses, and most urban centers saw a major move to remote working. In some severe cases, a mandate ordering residents to shelter at home and a complete shutdown of air travel.
It would have been easy to accept this phenomenon as outside our control and just hold the line. Instead, the parking and mobility industry decided to go on the offensive and be proactive to help define our outcome.
IPMI took the lead by ensuring its membership stayed connected. They offered free webinars, shop talks, the online Forum community group, and the daily blog.
I believe that a crisis does not define us but can make us stronger as an industry if we work together to determine and reshape our future. This is the case as the parking and mobility industry joined forces; they ensured that our industry would return stronger and better than ever.
Municipalities, universities, and airports heard from their customers and then collaborated with vendors to address the concerns of our industry’s end users. The vendors heard from us and our end users: the answer is technology. While technology was always in the distance for our industry, the pandemic expedited the rollout by years.
The first change in our industry that enabled us to stay connected was using Zoom and Teams meetings. In Pittsburgh, we satisfied our customers’ major concerns by working with our vendors to install contactless transactions at our
garage facilities and manned lots. We added additional phone apps to give our customers other payment options. We created a new website that provided portals for residential parking permits (RPP) and monthly leases, eliminating the need for in-person transactions. We expanded the use of handheld and mobile LPR enforcement to reduce our interactions with the public. We also added still cameras to our offstreet surface lots for enforcement.
The big game-changer will come with the implementation of tickets by mail—a process well ahead of its time before the pandemic. This innovative technology will make Pittsburgh more efficient with fewer resources. The Authority will cover approximately 50% more zones per day with the rollout of tickets by mail.
As a result of the last three years of challenges, Pittsburgh is a much better place thanks to the
implementation of technology that may have otherwise taken us years to roll out. We strongly believe that we will be defined by our actions and not by outside distractions if we confront them head-on.
While we have advanced the use of technology, we still have a long road ahead, but Pittsburgh’s future, and the future of parking and mobility as an industry, is looking bright as we continue to enhance our end users’ parking experience.
Thank you to all that have assisted us in our recent journey.
AS CITIES WORLDWIDE ADAPT to rapid urbanization and new technological advancements, the need for innovative curb management solutions has never been more crucial. Congestion, safety concerns, and inefficient allocation of curb space are challenges that municipalities must address.
The humble curb has long been an underutilized and mismanaged asset. As cities prioritize safety, sustainability, and equity in their transportation strategies, modernizing commercial loading practices is essential. By leveraging new data standards and digital tools, municipalities can optimize their curbs for efficient loading and unloading while improving safety and accessibility.
Two examples of modern data standards that accelerate the adoption of technology platforms to modernize parking are the Curb Data Specification (CDS) and Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS). Data platforms work with cities to inventory their curb space and parking regulations in standard, easy-touse formats like CDS so that they can communicate parking regulations to fleet operators like Uber, Amazon, and on-demand delivery services. Cities around the world now manage their public right of way with data-driven insights and cutting-edge digital infrastructure.
The City of Seattle is implementing these data standards, converting its asset inventory into a digital format that is easily shared with commercial operators. This proactive approach allows for better management of loading zones and more efficient use of limited curb space.
In Oakland, city officials recognized that their commercial loading zones were full 95% of the time and illegally occupied half the time. This congestion not only created inefficiencies for businesses but also posed significant safety risks to pedestrians and cyclists. By adopting digital solutions to inventory and maintain their curb regulations, Oakland gained valuable insights into how their curb space was being utilized.
This year, Oakland implemented a new paid commercial loading strategy that includes expanding metered loading zones and utilizing hardware-free Smart Loading Zones through GPS data from connected vehicles. These solutions have revolutionized how Oakland manages its curbs, resulting in better-functioning loading zones, safer streets, additional revenue, and valuable data for future policy planning.
To realize the benefits of modernized commercial loading, cities must engage with commercial operators like Amazon,
UPS, and DoorDash. By collaborating with these companies, municipalities can develop new technologies and strategies for efficient commercial loading zone payments, reducing the risk of parking tickets, speeding up delivery times, and promoting safer working conditions for drivers.
The future of curb management lies in the smart integration of digital infrastructure, active management, and connected vehicles. As cities strive to meet their goals for safety, equity, and sustainability, modernizing commercial loading practices will play a vital role in shaping urban landscapes. This modernization can unlock the full potential of their curbs and pave the way for safer, more sustainable, and equitable streets.
Together, we can create a future of smarter, more efficient urban mobility. ◆
HI, I’M JIM, THE CEO AND CO-FOUNDER of a Pittsburgh-based parking startup called Meter Feeder. Our company originated in 2015 after winning a hackathon. My cofounder, Daniel Lopretto, and I are Y-Combinator graduates, and in 2021, we were selected to join Google’s Black Founders Fund. I should mention - I’m Black.
As a CEO, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion within parking and explore avenues for positive change. I’ve realized that many people don’t actually know what DEI means for their organization. So, what is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, formally? Well, in simple terms, they are three foundational values held by top-tier organizations to be supportive of different groups of individuals, including people of different races,
ethnicities, religions, abilities, genders, and sexual orientations. Basically, DEI is the cornerstone for a safe and habitable working environment for all. So, let’s break it down.
What are the differences between diversity, equity, and inclusion? These terms are often easily misunderstood, so it’s crucial for us to recognize the individual meanings and implications of each of these terms:
Diversity is really the Who. Equity references the What. Inclusion is How.
When we think about “Who” is represented in the workforce, we look at diversity. Who are the people we’re working with? What is the composition of our workforce? Diversity is found in gender, age, ethnicity, physical ability, and neurodiversity. By adding different compositions of diversity to a workplace, we strengthen our ability to consider alternative viewpoints and recognize the importance of having diversity in how people think, analyze, and find solutions. We also strengthen our ability to connect with a diverse customer base - something especially important for all of us in the parking industry.
Equity allows us to consider the “What.” When we think of equity in a workplace, we’re really referring to what people are dealing with and doing. How are we providing fair treatment for all people? Equity encourages us to look at our practices and policies to ensure identity is not predictive of opportunities or workplace outcomes.
Equity is not necessarily equality, though. They have subtle differences to consider; equality is the notion that all people are to be treated the same, while equity considers a person’s unique circumstances, adjusting treatment accordingly so that the result is equal. Think of it this way - as someone who is 6’3, I rarely have issues seeing over things. Let’s say there is a 6-foot fence in front of me. Sure, I can see, but my teammate, who is 5’7, might not be able to. Equality is having us both sit next to each other - equity is giving my 5’7 friend a footstool to see over the fence, just like I can. That footstool evens the playing field so we can all enjoy the show.
Inclusivity is our reminder to look at the “How.” How do we embrace all employees to create a meaningful workforce experience where everyone can contribute?
Inclusive cultures cultivate diverse workforces where all employees feel their voices are heard. Creating a space where every employee is comfortable speaking openly allows for creativity in thought and additional alternative insights. That problem you’ve been trying to solve for months might be quite easy for someone who thinks of the concept in a different way. By including
that employee and promoting a culture inclusive of thought, we can see how a new solution might be quite simple for them. Invite everyone to the table - it makes for a better party anyway.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are three things all organizations should strive to embody these days to help meet the needs of people from all walks of life. Not only can organizations make better hires by expanding their company’s viewport and adding additional perspective, but they can also retain great employees longer by making sure everyone is both seen and heard. Companies with a DEI team were 22% more likely to be seen as “an industry-leading company with high-caliber talent.”
But here’s really the best part: If you hire the best people for the job, you’ll probably start to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture by default. At Meter Feeder, 60% of our leadership team is made up of minorities or women - both diverse categories. All we did was hire the best people for the job. That’s it. We didn’t pre-determine specific makeups of who we wanted to hire; we just hired the people who had a proven track record of accomplishing the problems we were looking to solve. By expanding our viewport and perspective, we gained not only wonderful team members but even more outlooks on our business which has translated directly into revenue.
In an industry like ours, it is incredibly powerful and important to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive foundation. Parking has an especially broad audience. Our industry touches nearly every person from every walk of life in some way. Embracing diversity in thought and representation enables us to better serve the needs of this diverse customer base. Companies that are diverse, equitable, and inclusive can better respond to challenges, win top talent, and meet the needs of different clients and customers. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. If diversity is another word for variety, how can it enhance or flavor the world? Add some and see for yourself.
HENRY GRABAR, author of Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World, is making the press circuit with a clear message: “I just hate not being able to find a parking space.”
Grabar follows this common sentiment with an uncommon solution in the parking industry—reform. With governments considering ways to reform their parking systems, the parking industry now has a unique opportunity to lead the conversation about the future of transportation—promoting equity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and doing more with less.
In the 1960s to 1970s, as the dawn of the Interstate Highway System cemented the domination of cars, many cities looked for ways to compete with the ample parking available in quickly growing suburbs Many passed laws that arbitrarily inflated the number of spaces businesses had to provide their customers. Following that, urban landscapes quickly became awash in surface parking lots.
Today, many Americans expect parking to be convenient, available, and free. But the laws that enable
that reality were ill-advised to begin with and remain actively harmful today.
While many of America’s two billion parking spots may seem free up-front, they come with extremely high costs. In his 2002 book The High Cost of Free Parking, Donald Shoup estimates that the U.S. spends somewhere between $127–$374 billion per year subsidizing “free” parking. These subsidies mostly go to wealthy individuals, as cars quickly become a prohibitively expensive luxury item for many lowincome and marginalized communities. To pay for these subsidies, cities assess higher property taxes and crack down on illegal parking, which again disproportionately impacts low-income and marginalized communities.
As an affordable housing crisis driven by a shortage of homes impacts communities nationwide, prioritizing “free” parking makes less and less sense. Lower-income and minority communities are disproportionately displaced by parking-driven sprawl and reduced
access to amenities like grocery stores, libraries, and schools. My colleague Toccarra Nicole Thomas, AICP, the Director of Land Use and Development at Smart Growth America and Executive Director of the FormBased Codes Institute, says it best:
“Parking minimums are inequitable because they increase the cost of development (which is passed on to consumers), preclude community benefits by devoting land to cars, and finally, lock smaller developers out of the development process. We all lose. The sea of parking deprives communities of the amenities that make communities liveable and desirable.”
The result is a vicious cycle: cities require more parking on every new development, which leads to sprawl and displacement, driving up car use and parking demand and leading to calls for even more parking. And at every stage, cities become less affordable, more dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists, less efficient
for public transportation, less attractive to businesses, and worse for the environment.
See how much downtown land your city dedicates to parking here.
In recent years, many cities around the country have sought to end this cycle by reforming (or altogether abolishing) their parking laws. This movement began in 2017, when Buffalo, New York, became one of the first cities to abolish parking minimums.
Their decision was borne of desperation. Today only 276,807 Buffalonians remain, down from 580,132 in the city’s 1950’s heyday. As the population began to decline in the 1960s, Buffalo attempted to court drivers back into its downtown by demolishing its historic buildings and replacing them with wide highways and surface parking lots. This was an utter failure, as its population and
“Parking minimums are inequitable because they increase the cost of development (which is passed on to consumers), preclude community benefits by devoting land to cars, and finally, lock smaller developers out of the development process. We all lose. The sea of parking deprives communities of the amenities that make communities liveable and desirable.”
—Toccarra Nicole Thomas, AICP, Director of Land Use and Development at Smart Growth America
economy declined. The city was running out of options.
But in 2016, when the city was re-writing its 75-year-old zoning code, local activists began calling for the city to replace parking lots with housing, retail, restaurants, and other amenities. The city eventually agreed, laying the groundwork for parking reform in its new Green Code
Newly legal projects in Buffalo have produced double the homes and businesses as developments that met old requirements. Buffalo has since been able to reduce the cost of new developments, reopen beloved local businesses that had been shuttered due to parking rule violations, and spur the construction of more multi-use developments. For the first time since the 1950’s, Buffalo’s population and economy are growing, due in no small part to these reforms.
Seeking to replicate Buffalo’s economic boon, over 1000 communities across the country have reduced or eliminated parking minimums since 2017.
Why is parking reform so popular? According to Grabar, “there’s a realization that parking creates traffic, not the other way around. And if cities want to [meet] their climate goals and reduce the country’s No. 1 source of greenhouse gas emissions, which is transportation, they need to reform the way they provide parking.”
Even Congress is jumping on board, with Rep. Robert Garcia (D–Calif.) introducing the Homes for People Not Cars Act of 2023 in early May. The premise is simple: the bill gives landowners within half a mile of a major transit stop “sole discretion” over parking. This preempts all remaining local parking minimums, and while the bill has a tough road ahead in a divided Congress (and likely doesn’t go far enough), it is an encouraging step forward.
Parking reform is not about eliminating parking. It is about weaving parking management into the transportation fabric of cities instead of putting the onus on individual businesses. That’s why my organization, Smart Growth America, advocates for parking reform in order to provide mobility choices to everyone, no matter where they live. Out goal is to grow local economies, create more affordable housing, empower marginalized communities, and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ◆
EVERY PARKING ORGANIZATION SHOULD HAVE a strategic public relations (PR) plan. PR can be the most impactful and cost-effective way for organizations and companies to reach their most important audiences, and it can benefit every parking organization. Public relations can include several different elements, but the most important is publicity. By publicizing an organization through earned media, parking businesses, institutions, and other organizations can reach large numbers of people with key messages.
manage one or more facilities or attract parkers to the facilities they do manage. A consulting firm may want to raise its profile among potential clients or strategic partners.
Publicity revolves around generating coverage in the media. Unlike advertising, where ad space is purchased, stories in newspapers, magazines, and online publications, as well as on TV and radio don’t cost anything beyond the time and resources required to arrange and complete them. In addition to being cost-effective, earned media carries much more weight and credibility than ads.
When developing a publicity strategy, parking organizations must first determine what they want to accomplish. For example, municipal parking can use PR to attract drivers to public parking facilities or inform the public of parking rules and regulations. A parking technology vendor, on the other hand, may want to inform the industry and potential clients in other industries why its technology is superior and about the unique benefits it can offer. An operator may want to let parking owners know why they are the best fit to
In addition to offering opportunities for free coverage, publicity has the added benefit of providing extraordinary reach. A feature story in an industry publication like Parking & Mobility, for instance, is read by thousands of parking professionals, including the industry’s leaders. These readers care about parking, and they already have an interest in what you have to say. Likewise, a story in a local newspaper or a broadcast piece on local radio or television can be an effective way to disseminate information throughout the community. And a story in a national media outlet like the Wall Street Journal or NPR can literally reach tens of millions of people. Additionally, when stories run in a publication or on TV or radio, online versions also tend to run on those outlets’ websites. There’s really no better way to reach large numbers of people to raise awareness of a parking organization, product, or service.
How do you arrange this coverage? Everyone is familiar with press releases, which can be great ways to get news out. However, they are just one of several tactics for generating coverage. Pitch letters, source sheets, and media briefings are also powerful tools.
Every parking organization has news to announce. It could be a new policy or facility for a municipality; a new client or project for a consultant; a new product or service for a supplier; or a milestone such as a new hire or an award. Press releases are the perfect tool for getting basic news out to the public. If your
organization has in-house PR staff or relies on public relations consultants, they will know how to utilize a press release.
One of the most effective ways to use publicity is to arrange feature stories about your organization, someone within your organization, or about a product or service. Feature stories can revolve around industry trends, common challenges and solutions, or timely and interesting issues and should always be presented in terms of why the reader (or listener or viewer) will be interested in the story. Remember that editors don’t care if you find a story idea interesting; they only care if their readers will.
A third type of publicity that can raise awareness of an organization or its product is the bylined article. Bylines are stories that are authored by an expert and printed in industry press or general or business publications. They typically offer overviews of common challenges and solutions, examples of best practices, or case studies demonstrating a particular solution
(often, they include all three). They can’t openly promote the organization or its products or services, though. These aren’t ads. They are articles designed to provide tangible value to readers. However, they provide enormous benefits by demonstrating the author’s (and the organization’s) valuable expertise.
Every parking organization can benefit from including PR in the form of publicity in its marketing. It can be done in-house if there are sufficient resources at hand or by a PR consultant if greater expertise is required. Either way, a strategic publicity program can be a valuable part of any PR and marketing effort and a terrific way to get the word out to your most important audiences.
BILL SMITH is a marketing strategist and public relations professional who has served the parking industry for 30 years. He can be reached at bsmith@smith-phillips.com
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IT CAN TRULY BE SAID that over the past 36 months that each of us, individually and collectively, has undergone a dramatic and radical shift in the way we look at things. This is because, in part, the very foundations that we look to for stability and balance in our lives have shifted in a profound way, and what we took as the standard operating procedure or ‘normal’ is now far from that. All of us who can read this article lived through a global pandemic, but if you are like me, you know people either directly or indirectly who were not as fortunate.
We continue to see the atrocities that humans inflict on one another, as evidenced by the senseless acts of violence that result in mass shootings being a weekly, if not daily, occurrence. We also see these same issues taking place across the globe with attacks on sovereign nations and their innocent civilians. There have been issues of social justice that have pitted generation against generation, political upheaval, financial instability, and literally a crisis moment on just about every front imaginable.
Still, the crisis that we face that has the greatest implications for our society is a crisis where leaders are abdicating their responsibility in ways that are unprecedented. The leadership qualities that are needed desperately are not being displayed with the consistency to reassure us or provide us with the hope we require in the myriad roles we play to let us know we are moving forward.
Let’s stop and unpack a couple of terms: leadership and leader. Many people use these two terms synonymously, but there is a significant difference between them as I view them. When I hear people talk about leadership, they talk about traits such as honesty, integrity, and respect. We should expect every team member to display leadership and act when action is required to make things better for themselves and the people around them. Leadership is about what we do and anybody can do anything once.
Being a leader is about who you are most consistently; understanding and communicating the “why” behind how you execute your role. This must be understood by others if they are to truly follow you as a leader. Being a leader is not about positional or legitimate power. It’s also not solely about personal attributes. Rather, the best leaders understand that it is the mix of how they utilize positional or legitimate power with their personal charisma and integrity that contributes to their overall ability to
be seen as a leader. Being a leader is about understanding how issues are embedded into the things we face such that we get beneath the surface to identify bedrock material that stands the test of time.
One difference that is often seen between individuals who display leadership traits and those who truly behave as leaders is a lack of humility. Three essential characteristics of a person who acts with humility include:
● Recognizing one’s own shortcomings and limitations.
● Appreciating others’ strengths and giving them a platform to use them.
● Demonstrating an ability to learn from others regardless of their standing.
People will always buy into the person before they buy into the mission. A leader, whether you classify their leadership as a servant, inclusive, transformational, participative, or something else, will always understand that power always rests in the collective people and not within an individual person. Given all that we have undergone in the past 36 months, we need to return to acting in ways that show people that we care for them, not just in terms of what they do in our organization but as whole people who have a life outside of the role they execute in our organizations. As leaders, we must live by the notion that we should not look out for our own interests but for the interests of others. We can best do this through acts of humility that encourage them to do the same. When we create reciprocal paradigms that look out for the best interests of all in their total lives versus a subset of it, we all win. ◆
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AS THE WORLD OF WORK CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, many organizations are embracing the hybrid model—a blend of in-office and remote work. While this approach offers a range of benefits for both employees and employers, it also presents unique challenges. One of the most significant of these is maintaining a strong team culture across physical and digital divides.
Building a cohesive team that operates seamlessly is a key factor in business success, but how can it be achieved when team members are scattered across different locations? There are some practical strategies for navigating the hybrid landscape and fostering a strong team culture that thrives in both office and remote work environments. Whether you’re a manager or an employee, you can build stronger connections with your colleagues and achieve your goals more effectively. So, let’s look at ways we can overcome the challenges of the hybrid model and build a thriving team culture, regardless of where you’re working from.
One of the most important things leaders can do to foster relationships and team culture in a
hybrid working environment is to communicate effectively. Communication should be a top priority to ensure that everyone feels connected and part of the team. Remote work may require different channels for communication, and leaders should be open to exploring these tools to find what works best for their team (Slack, video chats, phone, email). Additionally, leaders should confirm that team members understand the message and foster an environment where questions are welcomed. This can help prevent misunderstandings and ensure everyone works towards the same goals.
Establishing clear communication channels is another way to foster team culture and promote open conversation. This means setting expectations around how and when team members will communicate with each other. For example, you might establish a policy that all team members must respond to emails within 24 hours or that all team meetings will occur via video conference. By setting clear expectations around communication, you can reduce the potential for misunderstandings and ensure that everyone is on the same page.
A key part of communication is active listening to ensure that the conveyed message is received and
acknowledged and can be acted upon. In addition to effective communication, leaders should prioritize regular one-on-one meetings with team members. These meetings should be focused on listening to the employee’s concerns, challenges, and successes. Leaders should stop notifications and refrain from checking emails during these meetings to show that the employee has their full attention. Additionally, leaders should encourage employees to turn their cameras on during video calls and practice reading body language and tone through video, as this can differ slightly from in-person communication. Periodically, leaders should aim to have in-person one-on-one meetings to add variety to virtual and face-to-face meetings.
In addition, leaders should foster an environment where their employees feel empowered to put their health first and take a step back if needed when things become overwhelming. Here are a few things leaders do to support their team’s well-being:
Encourage team members to take breaks throughout the day. This might mean walking outside or stepping away from the computer for a few minutes. Provide resources and support for mental health and wellness. This might include access to an employee assistance program or resources for stress management.
Depending on the type of role, it may be possible to establish clear boundaries around work hours and expectations. For example, you might discourage team members from sending work-related emails outside of regular work hours. If they need to or have chosen to work outside of regular work hours for their role, they can be shown how to delay sending, to not negatively impact other team members that might be on the receiving end.
Recognition for a job well done is crucial in fostering relationships and team culture in a hybrid working environment. Leaders should recognize good work not only privately but also publicly to raise awareness among the wider organization and to show that their hard work is valued. This recognition can be an email, a message on Slack, or a mention at a company-wide meeting. Whatever the form, recognition can boost morale, increase motivation, and foster a sense of camaraderie among team members.
Creating opportunities for social time, both in one-onone meetings and team calls, can help build stronger relationships and team culture. Leaders should encourage team members to take a break from work and play games or learn more about each other. This investment of time can help build trust and loyalty among team members, which is crucial in a hybrid working environment. Leaders should be creative in coming up with ways to encourage social time, as it can have a significant impact on team culture. This might include virtual team-building events, such as an online cooking class or a virtual happy hour, or in-person team-building activities, such as retreats or offsite events. By creating opportunities for team members to connect and bond (both virtually and in person), you can build a sense of camaraderie and trust that will translate into better collaboration and productivity.
Finally, it is important to ensure that everyone has equal participation and responsibility in contributing to team culture and relationships. It’s not just the responsibility of the leaders to prioritize culture; everyone must pitch in and put in the effort to make it work. This can be achieved by encouraging team members to contribute ideas for social activities, recognizing and celebrating successes, and promoting open communication. By creating a culture where everyone feels valued and included, team members can work together more effectively, regardless of their location.
Fostering relationships and team culture in a hybrid working environment is crucial for the success of any organization. By prioritizing communication, listening, recognizing good work, creating opportunities for social time, and ensuring equal participation and responsibility, leaders can create a positive team culture and a sense of belonging among their team members. By taking these steps, leaders can lead across office landscapes and create a cohesive team, regardless of their location.
WE OFTEN HEAR FROM PROFESSIONALS in the parking and mobility industry, “I did not go into the job market seeking a career in parking; a career in parking found me.” While this always gets a laugh, it is disheartening because, in that statement, there is an admission that the industry simply stumbles upon talented individuals. Our journeys of how we entered parking need to be shared and celebrated, especially with Frontline staff who often only see their position as a bridge to pursuing their “real” career. The parking industry has too much to offer for this to be a “steppingstone story.” It’s time to change the narrative.
As leaders, it is important to recognize that there are layers of team members who serve as the backbone of every operation. The Frontline staff are the most impacted by any change, and they are often the faces of an organization. It is equally important to recalibrate often and ask ourselves: how often do I provide my team with a platform to be heard? Are we soliciting their input when it comes to change management?
Do they have a choice on executing efficiencies or the opportunity to advocate for something they believe in?
Our Frontline teams have informed voices, and
when they are given the opportunity to share their opinions, ideas, and concerns, they see the value that they can provide. This is impactful, especially once we, as leaders, act. It has been my experience that once this conversation is facilitated, they quickly recognize that they have a seat at the table; they’re not simply being told what to do. When an individual feels a part of the vision, they embody the “why” behind the task at hand. When a team believes in the “why,” it always yields a better result because that team is executing with purpose.
I recently spoke with a newer Frontline team member and asked them what their career ambition was. Their response was simple: I want to make a lot of money. I asked, “How do you intend to do that?” After they shared their answer with me, I asked if they’d ever considered a career in parking. They laughed, shook their head, and simply said, “No, never.”
It was clear that they could only see what was in front of them at that moment and had no plan or desire to stay in this industry. Simply put, they were parking cars until something else presented itself. I shared with them my parking story, as well as the stories of many of the top leaders in my company who started out as valets. Making these connections with Frontline team members is impactful, and when you promote and develop your current talent and share your plan for them, you create a culture and a movement that is bigger than the day-to-day tasks at hand.
The parking industry is no different from any other segment of the business. There are opportunities within every business division; however, our exposure only goes as far as what the public and Frontline teams can see: parking meters, parking lots and garages, valets, and events. When I attended my first job fair as an employer nine years ago, I realized we needed a plan
for business continuity and that seeking outside talent was necessary. After about an hour of no one stopping at my table, I started seeking out people – much to their horror. Consistently, their first response was that they didn’t want to sit in an attendant booth or run as a valet. I responded by saying, “That’s great because I am here to recruit a leader: my next account manager.”
This was a defining moment for my career in parking. It was the first time I realized that this industry does not have the exposure it deserves or requires. Parking has transformed from cash in cigar boxes to sophisticated technology and data-driven decisions. This story should resonate with parking leaders everywhere. I encourage you to reflect on your career, think about your journey, and take some time away from P&Ls. Building a plan in your organization to improve that talent pipeline has the potential to move us away from the steppingstone story and yield even greater results.
LISA BURKE is an Area Manager for the Hilton Columbus Downtown for Propark Mobility. She can be reached at lisa.burke@ propark.com
Walter P Moore
COMPLETED IN 2022, Paseo del Parque in Tijuana, Mexico, is an upscale multi-stage mixed-use development that will serve the region for many years.
The development includes two parking facilities—a 129,339 square foot, four-story parking structure with 405 spaces at the west end of the site and a 268,608 square foot, single-level, below-grade parking area located under the main shopping plaza that includes 673 spaces. The two garages are connected and operate concurrently via two access points at the north and south entrances.
The long-span subterranean structure required a unique design strategy because it provided the owner with an economical and essential parking solution.
The below-grade parking structure and the site access design for vehicles to the parking area were completed before the owner moved forward with the design and construction of the other structures on the mixed-use development. Because Walter P Moore designed the parking and site access first, it provided an optimal solution to enhance the customer’s parking experience.
The traffic pattern for vehicles once onsite led them directly to the below-grade parking garage. This was critical because the footprint of the development is oblong and
FIRM: Walter P Moore
LOCATION: Tijuana, Mexico
OWNER: SCA Inmobiliaria
PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS:
● Walter P Moore, Parking Design & Consulting
● JAN Construction, General Contractor
● Alcreq Group, Structural Engineer
● Cafunsa, Steel Contractor
STAFF: Saeed Bonyadi, Armen Megerdoomian, and Eric Pagan, AIA
curved, and access is limited due to a surrounding freeway. The distance between the freeway onramp and an intersection into the development required the access points to the garage to be moved to the center of the development.
Properly managing the traffic flow into and out of the belowgrade garage challenged the design team because peak entry and exit times for retail parking garages tend to overlap. To avoid long queues of vehicles competing for spaces, Walter P Moore developed a vehicular pattern to naturally distribute incoming traffic throughout the garage’s interior. A parking guidance system that uses cameras—which also enhance security—helps guide vehicles throughout the garage.
The structural design of the below-grade structure includes 18 x 60-foot bays as opposed to 30 by 30-foot bays used for a conventional garage layout. Because it is a long-span structure, which is uncommon for an underground parking garage, it can efficiently support the retail plaza while providing column-free parking.
Additionally, two dual-lane pickup and drop-off areas were included in the below-grade parking area to accommodate patrons using ride-share options. The dual-lane drop-off areas surrounding each parking entrance can receive autonomous vehicles, shuttles, scooters as well as ride-share vehicles.
Pedestrian safety in the garage was also critical—separate paths for pedestrian and vehicular traffic within the parking garage are divided into multiple zones. Each pedestrian path includes a naturally well-lit stairwell to provide access to the plaza.
Finally, the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) continues to grow slowly in Mexico. Therefore, the local code does not require EV charging stations. However, the owner asked Walter P Moore to incorporate the infrastructure for several EV spaces based on California code, each of which can be brought online rather seamlessly. ◆
MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS are a valuable tool for professional development. They can help mentees learn from experienced mentors, gain access to new networks, and develop their skills and knowledge. Mentors benefit by increasing their credibility, allowing them to engage others and hone their leadership skills. Mentorship programs can also help mentors give back to their communities and make a positive impact on the lives of others.
There are many different types of mentorship programs, but they all share some common goals. Mentorship programs typically aim to help mentees by:
● Providing mentees with guidance and support.
● Helping mentees develop their skills and knowledge.
● Connecting mentees with new networks.
● Promoting diversity and inclusion.
Mentorship programs can be found in various settings, including schools, businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. They can be formal or informal, and they can be one-on-one, or group based.
Mentorship programs have been shown to be effective in a variety of settings. They can help mentees improve their job
performance or advance their careers. Mentorship programs can also help mentees develop their leadership skills, build self-confidence, and make a positive impact on their communities. Organizations that support mentor programs improve succession planning and organizational retention.
In late 2021, the California Mobility and Parking Association (CMPA) board of directors approved the launch of a pilot project to test the viability of a mentor program for members of its association. Within a year, the pilot had been successfully tested, and the board approved permanently adding a mentorship program to complement its suite of
to advance the public parking and mobility profession in California by providing a forum for its members to interact, exchange ideas and information, and provide technical and legislative support. We are pleased to share CMPA’s process to develop the pilot and permanent program, objectives, key features, evaluation, and lessons learned.
● Nov. 9, 2021 — Program Announced
● Dec. 21, 2021 — Application Opens
● Jan. 2022 — Training
● Feb. 28, 2022 —Application Closes
● Mar. 11, 2022 — Pairing Completed, Pairs Announced
● Apr. 1, 2022 — Meetings Commence
● Sept. 30, 2022 — Meetings Conclude
CMPA elected to pilot the program to test the offering’s marketability, work out process kinks, and determine how to manage a more permanent offering. The program was launched publicly through CMPA social media, an email campaign, and in-person at its annual conference. One month later, an online application process was launched which closed roughly two months later.
The application process proved critical to determining the best mentor/ mentee pairs. CMPA used an online survey tool that, in addition to basic contact information, asked mentee applicants about their backgrounds and about career goals, the challenges and barriers they face, and what they hoped to gain through participation. Mentees were asked specifically to identify where they’d like to gain knowledge in the areas of leadership, management, career development and promotion, work/life balance, career change, networking, diversity, or others. Mentors were also asked about their backgrounds and special areas of expertise. Mentors and mentees listed their hobbies and interests.
A live virtual training session was held in the middle of the application period that:
1. Defined mentorships and discussed mentorship benefits.
2. Identified best practices for mentors and mentees in programs.
3. Provided a schedule of the program for prospective applicants.
4. Offered frequently asked questions and a question-and-answer period.
Taking this approach, CMPA received 22 applications and preliminarily set pairs. Some potential obstacles were identified, and the pairs were reset again. This process continued over until each pair had sufficient parity
How long is the program?
The program will last approximately 6 months following the pairing of mentors and mentees. The program will begin in March and conclude in October.
How often should I expect to meet with my mentor/mentee?
We expect mentors and mentees to meet at least monthly though you should feel free to meet more frequently.
Can I be a mentor if I haven’t been before?
Absolutely. We’ll take applications and find the best overall fit between mentors and mentees.
Am I guaranteed to be a mentor or mentee if I apply?
No. Applications will be taken for both mentors and mentees and we’ll find the best overall fit between mentors and mentees. This may mean some applicants are not successfully matched, depending on interest and background.
Does it cost any money?
There will be no cost to participate. This is a member benefit provided by CMPA.
Do I need to be a member?
Yes, the program is only open to current CMPA members.
What if my mentor/mentee isn’t a good fit?
Sometimes mentors and mentees are not a good fit even after the application and screening process. If this happens we ask that you communicate with the CMPA mentor program lead to discuss the issue and possible solutions.
Are there any mandatory requirements? There are four.
1. You must apply to the program.
2. You must be a CMPA member to participate.
3. You must attend the CMPA Mentor/Mentee webinar to be offered after participants are selected. A link to the registration page will be emailed to those paired.
4. Whether you are a mentee or mentor, you must commit time to the program and your partner.
“Shawn McCormick has a wealth of knowledge and is very good at motivating me to focus in one direction and stick to my goals.” —Courtney Jewell
between mutual professional paths, goals, interests, and cohesive communication styles.
Within two weeks of the application window’s closure, mentor/mentee pairs were selected and announced. Pairs were instructed to meet at least monthly and to complete a monthly survey provided by CMPA.
The initial ten pairings dwindled to nine by the end of the program, an expected outcome as folks move into different roles or industries. Meetings commenced in April and concluded in September, completing the six-month pilot.
A key initial decision was where and how the program would be best managed within the CMPA organization. The program could run independently or as part of one of CMPA’s standing committees, such as Professional Development or Membership. And if it were placed within a committee, would the committee chair lead the effort or a committee member?
Ultimately, the decision was made to place the program in the Professional Development Committee and appoint a person to serve as program lead focusing on daily management, mentor and mentee engagement, and liaison to the board. This provided focus, accountability, and support in the form of the entire Professional Development Committee and facilitated collaboration between the mentor program and other professional development activities.
Program participants were surveyed monthly to ensure that meetings between mentors and mentees were happening at least weekly and to gauge sentiment throughout the pilot. An end-of-program survey was also conducted asking participants how often they’d met, if they thought the six-month timeframe was too
long, too short, or just right, what else they might change, and if they’d participate again. Most participants thought six months was about right, 80% met four or more times (out of a minimum of six required times), and every respondent said they would participate again.
All participants were invited to a culmination
celebration breakfast at the 2022 CMPA conference. There were two goals for this breakfast - to determine if this program was successful by soliciting feedback in an open discourse and celebrating the folks who had lent their time to a budding program. The celebration breakfast and commemorative giveaway to inaugural program participants were the only incurred costs for the pilot of approximately $4,000.
CMPA identified the following lessons learned for its pilot Mentor program.
1. Pilot approach. The pilot approach was a good way to test the market, work out operational, training, and logistics issues and establish the appropriate meeting frequency and overall program duration.
2. Good (not perfect) pairs. Because there are so many variables to be considered, from background, current position, and long-term goals to personality and hobbies, and interests, building perfect pairs is an unrealistic goal. Instead, CMPA focused on establishing good mentor/mentee teams and relied on highly networked, long-time industry members to discuss pairing options to weed out potential conflicts, history, and other factors that might make for bad matches. Admittedly, this occasionally involved “gut” feelings about how two people might work together and considering more than just a single facet in making a pairing choice. CMPA’s counsel to others considering a mentor
“Marlene Cramer is very easy to talk to and has great advice to help me look at situations from a different perspective.”
—Kelly Steele
“I got paired with someone very knowledgeable in the industry who I will learn as much from as I hope she will learn from me.” —Jon Hamblen
program is to rely on the application and talk to trusted industry veterans (confidentially) who may help avoid bad matches.
3. Confidentiality is key. Mentors and mentees alike must trust that their conversations are to be kept in strict confidence allowing the tough discussions to occur without any fear or hesitation.
test, and ultimately decided that the pilot had been a success and the program was worth making permanent.
4. Make it special. It was important to celebrate the pilot and the people who put in the work to make it possible. CMPA elected to do this by providing each participant with a commemorative ink pen at a celebration breakfast at its annual conference.
5. Ask for feedback. The lead CMPA volunteers who designed the program had experience with other mentor programs, yet they provided many opportunities for participants, board, and committee members to offer feedback and input. CMPA viewed this as essential to establishing buy-in and calibrating the program details while in infancy and as a characteristic of the program long-term.
6. Internal champion. With many new organizational initiatives having an internal champion is often a contributor to the program’s success and adoption. CMPA’s mentor program had such a champion in its Professional Development Committee chair. This helped build and maintain confidence in the process, provide board liaison for feedback, and offer strategic guidance.
7. Invested committee and supportive board
The lead organizers of CMPA’s pilot program benefited from an invested team (Professional Development Committee) and a visionary and committed Board of Directors. Though not all the details were clear at the beginning, and there was no guarantee that mentors and mentees would be willing to participate, the Board supported the concept, provided resources for a successful
CMPA successfully undertook a pilot approach to test the viability of its mentor program and, in the process, added yet another member benefit to its suite of professional development and training offerings. Though the number of program participants is relatively small compared to the entire CMPA membership, the program impacts far outweigh the costs in both time and financial resources. The program is fully aligned with CMPA’s mission, it has been shaped by the organization’s leadership and program participants, and it fills an important need by providing an industry-specific way of developing new leaders, creating life-long bonds between colleagues, and providing meaningful ways for industry veterans to share their wisdom, expertise, and guidance in a constructive organized way.
Film director Steven Spielberg is credited with saying, “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” With the spirit of this wisdom in mind, CMPA is offering a way for its members to improve themselves, reach their potential, and be more fulfilled at work and at home. ◆
CASEY JONES, CAPP, PMP , is Senior Director of Customer Success at FLASH, a member of the IPMI Board of Directors, and the CMPA Professional Development Committee Chairman. He can be reached at casey.jones@ flashparking.com
MADISON HUEMMER is Director— Strategic Supplier Relations for OMNIA Partners Company and the CMPA Mentor Program Lead. She can be reached at madison. huemmer@omniapartners.com
“I feel this is an excellent program designed to support mentees and encourage career growth.”
—Teresa Trussell, CAPP
“The energy is really strong here!” —Shawn McCormick
Special Tribute:
The IPMI community lost a passionate advocate in June with the passing of Donovan Durband, CAPP. In typical fashion, Donovan sent an impactful answer for our July “Ask the Experts” question, once again helping to educate others as he did throughout his career. With gratitude and in tribute, we are honored to share his thoughts with the IPMI community.
Donovan Durband, Administrator, Park TucsonCity of Tucson Department of Transportation & Mobility
Front-line employees in the parking industry—and probably every industry-need to have empathy, the capacity to put themselves in the shoes of their customers, clients, and the public and see a situation, whether routine or unique, from their perspective. Empathy equips front-line employees to approach even the most challenging, problematic customer service situations from a starting point of fairness and reasonableness that will enhance their ability to problem-solve and create positive resolutions for customers and the employer.”
Andrew Stewart Associate DirectorUC Riverside Transportation Services
One of the most important skills for Frontline staff is the ability to hear others.
Staff who can listen and show that they understand by asking informed questions and providing relevant options can convey a sense of caring that goes far beyond simple customer service.”
Jon Hamblen Parking ManagerCity of Pasadena, CA
We’ve seen more and more of our citizens and guests become extremely agitated while carrying out the most basic of our duties. Our most effective Frontline staff members can de-escalate issues before they become larger problems.
Andrew Sachs PresidentGateway Parking Services
The ability to smile.
Patience. This may always have been true, but now more than ever! As parking programs across the country continue to develop and grow along with the new and improving technologies that are being introduced, both parking pros and the notso-parking-savvy can be overwhelmed. We all need to be patient with each other, and since our Frontline employees are the key ambassadors for our industry, the patience that they show goes a long way in facilitating these changes.
Julie Dixon President Dixon Resources UnlimitedPatience is a critical skill for our frontline. It can be frustrating to feel like a broken record, continually repeating instructions, but it is critical to ensure that education and information are the priority of the frontline to the communities that we serve.
The most important skill(s) that Frontline employees need to succeed and grow in our fast-paced industry are “human power skills”—a combination of effective communications, critical thinking, and problem-solving. While training can provide the technical skills and basic soft skills needed in an employee, these “power skills” are often innate in an individual and are essential to the growth and success of the individual and the organization.
Poppy Guloien Regional Sales Manager, Municipal and Commercial T2 Systems, a Verra Mobility CompanyThe peace of mind to recognize that what people do and say and how they behave towards you rarely has anything to do with you. They may be frustrated or angry, and they are taking it out on you, which is not right or fair but don’t take it personally and continue to treat them with respect.
Communication, and more specifically, the ability to approach interactions judiciously and with empathy. This includes actively listening to understand, as well as self-awareness and self-regulation of how we respond, both verbally and nonverbally, to deliver messages and educate with the appropriate content, tone, and follow-through.
Frontline employees in the parking and mobility industry need multiple skill sets to be successful. At the top, having proficient listening and communication skills is vital in providing excellent customer service to guests.
Pamela Corbin, CAPP Parking Services Manager City of Greenville, SC Christina Jones, CAPP Management Analyst, Transportation Services City of Iowa City Scott C. Bauman, CAPP Manager of Parking & Mobility Services City of Aurora, COThe most important skill a Frontline employee can have is flexibility. Our industry is rapidly evolving, and we are inundated with new technology and legislation in a progressing labor market. Our industry needs people that are willing to continue their training and education to evolve with it.
Compassion. When our Frontline staff are handling an upset customer, having compassion for the situation can help keep the situation from escalating.
One of the most important skills for Frontline employees is the ability to work with others as a team. Teamwork and collaboration help develop other crucial skills such as communication, empathy, patience, and flexibility. The ability to work as a team will provide more job satisfaction and more synergy to an operation.
Active listening, a vital customer-centric skill, involves empathetically understanding customer needs, asking relevant questions, and responding effectively. It fosters clear communication, problem-solving, and builds lasting relationships. By practicing active listening techniques and valuing customer feedback, teams can provide a more customer-centric parking experience.
Customer Service. We are often in a hurry when dealing with customers trying to “get more done” instead of listening and addressing their questions or concerns. Being kind and helpful is its own reward.
Adrienne Tucker, CAPP Parking Services Manager City of Manhattan, Kansas Gabe Mendez, CAPP Director of Transportation Operations University of Wisconsin-Madison Joseph Madison Associate Director of Parking Operations Kennesaw State University Lauren Nelson Parking Consultant Walter P Moore Lynn Wiggs, CAPP Associate Director, Transportation Services Texas A&M University“Frontline employees need to have incredible emotional boundaries. This skill allows for a controlled response and avoids a jump into a fight or flight reaction. The good news is that it is a skill set that can be developed through preparation, training, and practice.”
— Matt Penney, CAPP Director of Parking & Transportation Baylor University Training & Development Specialist—IPMI“Communication is key—and there’s so much involved in becoming an effective, professional communicator! Our word choice, tone, facial expression, and body language all contribute to how we are perceived. Delivering our message with respect and an empathetic tone is important, but our ability to actively listen through a customer’s frustration or anger is equally critical to our success. When we can separate or interpret the intent of their message from their words, we’re more effective in providing helpful information, and we feel less stress about difficult conversations.”
— Cindy Campbell Senior Training & Development Specialist—IPMIEmployees are an organization’s most valuable asset. Investing in staff training and education is an investment in the success of your organization. IPMI offers custom, agency-specific training for your staff, instructed on-site or virtually.
IPMI’s Training & Development team brings best-of-class professional development and education for your Frontline staff directly to you, where and how you need it.
Start the process today! Contact Cindy Campbell at campbell@parking-mobility.org to begin crafting your organization’s education program.
PARKING AND MOBILITY
professionals continue to set the bar of excellence in customer service and innovation at a time when automation is the new buzzword. As technology propels our industry forward at lightning speed, it becomes increasingly clear that the people behind the technology are the true drivers of innovation, safety, and service.
The parking and mobility community has talented and pioneering people working at all levels. From frontline employees to executive offices, these professionals are shaping the future of parking and mobility—today. The 2023 IPMI Professional Recognition Program award winners represent creativity, fortitude, and a spirit of leadership that continues to inspire and invigorate the industry.
Leveraging more than 20 years of industry experience, Julie Dixon founded Dixon Resources Unlimited (DIXON) to provide parking solutions tailored to municipal customers. The organization values developing a strong understanding of a parking program, the people behind it, and its goals first and foremost.
This year they celebrated 10 years of service; as a small, woman-owned business, they pack a powerful punch. To keep an eye on industry trends, they actively participate in all major parking associations and stay in touch with new and incumbent technology vendors to be part of their product feedback cycles.
DIXON’s mission is to make parking and transportation easy, convenient, and accessible to all. They have earned the nickname “Parking Coach” thanks to their hands-on approach and personalized services to each client. Their engagement goes beyond the work they
are paid to do and extends into voluntary contributions to the wider community.
From transforming traditional parking management plans into an actionable Parking Action Plan format to inventing multiple data analysis software products and even serving as the acting Parking Manager for multiple agencies, there is never a dull moment at DIXON! They don’t believe in cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all solutions; they pride themselves on being a unique firm with the depth of knowledge and operational experience needed to assess, design, and build successful parking programs from the ground up.
Outside of the parking world, DIXON actively supports countless non-profits financially and through volunteering. Their advocacy has recruited industry colleagues to join and expand the community’s contributions.
“DIXON is well-deserving of this recognition as they embody the values, practices, and processes of a true partner. I believe that recognizing such a valuable team in the industry will inspire others to continue innovating, collaborating, and improving the way that parking shapes cities across the country—and around the world.”
—DARYL ROBINSON, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCYThe University of Wisconsin—Madison’s Transportation Services (UW-Madison) manages all parking and transportation activities on campus. They are a self-funded component of the university, established in 1924 to manage parking for a growing campus. Nearly a century later, Transportation Services’ administration of the mobility infrastructure contributed to its recognition as an Accredited Parking Organization with Distinction.
UW-Madison is a 928-acre urban campus situated on an isthmus bordered by three lakes. Geographical constraints and a growing city make managing campus access a complex task. Over the century, campus parking inventory has expanded from 759 parking stalls in the 1930s to approximately 13,000 parking stalls in nearly 100 parking lots, 17 of which are gated facilities. Today,
UW-Madison is home to 80,000 students, faculty, and staff. The parking ratio is approximately 0.16 parking stalls per person—one of the lowest ratios among peer institutions nationwide.
UW Transportation Services workforce includes 200 staff members across eight work areas: parking permits and customer service; enforcement; facilities and maintenance; finance; information technology; commuter solutions; booths and dispatch operations; special events and appeals; marketing and communications; and fleet and garage services.
Their programming has contributed to a vibrant multimodal campus culture, with 86% of students and 40% of employees choosing active or alternate modes of transportation most of the time. In the past three years, existing programs were adjusted, and new programs were piloted to accommodate shifting commuter
habits and ensure equitable campus access during (and after) the pandemic.
Long-range planning includes expanding parking inventory by constructing new parking structures in high-density areas of campus. The Linden Drive Garage, completed in January 2021, is one such addition, providing 600 new stalls for permit holders, service vehicles, and visitors. Along with the UW Hospital Ramp, Linden Drive Garage was recognized as a Premier Facility by IPMI in 2022.
Programs including a campus circulator bus, a flex parking program, and implementing reduced-cost parking permits during the pandemic are just a few of the innovative programs that have made UW-Madison an example of parking and mobility excellence.
Through a partnership with Madison Metro Transit, a division of the City of Madison, they provide free campus bus service and
discounts for employee bus passes. In 2021-22, Transportation Services successfully advocated for equitable bus service coverage in a transit network redesign to restructure the city’s bus service in 2023.
The partnerships between the UW-Madison campus and the City of Madison, plus the talents of a dedicated workforce, make the organization resilient in the face of great change. It is well-positioned to continue its mission—providing innovative transportation solutions that serve and support UW-Madison, now and in the future.
“Their alternative transportation program should be a model for all universities. They strive to balance extremely limited parking capacity with easy campus access for all employees, students, and visitors with a robust commuter solutions program. One of the keys to the success of their program is the communication of their offerings; they do an outstanding job in reaching their community.”
—PETER LANG, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, AND DEBBIE LOLLAR, CAPP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY DIVISION OF OPERATIONS, TRANSPORTATION SERVICESDr. Perry H Eggleston, CAPP, DPA, has more than 30 years of experience in the transportation and mobility industry, starting in 1992 as a police officer patrolling the parking beat. In 1996, he became a university police sergeant, where he found placing rectangles in slightly larger rectangles and the human behavior around the process fascinating.
Between 2008 and 2010, Perry served as a nongovernmental flight service grant coordinator in Kabul, Afghanistan. The organization transported other NGO workers throughout the country. He also served as Director of Security for a humanitarian maternity hospital treating Afghan women and their families.
When he returned to the United States in 2010, Perry focused his career on transportation and mobility challenges. He worked for municipal and collegiate parking organizations in Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas, California, Ohio, and Arizona. Perry has been
executing a career capstone for the last three years as the Executive Director for Transportation Services at UC Davis.
Seeing the unique opportunity posed by the pandemic lockdown and the massive increase in remote work, Perry and his team inverted the campus parking paradigm with the full implementation of Daily Decision Parking. Perry has encouraged a transparent, empowering team operational model internally and externally in the organizations he led. His leadership encouraged department employees to fill the role of “campus parking and mobility experts,” where previously they were often ignored.
Perry strongly believes that university parking and mobility organizations are part of a student’s educational experience. Furthermore, he feels that the organization’s professionals should be teachers of tomorrow’s leaders and role models to the community by always complying with policy and using sustainable transportation whenever possible.
“I’ve always been impressed with Perry’s ability to positively influence others. His dedication and professionalism are exactly what we need to emulate as we mentor new leaders in our field.”
MARLENE CRAMER, CAPP, DIRECTOR, TRANSPORTATION & PARKING SERVICES, CALPOLY“We are very fortunate to have Perry’s leadership at UC Davis. He is an innovator, an organizational leader, and an active, contributing member of our community.”
ROBERT B. SEGAR, ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR, CAMPUS PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
“Jordan has demonstrated superb leadership in the development of Automotus, applying his passion for reducing traffic congestion and emissions to inspire his entrepreneurship in the parking industry. Jordan’s work promises to transform how cities manage their curb lanes, unlocking significant efficiency gains and revenue potential for cities. His leadership has been integral to the success of Automotus, and I expect that he and his team will transform parking technologies, policies, and practices.”
—DONALD C. SHOUP, FAICP, DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELESJordan is an entrepreneurial leader who founded the curb management technology company Automotus. As CEO and co-founder, Jordan oversees a rapidly growing team of business development, marketing, finance, and engineering professionals. He is responsible for setting the company’s strategic vision and collaborating with cities and fleet operators to design partnerships that deliver win-win solutions for all stakeholders.
In 2017, Jordan collaborated with a friend and former classmate at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles to tackle a challenge they both knew all too well as LA natives: traffic congestion. This passion project became a broader mission and vision as they set their sights on building a new way for cities and airports to manage the rapid rise in commercial vehicle traffic and CO2 emissions. Jordan’s leadership has led to a positive disruption of the parking and mobility industry and will undoubtedly continue to lead to better curb space experiences for cities and communities.
As part of that mission, Jordan has called on government and industry leaders to foster more holistic and inclusive transportation systems by investing in parking technologies that can adapt to improve the experiences of all road users, from lowincome drivers to gig workers and even those who don’t own a car. He has never shied away from feeding his curiosity and passion for developing innovative solutions to help shape the future of parking and create a safer, cleaner, and more sustainable future.
Jordan has demonstrated experience leading and managing large multi-year projects with many stakeholders and tight deadlines. He is dedicated to building teams and technology that help make cities worldwide more accessible, equitable, and sustainable.
As a Senior Business Analyst for the Miami Parking Authority (MPA), George oversees data analytics, customer service, marketing, and social media. He is a cross-functional leader heading the development and implementation of enterprise-level solutions. During his tenure with MPA, he has spearheaded multiple projects that have solidified their position as a leader in advancing technology. He has worked to identify operational gaps and sourced vendors to address problems that plagued MPA while simultaneously increasing revenue.
As a transformational leader, George has taken the steps necessary to push our industry forward using an innovative approach that has provoked thought leadership amongst his peers. He is an aspirational leader amongst peers, colleagues, and patrons of the city of Miami. He is well-known inside and outside of the parking industry. George was one of the first members of the MPA to study and pass the CAPP certification examination in the last ten years. Once passing the certification exam, George volunteered to coach and mentor his peers internally to support an organizational culture of personal development. He has spearheaded various internal programs that brought awareness to professional excellence in the MPA, such as professional skill development, educational seminar participation, and interpersonal skill building. George has played an integral role in developing the 2022-2025 strategic plan, leading planning, goal development, and execution initiatives. In addition, George has helped transition the Authority’s focus to a data-driven approach, providing robust analysis and visualizations supporting long-term strategic growth. He has restructured social media and marketing to increase engagement and awareness, resulting in an increase in followers and product sales. His leadership is the catalyst of change that supports the ongoing advancement of the industry into the era of data-driven decision-making.
George’s dedication to service and leadership is extraordinary, and he is the epitome of leadership in the parking industry.
“George’s level of customer service and willingness to go above and beyond for every customer is one of the main differentiators between MPA and others in the market. He has constantly risen to the occasion by aptly engaging with customers and working through their issues tactfully and professionally, thus attaining excellent results.”
—ALEJANDRA “ALEX” ARGUDIN, CAPP, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MIAMI PARKING
AUTHORITY
Anative of Lafayette, Louisiana, Victoria Freeman began her career with the City of Houston as a Parking Enforcement Officer in 1999. Now a Regulatory Investigator with a 23-year career with the city, she supports safety initiatives by educating the public on parking compliance, providing parking assistance and information to customers, investigating and resolving customer complaints, and reducing neighborhood blight. With an amazing memory and ability to recall information, Victoria is considered one of ParkHouston’s “go-to” people. She is frequently called upon by her peers to verify information and provide guidance.
In addition to being a valuable resource to ParkHouston, she intentionally stays connected to her peers in other city departments. If you need a contact in the sign shop, neighborhood inspection, waste management, or a police officer for a particular beat, she can point you in the right direction.
As with most organizations, ParkHouston faced staffing challenges during the past year; Victoria jumped in and helped to fill the void created by those staffing shortages. Last year, although short-staffed by up to 30% as the year ended, the compliance division met or exceeded all their target goals, in no small part due to Victoria’s dedication.
Victoria exemplifies excellence as a leader in frontline service – and leads her team to do the same each day.
“Ms. Freeman’s performance during fiscal year 2022 was amazing and demonstrates a level of dedication and performance that is rarely, if ever seen.”
—CLAYTON HARRINGTON, COMPLIANCE DIVISION MANAGER, PARKHOUSTON
As his role as Director of Parking & Station Access at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Bruno designs, implements, operates, and maintains infrastructure and services that encourage best-in-class multimodal connections to transit, and operates 101 parking facilities across the region. Bruno focuses on improving customer experience, ensuring accessibility to all riders, and deploying leading-edge technology solutions and partnerships to accomplish the agency’s mission.
Under Bruno’s leadership, MBTA pioneered invoice-by-mail in 2015, a novel approach to reframing ticket-by-mail enforcement as a service that aligns with its objectives to provide a frictionless parking experience to its customers. They coupled this with payby-plate as a third payment option, a nonpunitive measure to increase compliance and provide more ways to pay for its ridership. With these innovations, MBTA streamlined its payment methodology and saw a significant increase in parking payment compliance.
Bruno’s professional innovation contributions have been significant and documented thoroughly over the past decade at the MBTA. His passion for innovation and tenacity have made the MBTA a thought leader in the transportation marketplace. With his profound knowledge that success begins and ends with customers, the authority has significantly increased compliance, resulting in substantial revenue growth and stakeholder satisfaction at the MBTA. His team’s focus on a customer-first ethos mindset, management approaches, revenue growth, and increased efficiencies revolutionized MBTA’s overall operations.
“His technical, management, and leadership skills deserve to be celebrated throughout the industry.”
—KELLY CHRONLEY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF FARE PROGRAMS POLICY, MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITYAND
“Lisa makes me and everyone else around her better each and every day. Whether Lisa is supporting her team, crossfunctionally working on a strategic initiative, or independently enhancing the organization’s products and services, Lisa is always driving value to the business and her colleagues around her.”
—KEITH PALMA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS, CAMPUSPARC MANAGEMENT INC.Lisa joined the parking industry from a sales and marketing background with two Fortune 500 companies, giving her a unique view on project management. Using that expertise, she developed strategies for her teams focusing on training, data-driven decisions on quantified metrics, and customer-centric operational efficiencies.
Lisa recognized that a career as a parking professional does not have a specific university degree assigned to it, even though our industry encompasses every business line ranging from accounting, finance, operations, marketing, hospitality, and communications. Lisa wanted to create an opportunity to expose the parking industry’s business side to individuals, specifically women and minorities, who were unaware of the lucrative career the parking industry offers. Recognizing that women and minorities are under-represented in leadership positions in parking and mobility, Lisa worked toward creating an internship program designed to develop a sustainable talent pool of diverse future leaders.
As a strong manager of people, operations, and budget, what sets Lisa apart from her peers is her commitment to driving organizational change to create a first-class parking experience while optimizing efficiencies. Lisa understands that people need to learn from their mistakes; she recognizes that failure is a part of innovation, and with it comes learning, adaptation, and the foundation of building new concepts. Transparency in her purpose and articulating the “why” behind each project or corporate initiative is a core strength of hers. Lisa holds her team to the same high standard that she carries herself and leads by example. Her ability to coach and mentor has helped her push individuals to move organizations forward effectively. She has genuine care and concern for people, and she is dedicated to the personal and professional growth of those she leads. ◆
attributed to the Greek philosopher Plato: Our need will be the real creator. This phrase has morphed over time into something you may be more familiar with: Necessity is the mother of invention. At the Allentown Parking Authority (APA), this proverb is at play daily. I’d like to share some encouraging thoughts with the hope of inspiring other organizations to reach beyond the norm.
The APA was established in 1985 via the passage of a local ordinance concurrent with the Pennsylvania Parking Authority Act. Over several decades, the APA maintained level growth. The staff consisted of the basic departments found in most municipal parking operations: on-street and off-street departments, along with customer service, finance, and administrative positions. Although the organization was operating, there was nothing extraordinary happening, and one could say that the APA was “lost” amongst the forest of other city entities and municipal operations.
In 2017, however, this was all about change. In October 2017, the APA welcomed a new Executive Director, John N. Morgan. Shortly after his arrival, John began invigorating APA’s operations. From updated policies to a new organization logo and new vehicles, the changes were rapid and welcomed. It was a fast and furious time of new uniforms, responsibilities, and changes—Oh my!
While an evolution to a more focused, customer-centric approach was happening inside the APA, a major change that would have a tremendous impact on the organization was happening outside it. For many years, the City of Allentown operated its own 911 Emergency Communication Center (Comm Center). The Center fielded emergency phone calls ranging from law enforcement and fire-related emergencies to health emergencies. Parking-related complaints were included among potential life and death communications. The Comm Center received parking enforcement requests and dispatched those calls to APA parking enforcement officers.
And then, everything changed.
The County leadership decided to funnel emergency calls through the County Dispatch Center and no longer handle the calls locally through the City of Allentown, and our local cityoperated center would close. While this was difficult news to process, they say that when one door closes, another one opens. That was the case for the APA.
As the closure deadline for the Comm Center neared and the details were ironed out, the APA was made aware that the County Dispatch Center preferred not to handle the parking complaints. In a meeting on the topic, Executive Director Morgan was informed that this task would now fall to the APA. In a single meeting, a task
of enormous magnitude was assigned to our organization. Remember the necessity is the mother of invention thing I mentioned earlier?
This new and lofty goal came as a shock to the APA team and, at first, was very overwhelming. For decades, the APA had operated on a traditional business schedule. There were just enough staff to operate Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Suddenly, with essentially no warning, APA was looking at a transition to a fully functioning 24/7 operation.
In my 17 years of experience in the parking industry, I have learned that parking operations all share some common functions. For example, a parking deck generally tends to have the same components, whether it’s in a large city or a small one: gates, cameras, kiosks, or podiums. Some parking decks have elevators; some do not, but nearly all have stairs. So, a parking deck is a common element of most parking operations that nearly all operators can find commonality on. That said, transitioning from a traditional parking operation to a 24/7 one was NOT common. Despite looking everywhere, a manual on becoming 24/7 had not yet been written. The lack of availability of “how-to videos” would be a challenge as we embarked on this transition.
So, without a roadmap to guide us and determined to break new ground, the process began. We started by brainstorming on the immediate needs.
While not the only need, staff was certainly an obvious one, so I laid a framework on what positions would be needed and in what order. At the time, there was only one supervisor—ME! More supervisors would be needed. We would require dispatch staff along with a phone system and means of taking and tracking calls. As I began researching options for dispatch software, I only found options geared towards emergency call centers and focused on serving the needs of police, fire, and EMS situations. Those 911-type software solutions were also very expensive, making them well out of reach. Specific parking dispatch software was
unavailable, so some outside-of-the-box thinking occurred.
The solution came to me in a conversation with our third-party towing company. A towing operation receives calls for assistance, much like my organization would receive calls for parking enforcement, and requires some way of taking those calls, dispatching a tow truck to the location, and then resolving the call in a software system. I found out what software the towing company used, and I then made a trip to Baltimore to attend the National Towing Industry trade show to speak to the software company directly. The software not only met our needs but
could also be used with our current ticket management system. The incoming calls could be input into the system and would digitally forward to the enforcement officer in the field. This drastically reduced radio traffic from the dispatcher to the enforcement officer and provided a record of the call without having to write it down themselves. The software cost was only a small fraction of many other types on the market. One step down, and many more to go!
Our enforcement staff began to grow. I was promoted to Enforcement Manager, and I now have a growing staff of supervisors, dispatchers, and enforcement officers. We soon added a second shift and began taking enforcement requests well into the evenings. Naturally, our ticketing production increased with the addition of more enforcement officers and expanding our hours of coverage. The increased
Despite looking everywhere, a manual on becoming 24/7 had not yet been written. The lack of availability of “how-to videos” would be a challenge as we embarked on this transition.
productivity also began to increase the number of scofflaw vehicles. This presented a problem: our boot inventory was not adequately supplied for the increase.
When the APA was operating on a Monday to Friday day shift, there wasn’t a great need to have a ready supply of parking boots available. Booting presented a challenge as it tied up the already limited staff to install and remove the devices. Our inventory included a standard wheel lock device and a windshieldapplied device. Boots were carried in all our vehicles, spreading their locations across our fleet of 12 vehicles. With the switch to 24/7 operation, the need became greater, and the time had arrived for a designated booting vehicle. Gathering the supervisors and the Executive Director together, we began brainstorming how to address the botting challenge. Much like the 24/7 manual that didn’t exist, there didn’t seem to be any kind of parking boot rack available either. Where in the world do you go to buy a parking boot rack?
Once again, we return to the philosophy that necessity is the mother of invention My brother-in-law, Korry, is a welder. I brought the boot rack idea up to him, and within a short time, he suggested a design for a rack that he could fabricate and install that would carry both styles of parking boots as well as offer in-vehicle charging for the windshield parking boots. The vehicle was delivered with two fully functional parking boot racks! Our enforcement officers fell in love with it. Gone are the days of a messy pile of parking boots strewn about the trunk or back seat of a vehicle. Now, the parking boots are kept organized in their place. Our enforcement officers have a booting vehicle that is completely outfitted with everything they would need to respond to boot calls and take appropriate action. Two enforcement officers in particular, Rasheed Black and Kareem Richardson (AKA Pippen and Jordan), have found the new vehicle and boot racks incredibly handy.
These are just some of the innovations and inventions the APA has implemented during its evolution.
Transitioning to a 24/7 operation started four years ago in 2019. I am happy to say that we have finally achieved that goal in February of 2023! While we are excited to celebrate the accomplishment, the intent in sharing our story is to encourage others to think beyond their current positions. There are many ways to accomplish goals and broaden your organization’s abilities. It may be difficult to find directions, especially if your path is not one that is frequently traveled. Many great people in this industry are willing to help if you ask. Should you find yourself answering a knock at the door and necessity is on the other side when you open it, then get to inventing!
IF YOUR PARKING AUTHORITY, AGENCY, OR DEPARTMENT has not yet integrated license plate reader technology into your daily operations, you can save substantial time and money by doing so. ELSAG® LPR solutions are streamlining parking management and enforcement processes by reading license plates and collecting associated data that allows you to manage turnkey operations from one central software—regardless of the vendor or vendors you may currently use.
ELSAG LPR parking technologies are ideal for use in lots, garages, and on-street parking areas, aiding both permit-based and timed parking operations. Their flexibility supports partially automated systems to full PARCS to unique parking scenarios such as nested lots and sites.
If you’re familiar with license plate readers for law enforcement, we’re talking about the same technology. A license plate reader is a hardware and software system that consists of digital cameras that read vehicle license plates capturing the following data for each read:
● License plate number
● A close-up photo of the license plate
● A color photo of the license plate area of the vehicle
● The make, type, and color of the vehicle
● GPS coordinates for the physical location of the plate read
● Date and time stamps of the read
The ELSAG system wirelessly deposits all the LPR data into a robust software management system, the ELSAG Enterprise Operations Center (ELSAG EOC), for daily operations.
ELSAG LPR technology streamlines your business in three critical ways:
1. Saves time and money
2. Increases compliance and revenue
3. Improves public safety
By automating operations and consolidating data, ELSAG LPR parking solutions help decrease the time your associates spend on managing daily processes and help increase the opportunities to boost revenue. Here’s how:
The ELSAG EOC is a game-changer when it comes to managing data. The EOC not only manages data from your LPR cameras but also receives parking session data from the other sources you may already use, such as:
● Kiosks
● Meters
● Websites
● Mobile apps
The ELSAG EOC can manage all your parking session data within the EOC regardless of how they are created (app, website, kiosk, etc.). ELSAG LPR solutions can integrate with virtually all parking vendors, and that is a time-saver you can’t ignore.
ELSAG LPR practically automates parking enforcement for timebased and permitted parking systems.
Because the EOC generates whitelists of vehicles allowed to park in a zone, whether paid parking sessions, permits, or other exempt vehicles, LPR-outfitted enforcement vehicles can quickly identify illegally parked vehicles. Each license plate read by the LPR system automatically and instantly compares each plate number to the whitelist. If the system reads a plate not included on the list, audible and visual alarms are generated on the in-car laptop.
The ELSAG EOC will have a positive effect on an agency’s bottom line through operational optimizations and improvements, but our solutions can also help generate additional revenue in three ways:
1. The enforcement automation allows officials to find illegally parked vehicles quicker, increasing the number of tickets generated. Without ELSAG LPR, it is likely that a more significant percentage of illegally parked vehicles are never
identified or ticketed.
2. Over time, motorists begin to understand the efficiency of their community’s LPR enforcement and the increased likelihood of being ticketed that comes with it. Awareness typically spurs an increase in voluntary compliance, creating a more efficient turnover of spaces which is one of the main goals of most parking programs.
3. Using databases of license plates flagged due to payment issues, enforcement officials increase the likelihood of finding those scofflaw vehicles, which can be booted or towed to encourage faster payment of delinquent fees.
ELSAG LPR benefits reach far beyond financial considerations. These powerful solutions can provide insights to help improve your program’s efficiencies while helping to keep your community safer, in these two ways:
1. The ELSAG EOC data management system is designed for in-depth queries, analysis, and reporting. By looking closely at your data, you identify traffic patterns, down times, busy surges that can help you adjust operations to maximize efficiencies.
2. If your local law enforcement agency already uses ELSAG LPR, and the ELSAG EOC, you can choose to add your LPR data to their EOC (or server) with them to aid their public safety missions. Even if they don’t use ELSAG LPR, you can provide access to the LPR data for investigative efforts. With flexibility, scalability, and customized systems to meet your agency’s needs, there’s no better time to automate and simplify your parking management operations with ELSAG LPR solutions. We can help you build an LPR parking solution from the ground up or integrate with your current vendor partners for an optimized program that saves—and makes—you time and money.
automating operations and consolidating data, ELSAG LPR parking solutions help decrease the time your associates spend on managing daily processes and help increase the opportunities to boost revenue.
In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the attention given by employers to the mental and emotional health of their staff. In addition to some novel tweaks to the standard benefits package fare (ex: 24/7 online access to mental health professionals, hybrid or flexible work schedules), there has been a general thrust by Human Resource professionals to educate management and employees on the importance of recognizing and embracing the diversity of not only the workforce but also the unique issues faced by the various demographics therein. Though still relatively new, the results of these efforts have shown a consistent and measurable net positive to all parties.
Recently, the concept of “toxic masculinity” has leaped to the forefront of the public forum. In her 2019 article, “What is Toxic Masculinity?” Maya Salam provides a clear and concise explanation of toxic masculinity: “Toxic masculinity is what can come of teaching boys that they can’t express emotion openly; that they have to be ‘tough all the time’; that anything other than that makes them ‘feminine’ or weak.” The consequences of teaching such beliefs are well-known, thoroughly documented, and visible: the drastically lopsided suicide rates of males—nearly four times that of females (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention); and the eye-watering percentage of fatal workplace violence perpetrated by men—a whopping 80%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Traditionally, men are taught to bottle emotions and deal with their issues and are only allowed to show two emotions—happiness (in muted tones) and anger. Historically, any deviation from that standard would have been met with scorn and derision. Phrases such as “boys don’t cry” and “I’ll give you something to cry about” have long been staples in the rearing of sons, and society is finally beginning to see the harm it has caused manifest itself in many ways, including the workplace. There is, however, a push to move away from the traditional “American upbringing” and to encourage males to express their emotions in healthy, positive ways.
As with many significant undertakings, the first step is always the biggest. Despite our many evolutionary advantages, humans are still pack animals, and the hierarchies continue to apply. During my time in the Navy, especially as a Chief, the importance of leading by example was impressed upon us. We were always taught to act in our sailors’ best interests. In my last few years of service, the push to address mental health began to take center stage. We as leaders were expected to drive those discussions, to identify struggling individuals, and to find them the help they needed. In the few instances where a dissenting voice among our ranks would balk at discussing “our feelings,” the answer was always, “Too bad, this is bigger than you.” I still carry that sentiment with me today. No company is defined by a single individual, and no company’s success hinges
No company is defined by a single individual, and no company’s success hinges on the actions of a single employee, regardless of title. By improving our employees, we improve ourselves. As managers, we live and die by the actions of our people.
Even the brightest star dims when eclipsed by toxic culture, poor management practices, and abusive coworkers.
on the actions of a single employee, regardless of title. By improving our employees, we improve ourselves. As managers, we live and die by the actions of our people. As with any potential change affecting the entire company, the question of how this benefits the company will, understandably, arise. In their 2021 Mental Health at Work Report, Mind Share Partners—a non-profit organization focusing on workplace mental health awareness—addresses this question from multiple angles. They found that in workplaces that are seen as supportive of mental health, employees were more productive (averaging 10% over their baseline productivity), twice as likely to be satisfied with their position, and three to five times more likely to have positive views of their company or leadership (Mind Share Partners, 2022, p. 12). Every manager knows employees are more productive when they feel supported and appreciated, and mental health support is no exception.
The report makes an important point regarding the future of mental health in the workplace: “The future of workplace mental health is culture change of openness, transparency, and compassion from organizations and leaders, of safe and supportive environments for mental health, of healthy and sustainable ways of working. And it’s on every one of us to play a meaningful part for the good of our organizations, people, and ourselves.” (Mind Share Partners, 2022, p. 7). Historically, companies have addressed mental health in ways that largely left responsibility on the individual without specifically addressing factors within the company that might affect employee mental health. Even the brightest star dims when eclipsed by toxic culture, poor management practices, and abusive coworkers. It falls on everyone— top to bottom—to address these issues as they arise. Anecdotally, my struggles with depression and anxiety over the past three decades were an absolute nightmare, and were it not for the intervention of a set of individuals to whom I looked for guidance, I’m sure the outcome would have been drastically different. Learning to articulate and understand my problems (admittedly, a multi-decade process ) has allowed me to express my emotions better.
My name is Zach Barlowe, and Patrick has been on my team for three years. I appreciate his willingness to delve into what has traditionally been a subject with which men are uncomfortable. I’m still a little awkward, to be honest, but I must emphasize that paying attention to the mental part of our health is an important, possibly the most important, thing we can do for ourselves and others.
As a leader, the emotional support of your people is a priority we need to focus on. That support is not something I initially set as a focus; it grew organically from a culture of openness and willingness to reach out to other team members for installation and technical advice. That culture of learning on each other for the technical parts of our jobs also contributed to our willingness to lean on each other for mental and emotional support. Several team members support each other this way. Some have PTSD, while others have different trauma or stress. They check on each other and reach out when they are having a particularly bad day. There is always someone to listen, empathize with, and advise. This has strengthened relationships and team trust. Ultimately it benefits the company’s success as well.
Managers can and do participate in sharing stress with their teams. It’s healthy, and I encourage it. One manager told me that leading and looking out for his team has made him think of his team like they are his own children. I know I feel the same way. However, everyone has limits, and there are only so many burdens of others that you can bear. From personal experience, I caution team leaders to use caution in taking on too much external stress—there must be a limit to your sanity as a caring leader. Share the burdens with others that also have a heart for people. Others in your organization can often step in and share that load with you and your team. Sharing stress also allows other managers and team members to learn to contribute to the team’s mental health.
All companies need good people to succeed. Good people are hard to come by these days. When you find them and retain them, you will succeed. When you watch out for your employees’ mental health, they know they are valued as people, not “resources” or “assets,” and will be more loyal and perform better.
Mirroring Patrick’s earlier reference to toxic masculinity, I watched a long-format interview with a former Navy Seal. His story was as amazing as it was heartbreaking. According to his interview, his team’s culture was mission-oriented and tough. They didn’t talk about their struggles; that would be weak. He wound up on drugs after multiple injuries and suffering from depression and anxiety. He kept it to himself. He ruined his marriage and had a brush with suicide. After he narrowly avoided killing himself, he got some help. Eventually, he and some former teammates went on a retreat to Mexico, where they got everything they had been dealing with off their chests. In the end, all these warriors were suffering in the same way but never supported each other in the mental part of the game. They should have been there for each other all along.
One of my goals in team building has been to build a family, not just a team. I ask my team about their families, hobbies, and quality downtime. The installation/commissioning side of this business requires a special breed. I’ve called them “working dogs” as a metaphor. My team likes to work. They need to work. Set them up for success, and they will make the magic happen. But you can’t forget they are human beings with lives, families, and kids. You must build a support system and talk about it. The quality of your team and their mental condition is critical to success.
Both Patrick and I hope that sharing our stories will help others.
Parking policy expert Dr. Donald Shoup once wrote, “Thinking about parking seems to take place in the reptilian cortex, the most primitive part of the brain responsible for making snap judgments about fight-or-flight issues, such as how to avoid being eaten. The reptilian cortex is said to govern instinctive behavior involved in aggression, territoriality, and ritual display—all important issues in parking.” There is no question that the act of parking and everything related to it elicits opinions, passions, impulses, and even anger.
Discussion of parking changes prompts passionate responses in the media. Online reviews and customer surveys about many parking operations are filled with negativity and anger. Public meetings about parking can bring swelling crowds. I have personally been the victim of choice four-letter words at public meetings. Few institutions of the public realm elicit such a reaction from the public as parking. For better or worse, society collectively believes it is an inherent right to express very strong opinions about parking.
It is important to acknowledge that parking is a personal act and a manifestation of preferences around convenience, proximity, availability, and cost. Where you park impacts your pocketbook, time, and daily schedule. As something many do daily, it is no surprise that people have strong feelings about it. To be clear, constructive opinions and public discourse should be encouraged, heard, and used to inform operational improvements. All feedback is important because whether it is founded in truth or not, they are informative of real or perceived issues that we as organizations can help address.
It is hard to ignore the strong feelings in some of the public reactions and the misinformation or
misconceptions that are often evident. For example, it is not uncommon to read or hear public comments accusing parking owners and operators of being “money grubbers” or “predatory.” In many cases, the commenters clearly lack information and context on why parking rates are charged, why enforcement is important, or what happens to revenue collected. There seems to be a basic disconnect in knowledge and information about parking rules, regulations, and objectives. The public tends to misunderstand what parking organizations do and why it is important.
Of greatest concern, though, is when the passionate feelings about parking come out as verbal and physical abuse to Frontline staff. These incidents are well documented. One doesn’t have to
Public meetings about parking can bring swelling crowds. I have personally been the victim of choice four-letter words at public meetings. Few institutions of the public realm elicit such a reaction from the public as parking.
look far to find shocking news stories about verbal and physical abuse of, and serious violence towards, parking enforcement officers.
I even found actual stab vests online being marketed toward Frontline parking enforcement personnel. The media doesn’t help much, with shows like Parking Wars and countless references in movies and pop culture to the confrontation of parking personnel.
Incidents toward Frontline parking staff are visibly increasing, and this topic is gaining more spotlight as concerns mount. This is extremely troubling, and organizations are doing what they can to train and protect their personnel to deal with these types of situations. Moreover, the challenges of recruiting and retaining staff are exacerbated when these types of incidents become more frequent; why would someone want to work in a parking enforcement office and subject themselves to this kind of abuse and risk when they could find a similarly paying job elsewhere? We, as parking owners and professionals, must do everything in our power to create safe and rewarding places of employment.
This has all got me thinking. Is the passionate hatred of parking a foregone conclusion? Does it have to be this way? Can parking owners and operations help address these feelings and mitigate violent outbursts from customers? How can we change the perception of parking, parking professionals, and parking organizations?
And most importantly, how do we protect our staff? What proactive measures can Frontline personnel and organizations take to improve customer service and mitigate negative customer reactions and confrontations with staff? This last question is the most important.
Some level of angry customers and confrontation may be inevitable (of course, no one really LIKES to pay for parking or get a parking citation), but there are several important considerations and best practices that organizations should be mindful of to have a healthy relationship with customers and the public at large.
It’s important that the rules and regulations that govern management and enforcement of parking are understood by customers, are grounded in logic, and are applied consistently. This includes paid parking areas, posted time limits, parking rates, and enforcement practices. Parking management principles and specific community context should inform the specific rules and regulations employed in your community or operation. Policies and regulations should be based on sound planning, strategic objectives, and market realities - not arbitrary reasons.
Many cities are or have conducted strategic plans to ensure on-street and off-street assets are priced appropriately to balance demand effectively. Some cities are exploring more market-based solutions like progressive on-street parking pricing, which deemphasizes time-based limits and provides customers with more parking options. Sensible parking policies and regulations reduce customer confusion and frustration. The bottom line is that parking owners, operators, and organizations should make it easy for customers to understand and follow the rules.
Clear and consistent communications and marketing of parking resources, rules, and regulations are paramount. This includes customer awareness of the parking brand, marketing and promotion campaigns (especially during changes in technology or policy), well-placed signage and wayfinding, and leveraging technology (e.g., real-time availability technology) where possible. Parking owners and organizations should be mindful of providing customers with information on where to park, how to access facilities, what the rules and regulations are, and how to pay. When newcomers come to your community, they should very quickly recognize parking facilities and resources and understand where to go, what the rules are, and how to pay.
Municipalities and universities may benefit from communication materials humanizing their parking personnel to the public, explaining what they do and why, and being transparent with the public on data related to parking use and revenue and what revenue is used for. Articulate and celebrate your organization’s role in the community.
The method in which you collect payment (whether on-street parking or off-street parking) and conduct enforcement activities can have a significant impact on the customer experience and satisfaction, as well as limiting potential confrontations with customers. Leveraging physical and mobile technology to provide multiple convenient payment methods can boost customer satisfaction. Regularly testing pay stations and exit lane equipment to ensure that equipment is functional, simple, and intuitive is important. New technologies like mobile and fixed LPR, e-citations, and bill-my-mail can reduce the need for physical engagement from parking personnel with customer vehicles and customers themselves. Ultimately, though, the goal should always be to push customers to comply with rules. Make it super simple for customers to pay. Emphasize compliance via clear rules and easy payment options over punitive enforcement.
Parking facility design is important. Ensure that off-street facilities are designed efficiently, with easy ingress and egress. Facilities should be clean, well-lit, and functional for the user. Ensure that signage, pay stations, and equipment and technology
are designed and placed with the user in mind, recognizing that customers are both on foot and in their vehicles.
Customer service and staff, particularly Frontline personnel, are central to the image and perception of your parking operation. Frontline personnel are, in many ways, the face of your operation. These staffers should be valued members of your organization, equipped with the tools, resources, and training to be safe and successful in their work and successful in their interactions with customers, especially confrontational customers. Staff should be present at busy times, assisting with payment collection or exiting a parking facility after an event. Staff should treat customers with patience and respect and apply rules and regulations consistently and with grace, giving customers the benefit of the doubt where appropriate. Clearly communicating with customers in the field and providing support beyond parking (e.g., offering walking or driving directions) can help staff generate goodwill.
Some parking operations have employed the use of body cameras as an added safety measure; owners, operators, and organizations are encouraged to connect with others and examine the appropriateness of cameras to their own operations. Despite best efforts, at least some angry customers are likely inevitable. Staff should be trained in de-escalation and safety protocols and have access to police support where appropriate. IPMI offers potential training resources for your team’s use.
It’s true that parking owners, operators, and organizations may never be the most popular show in town. And it’s also true that some people will likely be frustrated with their parking experience and have a negative view of parking personnel. Parking entities can be proactive, however, in implementing strategies and measures to mitigate many frustrations before they start, perhaps creating more awareness and a more positive perception of the role of parking organizations and personnel in the process. ◆
KEVIN WHITE, AICP, CAPP , is a Parking and Mobility Consultant with Walker Parking and Co-Chair of the IPMI Planning, Design, & Construction Committee. He can be reached at kwhite@walkerconsultants.com
This article was inspired by the April 11, 2023, Frontline Fundamentals session of the same name. Thank you to all those who participated in the session and who contributed to the ideas in this article. To watch the recording of the Frontline Session, click here. IPMI members can view it for free thanks to our Frontline Fundamentals Sponsor, Flowbird!
When I was in college at the University of South Florida, majoring in history, I dreamed of being a Park Ranger giving historical tours. I guess I should have been more specific about the “park” part of that dream. We all have our stories of how we ended up in parking, and I am no different.
My parking story began during my sophomore year of college. I had been working at a Sporting Clays Gun Club as a sort of caddy, and the club I worked at was closing. I needed to find a job that paid well with flexible hours and would allow me to continue my studies while also helping me pay for my education. In our university paper, there was a help wanted ad for valets needed. I will never forget that after interviewing with the parking operator, the Manager, Andrew Tedrick, said, “I have good news and bad news. The good news is you’re hired; the bad news is you’re the
only female of 15 valets.” I responded that both things sounded like good news to me! Thus, my parking adventures began, and I have continued in this passionate pursuit of professionalism and prosperity for more than 25 years.
I had no idea that when I started valeting all those years ago that I would take to all of it like a duck in water. I truly loved every bit of the job. Whether I was helping valet park 300 cars in an
hour for an event at the performing arts center, working as a cashier in a parking booth, or collecting payments at an NFL football game, I truly loved it all. What I really enjoyed was that although the dayto-day actions were the same, each day or event was always different. Different cars to park (from Fords to Ferraris), different types of people to interact with (tailgaters, business trailblazers, Broadway show lovers), and, best of all, I was always surrounded by amazing managers and coworkers. What I did not expect was that it would awaken in me a love for business and that I would discover a hidden talent.
In my early days of working as a valet, I discovered that the supervisor had developed a way to skim revenue. When I told the management, they had the person replaced. It was not long after that I discovered that one of the cashiers had a scheme going on as well; once again, I went to management and reported it. The management noticed me and soon asked if I would be interested in managing the valet. The new manager was being offered a promotion, and they needed someone to take over whom they could trust to run the operation. I had no idea then that I would take to it so well.
I learned I had a head for business, but what I really learned was that I had a knack for being able to tell when frauds were occurring within an operation. Whether that fraud was from employees, customers, or vendors, I could spot it intuitively and specifically. It was not long before management took notice again, and they sent me undercover into operations to see what I could discover. Each time I was able to help make the operation better by pointing out gaps in their procedures or compliance issues. This evolved into the creation of a new position where, when a new significant operation was opening, I would go onsite and train the operational staff, from the cashier and office staff to management. Years later, I used these skills to create a business plan for an Internal
Audit, Training, and Compliance division. It took me two years to convince leadership, but once I did, there was no stopping me. I started with just me and a budget of $50,000. Fast forward ten years, and I had a staff of nine people and a budget of $300,000.
We all know that there is no substitute for hard work and putting in your time. The other thing I learned that can help you to advance up the corporate ladder was a willingness to relocate. While this is not an option for everyone, it was one that I embraced. I learned that staying in my home area and advancing up the ladder would take a great deal of time for two reasons: lack of opportunities that would allow for upward growth and too much competition locally for those opportunities. I started to look for advancement through what I called the “relocation program.” I would look to see what opportunities there were elsewhere in the country at a lateral or level higher than mine that paid better and offered a higher level of experience. I quickly developed a reputation for being willing to relocate, and after my second move, management started coming to me with opportunities, and I got to be more selective. In all, I moved five times in ten years, each time with increased title and compensation. In my
last move, I settled into my “corner” office within the corporate headquarters, and I was making five times what I started at when I managed my first valet operation. An overnight success, right!?
A few years ago, I was given an opportunity to get out of the operational side of our industry and move to the technology side. This is where I learned that no matter how far you have come, there is always further to go if you want to pursue the brass ring. Today, I am using all my operational parking knowledge to help develop technology that can advance our industry. In addition, in this next career evolution, I learned more about myself: first, I love public speaking. Crazy right? Deep down, I am a hermit, but for some reason, I get energized when I get the chance to speak about the parking and mobility industry. Whether in person, at a tradeshow, or on a Podcast, I cannot seem to get enough of it.
Second, the girl with severe dyslexia, who could not write a grammatically correct sentence to save her life, now has had several articles published. I never would have even thought to dream of something like that. It is because I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by wonderful mentors who helped me to be more and who could see what I could not necessarily see in myself. There have been too many mentors to mention over the years and new ones that have recently entered my
professional realm, but I am grateful and thankful for all these people, as they helped me see beyond an evolving comfort zone.
The best advice I could give someone in our industry is to be sure to surround yourself with people that will not only support you but also give you the hard advice, answers, and/or lectures you may not want to hear while needing it the most. In fact, it was the hard lessons and failures that these people helped me to understand and learn from that got me to where I am today. While I always consider myself a work in progress, it’s this type of mentorship and “paying it forward” that makes our industry special and avails a clear path to be able to exceed your own dreams and expectations.
KATHERINE BEATY is Vice President of Implementation for TEZ Technology. She can be reached at katherine@teztechnology.com.
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“A few years ago, I was given an opportunity to get out of the operational side of our industry and move to the technology side. This is where I learned that no matter how far you have come, there is always further to go if you want to pursue the brass ring.”
“The best advice I could give someone in our industry is to be sure to surround yourself with people that will not only support you but also give you the hard advice, answers, and/or lectures you may not want to hear while needing it the most.”
PANEL RECAP: At the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) 2022 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles, Ryan Gram, PE, of Kimley-Horn moderated a panel focused on the impact of EV demand, challenges, and benefits of implementing EV, emerging technology, and ways to save costs. This is a summary of that discussion.
Harness the EV Revolution to Increase Revenue Without Busting Your Budget
By Ryan Gram, PETHE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION aims for electric vehicles (EVs) to comprise at least half of new car sales by 2030. Similarly, S&P Global Mobility predicts that the 2030 EV market share for new vehicle sales will likely reach 40%, forecasting 28.3 million EVs on U.S. roads. With that number of active EVs, S&P Global Mobility says drivers will need 2.13 million public Level 2 chargers and 172,000 public Level 3 DC fast chargers (DCFCs).
In comparison, as of March, the U.S. had about 45,000 public Level 2 stations offering 101,000 chargers. Additionally, the U.S. had nearly 7,000 public Level 3 stations with 29,000 DCFCs, according to the Department of Energy.
Expect a massive ramp-up to close the EV charger gap.
These eye-opening metrics reveal that the country requires an 18-fold increase in public Level 2 and Level 3 chargers between now and 2030. From another perspective, the U.S. will need to build far more new public chargers each year until 2030 than the total number that exists today.
Government investment will fill some of the gap. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) includes $7.5 billion to help accelerate EV adoption, in part with a nationwide network of 500,000 EV charging stations along interstates and federal highways.
Whether along federal roadways or within cities and towns, implementing EV charging
stations shows developers’ and public entities’ commitment to sustainability and response to shifting demands. Charging stations also provide a competitive edge for developments since EV owners tend to stay, spend, and buy where they can recharge.
But at the end of the day, developers need a business case to proceed with EV charging implementation. At the ULI 2022 Fall Meeting, I moderated a panel addressing this topic with three industry experts:
● Rick Baker, executive vice president of Charging Solutions at Volta, a member of the Shell Group
● Jennifer Deaton, manager of corporate strategy and electrification for Oncor Energy Delivery
● Rachel Yoka, chief strategy officer of IPMI
We discussed the impact of EV demand, the challenges and benefits of implementing EV chargers, emerging technology, revenue opportunities, and ways to save costs. I summarized five key takeaways in a January post on Kimley-Horn’s website.
This article takes a different tack, focusing on revenue and cost considerations so developers know how to make money from their EV charging investments.
Rachel Yoka of IPMI framed all parking spots—with or without EV chargers—as a form of rented space: “Parking should always be friendly, but never free.” She told the audience of developers, “It’s not free to you. It’s not free to anybody to provide, maintain, or manage. So, you’re basically renting a very small piece of real estate for a very shorter dynamic period of time.”
Different types of developments require different types of parking arrangements and different EV charging infrastructure—and therefore provide different revenue opportunities. For example, a movie theater would benefit from Level 2 charging rather than DCFC (sometimes referred to as Level 3) due to the longer customer parking time. Conversely, a convenience store would best get customer revenue with DCFC’s, where buyers could shop during a 20-minute fast charge.
Yoka said when considering EV supply equipment (EVSE), developers should have the same rental mentality they do for parking spaces and, “Charge for your charge.” She named a couple of options, including:
● Charging for electricity. Some parts of the country only allow utilities to do this, so this option has geographic limits.
● Charging for the space. Developers can make certain parking spots more expensive to generate revenue from spots serving EV chargers.
In addition, Kimley-Horn has worked with developers who choose a revenue-sharing model. In a typical scenario, EVSE suppliers share installation costs and
share a portion of charging revenues with developers. Other EVSE suppliers, such as Volta, generate revenue in more unique ways. Their EV chargers have media screens embedded directly into the stations, allowing them to earn money from display advertising. Volta’s Rick Baker said display media works best in a retail environment “because it creates a business value proposition” when a retailer participates in selling some of this media inventory.
Baker also emphasized retailers can profit from increased sales at their locations, which can be driven by media-enabled EV chargers placed directly beside front entrances.
Whatever the approach, as Yoka said, “If you have not yet unbundled your parking costs from your overall fee structure, you are long overdue.”
When considering EV charger deployments, developers rightly think of up-front expenses first. EVSE costs at least six figures, but a short-sighted perspective greatly inflates costs over time. To limit long-term costs, developers need to invest beyond the bare minimum.
Jennifer Deaton of utility provider Oncor said forward-thinking developers will weigh several factors at the beginning. She said, “Knowing your use case for the chargers is a great first step. Partner with your utility as early and often as you possibly can—it’s going to save you a ton of money.”
Deaton shared that school districts, for example, would likely overspend if they purchased DCFCs. Not
only would they pay more for the EVSE, but they would also have higher electric bills due to the high electrical load. School buses’ scheduled operations mean that Level 2 will almost always suffice. She noted that convenience stores have a “totally different use case” because guests will stay only for 15-30 minutes, so DCFCs there justify the price.
The panelists emphasized how charger location impacts costs too. IPMI’s Yoka said, “Where to put it, I think, is the biggest question of the day. It depends on the property.” Deaton agreed, advising developers to partner with utilities to learn design requirements and varying costs of locations.
Land development costs associated with EVSE installation may include site grading, electrical engineering, and code compliance – such as for the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Utilities can also help plan for long-term total cost. Deaton said, “it’s really important to bring your entire vision to the utility up front,” even without a firm five-year plan. Deaton explained that, with an idea of developers’ charging plans, the utility can install a properly sized transformer up front rather than switching it out after a year or two.
Developers can save even more money over time by building the underlying electrical infrastructure at first and then simply adding more EV chargers above ground as EV ownership increases. When developers re-develop a structure or repave a parking lot to accommodate new EVSE, extra costs often arise. Equipment and labor may cost more, and installation activities could also trigger other work to get a building up to code. All in, this can make later rounds of EV infrastructure cost four to six times the original price.
Suppliers also greatly determine the final cost. Not only do companies’ equipment and service contracts have different price points, but they also have differing business models that translate into different cost structures. That’s why it was recommended to bring in a diversity of information from competitors to evaluate the options.
A revenue-sharing model typically means that suppliers pay for most, if not all, of the installation, maintenance, and operations costs. If the retailer owns chargers and keeps all the revenue from them, then the retailer usually pays for operations and maintenance of all EVSE equipment.
Some retailers prefer this model because the chargers enhance the guest experience. On a practical level, if a grocer’s parking lot EV chargers malfunction, customers notify the grocery store service desk, not the supplier named on the side of the charger.
But upkeep is no small task. According to J.D. Power’s Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study, more than one in five charging attempts (21%) failed in the third quarter of 2022, up from 15% in the first quarter of 2021. Therefore, reliability will require more investment in the foreseeable future.
Baker emphasized the inevitability of change and growth in the EV space. He held up his smartphone during the session and asked attendees to recall the first one they owned 20 years ago.
“Imagine the first time this thing came out, and the technology enhancements just in our lifetime,” he said, forecasting similar advances in the EV market. He noted how electric vehicles have declined from $130,000 models to more affordable $30,000 options. He said that EV adoption is, “nowhere near where it’s going to be in five years and nowhere near where it’s going to be in 10 years.”
Therefore, Baker said, “a plan needs to be able to be sustainable for the next five years.” He cautioned that everyone in the industry will need to adapt their plans as new information and technology arrives. “It sounds like an overwhelming step,” he said, advising that “partnerships with people who are in the know” will be the best way to learn and profit.
To that end, IPMI’s EV Readiness Cohort will publish EV Readiness Planning resources, guidance, and best practices later this year. This collection of expertise will show the pulse of the industry and provide insights to parking, transportation, and mobility owners and operators. Follow along at IPMI’s Electric Vehicle Readiness Clearinghouse for new resources throughout 2023 and beyond.
A podcast about parking, mobility, and the people who make it all go. Hosted by Isaiah Mouw with new episodes every other Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud or any other major podcast provider. parkingcast.com
Click here to find out why Kevin earned his CAPP and how it's impacted his career.
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
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EV Readiness: Develop & Execute an Effective Plan in your Parking Operation
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OCTOBER 17
Online, Instructor-Led Course Accredited Parking Organization (APO) Site Reviewer Renewal Training
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NOVEMBER 8
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Pacific Intermountain Parking & Transportation Association (PIPTA) Annual Conference & Expo Seattle, WA
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Carolinas Parking & Mobility Association (CPMA)
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OCTOBER 1–4
Campus Parking and Transportation Association (CPTA) Annual Conference Columbus, OH
OCTOBER 23–25
Southwest Parking & Transportation Association (SWPTA) Annual Conference
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NOVEMBER 7–9
California Mobility and Parking Association (CMPA) Annual Conference & Tradeshow
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