Parking & Mobility, February 2021

INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE FEBRUARY 2021

What’s Your Story?

Real conversations and real support are vital—after the year we’ve had, they’ve never been more important.

INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE FEBRUARY 2021 VOL. 3 / N0. 2

FEATURES

22

What’s Your Story?

Having real conversations and offering support are vital skills for parking and mobility professionals—and after the year we’ve had, they’ve never been more important.

By Johnna Frosini, CAPP, MPA

26

Allying for Better Streets

RIDE

Why curb management is the off-street garage’s best friend and why the parking industry can make a huge difference to everyone in a city.

By Jacob Baskin, Dawn Miller, and Sara Wiedenhaefer

30

Flipping the Light on at the End of the Tunnel

IPMI’s volunteers and committees get to work on industry recovery, recognition, education, and more.

34

Going Contactless

Some questions to ask and considerations to bear in mind when looking for a new, contactless parking solution.

By Katherine Beaty

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COVER PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK / TSYHUN

/ EDITOR’S NOTE DEPARTMENTS 4 ENTRANCE Picking Up the Pieces of 2020—or Forging a New Path

By Josh Cantor, CAPP

6 FIVE THINGS Trends to Watch from CES 8 THE BUSINESS OF PARKING Understanding the Allocation of Risk in a Pandemic

By Michael Ash, Esq., CRE

10 MOBILITY & TECH Valuing the Curbside in a New Normal

By David Carson Lipscomb

12 DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION The Culture of Diversity

By Keith Hutchings

14 THE GREEN STANDARD The Holy Grail of Mobility Data?

By Paul Wessel

16 PARKING & MOBILITY SPOTLIGHT Roadmap to Recovery: Universities

By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE

20 ASK THE EXPERTS 38 STATE & REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT Moving Forward in the Mid-south

By Mike Tudor, CAPP

41 IN SHORT 43 AROUND THE INDUSTRY 46 PARKING & MOBILITY CONSULTANTS

Making It Through the Gray Days FEBRUARY was a special kind of challenge when I

had two little kids in the house. The holidays were long forgotten, warm spring days seemed very far away, and the cold grayness dragged on and on, with what felt like endless hours to fill and lots of energy to expend.

Happy were the days a local swingset company opened their warehouse for warm open play and many were the trips to the mall for long, relatively uncrowded straightaways—perfect for fast-as-you-can running and a nuggets lunch.

I feel for parents of littles especially this year. Little kids must be bursting at the seams after so much isolation and with so few options for active entertainment. I know how hard it is for a full-grown adult having reached the end of Netflix in this cold season with so few options to get out safely. Patience wears thin and tempers flare—it happens to the best of us.

For all these reasons, I was thrilled to receive this month’s cover story on having real conversations and supporting our colleagues at work. There’s never been a better time to bear in mind people have private challenges they may not talk about, but that affect their disposition and performance at work, from the novice frontline officer all the way to the CEO. And offering what support we can to our coworkers can make a world of difference both to them and to overall morale, which affects everyone. Compassion is everything and author Johnna Frosini, CAPP, shares solid tips and timely reminders to help us all be a little more mindful at work. Read it starting on p. 22 and I hope you’ll also share with your colleagues.

New technology is on everyone’s mind as life begins clawing its way back to normal and we’ve got plenty of that in this issue as well. Every new advancement and every new way of thinking points to great things coming in our future, and it’s encouraging to see those conversations and hear how parking and mobility will continue advancing our communities moving forward. We have a whole lineup of free Shoptalks, Frontline sessions, and webinars geared to keeping our industry on top of everything this year; see the whole list and register yourself and your staff here.

I’m looking forward to seeing lots of you at our inaugural Mobility & Innovation Summit later this month—please ping me in chat and say hello! And as always, please get in touch anytime. My email is below.

Sending you warm wishes for a successful February.

48 ADVERTISERS INDEX 49 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Kim Fernandez, editor fernandez@parking-mobility.org

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 3

/ ENTRANCE PUBLISHER

Shawn Conrad, CAE

conrad@parking-mobility.org EDITOR

Kim Fernandez

fernandez@parking-mobility.org TECHNICAL EDITOR

Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Bill Smith, APR

bsmith@smith-phillips.com ADVERTISING SALES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

Tina Altman

taltman@parking-mobility.org

Picking Up the Pieces of 2020—or Forging a New Path

PUBLICATION DESIGN

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A

By Josh Cantor, CAPP

S WE START THE SHORTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR and per-

haps start to really put 2020 in hindsight (pun intended), I think back to a year ago. Many of us had gotten past our new year’s resolutions and started to focus on what would stick— what we would really do in 2020 in our personal and professional lives. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic brought many things to a grinding halt and we spent the better part of 2020 adjusting.

Now a year later, I find myself going back to my original 2020 plans and looking at what I had started, what was in the works, and seeing where I can resume—or even deciding if my 2020 path even makes sense any more.

Questions to consider if you find yourself in a similar situation: ■ What’s changed in the last year? Do I still have the same resources, whether financial, physical, or personnel?

■ Do my 2020 plans still make sense to pursue? Is what I was trying to accomplish still attainable and will the results still bring progress?

■ With the changes of the last year, is there something else I should be focusing on? Have my priorities changed? Is there a better path to follow in 2021?

As you can see, these questions are very generic and can apply to your professional environment as well as your personal life. For many, those two worlds became even closer and more integrated

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during the past 10 months with changes to work and family structures.

As we continue to deal with a pandemic and given everything we have already endured, what better time than now to assess and re-assess where we are going in our personal lives as well as in the rapidly changing parking and transportation industry.

While I don’t have a lot of answers, I know our IPMI community collectively does. I encourage you to stay active and take advantage of the numerous IPMI resources including webinars, frontline sessions, and our online community (and this magazine too!). Perhaps you will pick up the pieces of 2020, or forge a new path and then hopefully share your successes! ◆ JOSH CANTOR, CAPP, is director of parking and transportation at George Mason University and a member of IPMI’s Board of Directors. He can be reached at jcantor1@gmu.edu.

SHUTTERSTOCK / DILOK KLAISATAPORN

yoka@parking-mobility.org

Trends to Watch from CES The Consumer Electronics Show may have gone online this year but that doesn’t mean the show was any less dazzling—and this year’s featured a whole lot of new technologies and advancements to help people and their stuff get from place to place. Here are five trends to watch from the show, as identified in their 2021 trends to watch presentation.

2 1

Robotic Everything. From Amazon deliveries to buses to everything in between, robotic tech is hot. COVID-19 accelerated the trend and robots delivered, from pizzas to packages to checking in on people isolated with the virus. Look for more of this in 2021 and beyond.

3

Smart Cities. We all knew this was coming, of course, but smart cities technologies have been accelerated by COVID-19. Smart kiosks, sensors, data dashboards and more— including contact tracing—are all making cities smart, and if it’s not already in a city near you, there’s little doubt it’s on the way.

5

C-V2X. That’s code for cellular vehicle to everything, and it had a spotlight at this year’s show. Cyclist coming up on your driver’s side? C-V2X will tell you. Same for rerouting, greener ways of doing things, other vehicles—the sky’s the limit.

4

Mobility-as-a-Service. Buy a car and you can go wherever, whenever—mostly. But mobilityas-a-service has accelerated along with so many other things, taking passengers from curb to curb in a combination of transportation modes. This includes micro-mobility, which has experienced a resurgence and is only expected to keep growing.

Electrification. Haven’t installed chargers in your garage yet? You might want to take a second look—autonomous vehicles and other robots (see trend No. 1) are all expected to be electric, and it’s coming sooner than you think, experts say. Customers will be looking for quick, convenient chargers almost no matter how they get around, and it’s up to parking to provide lots of them.

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/ THE BUSINESS OF PARKING /LEGAL

Understanding the Allocation of Risk in a Pandemic

By Michael Ash, Esq., CRE

A

S I WRITE THIS , we are closing on an extraordinary year in which the world descended

into a pandemic. The novel coronavirus and its resulting illness quickly spread around the globe without much warning. The medical community escalated its efforts to study the virus as it spread in real time. Eleven long months later, we know more about how contagious the virus is and the factors and activities that cause its spread. With multiple vaccines approved and administered, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, however we will be living with the virus for the foreseeable future. Our normal day-to-day business will continue to be disrupted. An important legal question remains unresolved: Who bears the risk of infection in a pandemic?

While it was easy to shut down the economy by proclamation, re-opening has proved more difficult. Without a central federal directive, the responsibility of re-­opening businesses have been left to local and state governments. I suspect we’ve all had to sign a waiver at some point during this pandemic to engage in an activity or attend an event. These forms include some variation of this language: I hereby release and agree to hold XYZ Business harmless from, and waive on behalf of myself, my heirs, and any personal representatives any and all causes of action, claims, demands, damages, costs, expenses, and compensation for damage or loss to myself and/ or property that may be caused by any act, or failure to act of the business, or that may otherwise arise in any way in connection with any services received from XYZ Business. I understand that this release discharges XYZ Business from any liability or claim that I, my heirs, or any personal representatives may have against the business with respect to any bodily injury, illness, death, medical treatment, or property damage that may arise from, or in connection to, any services received from XYZ Business.

This liability waiver and release extends to the business together with all owners, partners, and employees.

Even as I’ve signed such a release to get my hair cut or send my daughter to basketball practice, I wonder, are 8 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

these terms actually enforceable? If one were to get sick and could reasonably trace their COVID exposure to a specific event or location, would such a release actually indemnify the individuals or entities who required it? The even bigger question is, are individuals and businesses capable of effectively allocating the risk of sickness and damages in a global pandemic even if we don’t know the full extent of the risk?

Key Terms to Understand Risk Allocation: ■ Indemnification. A contractual obligation of one

party to compensate the loss incurred to the other party due to the acts of the indemnitor or any other party.

■ Waiver. A voluntary relinquishment or surrender

of some known right or privilege.

■ Hold Harmless Agreement. A legal agreement

that states that one party will not hold another party liable for risk, often physical risk or damage.

The Hold Harmless Clause can be one-way (unilateral) or two-way (reciprocal) agreements and can be signed before or after an activity takes place.

SHUTTERSTOCK / LIGHTSPRUCH

Release and Hold Harmless

BUSINESS VISION

An important legal question remains unresolved: Who bears the risk of infection in a pandemic?

We seek to streamline and optimize control of your parking structure, its management, productivity and security. Our differentiation and competitive advantages enable you to improve the level of service, while exploring new business opportunities.

The release forms and hold harmless agreements are our best attempt to allocate these known and unknown risks.

Congress recognized the problem this question presented and unsuccessfully tried to legislate a complete liability shield for businesses and institutions looking to reopen and avoid the “accumulated economic risks” for potential lawsuits stemming from coronavirus-related liability. However, while a broad and sweeping policy may sound like a simple solution, tort claims are very fact-specific and this liability shield may provide a false sense of protection as certain cases would still wind up in court.

Language to Include So without the application of a broad liability shield, we are left preparing and signing our own version of the release language above. At some point, a case will be filed to test the indemnification provisions in the COVID release forms that will be instructive as to best practices for release language. Until then, here are some important considerations in drafting a release or signing one: ■ Both the entity and the individual should stay current on recommended federal and local guidelines—operations or activities proscribed at the time will not be covered by an agreement.

■ The entity should screen employees and agents for symptoms on a daily basis and the individual should attest that symptoms are not present.

■ Individuals should disclose any recent travel internationally or to areas identified in local travel advisories.

■ Contact information for individuals should be collected and maintained to assist in contact tracing in case of exposure.

I’m wishing everyone a healthy and liability free 2021! ◆ MICHAEL J. ASH, Esq., CRE, is partner with Carlin & Ward. He can be reached at michael.ash@carlinward. com.

MEYPAR USA Corp.

21755 I45, Building 11, Suite D 77388 Spring, Texas Tel.: +1 346-220-4619 (Sales) www. meypar-usa.com · info@meypar-usa.com

/ MOBILITY & TECH

Valuing the Curbside in a New Normal

W

By David Carson Lipscomb

HEN I JOINED THE WASHINGTON, D.C., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

(DDOT) two years ago as a curbside management planner, the concept of curbside management was new to many of my colleagues across the transportation planning world. Still, they usually understood that more happens at the curb than just vehicle storage. With transit, freight, on-demand delivery, micro-mobility, shared mobility, and the good old-fashioned personal car all vying for curb space, someone has to herd the cats, right?

That wasn’t quite the same story for the layperson.

People understood my job description but they didn’t understand how my work affected them outside of residential or metered parking (make more, same price!).

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders in response.

The demand for curb space was already on the rise pre-COVID, fueled by on-demand delivery services (ODDS) such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, and Postmates.

Naturally, this demand ballooned under government orders prohibiting indoor dining as business owners had to accommodate operations for customers who could only pick up food and may even be averse to walking inside.

Thankfully, the digital infrastructure supporting ­carry-out/delivery was in full swing, particularly among restaurants. In 2019, DDOT conducted a research study to collect data on users of pre-registered curbside space primarily for freight and micro-freight. During the three-month study, DDOT found that ODDS at least doubled all other users with the exception of private vehicles for non-commercial uses. Additionally, private users had similar usage patterns as ODDS. (Note: The locations chosen for the study were selected because of high ODDS activity so selection bias was considered in our analysis.)

The pandemic forced re-imagination of public spaces, particularly the curbside. Suddenly, everyone had an interest in it for safe, quick access to life’s necessities, either directly or by delivery driver.

Demand for the Curb The pandemic forced re-imagination of public spaces, particularly the curbside. Suddenly, everyone had an interest in it for safe, quick access to life’s necessities, either directly or by delivery driver. The economic case for new curbside operations is one that now has tangible effects for the ordinary user as we seek to survive this emergency and find a new normal.

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But what about the physical infrastructure to support ODDS and other operations? DDOT launched a pick-up/ drop-off (PUDO) zone pilot in 2017 to address safety issues along curbsides where quick access for loading was in high demand. DDOT installed about two dozen zones across the District by 2019, many in areas with high concentrations of restaurants. That wouldn’t be nearly enough, as shown by the 80+ permits issued for temporary restaurant pick-up zones in the first week of the shutdown in March. Double the number of permits for those zones were active as of mid-November plus another dozen for non-essential retail curbside pick-up.

Even more permits for streateries, or curb lane dining areas, have been issued to businesses including restaurants that previously had no outdoor seating.

SHUTTERSTOCK / ALEXANDER OGANEZOV

Piloting the Zones

A whole

LOT of innovation from AIMS Opportunity Valuing the curbside will be particularly important as we build a recovery plan from the economic toll the pandemic has taken. However, translating the economic impact of a parking space (22 feet of curb) is complex and imprecise.

We have rough ideas about what revenue we might generate from it or for how many users it provides access to a collection of businesses. But without more data, we only have approximations of value. Think about it. You probably know how much your water bill is each month, but how much of the cost is generated by your dishwasher and are you getting your money’s worth in clean dishes?

Here is where I see opportunity: ■ The shutdown orders give us a sharp cliff. In whatever metrics we use to assess damage and recovery, we are likely to see a very stark comparison between pre- and post-pandemic. This may allow us to get a somewhat more precise picture of the relationship between curb space and economic activity.

This will require juxtaposition of data across public and private entities to determine the true value added (or not) by repurposing curbsides to dynamically address demand.

■ There is hyper awareness about the curb and its various functions. In recent interactions regarding curbside management, stakeholders have taken a distinctly different tone and more forward-thinking posture. Businesses and customers understand the tradeoffs, economic and otherwise, between various types of curbside programming. Their experiences will inform how we manage the curb, building on previous knowledge about demand-based and progressive duration parking pricing.

■ We have seen what gaps telework can fill and what it can’t. It took awhile, but many of us finally figured out how to use the mute button. But not everyone works in the virtual environment or will be able to. At DDOT, equity is a key piece of everything we do as we strive to serve all users. Understanding the impact of drastically changed commuting patterns on curbside demand in both volume and composition will provide guidance on the value of curb space in the context of surrounding land uses.

I am encouraged to see that what used to be questions about “fixing” parking have become stakeholders asking how curbside management factors into recovery. This emergency gives us an opportunity to explore modeling the value of the curbside while there is genuine interest about its highest and best use and technology to measure the impact of pandemic mitigation strategies.

Everyone has a stake in this so let’s open the conversation so we can figure this out together. ◆

LPR and e-Ticketing The combination of AIMS

License Plate Reader (LPR) and e-Ticketing technology empowers

your enforcement operation like never before.

• Powered by Genetec’s AutoVu hardware and

customized to your application – AIMS Mobile LPR system automates plate capture and enforcement, optimizes lot use, and enables citation issuance right from the vehicle.

• AIMS Ticket Management tracks the life of a

parking ticket from the moment of issuance through payment – reducing paperwork and enables citation issuance from the vehicle or directly in-office through AIMS.

Learn more about the AIMS Parking Management Software suite – and

schedule an AIMS LPR and e-Ticketing demo – at

DAVID CARSON LIPSCOMB is curbside management planner with the District Department of Transportation. He can be reached at david. lipscomb@dc.gov.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 11

/ DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION

The Culture of Diversity

W

by Keith Hutchings

HEN EXAMINING ELITE PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONS , the common thread is culture. Organiza-

tional culture is the primary driver of group success. Great companies consistently place culture as one of the most important focuses for energy, resources, and staff. The reward is a workforce where every employee lives the company’s values and realizes those precepts through every effort. Properly cultivated, people both join the team and give their best.

Unfortunately, when attempting to maximize employee contribution, organizational diversity is not always realized.

Diversity would seem an easy goal but most organizations are ill-equipped to successfully develop a diverse workforce.

Traditional efforts continue to yield inconsistent and unsustainable improvements, further generating a lack of ethnic variation. What is missing is a culture that produces diversity.

Core Values The takeaway is that if an organization truly desires diversity, the culture must promote it. Core values must do more than call for excellent customer service and deliver outstanding products or services. Values must reach the psyche of potential team members and consumers.

They must provide the reason to support the organization while demonstrating the value of becoming a part of the team. People must see themselves as a comfortable cultural fit: ■ Comfort in the culture will go a long way to attract and retain employees in the work environment. For most minorities, the workplace is often an experience where their uniqueness can be uncomfortable. Imagine being the only woman a workspace full of men. Such environments can be intimidating in the absence of inclusion and acceptance. For this reason, the culture of a diverse workplace must promote and feel inclusion and safety.

■ Inclusion manifests

when contributions of minority groups are acknowledged and valued beyond a superficial measure. Organizations that implement and

Understanding appropriate conduct at a business gathering or conversing with a team member or customer who may not share the same personal experiences is vital and not readily learned by osmosis.

a team member or customer who may not share the same personal experiences is vital and not readily learned by osmosis. Mentoring as a tool will assist in filling the knowledge gap.

■ Leadership drives cultural change, producing mentoring, recognition, inclusion, and cultural fit. If a company is to achieve a culture of diversity, the direction and support must come from the top. When leadership is committed to driving diversity, the entire organization and its customers benefit. If those at the top are committed to developing and driving a culture of diversity, the rest of the organization will follow. Minorities are attracted to organizations that care about the diversity of their team members.

Recruitment reward contributions of minorities benefit, creating loyalty and commitment.

Multiplication of newly gained loyalty and commitment expands as opportunities for advancement occur.

■ Deliberateness in planning and effort may be needed to mentor professional development of historically excluded groups. Often, individuals who make up this historical group do not have access to the subtle cultural knowledge and networks that can hinder movement up the leadership structure. Understanding appropriate conduct at a business gathering or conversing with

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Culture is everything when developing the conditions to create a diverse and vibrant organization. The finishing segment is recruitment. Many challenges and excuses justify the lack of success in recruiting candidates from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Nevertheless, if a culture of diversity exists, more powerful and effective strategies must be engaged to achieve reality. Below are four potential areas for improvement: ■ Community outreach efforts that focus on underrepresented groups will generate awareness and interest in the organization. Investing support in social and cultural events, including the

Culture is everything when developing the conditions to create a diverse and vibrant organization.

institutions within the minority community, generates brand loyalty and desire to join the team. There is pride in working for a group that supports the community.

■ Online presence via targeted social media is a tremendous method for reaching minority populations and promoting the organization. Using non-traditional outreach vehicles facilitates breaking through the noise of mainstream recruiting tools. Non-­traditional methods will provide the opportunity to identify desired candidates.

■ College recruitment targets can drastically reduce the difficulty in identifying and recruiting talented minorities. Traditional colleges and universities may not always be the best method to find potential minority team members. For instance, the majority of universities will provide fewer desired black applicants because many black students choose to attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities, known as HBCUs. Developing an outreach program to recruit directly from an HBCU is one of the most effective ways to find valued minority team members. Word of mouth within the HBCU student body will drive the most desirable potential team members to the organizations with the best cultural fit.

■ Qualifications will

possibly need to be re-­ evaluated. When using traditional qualifications, many exceptional candidates go unconsidered. Historically, minority groups excluded from specific job market opportunities will not have the same type of experience as candidates outside of the minority group. On the surface, one may determine that industry-specific experiences are the most crucial determination in qualifications. However, this perspective has its challenges. Finding individuals who have industry-specific experience is not challenging. The greater need is identifying individuals who possess unique and diverse skill sets to adapt, learn, and solve the industry challenges. Therefore, the skill set and ability to problem solve could prove a more valuable determination of future productivity.

In the end, recruitment and all its facets relate to the organization’s culture of diversity. Culture creates diversity, and leaders create culture. It is not an accidental occurrence, but instead a deliberate effort. ◆ KEITH HUTCHINGS is director of the City of Detroit Municipal Parking Department. He can be reached at huchingsk@detroitmi.gov.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 13

/ THE GREEN STANDARD

The Holy Grail of Mobility Data?

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By Paul Wessel

E ALL KNOW THE OLD ADAGE , “You can’t manage what you don’t

measure.” In the past 10 years, we’ve gotten really smart at measuring and managing parking inventory with the likes of yield management and dynamic pricing. Increasingly, though, we’ve recognized that parking is one piece of a process of providing mobility for people and things—and measuring mobility, let alone managing it, is complicated. But as the world increasingly urbanizes, as we buy more and more through the web, and as we seek to shift towards low-carbon transportation, measuring and managing our mobility becomes more critical.

The MEP Metric “The MEP metric builds on existing accessibility calculation methods, combining mode availability, sustainability, and affordability evaluations with geospatial analyses,” explains NREL and MEP Researcher Yi Hou. “At its heart, the MEP metric measures accessibility and appropriately weights it with travel time, cost, and energy of modes that provide access to opportunities in any given location. The proposed metric is versatile in that it can be computed from readily available data sources or derived from outputs of regional travel demand models,” explain the researchers in a 2019 paper presented to the American Society of Civil Engineers. “End times associated with parking, curb access, cost, and reliability and frequency of service need to be carefully considered to obtain an appropriate and accurate perspective when computing the metric.

Ultimately, the MEP metric can be used to reflect the impacts of new mobility technologies (transportation network companies, electric scooters), business models (car-shares and bike-shares), and land use practices (such as transit-­ oriented development) on sustainable urban mobility.”

Beyond simply location, distance, and energy, the MEP metric looks at the total number of opportunities accessible

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from a given location within a certain time. For example, how many employment opportunities, health care facilities, grocery stores, restaurants, parks, and entertainment destinations exist within 20 minutes of a location using different modes? The resulting metric provides a robust assessment of mobility options provided at a given location, regardless of whether travelers possess their own mode of personal transportation or use a bus, train, transportation network company, bike-share, or car-share.

Putting It to Use The MEP weighs locations visited often, such as an office building where people go every day, more than less-visited venues such as movie theaters. It contrasts the effectiveness of ride-sharing services against other options, such as public transportation.

“The MEP metric applies a mathematical framework to a range of variables, rolling them up into a single, simple score,” says NREL Transportation Data Analytics Researcher and MEP Project Leader Venu Garikapati. “The result is a robust assessment of the ease of access provided to any traveler at any location, which can be scaled up from a specific neighborhood to an entire state or region.”

SHUTTERSTOCK / BLUE PLANET STUDIO / PAUL FLEET

Fortunately, some leading researchers at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) are doing just that. NREL, one of a network of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-funded innovation labs operating since WWII, in collaboration with the DOE’s Energy Efficient Mobility Systems program and a number of other national labs, sought a tool to help answer some real-world questions: ■ How does an infrastructure investment affect the mobility of a place or a region?

■ In what way does new and emerging mobility technology influence a community’s overall mobility?

■ Would businesses choose a different location to improve their operations or customer experience if they could evaluate the variety of opportunities that can be accessed using different modes in that area?

■ How does mobility affect a person’s quality of life?

The researchers wanted a way to capture the full landscape of a locality’s transportation options. Expanding beyond the more familiar walk, bike, and transit scores, they developed the Mobility Energy Productivity metric—MEP—with a focus on travel time, energy, and affordability measures of all mobility options.

Locations with a high MEP score have more efficient, affordable options providing access to a greater number of destinations.

The MEP team continues its work on refining the tool.

While currently an urban focused tool, plans are to extend its reach to rural areas. The researchers are looking to incorporate multi-modal trips and increase its accessibility to individuals with easy-to-use web-based access.

Is MEP all its cracked up to be? NREL has an impressive track record, including an impressive parking structure. MEP is open source, non-proprietary, and able to incorporate new modes of mobility as they emerge, so we can watch and see who puts it to use and to what end. So far, the American Society of Civil Engineers has adopted MEP for its smart cities work, the Transportation Research Board has evaluated it, an MIT team is using it to study Boston and Chicago, and the DOE is looking to fund to an implementing pilot project.

I’m keeping my eye on MEP. Let us know your thoughts. ◆

PAUL WESSEL is director of market development with the U.S. Green Building Council. He can be reached at pwessel@usgbc.org.

SOURCES: Breitenbach, A. (2019, October 23). A New Way to Measure Mobility Potential of Cities: A Comprehensive Metric to Quantify the Efficiency of Transportation Systems While Taking Time, Affordability, and Energy Use Into Consideration. NREL News. https://www.nrel.gov/ news/features/2019/a-new-way-to-measure-mobility-potential-of-cities.html NREL. (n.d.) Measuring Mobility Potential: NREL Researchers Develop New Metric that Quantifies Mobility Energy Productivity. PDF retrieved December 22, 2020, from https:// www.nrel.gov/docs/fy20osti/73579.pdf Hou, Yi, Venu Garikapati, Ambarish Nag, Stanley Young, and Tom Grushka. 2020. A Novel and Practical Method to Quantify the Quality of Mobility: The Mobility Energy Productivity Metric: Preprint. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/CP-540072889. https://afdc.energy.gov/files/u/publication/mobility_energy_productivity_metric.pdf Garikapati, Venu, Stan Young, and Yi Hou. 2019. Measuring Fundamental Improvements in Sustainable Urban Mobility: The Mobility-Energy Productivity Metric: Preprint. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/CP-5400-73050. https://www.nrel.gov/ docs/fy19osti/73050.pdf National Renewable Energy Laboratory—NREL. (2018, August 13). NREL Sustainable Mobility: The Transportation World Beyond Tomorrow—Is Here Today! [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/P_TH9ZuxX4o

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/ PARKING & MOBILITY SPOTLIGHT/RESEARCH

Roadmap to Recovery University Planning, Strategies, and Benchmarking for 2021

T

By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE

HE FALL 2020 SEMESTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION CAMPUSES was a mixture of trial and error, adapta-

tion, and survival. With the effects of the global pandemic continuing to evolve, ensuring some level of education and campus experience has been a rapidly moving target. Within the parking and mobility realm, this challenge has been no different. For programs that manage on-campus transportation activities, defining how to operate shuttles, manage parking, assist with mobility options, and keep patrons and staff safe has constantly evolved with the ebbs and flows of this unique campus life experience.

This document, developed by the International Parking & Mobility Institute’s Research & Innovation Task Force, assembles data from academic parking and mobility programs across the U.S. to help understand how the strategies implemented and adapted during the fall 2020 semester met the needs of patrons and helped support campus life. The data was collected using an online survey that asked questions about enrollment trends, strategies used, lessons learned, and revenue impacts. The information in this document has been assembled to help programs throughout our industry understand the potential opportunities and challenges associated with individual strategies or combinations of multiple strategies.

In addition to the data provided throughout, there also links to videos at the end of this document that include program directors discussing specific strategies, how they were implemented, and the lessons learned from the fall 2020 semester. Check them all out here on our YouTube channel.

16 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

What We Learned

■ Expanding

Here are some insights gleaned from the data: ■ Flexible permit options account for variations in schedule and time on campus as schools shift to remote or hybrid learning and work from home. This could include daily permits, punch cards, and pricing strategies that reflect different access needs.

■ Several respondents that reported revenues near pre-COVID levels indicated that they implemented a combination of flexible permits, more pay-as-you-go parking, and contactless payments in addition to operational changes.

■ Implementing contactless payment provides a safer way to pay for parking transactions without having to physically interact with revenue control technology. Using tools such as mobile payment and smartphone applications provides users the means to pay without traditional technologies. A majority of the respondents implemented contactless payments and intend to keep these options. The industry was moving in this direction pre-pandemic and the need for touchless payment options for health purposes has simply accelerated the transition.

■ Modified enforcement practices have been implemented across university campuses to support changing needs and access conditions. With the implementation of remote work and learning, many programs have scaled back enforcement efforts to promote the varied use of parking assets on campus.

■ Many programs modified transit services on campus to account for changing demands due to remote learning and changing access patterns. This could include consolidation of routes, changing frequencies and headways, and developing plans to modify routes as demand dictated. Those schools that implemented modified or reduced transit options saw the least impacts to overall permit revenue due to an increase of students and staff driving and parking on campus. Many programs implemented socially distanced shuttle options on the routes that remained in place to ensure the riders and drivers maintained safe spaces and helped to ensure safety. In most cases, these changes were likely tied to state and local guidance.

shared personal mobility options on campus provides another alternative to transit services that can be maintained at a socially distant level. While there are some concerns about cleaning devices, the mobility options help defray driving or congested shuttling options. Beyond the implementation of new safe and socially distant mobility options on campus, there is also a need to help educate the campus population about how to access and use these new options. Programs used a number of outreach tools including online information, social media, and program ambassadors.

■ The implementation of curbside pick-up and drop-off locations includes both parcel and food delivery and passenger pick-up and drop-off. Providing accessible places for these activities reduces pedestrian interaction and allows to patrons to seamlessly access food and delivery services.

■ The implementation of remote working was designed to reduce human contact in the early stages of the pandemic and provide opportunities to reduce in-office capacity in the short term and overall operational costs in the long term.

■ Because of revenue impacts from abrupt school closures in the spring 2020 semester and the variations in revenue from the fall 2020 semester, many academic parking and mobility programs are using program reserves to maintain minimal operational and staffing levels until revenues recover.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 17

PARKING & MOBILITY SPOTLIGHT

Conclusions and Key Takeaways The survey data summarized in this document represent a snapshot of parking and mobility management trends on academic campuses for the fall 2020 semester, which has been highly impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the respondents to this survey have implemented a number of strategies aimed at supporting modified campus life, providing safe transportation options, and maintaining levels of operation that would not impact staff and their programs. The strategies and outcomes identified in this document provide some lessons learned from these changes. Based on a review of the dataset, these four key takeaways should provide guidance for academic parking and mobility programs as they continue to adapt into 2021: 1. Balance between supporting campus needs and maintaining sustainable operations is critical. Results from the survey indicate that the strategies implemented on campus to support safe and equitable access during the pandemic also had corresponding revenue impacts. Future decisions will need to weigh the impacts on operational capacity vs. providing service and policy reductions. The revenues generated

by parking management often support a more holistic transportation system in and around campus.

2. Flexibility and choice are key. The strategies that seemed to provide the highest level of customer service and choice also indicate fewer effects on overall operational capacity and revenue generation. Examples of good flexible options include implementing more hourly or pay-as-you-go parking, providing flexible permit options, and focusing less on traditional approaches to permits and management.

3. Education and communications can optimize success. Those programs that actively communicated with their campus users were more likely to find success in the implementation and ongoing operation of new strategies.

4. Data-driven decision making is still critical even in a pandemic Many programs went into the fall 2020 semester with little idea how students, faculty, and staff would react to program changes or interact with the campus in general. Those that monitored demand and responded to campus needs were more likely to find success in the fall semester and optimization of strategies.

Your Video Resources

Considerations for adapting programs to COVID-19: 1. Provide safe, equitable, and supportive transportation options.

2. Maintain operations and management in the face of quickly changing conditions.

3. Respond to campus needs and shifting demands in real time.

18 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

In addition to the survey responses, several respondents also provided video responses that provide more details about how they handled a number of program elements in the fall 2020 semester. Check out all the links here. If you would like to be featured in a video snapshot, just let us know! ◆ BRETT WOOD, CAPP, PE, is president of Wood Solutions Group and co-chair of IPMI’s Research and Innovation Task Force. He can be reached at brett@woodsolutionsgroup.com.

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JANUARY 13, 2021

Curbing COVID-19 at the Curb

Presenter: Matthew Darst, JD, Director of Curbside Management, Conduent Transportation

FEBRUARY 10, 2021

Frictionless Parking: Smoothing Out the Edges for a Seamless Mobility Experience Presenter: The IPMI Technology Committee

MARCH 17, 2021

Using Social Listening to Improve Your Customer Service Presenter: Melonie Curry, Communications Manager, ParkHouston

APRIL 21, 2021

Teleworking: An Alternate Mobility Mode Presenters: Perry H. Eggleston, CAPP, DPA, Executive Director for Transportation Services; and Ramon Zavala, Transportation Demand Manager, UC Davis Transportation Services, University of California at Davis

MAY 19, 2021

Operational Measures that Produce a Positive Customer Experience and Drive Organizational Success Presenters: Tammy Baker, Vice President of Client Experience; and Brian Wolff, President & CEO, Parker Technology Inc.

JULY 14, 2021

The Parking Study is Done. Now What?

Presenter: Jennifer McCoy, PE, PTOE, Senior Traffic Engineer, Bolton & Menk, Inc.

AUGUST 11, 2021

Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers: Improve Your RFP Procurement Process to Receive Quality Proposals Presenter: Mandy Bowers, Senior Marketing Specialist, Kimley-Horn

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

Collecting Lost Revenue: The Payment Behind the Parking Payment

Presenters: Andrew LaMothe, Regional Director of Sales, Passport; and Brian Shaw, CAPP, Executive Director of Transportation; Stanford University

OCTOBER 20, 2021

How U.S. Cities can Learn from Smart City Innovations in Europe

Presenter: David Parker, Chief Operating Officer, Cleverciti

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

The Truth Behind Common Parking Myths Presenters: Michael Pendergrass, AIA, Associate Principal; and Matt Davis, Associate Principal; Watry Design, Inc.

DECEMBER 15, 2021

Getting Smart: Strategies to Get Started Creating Smart Communities Presenter: Thomas Szubka, CAPP, Senior Consultant, Walker Consultants

parking-mobility.org

ASK

THE

EXPERTS How can managers and co-workers support others at work who are facing challenges or seem to be struggling with non-work obstacles?

Scott C. Bauman, CAPP

Victor Hill, CAPP, MPA

Jennifer I. Tougas, CAPP, PhD

Manager, Parking & Mobility Services City of Aurora, Colo.

Account Manager T2 Systems

Interim Assistant Vice President, Business Services Western Kentucky University

Acknowledging the mental health of your staff is probably the most important function of a great leader, since their mental health underlies everything they do.

Engaging and developing authentic connections with staff through active conversations and meaningful interactions is essential. Then, offering flexibility to their challenges and helping problem-solve key stressors creates happy and healthy employees as well as productive workplaces.

Get your human resources professionals involved. Not unlike parking professionals, HR professionals are often vilified even though they are uniquely qualified to help employees succeed.

They’ll give you tools to support these employees as well.

Listen and be compassionate. Provide flexibility or structure as appropriate. Inform of available organizational resources, such as an employee assistance program.

Erik Nelson, PCIP Director of Operations and Technology Consulting Walker Consultants Noticing someone seems to be struggling at work can be a tough thing to approach depending on your professional relationship with this colleague. Regardless, it is important for them to know that you want them to be successful at work, happy at home, and you are in their corner. If you are supervising this colleague, you should also address any performance gaps with compassion and tactfully reiterate wellness/ well-being services the company may offer.

David Hill, CAPP, MA CEO Clayton-Hill Associates Difficult question, as our staff tend to be very private about these things. I would say that we should have a formal statement about our support for others and an anonymous lifeline or confidential support counselor somewhere in our organization where challenged individuals can feel safe vocalizing their issues. Organizationally, I think we should expand sick time allowances and be flexible in utilizing sick days.

/ HAVE A QUESTION? Send it to editor@parking-mobility.org and watch this space for answers from the experts.

The opinions and thoughts expressed by the contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions and viewpoints of the International Parking & Mobility Institute or official policies of IPMI.

20 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

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What’s Your Story?

Having real conversations and offering real support are vital skills for parking and mobility professionals— and after the year we’ve had, they’ve never been more important.

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O

By Johnna Frosini, CAPP, MPA NCE UPON TIME, IN A LAND FAR, FAR AWAY —oh, sorry, as much as I would

like to write a fairy tale with a perfectly happy ending, life is not always perfect, is it? In fact we are often far from that reality. Instead, let us focus on how we can be better prepared to have healthy conversations—think making lemonade out of lemons!

Healthy conversations are just as good for your mind and spirit as eating a balanced diet and exercise.

As leaders, guiding people to be their best selves should be a responsibility we take seriously. Not only will it drive to a successful organization, it is also the right thing to do. So how can we help our staff, customers, friends, and family be all they can be? We can start by recognizing when they are going through some rough patches, and providing comfort in some way. This requires us to be good listeners and be observant in order to identify when someone is in need.

Everyone has a story. Be aware of that and understand how it may affect who they are today or at that moment of contact. Whether it’s a really horrible start to the day or a longer more severe personal issue such as an illness, addiction, or the loss of a loved one, defining moments can change people. They define not only who we are, but who we become—especially during challenging times like these. Their story can have an effect on why the visitor parked in an ad hoc manner. why the violator raised their voice, or why the employee or colleague acted irrationally.

Let’s Get Started

■ Face the fear: Sooner or later we will be faced with

having difficult conversations with a colleague, staff member, loved one, etc. It is hard to plan for these conversations but removing the fear to talk through it is the biggest stumbling block.

■ Pay attention to the signs. It’s been a year of those—perhaps a staff member is not producing as they typically do. Or you’re noticing they are showing signs of anger, irritability, or confusion. If you sense something is wrong, you are probably right.

■ Be kind to yourself. After we face our fear and move forward to have a conversation, do not go into this with the expectation of repairing. Relieve yourself

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of this pressure. Be kind to yourself. We are not counselors. Our capacity is friend, supervisor, colleague, family—work within that capacity. At times, all that is needed is to be heard. As we maneuver through these conversations, it may be important to check our own emotions, all while keeping it real.

We can start by recognizing when our colleagues are going through some rough patches, and providing comfort in some way. This requires us to be good listeners and be observant in order to identify when someone is in need.

Ways to Support How can you support someone else while still maintaining a productive environment?

■ Listen. Listen without judgement and jumping to conclusions. Interjecting our opinions can cloud how to help. Listen with your heart. Reflect on what the other person has just told you, and do not be quick to react.

Never minimize what they are saying. Try to put yourself in their shoes, meeting them where they are in the moment.

■ Bring the human back to the conversation. Be compassionate and understanding even if the situation is uncomfortable for you. Can you imagine how the other person is feeling as they spill their guts to you?

Sharing your own personal experiences may provide some comfort, as they may recognize they are not alone.

Be present with purpose. Practicing words of kindness and understanding is a great method allowing for some healing to take place.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 23

WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

■ Create a safe place. This is where you lead by

example. Create a free-from-judgement zone, an atmosphere of “we are all in this together.” Creating a compassionate office setting may offer needed relief for our co-workers to keep their motivation up. Working through this may be a team effort. However, this may be tricky especially if the person would prefer you hold this information in confidence. In this regard, we need to find strategies that protect their confidentiality while keeping the rest of the team focused.

■ Kind gestures. “What can I do?” There may be an opportune time to ask them what is needed. This is not intended for us to pry into what may be occurring, but allowing them to know that we recognize something is different. Putting them in contact with external resources, providing extra time off from work, cooking a meal, mowing the lawn—allowing the person to focus on self-care without worrying about the day-to-day grind can be

Be kind to yourself. We are not counselors. Our capacity is friend, supervisor, colleague, family— work within that capacity. At times, all that is needed is to be heard. As we maneuver through these conversations, it may be important to check our own emotions, all while keeping it real. an impactful gesture. Send notes home. Offer to take the person out to lunch or to go on a walk to get away from the office for a bit. Work can wait! Yes, I said it.

■ Silence. Some may not be looking for opinions, words of wisdom, or examples of similar experiences.

They may prefer to be heard or to sit in silence. Don’t assume. Asking if they would like to go for a walk with you might have more meaning to them. Yes, sometimes silence can be golden.

■ Help them build more mental muscle. Model inner strength. Show how you face your fears, learn from mistakes, and recover from failure. In doing so, this might help them grow inspired to do the same.

Before offering advice, be sure you are not enabling or on the flip side, lecturing. Instead, allow for the conversation to lead into options that are available. Asking thought-provoking questions may help them recognize there are other strategies out there. Be sure you share your survival stories.

24 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

■ Leave the door open. Often, once is not enough.

The first conversation could be the first of many. Your role can also be to leaving the door open for more conversation. Failing to check back in could be detrimental to the progress you made during the first communication, so please do circle back, see how things are going.

The general guidelines above are the beginning but one thing we ought not to forget is take care of ourselves. Sometimes we tend to focus on others’ needs and put ours aside. This is a dangerous path to go down.

We need to remain in a good frame of mind, body, and spirit to continue our job as helpers.

Specific Scenarios Loss of a loved one.

At some point we have all suffered a loss—a pet, sibling, parent, friend, or even a child. Grieving comes in different forms and at different times for people. There is no norm for grieving and it doesn’t happen on a schedule. It comes and goes in waves. Allow this to take place. After a tragic loss, or health issue, the person may be trying to find their new normal. Their grief does not end after the funeral. This journey is terrifying and confusing and we can help by better understanding that their outlook, emotions, and behaviors may change daily and even hourly.

Sometimes we don’t understand someone’s loss.

Feelings of extreme sadness, anger, guilt, or post-­ traumatic stress all may play a factor in their behaviors. Be sure to acknowledge their loss. Give yourself time to connect with your own sense of loss before trying to say anything. Rushing to provide comfort, you may miss hearing how they are coming to terms with their grief. Ask the person to share stories to help memorialize their loved one. Is there a way you might help them honor their loved one? Start a scholarship in their memory; donate to a related cause, plant a garden.

All are beautiful gestures that validate their feelings.

Family troubles.

Divorce, struggles with a child, or financial challenges are all stressors that may be brought to the forefront and have an effect on a co-worker’s productivity at work. But what if it’s a customer who walks through your door already angry? It’s much much more difficult to recognize cues if it is the customer who starts off their conversation with real anger and frustration. Be sure you remain aware of staff’s changing behaviors—the situation can be too embarrassing or overwhelming for them. How many times have you encountered that angry parker who demanded the citation be waived? After listening

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and engaging in real conversation with them, you realize they are not angry over the citation, but it is the last straw with all that may be happening in their personal life. The person feels as though everything is out of their control.

Again, offer your skill of listening. If the challenges are a colleague’s, it may be time to consider some temporary measures, such as modifying their workload or offering a flexible work schedule if you’re not already. Keep an open mind and get creative. Having a solid team effort will allow for the person to focus on their personal matters and keep their self-healthy emotionally and physically.

Transitioning to retirement.

Sure, retiring may sound wonderful to many, but the reality is that it can be a very difficult transition. Concerns may include financial stability, loneliness, a new definition of personal purpose, managing the new schedule and way of life, and outside of COVID, being home more often with a partner. Recognize if this is a forced retirement. That can add many dynamics to how they are accepting of their pending retirement. Allow the person to share their concerns.

They are real to them. Point them in the direction of your organization’s EAP office or financial advisor. You may want to also understand what they want in terms of the going-away celebration. This is not about what you want, it truly is about what they want.

We can affect others’ ability to heal by the energy brought to the conversation. Forget your role as supervisor. Remember to bring the right energy at the right time and that personal lives do matter. If we can continually celebrate the smallest of victories,

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we can be better equipped to handle these temporary setbacks.

Remember during these times of high stress, you may want to reconsider the approach of “treat others as you would like to be treated.” Instead, treat them how they want to be treated. Everyone is unique. That’s what makes the world a glorious place to be.

As I put the final touches on this article, we experienced the loss of a special student employee in my office. He was such a delight to have around. He brought that positive energy and a bright beautiful smile with him each and every morning. As the semester progressed, I can tell he was struggling a bit. He provided notice that he was going home for his spring break one week early. I asked if he was OK. This is when he told me his story: He was a two-time liver recipient. In fact, his first donor was his mother when he was 14 weeks old. I almost completely lost it at that time and my listening skills went out the window. The silent pause led to me saying to him that he would be OK and that if he ever needed me, to call. I didn’t realize I hugged him for the very last time. We lost him four days later at age 22.

Now let’s go make some lemonade because life is short my friends. ◆ This article is dedicated to Braden Kressner, SUNY Brockport student.

JOHNNA FROSINI, CAPP, MPA, is director, parking and transportation services at the College at Brockport, State University of New York. She can be reached at jfrosini@brockport.edu.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 25

Allying for Better Streets RIDE

Why curb management is the off-street garage’s best friend and why the parking industry can make a huge difference to everyone in a city.

By Jacob Baskin, Dawn Miller, and Sara Wiedenhaefer

26 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

T

HE MAIN WAY DRIVERS LOCATE PARKING is by driving by and seeing it. Until recently, the

primary available technology to expand the scope of the urban parking search was a metal sign pointing toward a parking garage. As a result, curbside parking spaces have long been the most visible and popular among city drivers—and they’re often pretty cheap. Since we often don’t account for the value of our time and are rarely charged for the congestion or emissions we cause circling for parking, curbside parking is often a bargain many find worth hunting.

The traditional method of searching for parking through only what you can actually see affects parking lots and garages, too. For example, if you were looking to park along the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., two hours in a private garage could cost you anywhere from $16 to $40. But just a block away, parking in a private garage can cost a mere $8. It’s clear that in the digital era, big opportunities await parking operators who can find a way to reach value-conscious customers.

Transportation is in a New Era In many aspects of transportation, the olden days are over.

Before and eventually after COVID-19, consumers have seen the delivery of transportation itself being transformed by ride-hailing, car-sharing, app-enabled carpool matching, and shared fleets of bikes and scooters. Their decision-­ making is guided by technology, through navigation apps and apps that show trade-offs between travel modes, real-time traffic, and transit arrival information.

Cities today have more data than ever before and technology platforms are helping planners and parking managers more easily access and use this data. Technology is also dramatically improving enforcement capabilities through pole- and bus-mounted cameras and license plate reading technology. Cities are also using old technology in new ways.

Paint, planters, giant rocks, flexible bollards, movable street furniture, and cement are great tools to quickly experiment with a new bus lane, widen a sidewalk, or create a vibrant new public space.

Parking is in a New Era—Sort Of Although there are still plenty of workers who endure heat, cold, and bright orange vests to wave drivers into their garages, the parking industry is no stranger to technological innovation. App-based payment is proliferating widely and innovations that support plate-based payment rather than traditional meters or even pay-and-display

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payment are changing parking regulation compliance; mainstream navigation apps allow drivers to route directly to garages near their destinations; parking apps allow drivers to reserve and pay for spaces in advance. There’s also experimentation with parking sensors and cameras, though these technologies can run into cost, maintenance, and potentially, privacy issues.

“Technology can ease congestion and provide value for owners and neighborhoods when applied to private ‘unmanaged’ and free parking locations,” says Ben Montgomery, president of Premium Parking. “App-based programs … let an off-street lot owner provide free parking for customers while charging others to pay to park when the lot has excess capacity.”

Paint, planters, giant rocks, flexible bollards, movable street furniture, and cement are great tools to quickly experiment with a new bus lane, widen a sidewalk, or create a vibrant new public space.

Even with all of this available technology, too many drivers coming downtown for a social event, appointment, or meeting still find parking the old-fashioned way—by driving around until they see something. Insufficient uptake of parking reservation apps and parking features in navigation apps means that despite innovations that have improved the discoverability of off-street parking, curbside parking retains its advantages.

Pricing and curb space misallocation are major culprits here. Cities such as Seattle and San Francisco, which regularly re-price their parking (up or down) in response to demand to meet parking availability goals and reduce circling, are the exception. Most cities continue to underprice on-street parking and change prices infrequently. Many also supply more curbside parking than they should given other things we need from our curb space, like bike and bus lanes, loading zones,

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 27

ALLYING FOR BETTER STREETS

and infrastructure to enhance pedestrian safety.

And you can’t blame the urban planners. Parking politics are notoriously brutal, and planners can only get so much done unless elected officials use their influence to stand behind ambitious and controversial plans. This is clearly bad news for programming curb space to its highest potential. It also means drivers don’t have enough of a financial incentive to use technology to find off-street parking, leaving it underutilized and undervalued relative to its potential.

Allies for Better Streets

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Cities don’t think one industry at a time. Instead, they consider how onstreet and off-street parking work together and, more importantly, as part of a broader mobility system they are trying to optimize to serve residents, businesses, and visitors. proximity to their customers, and it would be far better for traffic flow and air quality if ride-hailing vehicles (and app-based food delivery vehicles, while we’re at it) waited for a job on the ground floor of your garage instead of circling downtown or double-parking. In some cases, your garage might even be a user-friendly rendezvous point for drivers and passengers to meet.

Perhaps your land could provide space for storing and charging shared fleets of bikes or scooters. An effect of COVID: There are now creative opportunities for parking garages to lease out space to mobile kitchens used by food delivery businesses or micro-distribution hubs for package delivery.

Second, garage operators can think about what it would mean to really become mobility hubs. There’s some talk in the industry about reimagining your spaces as mobility hubs. If this is a serious goal, a good starting point is a conversation with the city. Find out what investments you could make that would support their

ISTOCK / BEST CONTENT PRODUCTION GROUP

This situation creates a rare opportunity for the offstreet parking industry to think about mobility holistically. Cities don’t think one industry at a time. Instead, they consider how on-and off-street parking work together and, more importantly, as part of a broader mobility system they are trying to optimize to serve residents, businesses, and visitors. They are increasingly making their transportation and curb space priorities clear and allocating curb space to support transit or maximize other social benefits, as Seattle does with its curb use priorities. By becoming cities’ allies in re-allocating their curb space to align with today’s transportation landscape and policy priorities, the industry can advance its own interests while helping create more livable, productive and safe cities.

As allies for better streets, there are a couple of things the off-street parking industry can do. First, they can think about how to creatively use some of their space to support cities’ current priorities and address their challenges. One example we’re already seeing along these lines is garages that serve as not only car storage, but also electric vehicle charging locations and home bases for car-share vehicles. “Garages that most successfully support city mobility goals by hosting car-share vehicles do so in specific ways,” Sabrina Sussman, Zipcar’s senior manager for public partnerships and policy explains. “They provide spaces that are safely and easily accessible to people arriving at the garage by foot or even bicycle. Spaces located on the street level with good pedestrian-scale lighting are usually the best fit for car-share. License plate recognition technology rather than traditional garage access cards creates a more seamless experience for everyone, and especially car-share users. ” Another example we’re seeing on the horizon follows a trend at airports: leasing garage space—­ especially at underutilized hours—as staging areas for ride-hail vehicles. These vehicles value being in close

goals, which often focus on connectivity to transit. Car-share and micro-mobility charging space are good starts—but perhaps providing a covered bus stop or some other investment would most meaningfully align your space with city needs. There are companies that partner with organizers of destination activities (e.g., theater, exhibitions, concerts) to bundle off-street parking into the ticket purchase process.

This presents another opportunity to partner with cities because for those attendees who can’t arrive by transit, cities share your goal of efficiently moving parkers off streets and into garages.

Finally, garage operators can be public allies of changes to cities’ curb space— both in changing how it’s allocated and how it’s priced. In particular, you can advocate for cities to right-size their curbside parking prices, which are in many cases lower than they should be. Plans that affect parking are usually contentious and sometimes the debate is pitted as government versus business. Garage operators getting involved in these debates demonstrates that the business community is not uniformly against these changes, and some members in fact support them.

Decision-­makers’ opinions really are affected by the people who write to them, Tweet at them, or testify at public meetings. Typically, opponents of change show up in the greatest numbers. Your showing up as a supporter of change balances out the picture decision-makers are seeing and helps steel their resolve to go forward.

You also can enlist fleet and commercial operators in this business coalition. Unlike most private parkers, drivers for these companies often really do need access to curb space near their destinations. In many cases, creating space for these types of drivers to do their jobs without double-parking and circling for parking will require cities to allocate more curb space to these uses than they do today—or leave COVID-born curb management strategies in place when the pandemic is over. These drivers and the companies they work for are therefore

also natural allies in efforts to shift private parking off-street to make way for other curbside activities.

If you’re worried about coming off as opaquely self-interested in these debates, don’t be. It’s acceptable to advocate for your interests—others most certainly are.

By showing up, you are adding more information to the discussion and providing busy decision-makers with a more complete set of considerations to inform their choices. It also doesn’t hurt when your interests happen to align with what’s good for the community.

Collaboration is Key Developing policy positions and engaging elected officials takes time, and garage operators have businesses to run. By working as a group on this issue—you’ll find the debate across cities varies, but not as much as you’d think—the off-street parking industry can be yet another group of advocates calling for changes to the way cities’ curbs are allocated and priced.

Also by working together, the industry can leverage its influence to ensure it gets its fair share of the gains from technology.

One opportunity is changing how you deal with the mobile apps consumers use to locate and book space in your garages.

Sometimes these apps ask garage owners to partner with them exclusively. Although in the short run, this type of offer may fill otherwise vacant spaces or attract a few new monthly customers, in the long run, these deals only serve to enhance these apps’ market power and their ability to demand higher fees. Your land is the truly valuable asset in this market (these apps have zero business without it!), and by refusing exclusivity you can open up the market towards more app competition that will drive down the share of revenue going to app developers. It may be hard for a single small operator to put her foot down, but large operators have the leverage to change the game.

Another opportunity pertains to your parking access revenue control systems

(PARCS). Too often, PARCS systems are “walled gardens” that make it difficult to add support for smartphone apps or other new parking technologies. Sometimes, operators even resort to deploying additional hardware to allow access, at the cost of poor integration and management headaches. By insisting on open systems and open standards, you can make sure your PARCS system doesn’t stop you from connecting to your customers.

Although there are still ways the parking process could become more seamless, overall the technology to make off-street parking discoverable already exists. But the industry needs to make sure that technology is serving its users rather than the other way around. The industry’s mission needs to be to create a new reality in which drivers have the incentive to use this technology. You can achieve this by joining others advocating for changes to curbside parking policy so curbside parking is no longer oversupplied and underpriced. These changes will nudge your customers towards the technology that enables them to easily find parking instead of circling endlessly, contributing to pollution and congestion. And to ensure you share in the gains once drivers more broadly adopt parking technology, you need to promote competition and fair, open standards among the technology providers that serve you. ◆

JACOB BASKIN is CTO and co-founder of Coord. He can be reached at jacob@coord.com.

DAWN MILLER is vice president of policy and partnerships with Coord. She can be reached at dawn@coord. com.

SARA WIEDENHAEFER was marketing manager with Coord.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 29

W

HEN SOMETHING GREAT comes out of IPMI, there’s a

better than average chance the members of our committees are behind it. Committees work year ‘round—even during a global pandemic—to advance the association, its members, and the industry as a whole. We’re proud to present this round up of their recent activities and glimpse into the future, with many thanks to our dedicated, volunteer committee members.

All IPMI members are welcome to volunteer and get involved in our efforts—check out available opportunities here. We’ve provided a snapshot of just a few of our committees and task forces here. Stay tuned for more updates throughout 2021!

Awards Programs Share WellDeserved Recognition Awards of Excellence Co-chairs: Mark Lyons, CAPP Carmen Donnell, CAPP

Professional Recognition Awards Co-chairs: Kathryn Hebert, PhD Josh Cantor, CAPP

Marketing Awards Co-chairs: Maria Irshad, CAPP Kevin White, AICP

Staff Liaison: Justin Grunert, MSM IPMI’s Awards of Excellence Committee evaluates and judges awards programs submissions in seven categories, which IPMI expanded to capture transportation and mobility innovations, and more. The Professional Recognition Committee evaluates and judges Professional Recognition Program awards nominations and submissions for Organization of the Year, Industry Professional of the Year, Emerging Leader of the Year, and multiple categories for Professional Excellence Awards, including Marketing, Innovation, Leadership, Human Resources, Accounting—every aspect of a successful organization.

Judging for 2021 awards is

underway—be on the lookout for the talented recipients. To find out more about the awards process and read all about last year’s awardees, visit us online. We’ve also created project galleries to showcase the amazing projects that represent the very best of our industry. Be on the lookout in fall 2021 for the next round of competition!

Education Development Committee Co-chairs: Pamela Corbin, CAPP David Hill, CAPP

Liaison: Kathleen Federici, MEd The Education Development Committee reviews and generates varied sources of content designed for professionals at every level industry-wide. These efforts support the knowledge, skills, and abilities covered by the CAPP examination content outline. The committee produces the articles and video vignettes in the monthly Moving Forward newsletters.

The committee also supports IPMI’s strategic partnership with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), providing specific courses and resources quarterly as an official Education Partner.

30 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

SHUTTERSTOCK/ MJ GRAPHICS

Flipping the Light on at the End of the Tunnel IPMI’s volunteers and committees get to work on industry recovery, recognition, education, and more.

FLIPPING ON THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

As part of IPMI’s Stay Connected efforts in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the committee provides education and training at no cost for members. Click the link above for the current list and to register you and your staff.

Planning, Design, and Construction (PDC) Committee Co-chairs: James C. Anderson John Bushman, PE

Liaison:

this article in Parking & Mobility on electrification, as well as a collaborative blog series focused on the curb.

Members participate in one of two active working groups on the Roadmap to Recovery initiative or commercial curb management. The group added its expertise to the next major update on the Roadmap, a deeper dive into the academic sector. Download the document here, and be sure to check out the video snippets at the end. The commercial curb working groups is preparing a slew of resources for our members, including a session with experts and operators at the Mobility & Innovation summit, to be offered February 24-25.

Rachel Yoka, CAPP The Planning, Design, and Construction Committee develops projects, programs and products that benefit the membership in the parking and transportation industry. This committee serves to provide technical expertise on the role and specifics of planning, architecture, engineering, and construction in the industry, including the design and adaptation of new and future facilities with a focus on technology and mobility.

Recent projects include this article from Parking & Mobility, Casting a Long Shadow, on the recovery and what it means for the industry through the long term.

Research & Innovation Task Force Co-chairs: Brett Wood, CAPP, PE Robert Ferrin

Liaison: Rachel Yoka, CAPP The Research & Innovation Task Force identifies critical issues in the industry, focusing on new research and the evolution of mobility as it relates to parking and transportation. Recent projects include

IPMI’s Sustainability Committee is tasked with creating and investigating projects and programs that educate, inform, and benefit the parking, transportation, and mobility industry regarding sustainability.

The committee works collaboratively and represents IPMI with other organizations, including the United States Green Building Council, to promote and advance environmental initiatives, including Parksmart Certification.

Recent projects include this free on-demand course for IPMI members addressing the COVID-19 crisis and its long-lasting effects on TDM programs, as well as a follow-up article in Parking & Mobility’s December 2020 sustainability issue.

State and Regional Association (SRA) Committee

Technology Committee

Co-chairs:

Co-chairs:

Chris Austin, CAPP Larry Cohen, CAPP

Mike Drow, CAPP, PE Peter Lange

Liaison:

Liaison:

Rachel Yoka, CAPP

Rachel Yoka, CAPP

Volunteers from SRA boards and volunteers who serve in a liaison role share successes, best practices, and challenges, fostering discussion designed to elevate each organization. The committee provides regular SRA Spotlight columns in the magazine, highlighting each of the SRAs in turn. The committee continues to share information and resources to support our community as we confront the pandemic and prepare for industry recovery. Be sure to check out all the SRAs here to get involved and find out more.

Sustainability Committee Co-chairs: Brian Shaw, CAPP Josh Naramore

Liaison: Rachel Yoka, CAPP

32 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

IPMI’s Technology Committee provides education and information regarding the development of new, cutting-edge technology and how it may be employed in the parking, transportation, and mobility industry. The committee develops and promotes educational offerings throughout the year.

The next presentation in the series will be offered as part of the 2021 IPMI Webinar Series on frictionless parking— it’s happening February 10 and will be available on-demand, too (click the link to sign up). If you are interested in even more free training from the committee, IPMI members can access this free course on connected vehicles as part of our Stay Connected campaign. ◆

Sponsored By

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I’ll take my morning coffee with Forum, please.

employee parking benchmarking • EV planning ratio • Categorizing bikes, scooters • Mobile payments • Restoration services RFP • Parking garage fires • Ridesharing staging agreement • Using data effectively • Unbundled parking • Installing and removal of meter poles • Street sweeping operations • School permits in RPP zones • Customer loyalty programs • Meter hoods • Fees for EV charging • Parking enforcement of oversized vehicles • Ramp/garage speed signs • Art murals on garage facades • Parking revenue audit RFP • Pre-payments and reserved parking • Disabled parking • Cam-

Every day, the latest discussions on

eras on campus • Booting policies • Escalating citation

Forum, along with the daily IPMI Blog

fines • Budgeting for annual garage maintenance • Des-

post, are delivered to your inbox –

ignated on-street areas for rideshare • Space numbering

brewed just right for connecting

methodology • Violation policies • Private-public part-

with colleagues, stimulating ideas, and energizing your work life. Look under the coffee cup to get a taste of the stimulating topics swirling about lately.

nership agreements • On-demand shuttle RFP • Parking deck agreements • Donor parking privileges • Gate arm unattended facility intercoms • Rotary car carousels • Bike-sharing polices • Reverse back-in parking • Boot and tow • Suicide in garages • Snow emergency plans • Passenger counting systems • Salaries • Sample RFPs • Collection agency recovery rates • Car fire SOP • Compact car definition • Game day operations and tailgating • Capitalization rate for on-street spaces • Fireworks viewing atop parking garages • LPR retention

Open 24/7

forum.parking-mobility.org

policy • Pavement marking tape • Motorcycle parking ordinance • Alternative transportation apps • Expectant mother parking • Left side ADA parallel parking • Smartphone lot • Depreciation model for asphalt maintenance

Going Contactless

34 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

SHUTTERSTOCK/ ABSCENT

Some questions to ask and considerations to bear in mind when looking for a new, contactless parking solution

By Katherine Beaty EVERYONE IS TIRED OF THE WORDS “COVID-19” and “pandemic,” but 2020 set many new challenges and trends in

OPINION

motion. The years to come will be anything but status quo. As the parking and mobility industry recovers, industry professionals need to invest in solutions that enable them to continuously adapt

to evolving customer needs and expectations. With this as a background, it makes sense to capitalize on this year’s contactless technology innovations.

Contactless: The New Buzzword “Contactless” is every organization’s new buzzword and it has taken on new meaning since the pandemic. Some of these contactless technologies have been making their rounds in the parking and mobility industry for years, in operations of all shapes and sizes. As technology professionals, we can leverage these previously existing innovations within the industry along with our new normal to begin looking at which technologies are here to stay and which will fade away.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 35

GOING CONTACTLESS

Dual Benefits There are many benefits to contactless technology, but two main benefits right now: ■ Contactless guest/parker experiences and the technology that supports them have been essential for restoring confidence and paving the way for the industry’s recovery. Cleanliness, limiting contact exposure points, and social distancing are paramount for many people, and these priorities are reflected in their behavior.

■ Many contactless technologies solved myriad operational problems caused by the pandemic. Examples include team member safety (a primary concern), safety protocols that complicated standard operating procedures, and challenges of keeping the operation running with reduced staff and management positions.

Under these unique circumstances, these dual benefits can tell us a lot about where the parking and mobility industry was in the past and, more importantly, what its future may be.

Price, location, and brand will still weigh heavily in customer decision making, and at some point, displace the current hyper-focus on the real and/or perceived safety of the contactless experience.

Race to Adapt The race to adapt revealed sizable gaps in our industry.

Contactless technology has been available to streamline and optimize workflows for some time, but for various reasons, our industry has largely been slow to adopt them, instead relying on siloed legacy systems and traditional operating methods.

Ahead of the Race Parking and mobility industry leaders that previously adopted contactless technologies and supported mobile guest experiences have a head start in realizing their benefits. These technologies, like any element of a robust digital strategy, have provided these groups with better customer experiences, and increased efficiencies by reducing operating costs when this element was needed most.

Staying Power Guest/parker preferences for mobile-first experiences are not going away. The flexibility digitization provides 36 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

will be a mainstay. That does not mean a guest/parker will necessarily choose a parking space or a specific operator because of its contactless options. Price, location, and brand will still weigh heavily in customer decision making, and at some point, displace the current hyper-­ focus on the real and/or perceived safety of the contactless experience. It is important to invest in technology that has staying power and can adapt to the seismic shifts and aftershocks of this past year, but also be more than just a single contactless option. While the current motivations for guest/parker is driven by safety and convenience, what will play a part on these motivations in the future? In addition, what will our industry operators’ motivations be? These may include mobile optimization, license plate recognition, equipment less options, virtual databases/dashboards, and/or data autonomy.

Monthly Parking Solutions Monthly parking solutions are a mainstay of many parking operations, and contactless isn’t enough to base a whole system on. Here are some suggested questions to ask as you consider your next system: ■ What else is your current solution providing for you and your customer base?

■ Does it provide more than just a safe contactless payment option for the guest/parker?

■ Does it provide administration solutions that current solutions do not or does it enhance them?

■ What is your system not doing for you? Where are your challenges.

Since the pandemic, we are all having to do more with less. Less staff, revenue, accountability, and more data analytics, assignments and hats to wear, stress, and rules—and those are constantly changing.In this new world it is even more important for your monthly and transient parking solutions to have more bells than whistles, so to speak. Some to consider: ■ Flexible rate structures. We are no longer exclusively working on a Monday - Friday, 8-5 schedule. Monthly parkers might now come into an office two or three days per week instead of five, and those days may change. Can your solution adapt to a flexible rate structure, and then track and enforce it?

■ Lease/abstract management. Automating can reduce the human error of not providing rate changes at the appropriate time required.

■ Mobile optimization. This means allowing access from any device, especially if this can be done without requiring the customer to download another app. Today’s customers are more tech-savvy than the generations

that preceded them. They prefer self-service options rather than interfacing with humans (mere mortals!)/ ■ White label. Without having to go through the trials and tribulations of developing your own product solutions, you can focus more on marketing and branding the service to your customer base. Being able to show your brand on web pages, apps, invoices, receipts, reports, etc., allows you to build customer relationships, which can increase sales and improve customer service while increasing profitability.

■ FTE reductions. Being able to reduce FTE hours without losing service while freeing your employees to work on higher value tasks.

■ Customer control. Give the customer (whether an individual or a group) the ability to control their account via self-registration.

■ Real-time data analytics. We generate much more data than is possible for ordinary individuals to comprehend. However, data and analytics are invaluable when it comes to decision-making. Does your system offer the real-time data that’s actually useful to you?

■ Enforcement. Some solutions come with their own enforcement program. These solutions are fully integrated or embedded in existing programs. Depending on the operation setup, it’s a question to consider.

■ Accounts receivable management. Some solutions can provide reports, tools, and automation to reduce the amount of manpower it takes to manage billing and account receivables.

■ Audit trail. Be sure your solution can provide an audit trial with transparency as it relates to details and transactions.

Some of these contactless technologies have been making their rounds in the parking and mobility industry for years, in operations of all shapes and sizes. As technology professionals, we can leverage these previously existing innovations within the industry along with our new normal to begin looking at which technologies are here to stay and which will fade away.

Takeaways To move beyond just being a safe option, a new contactless solution must provide more value to both the customer and to your operation. Adaptability while still providing a seamless customer experience is critical. Customer service is not only about people contact, it’s about making the customer service experience easy and frictionless. As you review new technology in which to invest as part of your digital strategy or technology roadmap, look to the technologies that delight the parker/guest but also enables you to be operationally agile for what the future holds. ◆ KATHERINE BEATY is vice president of implementation with TEZ. She can be reached at katherine@tezhq.com.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 37

/ STATE & REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT/MID-SOUTH TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING ASSOCIATION

Moving Forward in the Mid-south

T

By Mike Tudor, CAPP

HE 2020 CONFERENCE SEASON was anything but traditional for those of us in the

parking industry. Starting the season in March 2020, The Mid-South Transportation and Parking Association (MSTPA) annual conference ended up being the first and last in-person conference for the year. The rest of the season could be summed up in three words: Cancel. Pivot. Reschedule.

Cancel

Confirm

Associations had to begin to negotiate with destination hotels and conference centers on how to get out of contracts that could not be met due to the pandemic. In-person meetings were just not going to happen. Phone calls would be made and contracts would be examined. Many understood that this was not an isolated industry issue but something that we would all have to work together to make it through.

MSTPA will hold an in-person conference for its members in 2021 in Chattanooga, Tenn.! Our dates will change, as we want to have the best experience possible for our membership. With the understanding that restrictions may still exist and budgets may be tight, MSTPA will move the 2021 conference to September 12–15 in hopes that a recovery has begun for budgets and the ability to meet in-person.

Pivot

Persevere

Anytime a barrier presents itself in life, people take one of two approaches to it. They either comply and wait for the barrier to be removed or they run through it at full speed. Neither approach is wrong. In fact, we need people with both ways of doing things so we have a balanced method to our madness. Those that run through the barrier provide the incentive and initiative to keep moving forward no matter what the outcome might be, while those that comply to the barrier provide the stable groundwork and rules by which we can move forward in a systematic approach.

MSTPA will continue with planning and initiatives to engage members throughout 2021. Quarterly newsletters with relevant parking information, monthly blog posts from board members, a regularly updated website, and a new LinkedIn page will all be available to serve our regional parking community.

Reschedule Associations found new dates to meet the demands of contracts that could not be met as scheduled.

Some dates were moved several times while others skipped a year in hopes of a new season for in-person meetings. In between, groups would be formed and online meetings would take place to keep the industry engaged.

As we approach the new conference season in 2021, our hopes are that we can begin with three new words to outline this season: Confirm. Persevere.

Accelerate.

38 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

Accelerate Once we have successfully met in the fall of 2021, MSTPA will quickly move forward to regain its annual opening conference in the spring of 2022 in Louisville, Ky.! We will have learned and adapted to the changes of 2020 - 2021 to create a dynamic conference that can reach our membership in new ways.

The parking industry will thrive on new technology and services and MSTPA will be here to serve you with shared ideas and social networking in the midsouth region! ◆ MIKE TUDOR, CAPP, is assistant director of the Parking Authority of River City, Inc. He can be reached at mike.tudor@louisvilleky.gov.

MSTPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS www.mstpa.org | info@mstpa.org PRESIDENT

SECRETARY

Mike Tudor, CAPP Parking Authority of River City, Inc.

Brent Matthews, CAPP Chattanooga Area Regional Transit

VICE PRESIDENT

TREASURER

Mike Harris, CAPP, MBA University of Mississippi

Steve Hernandez, CAPP 2027 Advisors, LLC BOARD MEMBERS

Wade Roberts Knoxville, Tennessee.

Mark Hairr, CAPP University of Tennessee

Beverly Lowe Huntsville, Alabama

Mitch Skyer Pasio Technologies, Inc. and Solstice Transportation Group

Arishna Lastinger Auburn University

Matt Davis, CAPP Oxford Mississippi MSTPA 2020 PLATINUM SPONSORS

Reef Parking

TransLoc MSTPA EVENTS MANAGER

Dawn Marti DCM Management, LLC

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IN

short

Highlights from the IPMI Blog

Customer Service Representatives: Superheroes in Disguise

By Lesli Stone, CAPP Frontline parking and transportation professionals are in a unique position to be the eyes and ears of the communities they serve. Each can observe a large number of engaged people in innocuous activities, day in and day out.

These countless observations provide the experience and context to determine when things don’t seem quite right.

Providing comprehensive training and empowering our customer service representatives is an important step to providing safe and secure communities. Most of us are familiar with the Department of Homeland Security’s “See Something, Say Something” materials and devote a portion of our training budgets each year to educating our teams on identifying and appropriately reporting suspicious packages and activities. However, we are positioned to see so much more.

Recently at the Coble Transportation Center, customer service representative Erma S. observed a gentleman acting strangely. She made the decision to investigate further. She initiated a conversation with the man and determined that he was confused about his surroundings and situation.

Erma was able to gain the customer’s trust and he

handed his phone over for assistance. She was able to identify an emergency contact and made a call to quickly and calmly explain the situation. As it turns out, the gentleman in question suffers from dementia and had been missing for hours. A safe pickup was coordinated and Erma stayed with the man until his concerned family members arrived. She said, “I just handled it as if it was my grandpa.”

While it is impossible to anticipate every situation, we train our drivers and staff to recognize human trafficking, dementia, and cognitive dysfunction, medical emergencies, and a host of other situations they could encounter. When we know better, we can do better. Awareness and training matter.

LESLI STONE, CAPP, is general manager at National Express Transit Corporation.

Ready for more? Read IPMI’s blog every business day in your daily Forum digest email (10 a.m. Eastern) or at parking-mobility.org/blog.

Have something to say? Send post submissions to editor Kim Fernandez at fernandez@parking-mobility.org.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 41

Prepare. Plan. Commute. Debrief.

By Kelly Koster Uncertainty has been the recurring theme of 2020, and I doubt very much will be certain again in 2021. How do you adapt your parking and mobility program for uncertain times? Through skiing of course.

Let me explain.

In an effort to social distance my ski habit this winter, I’m moving to the backcountry and taking an avalanche 101 course to prepare. And I’ve found the parallels to mobility planning are uncanny.

Avalanche training is all about minimizing risk and removing as much uncertainty as possible from your ride. The planning isn’t sexy (leave that to the fresh powder tracks), but it’s very necessary. In the backcountry, we use a framework to manage risk and uncertainty with diligent preparation, planning, technology, education, and teamwork. Do the best you can with the information you have available. Continually learn while riding; debrief and improve in realtime. Prepare. Plan. Ride. Debrief.

Now, re-read that paragraph and replace Ride with Commute.

Currently, the world of parking and commuting is full of uncertainty, and the avalanche training framework can help us prepare for an

avalanche of another kind–overwhelming congestion and parking demand.

As the COVID-19 vaccine is distributed to frontline workers, the return-to-office timeline has seen more certainty building around it. Major companies across the U.S. are announcing plans for hybrid workplaces once the pandemic subsides. This means more choice for employees–more flexibility to work from home OR the office. And when making the daily decision to commute, they can get there by foot, bus, bike, car, or scooter.

The key to unlocking this new world of work for your employees?

Adaptable parking technology with the power to accommodate flexible schedules and modes of transportation. Now is the time for industry professionals to share, learn, and adopt best practices as we begin planning our return to the workplace in 2021.

Just like in the backcountry, we’re in this together. We depend on each other. And we need to work together to solve the challenges that lie ahead by giving our businesses, commuters and cities that much more certainty when it comes to transportation, parking, and mobility.

KELLY KOSTER is the director of marketing and corporate affairs at Luum. Together with parking and mobility leaders from Arrive,

Bedrock Detroit, and Expedia Group, she will moderate a panel on “The Hybrid Workplace: What it means for parking technology, commute flexibility, and mode shift” at IPMI’s Mobility & Innovation Summit Feb. 24-25, online. Click here for details and to register.

The Value of Curb Space

By Chrissy Mancini Nichols A century ago, in establishing the first parking regulations, planners recognized the value of curb space. In The Storage of Dead Vehicles on Roadways, William Phelps Eno discussed how parallel parking at the curb caused, “considerable waste[d] space” and that on roads dedicated to commercial purposes, “the importance of getting to the curb is paramount.” There was even a discussion on prioritization of curb use.

Eno wrote, “Surely conveyances such as streetcars, buses, and taxicabs, which are available to the general public, should have precedence, if necessary, over those for private vehicle use.”

Our predecessors understood that the curb was a tool to promote local business activity, grant people more access, and keep traffic flowing—the curb was there to serve people. But historically the curb has mostly served as a place for private vehicle storage.

The curb isn’t a parking lot. It is a vital community space and one

of the most extensive and valuable pieces of real estate in a city—and it is a finite commodity. Current trends that have only escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic have shown the importance of curbs in helping many industries succeed. Ride apps need pick-up and drop-off spaces, commercial and on-demand delivery companies compete for loading zones, dockless scooters and bike-share operators need parking spots, and restaurants want parklets for outdoor dining.

Given these trends, cities can use the policy tools at their disposal–zoning, regulations, financing mechanisms–to align private-sector goals with public-sector priorities for curb use. With active and intentional curb management, communities can offer more equitable access among different users, improve the level of service for everyone, collect data on transportation behaviors, and eventually create a sustainable revenue source.

CHRISSY MANCINI NICHOLS is the national curb management lead for Walker Consultants. She will present on this topic during

IPMI’s 2021 Mobility & Innovation Summit online, February 24-25. For details and to register, click here.

42 PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG

/ Pininfarina Creates State-of-the-Art Parking Garage for City Ridge

ITALIAN DESIGN HOUSE PININFARINA has been selected to design an underground parking garage to support the forthcoming City Ridge development in Washington, D.C. The product of a joint venture between Roadside Development and North America Sekisui House LLC, City Ridge features just over 315,000 square feet of LEED (V4) designated commercial space and 690 residential units across the former Fannie Mae headquarters and nine new buildings—the first of which was completed in mid-November, with the second set to top out this month.

Leveraging a rich automotive legacy and extensive expertise in the field of transportation design, Pininfarina was tapped to develop a concept for the three-level garage that sits beneath the impressive new development, as well as its two distinct entrances, and establishes a cohesive and intuitive experience for both visitors and residents alike.

Designed to connect each of City Ridge’s structures with one another in a refined, yet functional way, Pininfarina’s concept for the garage helps serve a larger purpose. Mirroring the development’s approach to an urban village lifestyle, the inspiration behind the design asks drivers to slow down and maintain awareness of their surroundings—even several stories underground.

This is achieved through a bifurcated approach, where an initial, multi-colored scheme transforms into one hallmarked by natural materials and a darker tonality, complemented by an abundance of greenery and bright-white geometric lighting. The resulting

is a one-of-a-kind parking experience that is both unique and recognizable simultaneously.

Recalling the aesthetic of the historic Fannie Mae building around which City Ridge is centered, both entrances are cloaked in undulating brick and feature a 16-foot clearance to allow large delivery trucks to move seamlessly under the largely walkable development without disrupting the flow of traffic. Inside, each level of the parking structure will include tailored branding elements and geometric wayfinding keys, with a design aesthetic and material selection that will evolve from commercial to more residential as drivers descend. Graphics on the structure concrete pillars and on the ground ensure that guests know which way to walk to reach City Ridge’s various venues while helping create a mental path from entry to exit for all visitors. To further support the intuitive nature of the structure, levels will be divided into color-coordinated zones which correspond with the intent of each entrant –– with one hue designated for temporary visitors, concentrated largely on the upper levels, and another for residents, which will lead them to a more private zone of the garage.

The final concept for the garage will also account for a variety of services to equip the garage to evolve with changing patterns in human mobility, including app-based parking services, electric charging stations and capabilities for driverless cars.

Currently in the construction phase, the garage is expected to be complete by spring 2022.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 43

/ Victoria Park Council Teams Up With Award-Winning Virtual Permit Provider to Improve Parking Options For Local Residents THE TOWN OF VICTORIA PARK has launched, vPermit, a virtual parking permit solution developed by Australian parking technology company Smarter City Solutions, as part of its efforts to improve residential parking access and modernize the council’s parking management system.

The Town of Victoria Park is located immediately south-east of Perth CBD. It is home to a wide range of businesses and attractions, including Optus Stadium, which has a capacity of over 60,000 people and hosts upwards of 45 major sporting and entertainment events per year. As a result, the streets of Victoria Park are subject to the overflow of event goers scouring for parking on event days, which can be a burden on surrounding residents.

To counteract the influx of cars, The Town of Victoria Park engaged Smarter City Solutions to deliver a tailored, digital solution that addresses the current parking challenge and simplifies the permit application process via their virtual platform.

Amadeus Rainbow, coordinator parking for the Town of Victoria Park, says, “Smarter City Solutions has worked closely with the parking team and guided us through a seamless process in implementing a very user-friendly system.”

Michael Doherty, head of business development for Smarter City Solutions, says that based on previous experience of delivering virtual permits to councils around Australia, the implementation of virtual permits in Victoria Park should be well received and help streamline the process of residential parking management.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the Town of Victoria Park to help them embrace technology and deliver a progressive parking solution to its residents. The residents of Victoria Park will now be able to easily apply for and manage their parking permits through vPermit so they can conveniently access parking near their homes,” he says.

Zenitel Promotes Bruce Czerwinski to Vice President, Sales and Business Development ZENITEL ANNOUNCED the promotion of Bruce Czerwinski to vice president of sales and business development.

Czerwinski has more than 15 years in the security communications industry, having joined Zenitel in 2018 as western regional sales leader. In his time with Zenitel, Czerwinski has helped to contribute to unprecedented company sales growth and has established solid relationships with Zenitel customers.

Czerwinski will be responsible for Zenitel’s North American go-to-market strategy and all sales-related functions, including sales engineering and sales operations. His reputation as a team player, passionate listener and strategist has earned him recognition from his colleagues.

“It is my extreme pleasure to share this news,” says Dan Rothrock, president of Zenitel Americas. “Since joining Zenitel, Bruce has built a world-class sales territory that is

designed to grow into the foreseeable future. I am thrilled with the progress he has made, and I am confident that his sales leadership will guide Zenitel to even greater success.” ““This is a great opportunity to continue to strengthen Zenitel’s reputation as the leader in intelligible communications in the marketplace,” says Czerwinski. “We have an excellent team and great partner network in place that we can continue to build new capabilities with, offering our customers world-class audio solutions.”

Czerwinski will remain based out of the Seattle, Wash., area.

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ParkMobile and TIBA Parking Systems Partner To Provide Contactless Parking Payments in Gated Garages

PARKMOBILE announced a new strategic partnership agreement with TIBA Parking Systems, a member of the FAAC group, to provide contactless payment options at gated garage locations.

The integration between the two technology leaders will make it easier for consumers to pay for parking at gated garages, reducing wear and tear on the physical parking equipment. Amid COVID-19 concerns, many parking operators are quickly adding contactless payment options to reduce the potential spread of the virus.

ParkMobile has over 20 million users who will be able to use the app to pay for parking at TIBA’s +1.9 million parking spaces across the country. People parking in a garage with TIBA solutions and hardware can simply pull a ticket from the entry station to lift the gate and enter the garage. Instead of interacting with pay stations or cashiers, ParkMobile users proceed to the exit and simply scan the ticket barcode to lift the gate.

“It is great to bring two parking technology leaders together to create a better experience for the consumer,” says Levi Rinkoff, executive vice president of partnerships and alliances at TIBA. “The integration between TIBA and ParkMobile will provide a safe and easy way to make parking payments at any location with TIBA equipment. The outcome of this partnership is a comprehensive platform for combined online and drive-up data, smarter yield management, and a better process for supporting our customers and their parking guests.”

Legacy Parking Names Glenn Kurtz Senior Vice President CHICAGO-BASED LEGACY Parking Company, a premium professional parking management firm serving the commercial real estate industry, is pleased to announce the hiring of Glenn Kurtz as senior vice president of strategic initiatives. Kurtz is a 30-year parking and transportation veteran and will be working out of Legacy’s Atlanta office.

Kurtz is responsible for identification, integration, and alignment of all growth-related activities in the southeastern U.S., including marketing and sales, consulting, growth management, new markets, and customer relations.

Kurtz also possesses a comprehensive background in mobility management and smart growth strategies, which he and other members of the Legacy team will leverage to drive growth in the company.

Understanding that technology and data are becoming fundamental in the efficient operation of parking and transportation systems, Kurtz looks forward to integrating these strategies to maximize revenue and reduce expenses for our clients.

Kurtz joins Legacy from the Georgia Institute of Technology where he served as director parking operations. He directly managed and operated 14 parking decks and 30 surface lots totaling 12,500 parking spaces. During his tenure, Georgia Tech was designated as an Accredited Parking Organization by the International Parking and Management Institute, constructed a state-of-the-art 800-space parking facility, and increased gross revenue by 15 percent. Prior to Georgia Tech, Kurtz was an executive vice president at Lanier Parking Solutions where he was responsible for developing and marketing new services that integrated parking and transportation demand management strategies. In addition, Kurtz was active in all aspects of business development and operations.

Joe Wenderoth, CEO of Legacy Parking Company, says, “We are thrilled to add Glenn to our senior management team and anticipate a significant shift in our approach to parking and transportation initiatives offered to our clients and customers over the coming years. As our industry continues to evolve, we are challenged daily to adapt to developing technologies, societal demands and the rethinking how the new workplace will impact parking and transportation patterns. Glenn’s experience and expertise will be critically important to how we manage our business moving forward. I cherish the 20-year relationship I’ve had with Glenn and could not be more excited to have him as a key member of the Legacy team.”

Kurtz serves on the Parking Association of Georgia Board and is chair of its education committee. He has been actively involved and supported a myriad of civic, charitable and professional organizations. He was president of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition Board and is presently chair of the South Fork Conservancy Board. Glenn is also an avid cyclist.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 45

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/ Aims Parking ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������11 aimsparking.com 800.886.6316

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IPS Group Inc �������������������������������������������������������������������������������21 ipsgroupinc.com 858.404.0607

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