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AROUND THE INDUSTRY
Propark Mobility’s Luis Garcia to Lead University, Campus, Municipality, and Stadium Initiatives
PROPARK MOBILITY announced that Luis Garcia, senior vice president of mobility for the company’s mobility sector, will now lead its university, corporate campus, municipality, and stadium divisions.
“For more than a decade, Luis has contributed to Propark’s growth across a variety of verticals on the West Coast,” says Rick DiPietro, president of Propark. “Even amidst one of the most challenging economic times in our country, he has driven growth within the mobility sector, making us confident that, under his leadership, our university, corporate campus, municipality, and stadium divisions will continue to thrive.”
Throughout his tenure at Propark, Garcia has been a leader of the company’s mobility initiatives, previously implementing a suite of mobility programs at Google’s Corporate Headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. In his first year as senior vice president of operations, he developed Propark’s business model to respond to the changing landscape of the parking industry. Now, Garcia will leverage his mobility expertise and operations experience to further enhance services within Propark’s university, campus, municipality, and stadium divisions.
“Luis has been a valuable Propark team member since day one,” remarks Propark CEO John Schmid. “His vision has been integral to our success in the mobility sector. We look forward to seeing what he will accomplish for Propark in these additional areas.”
Garcia joined Propark as an account manager more than 10 years ago, before growing within the company. Prior to his current role, he most recently served as senior vice president of Propark’s West Region, where he developed an existing small portfolio of assets to 60 properties.
The Catholic University of America Launches Flowbird App For Campus Parking
FLOWBIRD GROUP, a global leader in smart city and campus solutions, has announced that it has launched the Flowbird app on the campus of The Catholic University of America. Located in Washington, DC, Catholic University faces the same challenges many schools face, especially schools set in urban areas. With a limited parking supply, and a parking population with varied needs, the university looked to Flowbird to help manage daily parking with a simple, touchless solution—the Flowbird mobile app.
Catholic University started working with Flowbird several years ago when multi-space parking kiosks were installed in three parking locations. In 2020, university staff decided to add mobile payments as an additional way to pay for parking in kiosk locations and the app was launched for the start of the Spring 2021 semester. Additionally, the Flowbird app was rolled out into additional parking areas to bring better parking controls and automation to those locations.
The Flowbird app, available on the App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android, provides users with a mapbased user interface, making it simple for users to select their parking location without manually inputting a zone code or scanning a QR code. Parkers can get a reminder notification when their time is about to expire and they can extend their time right from their mobile device. Walking directions back to their original parking location is also a handy feature of the app.
A key aspect of the Flowbird solution that has been adopted by the university is the use of validation codes for campus visitors that are taking a university tour. University staff create the electronic validations using Flowbird’s back-office management suite, and provide the codes to the visitors. Upon arrival on campus, the visitor opens the Flowbird app, enters the validation code, and they are on their way.
Another important functionality that Flowbird delivers to the university is the integration of all kiosk payments and Flowbird app payments in the same reporting module. This provides university staff the ability to view all parking activity in one place, broken down by payment method.
“We are very excited to launch the Flowbird app on campus,” said J. Charles Lavallee, associate director of transportation and parking services. “As more and more people are returning to campus, we are seeing the Flowbird app as an extremely convenient and beneficial tool.”
Parkopedia Announces Launch of Indoor Mapping Tech for In-vehicle Navigation Use
PARKOPEDIA announced the launch of the production version of its indoor mapping technology for in-vehicle navigation use. Indoor maps are based on high-definition 3D models of indoor parking facilities, where GPS signal is typically restricted.
Indoor parking facilities currently present many challenges for drivers. These include navigation system blackouts, finding a vehicle within large parking facilities, and locating vital services such as EV charging stations, a key area of focus for car manufacturers in their pursuit of delivering premium driver experiences for new EV owners.
Parkopedia’s indoor mapping technology can be used to deliver the following key use cases: 1. In-vehicle indoor navigation—no GPS dead zones 2.Precise indoor positioning—locate your vehicle 3.Automated Valet Parking—self-parking cars require indoor maps
As the automotive industry embraces a connected future, indoor mapping technology will deliver further key benefits to users. For drivers, this would mean never being lost again within parking facilities and enabling end-to-end, uninterrupted navigation to available parking spaces, independent of GPS availability. In addition, vehicle indoor positioning without GPS is a fundamental step in enabling autonomous parking.
EV Charging
Finding EV chargers is still a significant pain point in the automotive industry as drivers transition to electric vehicles. Ensuring fast and easy access to public charging points is essential for automakers looking to persuade drivers to switch to electric vehicles. The largest concern with drivers is around range anxiety and where to find available charge points. Many chargers are hidden away in remote areas of parking facilities, with unclear signage and no navigation option to access these locations, only amplifying the issue. To address this, Parkopedia has developed ‘as built’ indoor maps based on current layouts, as opposed to ‘as designed’ when EV chargers and other services were not featured in the original plans. This gives drivers the most accurate and fresh view of parking spaces and EV chargers, enabling seamless navigation regardless of GPS availability or on-site signage.
Future Plans
Parkopedia’s indoor mapping solution supports common industry mapping formats required to deliver a superior end-to-end navigation user experience. For self-driving cars that will go on sale in the near future, indoor maps will enable Automated Valet Parking, which will be one of the first use cases due to high driver demand, slower driving speeds and controlled environments inside parking facilities. Parkopedia is a proven leader within automotive indoor mapping technology, delivering successful projects with leading European, American and Asian car manufacturers. The announcement follows the completion of the Autonomous Valet Parking project, which successfully demonstrated the use of indoor mapping technology to autonomously park a vehicle within a multi-story parking facility without GPS signal.
Parkopedia has already mapped key parking facilities across Europe, with coverage increasing daily. In the coming months, Parkopedia will expand this coverage into new regions to cater to growing OEM and driver demands.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Brian Holt, head of HD maps at Parkopedia, says, “Parkopedia had a clear vision from the start and we have worked tirelessly to deliver an unparalleled level of accuracy to our indoor maps. We have closely monitored the direction the industry is heading and the associated benefits with connectivity and autonomous driving, so starting to deliver an indoor mapping solution with OEMs is essential in meeting driver demands. Parkopedia, as a market leader within parking services and the associated infrastructure, has an unparalleled depth of knowledge which puts us in a unique position to deliver an optimal solution for both industries and drivers alike. I look forward to seeing our product in production vehicles, helping drivers to effortlessly navigate, park and charge, and to the day when navigation systems going blank inside parking facilities becomes a distant memory for us all.”
PARKER TECHNOLOGY’S customer service solution is successfully providing live customer service support for K Street Garage, a Diamond Parking facility in Anchorage, Alaska.
“Parker Technology’s platform for tracking intercom calls and customer issues is intuitive, convenient, and searchable. Having a reliable and responsive intercom service 24 hours a day is great for both our customers, and our operations team,” says Greg Harrison, city manager, Seattle Garage Operations.
“We are excited to grow our relationship with Diamond Parking,” says Brian Wolff, CEO & president of Parker Technology. “When our customers ask for our help in more facilities, we are always grateful. It speaks to the strength of our software platform, and the value of our call center services.”
Parking patrons expect to enter and exit garages without interacting with staff, but when they call for help, they want and need it immediately. An intercom call solution can instantly connect parking guests to trained professionals who can guide them through a successful transaction, according to facility business rules. Each year, an estimated 85 million parking intercom calls are made in the U.S. This statistic is from the Parker Technology platform, which records and analyzes call data to help parking operators better manage their facilities.
WGI Hires Marcía Alvarado as Tampa Structural Market Leader
National engineering design and professional services firm WGI, Inc. is proud to announce the hire of Marcía L. Alvarado, PE, as its new Tampa structural market leader. Tampa is one of WGI’s most significant locations and a pivot point for both Florida and WGI’s national presence.
Alvarado will be responsible for all aspects of WGI’s structural engineering practice in the Tampa Bay region, including client interaction, recruiting, and developing team members, while overseeing her department’s production and business operations. She provides a unique skill set including structural engineering utilizing the latest Building Information Modeling (BIM) for coordination as a project manager, along with 16 years of structural engineering experience and project management of new construction and renovation in healthcare, commercial, higher education, multi-story residential, federal, aviation, and parking garages.
“I’m proud to join WGI and apply my experience to its continuing expansion in the Tampa Bay region,” she says. “This is a major step forward for both WGI and me, and I’m excited to start building – both our team and projects.”
Marcía is also experienced in restoration construction and forensic engineering investigations; analysis for existing buildings for seismic, wind, and AT/FP blast resistance; and progressive collapse upgrades, including National Technical Reviews for various FEMA programs. She is licensed as a professional engineer in Florida, New York, and North Carolina.
Arnaud Thibonnier, PE, SE and Director, Structures + Parking, says, “Marcía is key to WGI’s significant expansion of our Florida Structural and Parking platform, helping our focus on growth and synergy utilizing her high profile in the Tampa Bay region.”
“Marcía’s wide-ranging experience and her activism are a perfect combination for WGI,” adds WGI Vice President/Buildings Shad Shafie. “Her commitment to mentorship, leadership, and inclusion are vital to WGI.”
“One of our over-arching objectives is to be a great place to work for our associates,” adds Senior Vice President/Transportation Nancy Clements, PE. “To that end, Marcía will be among a select group of firm leaders who will renew and grow our diversity and inclusion efforts. Her DEI expertise will be a huge asset for WGI, and I’m really looking forward to working alongside her in those efforts.”
Alvarado is a graduate of Leadership Tampa Bay, and serves as its Diversity and Inclusion Chair for the Board of Directors. She served on the Board of Directors as President/Vice Chair for ACE Mentor Program of Greater Tampa Bay, and has been a part of the program since its inception. She received the University of South Florida (USF) College of Engineering Young Alumnus Award, and named a “Top 40 Under 40” by the Building Design + Construction, a national architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) industry publication, as an emerging design professional. She also created a consultancy geared toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consulting in 2020.
Alvarado graduated from Florida Institute of Technology with a degree in civil engineering while playing collegiate basketball, and then started her career in structural engineering in New York City. She received her master’s degree from the University of South Florida.
