Parking & Mobility magazine, November 2021

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INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE NOVEMBER 2021

Putting Places Worth Visiting in Parking Priorities Lessons from a century of urban parking and planning practice.



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INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE NOVEMBER 2021 VOL. 3 / N0. 11

FEATURES

16

Going Micro

Micro-transit helps public agencies improve transportation services while repurposing real estate assets for high-value uses. By Joshua Goldman and Courtney Sung

20

Putting Places Worth Visiting in Parking Priorities

Lessons from a century of urban parking and planning practice. By David Mepham, PhD

28

Building the Right Team for Your Organization

Tips for finding the right people in the right combination—an excerpt from “How Not to Suck at Marketing.” By Jeff Perkins

34

Great Trades

Trading informational courtesy cards for parking tickets makes a big difference in public perception for a Connecticut parking authority. By Kathryn Hebert, PhD

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/ EDITOR’S NOTE DEPARTMENTS 4 ENTRANCE

Strategizing Return to Work By Allen Corry, CAPP

6 FIVE THINGS

Great Quotes About Gratitude

8 THE GREEN STANDARD

Electric Vehicle Charging Offers Gains Against Mobility Inequity By David Karwaski

10 THE BUSINESS OF PARKING Tire Chalking Ruled Unconstitutional (Again)

By Michael J. Ash, Esq., CRE

12 MOBILITY & TECH

Mobility Data Specification: Background and Perspectives By Martin R. Arroyo

14 ASK THE EXPERTS 39 IN SHORT

Highlights from the IPMI Blog

43 AROUND THE INDUSTRY 46 PARKING & MOBILITY CONSULTANTS 48 ADVERTISERS INDEX 49 CALENDAR 50 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

So Thankful THIS TIME LAST YEAR, I was planning our little

family of four’s first Thanksgiving on our own. I ordered a chicken instead of a turkey, made more potatoes and fewer green beans (and zero sauerkraut in open defiance of my Baltimore upbringing), and we ran away for a few days to, as my next-door neighbor said, watch a lot of movies and stare at four different walls. What a difference a year makes. Last year was so different from any year before it and this year, we’re grateful to be back to a relatively normal holiday celebration, which is both wonderful and weird. We’ll be home with our extended family again and while I’ll probably crack a window or two and try to keep a little distance between us in the kitchen, spending a day of thanks with the people we love the most will be wonderful. Soon after the dishes are done and the leftovers are gone, I’ll board a plane—an actual plane!—for the trip to Tampa to see many of you for the first time in two years. And we’ll wear masks and maybe hug less that we did before, but I’m so looking forward to the reunion with my friends in parking and mobility. It’s another thing to be grateful for and I can’t wait. We’re offering plenty of room for social distancing and you’ll be able to pick up a color-coded wristband at registration to tell your friends whether you’re hugging, fist-bumping, or waving from six feet away, but some early plans have been relaxed. Enjoy whatever education session strikes your fancy—there’s no need or process to register for those in advance. And the same is true for the Expo; it’s open for two days and you are welcome to spend time there whenever you have time. General sessions are open to everyone and we can’t wait for all the networking that’s sure to happen throughout the event. If you haven’t registered for the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, you can still do that. Visit IPMI.parking-mobility.org to sign up for the show and optional events (like the William Voigt CAPP Classic Golf Tournament) and get all the information you need about hotel rooms and accommodations. Gathering together after so long is exciting and we welcome you back. Enjoy this issue. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving if you’re celebrating. And know how thankful we at IPMI are to be a part of this amazing community of professionals—you make our worlds go ‘round. Just a few weeks left until we see you in person. What a great thing! Until next month...

Kim Fernandez, CAE, editor fernandez@parking-mobility.org

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


/ ENTRANCE Strategizing Return to Work By Allen Corry, CAPP

PUBLISHER

Shawn Conrad, CAE

conrad@parking-mobility.org EDITOR

Kim Fernandez, CAE

fernandez@parking-mobility.org TECHNICAL EDITOR

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

Bill Smith, APR

bsmith@smith-phillips.com ADVERTISING SALES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

Tina Altman

taltman@parking-mobility.org PUBLICATION DESIGN

BonoTom Studio

info@bonotom.com For subscription changes, contact Tina Altman, taltman@parking-mobility.org or 888.IPMI.NOW. Parking & Mobility (ISSN 0896-2324 & USPS 001436) is published monthly by the International Parking & Mobility Institute. P.O. Box 3787 Fredericksburg, VA 22402 Phone: 888.IPMI.NOW Fax: 703.566.2267 Email: info@parking-mobility.org Website: parking-mobility.org Postmaster note: Send address label changes promptly to: Parking & Mobility P.O. Box 3787 Fredericksburg, VA 22402 Interactive electronic version of Parking & Mobility for members and subscribers only at parking-mobility. org/magazine. Periodical postage paid at Alexandria, Va., and additional mailing offices. Copyright © International Parking & Mobility Institute, 2020. Statements of fact and opinion expressed in articles contained if Parking & Mobility are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent an official expression of policy or opinion on the part of officers or the members of IPMI. Manuscripts, correspondence, articles, product releases, and all contributed materials are welcomed by Parking & Mobility; however, publication is subject to editing, if deemed necessary to conform to standards of publication. The subscription rate is included in IPMI annual dues. Subscription rate for non-members of IPMI is $120 per year (U.S. currency) in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. All other countries, $150. Back issues, $10. Parking & Mobility is printed on 10 percent recycled paper and on paper from trees grown specifically for that purpose.

A

FTER MORE THAN A YEAR of suffering through a pandemic and

working virtually, the DFW International Airport Parking & Transportation Business Unit returned to the workplace. A major question we needed to answer was how do we maintain employee engagement during this transition from working virtually and remotely back to the physical workplace? One of the most dramatic impacts of the pandemic was the stress placed on all employees. Many had to quickly adapt to a new working situation while sharing their workspaces at home. Some found maintaining engagement with the workplace difficult. Some had issues separating home life from work life. Our personnel would be anxious when directed to relocate back to the workplace, and the best way to get people back to work in the most productive way is to create an environment where they feel safe and have a voice. People worried about returning to a germ-filled office, and they loved working virtually. After further consideration by our task force, we decided to continue a hybrid work option through the beginning of 2022, primarily due to the surge of COVID-19 (Delta) cases. This allowed employees whose work could be accomplished virtually to blend work locations between the office and remotely up to two days per week. This provided flexibility while creating a safer work environment, including opportunities for increased social distancing. Departments were given hybrid options: staggering weeks or days where certain employees work from home, and bringing some people back to the office while others moved to working from home permanently. Department heads were responsible for ensuring appropriate coverage at all times. It was important that we continue to engage in-person with one another to build our culture of collaboration, inclusion, and innovation.

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We are an airport operation—65 percent of our employees work on-site. Finding the right balance and equity for all employees is critically important. We kept constant communication with employees before formulating the plan to return to the workplace and informed them of details more than a month before reopening; we also guaranteed measures to provide a safe environment, such as modified workspaces, hand washing, face coverings, and social distancing. A survey found some employee concerns: 1. A potential increase in COVID-19 cases. 2. Whether all employees could be accommodated safely if present at the same time. 3. Whether shared workspaces could become separated workstations. Our leadership needed to be transparent about plans and expectations. We conveyed new guidelines and safety protocols to ensure a safe and smooth transition back to the workplace. It was critical to prepare the employees for re-entry. Wishing everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving. ◆ ALLEN CORRY, CAPP, is assistant vice president, Parking/ Transportation Business Unit, DFW International Airport, and a member of IPMI’s Board of Directors. He can be reached at acorry@ dfwairport.com.



GREAT QUOTES ABOUT

GRATITUDE

Maybe it’s because Thanksgiving is coming up in the U.S., maybe it’s because we’re so happy to see so many of you at #IPMI2021 later this month, and maybe we’re breathing a big sigh of relief that the world is creeping back toward normal after such a long time, but we’re feeling filled with gratitude lately—and there are a lot of great things to say about that. Here are five of our favorite quotes about thankfulness to inspire you and share just how grateful we are to be part of this amazing industry.

1

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”

—William Arthur Ward

2“

Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

3

“No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”

—Alfred North Whitehead

4

“Gratitude doesn’t change the scenery. It merely washes clean the glass you look through so you can clearly see the colors.”

5

—Richelle E. Goodrich

“This a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.”

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—Maya Angelou


THE

PODCAST A podcast about parking, mobility, and the people who make it all go. Hosted by Isaiah Mouw with new episodes every other Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud or any other major podcast provider. parkingcast.com

Strategic Partner


/ THE GREEN STANDARD

Electric Vehicle Charging Offers Gains Against Mobility Inequity By David J. Karwaski

E

LECTRIC VEHICLES ARE HOT COMMODITIES THESE DAYS, evidenced by, among oth-

er things, the huge number of new orders for the F-150 Lightning pickup truck. In the past, most electric vehicle models have been priced at the higher end of the spectrum, more suited for higher-income groups than the average household’s income level. However, that situation is changing and lower-cost electric vehicle models are becoming more common. Several major automobile manufacturers have entry-level electric vehicle models in the works or already on the street (think Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt). Mid-priced models are popping up on the market, including Volkswagen’s ID4 and Hyundai’s Ioniq Five. Even Tesla’s long-awaited, ­under-$30,000 vehicle is in development, with a small hatchback to be offered in 2023. Boosting the Trend What does this mean for the parking and mobility industry? In one sense, it’s a reminder that we can be sustainable in our mobility choices yet still enjoy the convenience and comfort of a motorized vehicle. Sure, riding a bicycle or walking to your destination or riding a bus are very sustainable mode choices, however not everyone has those options or will choose to eschew driving. Even at UCLA, with our long-standing, successful transportation demand management program; our Sustainable Transportation Plan acknowledges that a large portion of our commuters—more than a third—will continue to drive to and from campus for the foreseeable future. Therefore, it makes sense to help enable as many of these ­commuters as possible to choose electric vehicles.

Nonetheless, UCLA is not in the business of selling cars, so how can it boost electric vehicle ownership? By making EV charging available at costs far lower than the cost of gasoline for the same commute distance. And even include a bit of free EV charging with a Clean Fuel parking permit. Now, chargers and their installation are not free, so UCLA does not give away Level 2 or Level 3 charging sessions. But we have learned that by providing an inventory of 120v outlets—Level 1 charging—in our parking structures, and making those available to any EV owner who has a Clean Fuel permit, UCLA can provide approximately 25 miles of “trickle charge” to hundreds of EV commuters each day.

As lower-cost EVs become more common, UCLA aims to educate our campus community—particularly our lower-income employee cohort—about the lower total cost of ownership these electric vehicles offer. 8 PARKING & MOBILITY / NOVEMBER 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG


Education As lower cost EVs become more common, UCLA aims to educate our campus community—particularly our lower-income employee cohort—about the lower total cost of ownership these electric vehicles offer. By combining the federal tax credit and California tax credit for EVs and calculating the cost of maintenance of a gasoline vehicle vs. the lower cost of maintenance for an EV, the appeal of an electric commute vehicle rises. Add in the policy choice of enabling free trickle charging at a Level 1 outlet, and that can swing the purchase decision toward an electric vehicle. Each time that occurs, an employee will benefit by not digging into their pocket to pay to fill up at the gas station, and the Los Angeles Basin’s air quality will be that much better, not to mention the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. We call this a win-win scenario, and we hope that

as additional electric vehicles come into the marketplace, there are plenty offered at the lower end of the price spectrum. The trickle charge policy is particularly beneficial today, as many office employees can work a hybrid schedule, telecommuting several days per week from home. But many of our lower-paid positions require an on-site presence, e.g. custodial staff, dining hall attendants, etc. Our decision to enable gratis trickle charging is one way the university will be able to recognize this group’s daily contribution to UCLA. Perhaps we should call it a win-win-win scenario. DAVID J. KARWASKI is director, mobility planning & traffic systems at UCLA Transportation and a member of IPMI’s Sustainability Committee. He can be reached at dkarwaski@ts.ucla.edu.

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/ THE BUSINESS OF PARKING /LEGAL

Tire Chalking Ruled Unconstitutional (Again) By Michael J. Ash, Esq., CRE

T

HE LAW IS NOT A STRAIGHT LINE— it zigs and zags. Cases go to trial, cases go up on appeal,

cases get remanded back down for new trials and get appealed again. This is how the law is made. And so, the legal saga of tire chalking brought to federal court and the national interest in Taylor v. City of Saginaw, Mich. et al, has zigged and zagged again. This is the third time I’m writing about this case in this space. A quick refresher: challenge, it relied on the facts in the affidavit from the city’s director of neighborhood services and Inspections that found on-street parking enforcement is critical to the health, safety, and welfare of the community. Onstreet parking enforcement was upheld again—for a brief time anyway.

Another Appeal

The ticket recipient appealed again.

In 2014, a resident of Saginaw, Mich., received 15 parking tickets “for allegedly exceeding the time limit of a parking spot.” Each parking ticket included the date and time the tire of the resident’s vehicle was marked with a “chalk-like substance.” The recipient of the tickets hired a lawyer and challenged the “methodology of placing a chalk mark on one of the four tires of the vehicles to obtain information to justify the issuance of tickets throughout the territorial limits of the City of Saginaw” arguing that “chalk marks violate the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” On a motion from the city, the district court initially dismissed the complaint. On appeal, the Sixth Circuit Court ruled the dismissal was improper and sent the case back to the district court for more proceedings. At this point, this case found the interest of the media, who prematurely proclaimed tire chalking to be illegal. On remand back to the lower court, a factual record was developed as to the custom and practice of tire chalking. In the trial court’s second opinion dismissing the

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In the most recent decision, the Sixth Circuit Court ruled that “[b]ecause tire chalking is a search that defendants conducted without an authorizing warrant, it is presumptively unreasonable.” The legal argument over the validity of tire chalking is whether the parking enforcement technique is a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment states: “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” U.S. Const. Amend. IV. The Fourth Amendment review is a two-part test: 1. Did a search or seizure occur? 2. Was that search or seizure unreasonable? The ticket recipient tried to extend the holding of a recent case that decided the government’s installation of a GPS device on a target’s vehicle was a search under the Fourth Amendment because the physical installation of the device on the vehicle constituted a trespass of the car owner’s property rights. However, trespass alone does not qualify as a search, rather, there must be both trespass and “an attempt to find something or to obtain information.”


“By incorporating sustainable best practices into parking design, we can meet LEED and Parksmart goals while creating parking that is aesthetically pleasing and easier to navigate.” The Latest Ruling The court found that “despite the low-tech nature of the investigative technique, the chalk marks clearly provided information” to the parking enforcement officer. The chalk marks serve to identify the vehicles and when they parked. The court concluded that a “search” does likely occur when a tire is chalked. The appellate court rejected the legal analysis of the district court finding that the challenge to tire chalking was not a broad challenge to the city’s right to regulate on-street parking. Rather, the appeal focused on the fact that tire chalking is a physical invasion by the state without a warrant. A parking enforcement officer observing a car parked in an on-street space has no basis to suspect that the car is illegally parked. To place chalk on the tire therefore constitutes a “suspicionless search” and should be analyzed within that specific standard. Examples of suspicionless searches include sobriety checkpoints and drug testing for public employees. The appellate court found no “special need” to implicate a Fourth Amendment warrantless and suspicionless search to enforce on-street parking regulations. According to the Sixth Circuit Court: “common sense commands this conclusion; for nearly as long as automobiles have parked along city streets, municipalities have found ways to enforce parking regulations without implicating the Fourth Amendment.”

- Matt Davis, Watry Design, Inc.

Parking Enforcement So, where does this leave parking enforcement? It should be noted that the timing of a vehicle parked on a public street is not an illegal search. Rather, it is the physical act of chalking a tire that violates the Fourth Amendment. The physical intrusion of tire chalking can be replaced by the latest in parking enforcement technology advancements. Virtual chalking through sensors or license plate recognition scanners would not violate the search analysis articulated by the Sixth Circuit Court. It should also be noted that this decision is only binding legal precedent in the states served by the Sixth Circuit Court: Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. And who knows? Maybe this decision will zig and zag its way to the United States Supreme Court. ◆ MICHAEL J. ASH, Esq., CRE, is partner with Carlin & Ward. He can be reached at michael.ash@carlinward. com.

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/ MOBILITY & TECH

Mobility Data Specification: Background and Perspectives By Martin R. Arroyo

T

RANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES (TNCs) entered many large American markets around 2012.

City leaders were unsure of regulatory requirements necessary to manage this new mode of mobility service. Transportation professionals worked together to develop a data format called the Mobility Data Specification (MDS), which is governed by the nonprofit Open Mobility Foundation (OMF). More than 115 cities are using MDS to help understand and manage the impact of mobility providers operating on the public right of way. Although MDS is mainly focused on scooters, some believe that if widely adopted, it can transition to other transportation providers such as TNCs and even future transportation modes like drones. Some mobility providers have resisted attempts to share data with city regulators, citing consumer privacy and competitive concerns. Cities and mobility companies appear to disagree about the risks and benefits of sharing MDS, which has implications that may impact the future of mobility operations. Cities may withhold permits to operate or mobility providers may decide not to operate if certain data is required.

The Specification Transportation professionals have always been interested in standards as a way of allowing interoperability, ensuring uniformity, avoiding confusion, and ensuring safety. GitHub’s MDS page notes that MDS is based on the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) and the General Bicycle Feed Specification (GBFS). GTFS and GBFS were known and accepted by cities because they allowed stakeholders to understand, manage, analyze, and visualize data. Third-party data companies would get this information and produce content that cities could use to understand what was happening on the public right of way. There was little pushback from vendors and cities regarding the handling and use of GTFS and GBFS. In terms of mobility data, GitHub explains, “… the goals of MDS are to provide a

standardized way for municipalities or other regulatory agencies to ingest, compare and analyze data from mobility service providers, and to give municipalities the ability to express regulation in machine-readable formats.” MDS is a data feed that consists of mobility data in a standard format. There are three main parts of the data; ■  Provider: data in a standard format that the vendor submits to the municipality. ■  Agency: information that is sent from the municipality to the vendor. ■  Policy: where operators can get information related to municipal regulations such as speed, geofences, etc.

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Context In the mid 2000s many municipal transportation leaders were attempting to get TNCs to share data to better understand the changes this type of mobility service was bringing to the transportation ecosystem. Some transportation leaders became interested in a project that would allow municipalities to receive verifiable operational data from mobility companies. The reasoning was simple: Mobility companies access this information to understand their operating environment. Why shouldn’t cities, which allow the mobility service on the city owned right of way, have important


With EV adoption and the governmental regulations guiding them changing almost faster than we can keep up, implementing charging technology in new parking facilities is a constantly evolving challenge.

information available to help develop strategy and enforce policy? Technology vendors specialize in aggregating data and providing it to cities to help understand, visualize, and manage the effects of mobility assets. This helps cities plan and manage resources to promote strategies to help manage activities that align with a city’s goals on the largest public asset; the public right of way. For instance, if a city were planning a bike path, it would be beneficial to have trip information like start time, end time, path traveled, and frequency. In addition, cities can address equity concerns and validate that mobility companies have resources positioned in historically underserved areas.

Stakeholder Reaction There are some clear benefits for mobility providers to give MDS data to cities. Mobility providers can have the same specification and easily send data to different entities using the same format. There appear to be some important conflict points with MDS data in that it may include an anonymized trip ID number and data that pings periodically throughout a trip, which highlights privacy concerns for some. Several civil liberties organizations also oppose some of these features in MDS. For instance, anonymized trip data can potentially be de-anonymized. Much of the concern appears to be related to near real-time data sent to the municipality along with granular data that can potentially be used to identify specific users. These civil liberties organizations also voice objections to the geolocation data including information about the start and end of a trip along with breadcrumb data that shows geolocation pings during a trip. For competitive reasons, mobility companies may not want others to know about their prices, availability, number of trips, duration of trips, cost per trip, fleet size, utilization, distribution of assets in a market, number of units out of service, etc. Even with data sharing restrictions in place, mobility companies may not want there to be a simple electronic way for competitors to somehow see their business data, in real time, and in a standard format. Some in the mobility industry believe that it is easier to provide data in a standard format so that different formats would not need to be developed for different cities. The Alliance for Parking Data Standards has created a vocabulary so the standards will make more sense to end users. History has often shown that the most used format often becomes the industry standard which may be why there is focus on MDS as it could be required for various transportation platforms.

Computer Scientist and US Navy Rear Admiral Dr. Grace Hopper said, “The wonderful thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from.” ◆ MARTIN R. ARROYO is director of transportation services at the University of Washington Bothell/Cascadia College and a member of IPMI’s Technology Committee. He can be reached at arroyom@uw.edu.

Inspiration was drawn from these and other sources: ■  Slate.com / Cities Can See Where You’re Taking That Scooter ■  Micromobility.io / The latest on the war over micromobility data—a

conversation with David Zipper ■  openmobilityfoundation.org / Privacy & Data Best Practices ■  nakedsecurity.sophos.com / Uber sues LA in bid to protect scooter

riders’ geolocation data

GEORGE A. PUREFOY MUNICIPAL PARKING GARAGE FRISCO, TX

OFFICES NATIONWIDE 866.909.2220 WGInc.com/PARKING

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


ASK

THE

EXPERTS How can parking and mobility organizations encourage customers to consider traveling and commuting in ways other than single-occupant vehicles for every trip?

Melonie Curry, MBA

Erik Nelson, PCIP

Staff Analyst ParkHouston

Director, Operations and Technology Consulting Walker Consultants

The proper pricing strategy can motivate drivers to consider alternative methods of transportation like transit or a TNC if an area is in high demand and there is traffic congestion or mobility issues. Establish rates that encourage turnover during the nonpeak hours and raise prices during peak times that make it less convenient to drive SOV.

Any parking constituent group is going to have different reasons for choosing that singleoccupancy vehicle trip. The key is to figure out what that is, why it is, and what can be done to ameliorate the single-occupancy vehicle usage. It could be something as simple as ensuring parking is priced at market rate. It could be something as complex as recording mode utilization and offering individual rewards for various goals.

Casey Jones, CAPP, PMP Director, Customer Success FLASH Parking We must use technology to provide flexibility to our parking patrons who may not want to drive every day and for every trip. Shifting our focus from parking garages to mobility hubs and facilitating first- and last-mile connections will not only decrease parking demand, but improve customer satisfaction and likely financial performance.

Kathryn Hebert, PhD

Katherine Beaty

President and CEO TPM Connect

VP, Implementation TEZ Technology

Changing people’s travel behavior requires a coordinated, collaborative approach to intuitively connect people to places, work, home, school, and entertainment. Programming needs to be safe, equitable, convenient, accessible, and affordable. Most important is communication and messaging to all customers. Examples include free bus service on weekends and restaurant discounts; on-demand shuttles for first- and last-mile, commuters, and paratransit service; strategically placed bike lockers and protected bike lanes; and urban tree canopy cover to encourage walking.

Our company offered an Apple watch as an incentive. You get the watch upfront and you then bike or walk to work, restaurants, etc. and earn money to pay off the watch. I have enjoyed watching my team come in and showing me their dollars earned—it started a competition to be the first to pay it off and win a $100 Amazon card.

/ 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.

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going m

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Micro-transit helps public agencies improve transportation services while repurposing real estate assets for high-value uses.

micro T

By Joshua Goldman and Courtney Sung

HE COVID-19 PANDEMIC transformed the way we

live and work in countless ways, with changes to our daily commuting patterns among the earliest and most visible. Driven by a rise in remote work and restrictions on public gathering, public transit ridership declined rapidly in early 2020. But while U.S. transit ridership remains about 50 percent below pre-COVID levels at press time, passenger car traffic has already recovered and, in some areas, even exceeds pre-COVID levels, undoing longstanding efforts to get cars off the road. As office workers return to in-person work, the extent to which these commuting patterns revert to their pre-COVID trends will have profound implications for our economy and the environment. Let’s explore how innovations in transportation technology are helping boost transit ridership while building more affordable and sustainable communities.

Powering a New Commute

One such technology is micro-transit—an on-demand transit solution that provides shared rides in dynamically routed public vehicles. ­Micro-transit, along with other technology-driven solutions such as shared bikes and scooters, unlocks the value of public land by reducing the need for single-occupancy vehicles and the parking lots that support them. As one example, consider how micro-transit and micro-mobility can improve access to commuter park-and-ride facilities. According to some estimates, one in five transit commuters in the U.S. uses park-and-ride facilities every day. For decades, these lots have played a key role in allowing commuters to access public transit: commuters drive from home to a nearby rail or bus station, park their car while they ride to work and back, and then after work, drive their car home from the station to complete the last mile of their commute. For the duration of each workday, these cars sit idle, occupying high-potential, scarce, transit-adjacent land that could be repurposed for a range of uses. ISTOCK / LANA STOCK

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GOING MICRO

Introducing Micro-transit Technology-driven alternatives like micro-transit offer public agencies an opportunity to revisit their parking strategies, generating a new source of revenue while providing commuters more convenient and sustainable station access. The Seattle metropolitan area presents one of the best examples of how micro-transit can improve station access, reduce congestion and avoid the need to build additional expensive parking lots. A service launched in 2019 by King County Metro offers riders a technology-enabled solution to streamline their daily commutes. In an area where commuter park-and-ride lots often fill up before 7 a.m. on weekdays, Seattle-area commuters using the Link light rail system are picked up within a short walk of their homes in a shared micro-transit vehicle and dropped at a nearby rail station. The ride-sharing algorithm dynamically dispatches vehicles in response to real-time requests and efficiently aggregates multiple passengers heading to the same light rail station to make the most efficient use of system capacity, even in lower density areas. The “Via to Transit” trip is treated as a free transfer when riders pay using their Orca fare card, just as when a rider transfers between two public transit buses, or between a bus and a rail trip. Similar micro-transit services exist around the world, and are expanding rapidly.

Taking the Driver out of the Commute For public agencies, a solution like Seattle’s can accommodate a growing number of transit riders without the

need to acquire new land and expand parking facilities. Flexible, technology-driven solutions also help future proof investments in transit infrastructure. Looking toward the future, as autonomous vehicles increasingly arrive on the road — including in similar shared services like Arlington RAPID — and many young adults forego driver’s licenses, innovative station access modes will help agencies avoid large capital investments into structures that are rapidly becoming obsolete.

Understanding the True Cost of Parking

With alternatives to the Park and Ride commuting framework on the horizon, public agencies throughout the country are increasingly recognizing the opportunity cost of dedicating land to parking and taking steps to monetize their real estate assets. For example, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) has already redeveloped its parking assets into more than 2,000 housing units and nearly one million square feet of office and retail space, with many thousand more planned or under construction. And BART is just one among many cities and transit authorities that have leveraged their property to promote transit-oriented-development (TOD), creating dense, mixed-use, walkable communities that provide needed housing units and generate significant revenue for infrastructure reinvestment. These projects represent a major improvement in land use policy, but communities often resist developments that reduce the availability of local parking spots,

For the duration of each workday, these cars sit idle, occupying high-potential, scarce, transit-adjacent land that could be repurposed for a range of uses.

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UNSPLASH / JOHN MATYCHUK


Structured parking can be expensive to build and maintain — often more than $70,000 per space in some cities. This means that a requirement to build a 300-person garage could cost a city millions of dollars to construct while occupying land that could have been used for parks, shops and restaurants, or additional housing units.

forcing agencies to set aside a portion of the developable land for subsidized parking in the design of TOD projects. In fact, according to one study of TOD policies at American transit agencies, more than 70 percent of surveyed transit agencies considered or implemented structured parking at stations associated with joint development or TOD projects. Less than half had a formal policy in place to govern parking replacement decisions, leaving them vulnerable to local pressures at every decision-making juncture. Structured parking can be expensive to build and maintain — often more than $70,000 per space in some cities. This means that a requirement to build a 300-person garage could cost a city millions of dollars to construct while occupying land that could have been used for parks, shops and restaurants, or additional housing units. Instead, the cities can allocate this land to its highest-value use, or remove requirements to build a minimum number of parking spaces on infill developments. They can then use a portion of the revenue generated from the project to fund sustainable mobility options like micro-transit.

Policy Solutions for Increased Land Value Here, too, leading transit agencies are showing us that there is a better way. For example, the Chicago City Council recently updated its TOD ordinance to reduce minimum

UNSPLASH / GERRIE VAN DER WALT

parking requirements for both residential and non-residential buildings. Importantly, these guidelines extended not only to Chicago Transit Authority and Metra commuter rail stations, but also applied to selected bus route corridors. And in approving BART’s latest TOD Performance Targets document, the Board of Directors not only eliminated minimum parking requirements in its developments, it went as far as to set maximum parking ratios for both residential units and office and retail space. The biggest challenges of the next decade, from housing to transit, will require bold policy choices. By following in the footsteps of innovative agencies around the country, we can begin to reverse decades of car-based choices and build the livable, sustainable communities that we need for the next decade and beyond. ◆ JOSHUA GOLDMAN is director of strategy and business development at Via Transportation. Inc. He can be reached at joshua.goldman@ ridewithvia.com.

COURTNEY SUNG leads economic development efforts at Via Transportation, Inc. She can be reached at courtney.sung@ ridewithvia.com.

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Putting Places

WORTH VISITING

in Parking Priorities Lessons from a century of urban parking and planning practice.

A

By David Mepham, PhD

CENTURY OF MASS CAR PRODUCTION AND PLANNING

for mass car parking has ultimately provided easy access to degraded places. As the car replaced the horse and urban transit, responsibility for the planning of mobility and parking in our cities and places has transferred from the urban-town planning profession to transport planning with important consequences for place and access.

The issue of professional practice is considered here as part of a series of discussions on the subject of “Rethinking Parking,” which also considers the issues of place, policy, politics, and pricing. Here, we discuss the issue of professional practice with a view to parking outcomes that also ensure we still have places worth visiting. This discussion considers the early urban planning focus on urban mobility balanced with quality of life in the city, the evolution of professional practice, and a way forward to improved urban place and parking outcomes. Unpacking our thinking about professional practice may enable a better balancing of the core needs of transport, parking, and place.

SHUTTERSTOCK/ PSYNOVEC/ TRONG NGUYEN

Cities and Places and Planning

Traditional cities are typically found on and around transport routes—rivers, roads and railways. They occupy strategic locations for trade, security, crossings, and meeting points. Streets/roads define the city/urban form as both paths and edges. In the past few centuries, attempts to fix the city have focused on the restructuring of the road and transport systems, note the making of the Paris boulevards, the radical vision of Le Corbusier, or the location of rail station terminals over ‘“slum” areas in London through to the creation of highways and freeways into the through our cities. New transport technologies have been

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PUTTING PLACES WORTH VISITING IN PARKING PRIORITIES

People are not interested in getting on nowhere and getting off nowhere— they want to arrive at destinations.

central to the rethinking and reshaping of the city; that has been the case in the past and will very likely be the case in the future. The idea of town or urban planning developed in the early twentieth century. Early planners were mainly drawn from the architecture or civil engineering professions supported by builders/developers and interested parties. The early idea of planning was mainly focussed on solving the problem of the horse and its excrement making the city a dirty, smelly, dusty, and disease-ridden place. The horse and later, the horse-drawn tram shaped the form and function of the city. As the horse gave way to the automobile, it was reshaped again, initially by the reuse of barns and stables as garages and blacksmith shops rebadged as mechanics. Early cars were not weatherproof and required undercover storage. Maps of the early twentieth century show large stabling precincts around the wharves, warehouses, and at end of tram lines and rail stations. As horse and transit-drawn freight declined, many of those significant land areas evolved, with mass car ownership, into urban car parks and park and ride. More cars led to improved roads and extended the city beyond the railway/tram routes and their suburban areas to new suburbs. The car and the suburbs attracted the affluent classes away from the city, but their employment, goods, and services were still located in the city. A review of the media indicates that the problem of urban parking occurs across the board from the early 1920s. Mass car and mass parking became an intractable problem for urban planners, maybe because it had not occurred to them that they had to destroy their city. It is from about this period that we find the seeds of the early transport planning profession splitting from the urban planning profession. This can also be linked to the idea of modernism which underpins the shift to highly specialized, siloed strands of expertise. With this are bureaucratic structures with defined responsibilities and budgets.

Urban Planning and Transport Planning (and Parking)

The urban planning profession tends to see the car and the need for parking as a threat to the thousands of years of ideas that have shaped the traditional city. The car park is the antithesis to the beauty of the form and function of the traditional city, turning vibrant communities into blighted, vacuous landscapes. Even when parking is managed out of the way, its associated traffic increases congestion, noise, pollution, and subordinates pedestrians to third rate citizens.

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SHUTTERSTOCK/ ETIEN JONES


Even within transport planning, urban parking policy and delivery can be seen as marginal to the profession, it’s the Cinderella of transport planning jobs. These planning professionals are caught between the ideal of an objective transport planning practice and the subjective of city hall politics and emotional populism. Beyond the politics are the brutal economics where those concerned with developing quality urban parking/place outcomes are required to squeeze the maximum amount of parking out of the least amount of investment. There is little room for idealism here. The seeds of professional planning to provide for parking might be traced back to the planning for places to accommodate horses and carts/carriages—access to limited curb space, zoning for the provision of off-street storage,

rules for managing local amenity and pollution, etc. It was an extension of the urban planning challenge, at least to the extent that planning actually took place. In the first two decades of the twentieth century, the automobile was only available to a privileged few who formed auto clubs, which were very effective vehicles for lobbying. These clubs engaged with decision makers to influence decisions on transport expenditure. The right to easy, affordable car parking was one of the earliest campaigns successfully waged and won by auto clubs. More cars and roads/freeways and parking demanded more specialized knowledge, and so the need for a dedicated transport planning profession developed. Computerization enabled complex transport modeling, which underpins the idea of an objective, science-based

A century after we created the planning template for the planning and delivery of urban parking, there are significant new trends, challenges, and opportunities. These changes invite us to pause and consider if we can do better for the next century.

SHUTTERTOCK/ PRESSMASTER

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PUTTING PLACES WORTH VISITING IN PARKING PRIORITIES

Doing better, achieving “smart” urban parking outcomes can be seen as complex and maybe too hard to achieve via a siloed approach to planning.

transport planning profession. The idea of modernism accentuates the notion of specialization. Professions become increasingly closed and siloed. In the post-WWII period, the Department of Main Roads/Transport became the dominant influence in deciding the form and the function of the city. The notion of planning cities and places as a community-focused consult-and-decide practice gives way to a top down announce-and-defend form of autocratic governance. In this environment, decisions that enable car parking to continually cannibalize place ignore and damage affected communities, to serve a “greater need.” There are clearly many efficiencies and achievements in this approach but there have been great costs. A century after we created the planning template for the planning and delivery of urban parking, there are significant new trends, challenges, and opportunities. These changes

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invite us to pause and consider if we can do better for the next century.

Integrated Planning Approach

Doing better, achieving “smart” urban parking outcomes can be seen as complex and maybe too hard to achieve via a siloed approach to planning. Maybe we need to rethink the process of planning and delivery of parking; maybe we need a more sophisticated planning approach, an integrated planning approach that is able to deliver complex, integrated planning outcomes. Rethinking parking for the twenty-first century requires that we think beyond the professional siloes we have created. There is a need to integrate parking with a range of evolving policy areas and new challenges and opportunities. The extent of change will vary by place, but a helicopter view highlights a number of notable trends.

UNSPLASH/ SCOTT WEBB


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PUTTING PLACES WORTH VISITING IN PARKING PRIORITIES

These include the rise of AI (note how this may also radically improve urban transit options and reduce costs), electric vehicles, and provision of charging stations with parking, the booming car-share/ride-share economy, a decline in dependence on the private car, a concern to minimize climate change impacts and improve environmental outcomes, and rethinking cheap/free and expansive park-and-ride in favor of transit-oriented development. There are new and affordable parking technologies that increase the efficiency of parking, such as ground pods that inform real-time signage and demand-responsive pricing. These innovations reduce some of the negatives of urban parking, including cruising and parking related congestion. There are also changes to the governance around urban parking. Social media has increased the level of community activism and potentially improved the ability of government to engage. Changes that affect professional practice include the move away from minimum rates parking policies, an increasingly critical view of modeling, including the questioning of opaque assumptions that underpin transport and parking models and established but questionable ideas such as predict and provide. It is even possible to argue there has been a shift in an ideology based on abstract modeling to consider more subjective place- and people-oriented solutions. Many cities are seeing a revival of their inner urban areas, especially with gentrification and the rise of non-traditional economies. Middle class professionals moving into inner urban neighborhoods may be more connected into the decision-making processes that shape cities and places. This seems to be evident in the growing resistance to the cannibalism of the urban environment for easy, cheap parking, the concern for improved urban design, walkability, and places to spend time and money in. People want healthy places with greener streets with physically and visually permeable edges. There are concerns to improve the environmental performance of cities with more shade, water sensitive urban design. Overall, we are thinking more carefully and creatively about our inner urban places with a view to achieving higher and better land use outcomes than cheap, easy car storage. There are many reasons to rethink parking and the professional practice that provides poor urban parking outcomes. There is a need to think more creatively about planning for parking and the idea of integrated planning to deliver smarter urban parking. The lessons for this are not so far away.

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In the past few decades, transport and urban planners have had to collaborate to deliver urban transit/light rail projects. These are projects that go beyond connecting up a series of park and rides to connecting places. People are not interested in getting on nowhere and getting off nowhere—they want to arrive at destinations. The renaissance in urban transit has required cross department and cross government relationships. Transport planners have had to think about walking and urban design, while urban planners have had to think about access and mobility. These projects tend to involve different levels of government and partnerships with the private sector. There is a need to collaborate across integrated teams. The transition to a more sophisticated professional practice to produce highly integrated urban transit planning outcomes has evolved over some time. The change in the way we deliver these projects came out of a need to think differently and more holistically about the delivery of urban transit. There is a need to change the way we deliver parking and at the heart of this is the need to address our professional practice.

Conclusion

One hundred years of urban parking have gutted many cities and damaged our urban places. We have created many urban destinations that are accessible for vehicles but are no longer not worth visiting. This is a liability as cities increasingly measure their success on attracting people/workers and the perception of livability. Many cities are struggling with this, but without the ability to attract skilled workers, they are effectively in economic decline. People want easy access to great cities, places and Main Streets, not just parking. Parking and its consequences are a complex social, environmental, and economic problem. The discussion here asks that we rethink the professional practice siloes and templates we created many decades ago with their tendency for atomized and specialized work practices to think more creatively about the problem of urban parking. The innovations in parking technologies and policy are heartening, but we need to also radically rethink professional practice to realize parking for great places—attractive, fun, safe, healthy, walkable places that entertain the money out of our pockets. ◆ DAVID MEPHAM, PhD, is an urban access consultant based in Melbourne, Australia. He can be reached at mepham.consulting@gmail.com.


walterpmoore.com

ENHANCING MOBILITY

Parking, Transportation, and Mobility Planning

Traffic Engineering Civil Engineering

Brian Lozano, PE, PMP

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800.364.7300

Structural Engineering

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parking@walterpmoore.com

Structural Diagnostics

Systems Integration


BUILDING

GNID EH IUB T L

Riightt R Teeaam m T THE

FOR Y O UO Y UR OF R R NOI AZINAG ORGANIZATION O T R


by Jeff Perkins

L

IKE MANY ROCK STARS, Bruce Spring-

steen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. However, he was inducted as a solo artist. This was very controversial because he rose to fame playing with the E Street Band. Many felt they should have all been inducted together, and that Bruce should not have accepted the award as a solo artist. Fast forward to 2014: the E Street Band finally got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In his speech inducting the band, Bruce said this: “I told a story with the E Street Band that was, and is, bigger than I ever could have told on my own. And I believe that settles that question. “But that is the hallmark of a rock and roll band — the narrative you tell together is bigger than anyone could have told on your own. That’s the Rolling Stones; the Sex Pistols; that’s Bob Marley and the Wailers. That’s James Brown and His Famous Flames. That’s Neil Young and Crazy Horse. “So, I thank you my beautiful men and women of E Street. You made me dream and love bigger than I could have ever without you.”1 Bruce’s message is clear: his success was propelled by the band he had around him. I think about building marketing teams similarly. When I started moving up into a management role, I quickly learned that my success had less to do with me and more to do with how good a team I could build around me. In Jay Elliott’s book Leading Apple with Steve Jobs, Jobs makes the statement: “I noticed that the dynamic range between what an average person could accomplish and what the best person could accomplish was 50 or 100 to 1... A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.” Steve Jobs was right about a lot of things. But I think he’s really right about hiring A+ players. At a previous job, I was brought in to lead a marketing team, and most of the key players were already in place. As I transitioned into the business, I quickly realized we didn’t have the right people. In some cases, they didn’t have the skills; in other cases, they didn’t have enough experience. Some just didn’t have the right attitude. 1 Rolling Stone. “Read Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band Induction Speech.” Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2014, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ read-bruce-springsteens-e-street-band-induction-speech-242289.

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NOVEMBER 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 29


BUILDING THE RIGHT TEAM FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION

Unfortunately, I was a bit slow to make a change, so I would just end up doing people’s work for them. This went on for several months until I reached a breaking point. I was overwhelmed and not getting anything done. I talked to my boss about it and explained the situation. He immediately said I should fire the people who weren’t working out and bring in better people. I agreed but suggested that maybe we should give them one more chance. “Jeff,” he said, “I’ve never fired someone and then said that I wished I’d waited longer.” That’s good advice. So I made the decision to let a few people on the team go. I knew it would make my job more challenging in the near term, but it was the right thing to do for the company. Over the next few months, I was able to recruit a few new people to the team who were total rock stars. Once they got up and running, they took a ton of work off my plate, and suddenly we were executing at a much higher level than ever before. They helped me get out of the weeds so I could focus on more of the strategic planning. These people were the critical pieces of the band that I was missing. Once they were in place, we were rocking! Just like Springsteen, having the right band made me better than I could ever be on my own.

When I started moving up into a management role, I quickly learned that my success had less to do with me and more to do with how good a team I could build around me.

How to Build the Band

Here are some things being said at this very moment in marketing departments all around the globe: ■  We need some new ideas ■  We have to think outside the box ■  We have to break the paradigm ■  What got us here won’t get us where we want to be Sound familiar? You’ve probably heard someone say things like this, or maybe you’ve even said it yourself. It seems there’s universal acknowledgement that the current state is never good enough. You have to continue to change, grow, adapt, and innovate. Recognizing the need for new ideas is the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what to do about it. I’ve spoken about this with many colleagues, and we generally agree that when you need new ideas, oftentimes you have to look outside your organization. You have to bring in talent that will infuse new ideas into your company. But that’s not always an easy task.

When it comes to recruiting, companies tend to think too narrowly about the kinds of candidates they want.

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ISTOCK/ ANDRII LEMELYANENKO


When it comes to recruiting, companies tend to think too narrowly about the kinds of candidates they want. Just look at any job board out there, and you’ll see a list of “musts”: ■  Must have eight years of experience ■  Must have an MBA ■  Must have category experience ■  Must have B2B marketing experience These requirements actually screen out the kind of big thinkers that companies want to recruit, so you just end up seeing the same kinds of candidates. And then guess what happens? You end up hiring the same kinds of people with the same old ideas. Then you sit around and wonder, “Why aren’t we moving the business forward? Why aren’t we growing revenue?” Then maybe you fire the ad agency. Maybe the CMO loses his or her job. But you never get the new Big Ideas that you’re looking for.

What do you do about this?

Well, I don’t claim to know everything about anything. I’m a generalist who’s had a career that has given me broad experience across brands and categories, B2B and B2C, traditional and digital, client- and agency-side. Despite being a generalist, I have had great success over my career assembling high-performing teams that helped build brands, enable a sales force, and grow revenue. I think the key to our success has had everything to do with the kind of people we bring onto the team. We’ve hired people who don’t fit a set mold, people who didn’t have traditional experience working in a specific industry. I don’t mean to disparage people who are specialists or subject-matter experts. There are many industries that probably require a specialized skill set. But there are also many that don’t, where learning curves are less steep and general marketing skills are easily transferable. When we hire, we look for what I call “marketing rock stars.” These are people who are more generalists than specialists. Their experiences are very broad, so they bring lots of different ideas to the table. They’re creative. They’re collaborative. They have the ability to stretch. Most of all, they have no preconceived notions of the “formula” to solve a specific business problem. They’re able to look at the challenge, develop a strategy, and then bring a complete arsenal of marketing tactics to help solve that problem. Many times, they can bring ideas from different fields that we can transfer to our company.

If you really want new ideas, you have to hire people who actually have new ideas. And you won’t find a topnotch marketing rock star with a standard job description.

Hire Fast

I’ve done a lot of recruiting over the years. One key lesson I’ve learned is that in this competitive market, you have to move fast. The conventional wisdom used to be “hire slow, fire fast” and I definitely believed it. In the past, I would be cautious when making a hire. I wanted to get it right so I would usually do extensive interviewing, have the candidate come in and meet the entire team, check references, and more. But recently I’d noticed my process was causing me to miss out on some good candidates. I’d be ready to move forward with an offer, only to find the candidate had just accepted a job at another company. This happened to me several times recently. Atlanta is a very hot market right now, and it seems like every company out there is hiring, so it’s becoming harder to find top talent. I got tired of being “left at the altar,” so I adjusted my strategy and increased the pace of the recruiting process. If I like a candidate who is actively talking to other companies, I’ll quickly move forward with an offer— even a verbal offer on the spot after the interview. I found out one recent candidate was about to

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BUILDING THE RIGHT TEAM FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION

interview with the CMO of another company, so I moved fast to get an offer in front of her before that interview. She ended up cancelling the interview with the other CMO and accepted the job. Another strategy is to find the talent before they’re actually “on the market.” Recently, I was in the audience at an event for a technology accelerator called Techstars, and they played a video about the organization’s team. They featured a woman with the title “Content and Brand Strategy.” At the time, I was actively searching for someone with that kind of skillset. I looked her up on LinkedIn and sent her a message asking if she would be interested in learning about ParkMobile. A few days later, we met for lunch, and we quickly made her an offer. From the day I met her to the job offer, the entire process took only about two weeks. In this competitive job market, you have to move fast. Great candidates won’t be on the market long, but you can find those candidates before they even start looking for a job.

Bringing the Band Together

You’ve assembled the band. You have all the right pieces in place. But how do you turn a group of individual contributors into a band

that goes on stage and rocks out in front of an audience of 30,000 screaming fans? Just hiring the right people does not guarantee you will have a strong team. As the leader, you have to invest time and energy into bringing that team together and making sure the sum is greater than the parts. How do you do that? Let’s explore some strategies to build high-performing teams.

Understanding Different Communication Styles

As a leader you need to learn to understand the people on your team, but you also need to make sure the people on your team really understand each other. A great way to do this is through a personality test. I personally have had great success with the DISC assessment. I’ve also done the Birkman and Myers-Briggs. These tests provide unique insights about the people on your team and help you understand communication styles, motivations, and more. These assessments have helped me understand how to manage and communicate with my direct reports, and they also show team members how to interact with each other.

If you really want new ideas, you have to hire people who actually have new ideas. And you won’t find a top-notch marketing rock star with a standard job description.

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SHUTTERSTOCK/ ZENZA FLARINI


In this competitive job market, you have to move fast. Great candidates won’t be on the market long, but you can find those candidates before they even start looking for a job.

This feature is excerpted from Jeff Perkins’ new book, “How Not to Suck at Marketing.” Learn more at hownottosuck atmarketing. com.

ISTOCK/ LUCKY TD

There are many professional facilitators who can administer these tests and run a session with the team to explain the findings. It’s always very eye-opening to see your team members receive their reports and learn things about themselves they might not have known. In a previous job, I did the DISC assessment with the sales team I was managing. The DISC basically puts people into four key quadrants based on communication style: ■  Dominance: Direct, results-oriented, firm, strongwilled, forceful ■  Influence: Outgoing, enthusiastic, optimistic, highspirited, lively ■  Conscientiousness: Analytical, reserved, precise, private, systematic ■  Steadiness: Even-tempered, accommodating, patient, humble, tactful As expected, most of the salespeople were in either the “Dominance” or “Influence” quadrants in the test. This is pretty typical with salespeople. They tend to be more aggressive, outgoing, and extroverted. They all like to talk over each other. When you’re around a group of salespeople, you often feel like you’re fighting for airtime. Interestingly, one sales rep was in the “C” quadrant (Conscientiousness). He was much quieter than the rest of the team, but he was very effective. In fact, he was at the top of the leaderboard, generating the most revenue that year. The reason was that as a “C” he was a much better listener than the other reps; many of the “D” and “I” reps would spend an entire sales call talking at their prospects. The “C” rep would ask probing questions and let his prospects do the talking. As a team, we talked about what this meant for our

dynamic. The “D” and “I” reps realized that they would have to do more to include the “C” rep in team conversations. As one person said, “He’s not just going to jump in and tell us what he thinks. But if we ask him questions and bring him into the conversation, he’ll have really good things to say.” This was eye-opening for everyone and really helped us as a team. We better understood that not all people communicate in the same way, and we learned how to do a better job communicating with each other. Many of the “D” and “I” reps were also more aware of their tendency to steamroll conversations. The “C” rep learned that he had to do more to speak up and make sure his voice was heard in team meetings. Overall, doing the DISC assessment really helped bring us together as a team and improved the way we communicated with each other.

Getting Below the Surface

In the past, I’ve worked on teams where it’s all business all the time. You don’t really get to know your co-workers. People are really guarded. There’s a wall between the personal and the professional. I totally understand employees not wanting to bring their personal baggage to work. But it’s important to remember that most of us spend the vast majority of our week with our co-workers. That’s a lot of time to be with people who aren’t your good friends or family. And if you don’t take the time to get to know each other, your work environment (where you spend eight or more hours a day) probably won’t be very fun. We all have to go to work every day. You might as well go someplace where you enjoy being around the people. From what I’ve found, teams that are more open with each other are higher performing. You feel connected at a much deeper level. You want to support each other because you see your team members as real people, not just boxes on an org chart. One exercise I’ve done at team offsites is having everyone bring in a 1-page photo collage that illustrates themselves. Whenever I do this, I’m always amazed by what I learn about the people I’m working with. People share their hobbies and interests and tell stories about their friends and family. Sometimes it can get a bit emotional, but it is a great way to build team unity. ◆ JEFF PERKINS is CEO of ParkMobile and author of "How Not to Suck at Marketing." He can be reached at jeff.perkins@parkmobile.io.

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Trading informational courtesy cards for parking tickets makes a big difference in public perception for a Connecticut parking authority. By Kathryn Hebert, PhD

W

GREA

E ALL KNOW parking enforcement is a

necessary tool in the toolbox in the world of parking and mobility management. And we know that when people receive a parking ticket, it becomes a negative, lasting memory and experience. We’ve heard all sorts of expletives and four-letter words from people who have received parking tickets and, of course, some of the excuses are quite creative. Parking enforcement doesn’t have to be all negative or a fourletter-word inducing experience. Using technology and communication tools, there are ways that we can continue to enforce while creating and shifting those negative perceptions to positive experiences. Here is one way that the Norwalk, Conn., Parking Authority changed enforcement perception and turned it into a successful, sustainable program.

Being Strategic

After implementing parking management changes that included parking rate increases and extending enforcement hours of operation in 2017, Norwalk Parking Authority (NPA) received many complaints from residents, businesses, and elected and appointed officials. There was also concern about the perception of aggressive enforcement and the number of parking tickets they were issuing. Instead of reacting and shutting down consistent parking ticket issuance and enforcement operations or reducing ticket issuance, the parking team, with support from the NPA, collectively decided to take a more strategic approach. This included: ■  Developing a quick response to the public. ■  Continuing consistent parking enforcement. ■  Making decisions based on data and confirmed results. ■  Communicating in a friendly, clear fashion. ■  Creating community goodwill. A heavy lift but not impossible.

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Out of that, the Courtesy Card Program was created. The objective was to change the public’s behavior and perception about parking in general and create a paradigm behavior shift from a negative enforcement perception to a positive parking compliance mindset. Specifically, the goals were to: ■  Improve the parking experience. ■  Improve perception of Norwalk as a customer- and business-friendly environment. ■  Reduce the number of parking tickets issued while still encouraging parking compliance. The Courtesy Card Program further empowered the on-street parking enforcement officers to add time to expired meters as a courtesy to customers parking on the street in Norwalk. The Norwalk Parking Authority decided to offer 20 minutes free parking after a meter expired. The frequency and street location of the program

were random so as not to create false expectations to the general public resulting in a negative effect on meter compliance.

How It Works

Instead of a ticket, and to communicate and notify the customer who had parked overtime at an on street meter, a fun, friendly courtesy card was created in English and Spanish and left on vehicle windshields with a message. The initial pilot, which started July 1, 2017, was very successful after the first quarter and was expanded through the end of CY 2017. The permanent program was launched at the beginning of CY 2018 and variations of the program continue through today. The Norwalk Parking Authority did achieve its desired impact, which was documented through data and social media postings. There were numerous social media postings, emails, letters of appreciation and conversations about people receiving a courtesy card instead of a parking ticket. It immediately created the desired effect slowly changing some people’s perception about parking. People were quoted as saying it was like winning the lottery! Since the initial pilot in 2017, the parking authority increased courtesy card issuance by expanding the number of random streets for distribution and increasing the number of days several times. The program has been used successfully to notify the parking public on the street of new and improved parking operation changes and management programs throughout different areas and districts. The authority also used the program as an educational tool to communicate to the public that to avoid a potential parking ticket the next time they parked, they should put enough money in the on-street meters or download and/or use the pay-by-cell app.

The World Changes

When the pandemic hit mid-March 2020, the NPA shut down enforcement through the end of May 2020. At the beginning of June, the courtesy card program was used effectively on the street to communicate the relaunch of parking operations and enforcement. The NPA was smart in their approach to parking enforcement complaints. In the past four years, it issued 44,899 courtesy cards in 816 random program days, which represents 43 percent of all parking tickets issued citywide. The opportunity cost through four

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fiscal years of not issuing parking tickets for overtime on-street parking is close to $1 million. The goodwill and the positive paradigm shift in parking behavior outweighed the potential lost violation revenue. Although there was potential (not actual) lost parking violation revenue, overall actual total revenue collections were not greatly impacted. Comparing FYE 2017 (when the program was launched) to FYE 2018, the total lost revenue was about $25,277 or .37 percent. Comparing FYE 2018 to FYE 2019 revenues increased by $347,548 or 4.75 percent. There are other factors that contributed to those comparisons as well, but the potential lost violation revenue impact was not significant. The comparisons for FYE 2020 and FYE 2021 are challenging due to the impact on parking activity during the pandemic. And now as some restrictions are lifted and communities slowly open, we are waiting to see how everything balances out and how people get back to a rhythm in their daily lives. This will take some time. Nobody likes or ever wants to receive a parking ticket. Receiving a parking ticket typically creates an adverse reaction to someone’s otherwise good experience. We have to remember that parking is a first and last experience and is a critical component of economic and community development and we all must work together to continue to enhance people’s quality of life and experience. Parking does not have to be negative. The Courtesy Card Program continues to be very successful. As our industries navigate the future creating viable curb management practices and mobility hub installations, the courtesy card program is a fantastic parking and mobility management tool. Clearly there is a lighter side to parking enforcement! ◆ KATHRYN HEBERT, PhD, is president and CEO of TPMConnect and former director of transportation mobility parking in Norwalk, Conn. She can be reached at khebert601@gmail.com.

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Questions, Answers, Networking, and More— All From Wherever You Are GOT FORUM? IPMI members (if your company’s a member, you’re a member) can access our members-only, online community from wherever they are. Ask questions, share experiences, offer advice, learn how others are handling similar challenges and victories, and expand your industry network by posting, replying to posts, and updating your personal profile, And see everything happening in the community along with the day’s IPMI Blog post every morning in your daily digest email. Sign on with your IPMI username and password at forum.parking-mobility.org (use the handy password reset link if you’ve forgotten yours). It’s easy, we promise! Join the conversation and the community. See you at Forum!


IN

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Highlights from the IPMI Blog

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion In The Age of Mobility By Marcía L. Alvarado, PE

Ready for more? Read IPMI’s blog every business day in your daily Forum digest email or at parking-mobility.org/ blog. Have something to say? Send post submissions to editor Kim Fernandez at fernandez@parkingmobility.org.

For as long as it’s been around, urban planning has failed to sufficiently consider diversity, equity, inclusion, and impact. Historically “groundbreaking” urban planning trends, however well-intentioned, negatively impacted and disrupted the lives of marginalized groups. Although implemented 100 years ago, exclusionary zoning laws created to promote segregation of race and class are still used today. Racial disparities can be observed in redlining practices, land development, and transportation. This leads to issues like “food deserts,” gentrification, lack of access to adequate healthcare, clean water, and air. Ensuring Black and brown neighborhoods have access to the same resources as more affluent communities is beyond overdue. In transportation planning, the FederalAid Highway Act of 1956 was especially harmful to minority neighborhoods by destroying them and making way for the interstate highway system. As a result, more than one million low-income Americans were displaced— mostly Black, Indigenous, and

people of color. As we find ourselves on the cusp of a new urban planning movement—mobility—it’s imperative that we understand how planning initiatives marginalize certain communities. With a shift from intent to impact, we can be sure not to repeat history as we guide the mobility movement. Mobility planning is about keeping people moving safely and efficiently, but it’s also about economic development and improving quality of life for the very communities in which we design, develop and plan. Specifically, mobility planning cannot achieve safety and efficiency without also addressing its past and present contributions to systemic disparities among Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Serving these communities means learning their specific needs so we can provide what local residents and businesses need now. Only then can we assure the parking and mobility plans we are creating promote diversity, equity, inclusion and consider impact over intent.

MARCÍA L. ALVARADO, PE, is structural market leader with WGI. She will present on this

topic at the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, Nov. 29 – Dec. 2, in Tampa, Fla.

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / NOVEMBER 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 39


Industry Disconnect: Cutting Edge vs. Reality By Kevin White, CAPP, AICP I fear there may be a disconnect developing between a lot of parking and mobility industry discourse around new, “cutting edge” technology and many municipalities and parking operations across the United States and beyond. It seems every time I turn around, there are new vendors and technologies and solutions flooding the parking and mobility market. The creativity and innovation are welcome; new ideas, people, and technologies are essential for continued industry growth and advancement. That said, it’s dizzying at times, and we professionals work to stay on top of all the developments. New technologies, cameras, sensors, apps, “big data,” “integrated solutions,” curb management, micro-mobility, and other topics have been en vogue in our industry in recent years. We all love talking about and learning about what’s new, what’s cutting edge. These topics are essential, but I fear that industry discussion and solutions being proposed are aimed predominantly at the upper “1 percent” of cities and operators—large, dense, urban, and multi-modal cities or other large operators with dedicated staff, expertise, and resources. Our dialogue and solutions presume a certain level of parking and mobility expertise, a certain level of resources and operational

savvy to even be able to consider or understand the new ideas, new ways of managing curb space or parking and mobility systems, or the new latest and greatest technology. I think we are failing to speak to the lion’s share of the municipalities and parking operators across this country: the medium and smaller communities that still need to manage parking and mobility systems but do not have dedicated staff, specific parking knowledge or training, or are constrained to complete fundamental management tasks, who may not collect parking and mobility data or even know what to collect or how to use it. These communities may also struggle with limited resources and staff time. We need to do more as industry professionals to create a dialogue, a message, and a set of solutions that reaches the masses and addresses a range of issues with customized solutions.

KEVIN WHITE, CAPP, AICP, is a parking and mobility consultant with Walker Consultants.

When Emotions Don’t Match the Situation, Hide Behind Policy By Matt Penney, CAPP Baylor Parking Services has a heart for service. Staff greet customers with a smile and a hearty hello, Texas style–say howdy to everyone. As friendly as our office likes to be, there is a phrase that we use that sets a boundary for our customer service efforts. “When emotions don’t match the situation, hide behind policy.” The phrase is intended to be a clear trigger for when to change our approach to an encounter. In “Blink,” Malcolm Gladwell refers to this instinctual recognition as “thin slicing.” Experienced staff won’t be able to explain why a specific encounter is different, but it will be a gut instinct. Something is off. Until this mystery is resolved, slow the interaction down. Go into a mode that strictly follows your policies and procedures. This protects your staff both legally and emotionally. It

also provides time for underlying issues to reveal themselves. This semester, Baylor was surprised to find out a student was living out of their car. In another instance, we learned that a towed car belonged to a federal agency based in New York and the driver may not have informed their supervisor the vehicle would be used to help their daughter move to Texas. The unusual emotion is not usually anger and the underlying issue is not always bad. Good customer service is rooted in understanding a customer’s needs. When staff recognize that a typically successful course of action is producing an atypical reaction, hit the pause button. This mismatch of emotions to a situation means you need to get more information before proceeding.

MATT PENNEY, CAPP, is director of parking & transportation services at Baylor University and an IPMI industry trainer.

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2 0 2 1 I P M I P AR KI NG & M OB I LI TY C O N FE R EN CE & E X PO

THE FUTURE OF PARKING & MOBILITY IS HERE AC CESS T H E E D UC A T ION P ROG R A M I P MI . P AR K IN G - MOB ILI TY .OR G

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SCHEDULE Monday, November 29, 2021 28th Annual William Voigt CAPP Classic Golf Tournament & Pro Lessons Tuesday, November 30, 2021 Opening General Session & Shoptalks

Register at discounted rates before November 15

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 Education, Shoptalks, & All Day Expo Thursday, December 2, 2021 Awards General Session, Education, & All Day Expo

SESSIONS Explore the complete education program at ipmi.parking-mobility.org. Sessions include: Closing the Gap Between Autonomous Vehicles and Curbside Management Curb Lane Management: Practical Implementation and Challenges Getting Your Balance Back: Intentional Design to Boost Inclusion and Better Manage the Transient Journey Not Your Grandfather’s Parking Garage: How New Vehicle Technologies Are Changing Parking Design Protecting Your Most Precious Asset: Your People Take Us to the Ballpark, Friction-free: The Miami Marlins’ Free Flow, Frictionless Event Parking The Garage as Gas Station of the Future: Preparing for Electric Vehicles

SHOPTALKS Connect with colleagues and peers to share your unique experiences, solutions, and challenges--and make new connections: Airports Hospitals, Medical Centers, & Healthcare Institutions Municipalities, Cities, & Downtowns University & Campus Operations

Advancing the Frontline: Beyond Basic Training EVs, Charging Infrastructure, and Fleets: Prepping for an Electrified Future Legal Matters: Navigating Risk & Reward for your Operation Making Parking More Accessible for Everyone: Equity Matters More than Ever Managing the Dynamic Curb: Balancing Demands & Commercial Loading Sustainability: Connecting TDM, Parksmart, & the Evolving Mobility Hub Taming the (Parking) Beast: Event Management Best Practices The Devil is in the Data: Using APDS Specifications & Tools for Efficiency & Innovation

Creating an in-person, worry-free #IPMI2021 experience is our top priority. Visit ipmi.parking-mobility.org/2021 for our COVID safety plan.


/ Premier Parking Rolls Out Revolutionary New Parking Technology in Detroit PREMIER PARKING announced today that new technology, made possible through an exclusive partnership with Metropolis, will make parking easier, safer, and more consumer-friendly in Detroit. This new wave of parking is made possible by new, proprietary technology created by Metropolis, an AI-powered autonomous commerce platform built to modernize parking and empower the future of mobility. Metropolis’ proprietary AI platform is unmatched in today’s parking industry. “For customers, this takes the pain out of parking. For the industry, it is going to radically change the national parking landscape. This technology makes parking quicker, easier and safer by turning what used to be a difficult process into an effortless and fully touchless customer experience,” says Premier CEO Ryan Hunt. “It seems only fitting that Detroit, the motor city, is one of the first locations where our new technology is featured. This is truly ushering in a new era of parking, and we couldn’t be more excited to be at the forefront of the change.” Premier deployed the new technology in April in their headquarters city of Nashville and then in Austin in July. Detroit now joins the list of early markets to receive this revolutionary technology.

With Metropolis’ technology, customers get access to a frictionless, checkout-free mobile experience; by quickly signing up one time before their first Metropolis parking session, they will have a touchless parking experience at any of the enabled locations from then on. Once enrolled, each time a customer pulls into a location, the computer vision technology immediately detects the customer’s arrival and triggers a text message confirming the start of their parking session. When they leave the facility, customers simply drive out and are charged for the duration of their stay – no more looking for the payment kiosks, getting ticketed for expired time or paying for more time than they used. Subscription parking and validated parking will also be more seamless than ever, with the scan of a QR code or a tap on your phone granting weekly and monthly access. The technology also locates guaranteed available parking, helping alleviate congestion in urban areas by taking cars off the road that are driving in circles looking for an open spot.

IPMI Welcomes Kenneth Faillace, MPA, to Professional Development Team IPMI is happy to welcome education professional Kenneth Faillace, MPA, to its professional development staff. Faillace will work with CAPP candidates, CAPPs, and industry professionals from all sectors as the association’s training coordinator and LMS administrator. Faillace holds a bachelor’s degree from William Patterson University along with a master’s degree in public administration and a certificate in online teaching from Rutgers University. He’s worked in higher education for 10 years, including in STEM, agriculture, and local government. “I have found the perfect spot (Get it? Like parking spot!) working at IPMI,” he says. “Undoubtedly the best thing about working here is the people. The IPMI staff are the best at what they do, and the industry is filled with smart, humble, and hardworking people.”

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


/ Monument Parking Partners With Propark Mobility to Enhance Washington, D.C. Parking Monument Parking of Washington, D.C., and Propark Mobility are pleased to announce their new strategic partnership in the Washington m ­ etropolitan area. Monument CEO Sylvan Gershowitz says, “I am extremely excited about our newly-formed alliance with Propark Mobility, as this will provide Monument with the enhanced ability to further expand extensively throughout the Washington-­Metropolitan market.” Propark’s alliance with the D.C.-based company will significantly enhance Monument’s commitment to providing the highest customer service experience. Monument Parking will maintain its brand and will be powered by Propark Mobility’s proprietary parking technology and back-office resources. John Schmid, CEO of Propark Mobility, says, “We look forward to combining Propark’s technology and resources with Monument’s presence and experience in Washington, D.C., to move the area’s dynamic metro parking and transportation m ­ arket forward.”

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A whole

ParkMobile Announces Partnership with the City of Leavenworth, Washington, to Offer Contactless Parking Payments

ParkMobile announced that it will be expanding its services to the City of Leavenworth, Wash. This is a new market for ParkMobile and will help make parking in the city as seamless and stress-free as possible. With 2.3 million tourists visiting Leavenworth annually, this new parking system will allow visitors and locals alike to find parking safely and more efficiently. Through the partnership, ParkMobile is offering a real-time view of space availability and 325 on-street and 350 offstreet zone parking spaces for payment in Leavenworth. ParkMobile has over 27 million users across North America and is available for both iPhone and Android devices. ParkMobile can also be accessed on a mobile web browser for those who do not want to download an app. To pay for parking using the mobile or web app, a user enters the zone number posted on parking meter or on the signs in the parking lots, selects the amount of time needed, and touches the “Start Parking” button to begin the session. The user can also extend the time of the parking session on their

mobile device, up to a max of three hours on-street at the parking meters, or all day in an off-street parking lot. Leavenworth marks ParkMobile’s third market in Washington, which currently has close to 92,000 users. Beyond the state, the ParkMobile app can be used to pay for parking in over 450 cities in the U.S. including many in the Pacific Northwest region like Corvallis, Ore., Boise, Idaho, Bellingham, Wash., and more. “Our goal with bringing ParkMobile to Leavenworth is to reduce frustration around finding a parking spot,” says Christie Voos, communications analyst for the City of Leavenworth. “We’re excited to introduce ParkMobile to Leavenworth, giving our residents and visitors an easier way to park around the city.” “We love introducing ParkMobile to new markets and are proud to announce a partnership with Leavenworth,” says Jeff Perkins, CEO of ParkMobile. “One of our goals is to expand further in the Pacific Northwest region so the addition of Leavenworth is a great new market for us.”

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/

CALENDAR

2021 NOVEMBER 2 Free Frontline Training (Virtual)

Refocused and Refreshed: Experiential Customer Service

NOVEMBER 3 Free Industry Shoptalk (Virtual) Diversity: Rising Through the Ranks

NOVEMBER 4 Online, Instructor-Led Training (Virtual)

Accredited Parking Organization Site Reviewer Renewal Training

NOVEMBER 8, 10, 15 AND 17 Online, Instructor-Led Training (Virtual) Parksmart Advisor Training

NOVEMBER 10 Webinar

The Truth Behind Common Parking Myths

NOVEMBER 16 Free Frontline Training (Virtual) Situational Awareness

NOVEMBER 29– DECEMBER 2 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, Tampa, Fla. DECEMBER 8 Free Industry Shoptalk (Virtual) The Year Ahead

DECEMBER 15 Webinar

Getting Smart: Strategies to Get Started Creating Smart Communities

NOVEMBER 17 Free Learning Lab (Virtual)

Parking Masterclass - The New Tech Transforming Campus Mobility at The Ohio State University, Presented by Spot Parking

State and Regional Events Calendar NOVEMBER 4–5 Mid–Atlantic Parking Association (MAPA) Annual Conference and Tradeshow Baltimore, MD

NOVEMBER 8–10 Parking Association of the Virginias (PAV) Fall Workshop & Tradeshow Virginia Beach, VA

NOVEMBER 16 California Public Parking Association (CPPA) Virtual Conference begins

NOVEMBER 17–19 Florida Parking & Transportation Association (FPTA) Annual Conference & Expo Orlando, FL

Dates to Remember 11/15 CAPP Classic Golf Outing Registration Closes Stay up to date on industry events and activities! Visit parking-mobility.org/calendar for the latest updates and additions.

11/15 Early Bird Rates End for #IPMI2021 in Tampa

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / NOVEMBER 2021 / PARKING & MOBILITY 49


W W W . Pff RKING fiMOBILITY. OR G

In Case You Missed It... THE 2021 IPMI PARKING & MOBILITY CONFERENCE & EXPO

➚In person and face-to-face, Nov. 29–Dec. 3, Tampa, Fla. ➚General sessions, education sessions, and the Expo are back! ➚Golf tournament with something for everyone—new to seasoned players. ➚COVID safety protocols in place; details on the website. ➚Discounted registration ends Nov. 15! ON THE IPMI BLOG

➚Return to Work—Maybe? By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE. Static Storage to an Engaged Curb, by Benito Pérez, CAPP; Alexjandra Argudin, ➚From CAPP; and Michael Sawyer. ➚Public Arts Mural with a Message, by Gary Means, CAPP ➚How Close-knit We Are, by Victor Hill, CAPP, MPA posts in your daily Forum email and submit your own to be published by IPMI— ➚Read click here. ON THE NEW FORUM

➚Snow plowing signage and messaging. ➚Skateboarding on ramps. ➚Industry disconnect? ➚Paratransit service. the conversation! Post a question, share your experiences, and more on our new, ➚Join easy-to-use online member community: forum.parking-mobility.org.

All from your desk, on your time, at parking-mobility.org. 50 PARKING & MOBILITY / NOVEMBER 2021 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG


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