IN SHORT

IN

short Highlights from the IPMI Blog

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.

Return to Work–Maybe?

By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE

We’ve been waiting forever. The return to the office. Some already clamoring to get back to full-time life. Some deciding that stayat-home was forever. Some that just want a little bit of both. Based on projections in early summer 2021, we were all circling Labor Day as that date that we figured out the working world and went into some hybrid pattern and we’d know how everything would shake out. Then that thing we won’t talk about reared its ugly head and sent that target further into the future.

Now, here we are moving deeper into the fall and things are starting to clear up. Large office and commercial tenants are refocusing that target and looking to get things moving in some fashion. So, what are we as parking professionals supposed to do?

Why, get out there and innovate. It’s what we do!

Now is the time to start thinking about how you want to position yourself for that return to work and how you want

to begin to create a new parking world. In Sacramento, Calif., they are using prepaid parking reservation technology and reduced daily rates to begin to provide flexible options for returning commuters. Rather than pay for an entire monthly permit, you pay for what you need. In Birmingham, Ala., they are working hand-inhand with companies to evaluate data and craft a program that works with everyone, identifying trends and adapting space to serve ever changing needs. On numerous university campuses throughout the country, they are focusing on daily parking models to account for folks who just don’t come to campus every day. The IPMI Research & Innovation Task Force is currently working to document how our industry is responding and innovating. If you or your program is trying new approaches, we want to hear about it. Email us and let us know how you’re handling that return to work. BRETT WOOD, CAPP, PE, is president of Wood Solutions Group and co-chair of IPMI’s Research & Innovation Task Force.

Real-life Experience with Van-accessible Parking Stalls

By Diane Santiago, CAPP

As a paraplegic who drives a ramp van, whether I am driving to a hospital, college, airport, or shopping area, one of my biggest anxieties is driving to a parking facility and looking for a vanaccessible ADA stall–especially if I am driving alone. Many lots do not have sufficient accessible stalls in general, let alone van-accessible stalls.

The difference between a regular ADA stall and a van stall is the size of the access area. Van-accessible stalls have an 8-foot access area and regular ADA stalls have 4-foot access areas. I’ve even been in parking lots that have no access areas next to the stall (what are the parking lot managers thinking?). In case you are unaware, the access area is important to give customers with walking disabilities extra room to open the car door or, in the case of ramp vans, an area for the 5-foot ramp to deploy and then space for the person to exit the ramp in their wheelchair without running into the neighboring parked car. Without the access area, I am unable to exit or enter my van. Keep this in mind when restriping your lot with ADA stalls. I’m sure many of you have lots with the exact amount of regular and van-accessible ADA parking stalls required by law, but keep in mind you can always go above and beyond by adding a few extra stalls or at least additional vanaccessible stalls. The ADA community will really appreciate it.

Here is a U.S. Department of Justice download explaining the required number of ADA stalls, size of the stalls and access area next to the stalls.

DIANE SANTIAGO, CAPP, is manager, landside operations, at the Port of Seattle.

The Paths to Procurement: Implementing Digital Strategies for the Future

By Mollie Bolin

When city leaders are preparing to procure new or updated mobility solutions, they often ask questions such as, “How do I write a request that opens a bid up to a wider range of respondents?” “I have an urgent need–is there a way to speed up my procurement process?” Or, “Am I approved to procure through a purchasing alliance?”

Every city has a unique set of parking, mobility, and enforcement needs, and with those come different approaches to procurement. The traditional RFP method is no longer the only option and over the years, the industry has started to see an increase in procurement via purchasing alliances. This trend can be attributed to a number of reasons, but most commonly, cities are leaning toward this route to increase the flexibility in what they are procuring for and speed up the overall procurement process.

Many municipalities are unaware that they are already a part of (or fall under the umbrella of) an alliance. Alliances, such as the National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance (NCPA) and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), can offer preferred pricing and additional products and features that may not have been included in a traditional bid. Conversely, a traditional RFP may elicit responses from companies a municipality may have not expected to respond, especially if it is written with updated and accurate requirements.

Whether a city opts for the traditional RFP method (like the City of Portland, Maine) or the purchasing alliance method (like the City of Chelsea, Mass., and the City of Key West, Fla.), the modern curb space continues to rapidly evolve. Now more than ever, it is vital for cities to consider re-imagining the procurement process, how their overall parking management system is structured, and what is needed to accomplish for both short- and long-term goals.

MOLLIE BOLIN is an account executive with Passport.