INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE | NOVEMBER 2018
Customer Service the Disney Way An interview with former Disney exec and author Lee Cockerell
22
WALKABLE CITY RULES
Jeff Speck’s 100 rules for making better places. 18
KEEPING CORNELL ON THE MOVE How a unique shuttle system keeps riders happy on long journeys. 28
SAVING LIVES
Updated strategies for preventing suicide attempts. 34
CHAUTAUQUA NATIONAL PARK Managing parking demand in a Colorado tourism hot spot. 38
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We’ve Changed Our Name The International Parking Institute (IPI) is now the International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI)
THE INDUSTRY IS GROWING AND WE’RE GROWING RIGHT ALONG WITH IT. Our new name is a more accurate reflection of the profession’s changing landscape. As our members confirmed in the 2018 Emerging Trends in Parking survey, parking is about much more than parking cars—it’s about making it easy for people to get from any space to any place. It’s about mobility. Along with our new name will come expanded opportunities and benefits for members, a greater focus on parking and mobility at our conferences, in our publications, and through our professional development offerings. We are committed to advancing the parking and mobility profession and moving forward to the future. We’re IPMI now. Soon a complete transition will be evident—on our website, in this magazine which will be renamed Momentum, and countless other places. Learn more at our new web address: parking-mobility.org/change.
NOVEMBER 2018 VOL. 34 | NO. 11 THE INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE
Features
22
Customer Service the Disney Way
Author and former Disney EVP Lee Cockerell talks about hiring, training, customer service, and parking—and why it all matters. By Kim Fernandez
28
Keeping Cornell on the Move
A unique bus system offers comfort and convenience, earning loyalty from customers despite its long-distance rides. By Bridgette Brady, CAPP
34
Saving Lives
Suicide mitigation updates for parking garages. By Larry Cohen, CAPP
38
Chautauqua National Park
How the City of Boulder managed parking demand in one of the country’s most popular historical landmarks. By Julianne Wilhelm
44
Automating a City
Proposing a new, automated transportation system in North Carolina. By Amalendu Chatterjee, PhD
4 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
EDITOR’S NOTE
Departments 6 ENTRANCE
IPMI: A Change for the Good By Shawn Conrad, CAE
8 FIVE THINGS
Creative Recruiting Ideas that Worked
1 0 MOBILITY & TECH
Parking Technology: Key Steps to Selecting Technology By Michael Drow, CAPP, PMP; and Blake Laufer, CAPP
12 THE GREEN STANDARD
Smart Parking Lots: Tech Hubs of the Future By Rita Azrelyant, MA, CAPP
14 THE BUSINESS OF PARKING Civil Discourse
By Julius Rhodes, SPHR
16 ON THE FRONTLINE
Avoiding the Shortcuts By Cindy Campbell
18 PARKING SPOTLIGHT
Walkable City Rules: 100 Steps to Making Better Places By Jeff Speck
21 ASK THE EXPERTS 48 IN SHORT 50 STATE AND REGIONAL
SPOTLIGHT Parking Association of the Virginias
T
Outstanding Service
HE LAW FIRM WHERE I WORKED THROUGH COLLEGE had a very precise dress code. Men wore suits in navy, dark grey, or black, with shined shoes, nice ties, minimal accessories, and no piercings or visible tattoos. Women wore kneelength or longer skirts with pantyhose and closed-toe shoes, business slacks, and tops with sleeves. Anyone heard giving less than 110 percent to any client was invited to find employment elsewhere, usually on the spot, circumstances notwithstanding.
It seemed archaic and over-the-top at the time (not to mention sweltering during Baltimore’s sticky summers,) but I get it now. It all projected professionalism from the moment someone entered the office until that person was long gone. For that business, professionalism was key. We hear about the same sorts of rules at Disney, where dress codes, customer service, and training are legendary. How much of it really matters? Lee Cockerell, former executive vice president who wrote some of the rules, says all of it. The happiest place on earth didn’t get that way without an extraordinary commitment to customer perception and service. We’re thrilled to feature Cockerell in this issue, where he shares his ideas about service, hiring, training, and pulling everything together to boost an operation to the top of the pile. Of course, someone who values service and excellence as much as he does did some research on our industry, and he also shares lots of thoughts specific to parking and mobility. We learned a lot from him and hope you and your staff members will too—read it starting on p. 22. There’s more to read while you’re here, including a terrific look at how and why mobility is a priority at Cornell University and a sobering and valuable feature about suicide prevention, with 10 concrete steps to take to help prevent these tragedies. As always, please reach out with questions, comments, or ideas. We hope you enjoy this issue! Until next month…
By Rob Maroney, CAPP
52 AROUND THE INDUSTRY 60 PARKING CONSULTANTS
fernandez@parking-mobility.org
62 ADVERTISERS INDEX 63 CALENDAR
THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 5
ENTRANCE Publisher Shawn Conrad, CAE conrad@parking-mobility.org Editor Kim Fernandez fernandez@parking-mobility.org Technical Editor Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C yoka@parking-mobility.org Assistant Editor Monica Arpino arpino@parking-mobility.org Contributing Editor Bill Smith, APR bsmith@smith-phillips.com Advertising Sales Bonnie Watts, CEM watts@parking-mobility.org Subscriptions Tina Altman taltman@parking-mobility.org. Publication Design BonoTom Studio info@bonotom.com Proofreader Melanie Padgett Powers For advertising information, contact Bonnie Watts at watts@parking-mobility.org or 571.699.3011. For subscription changes, contact Tina Altman, taltman@ parking-mobility.org. The Parking Professional (ISSN 0896-2324 & USPS 001436) is published monthly by the International Parking & Mobility Institute. 1330 Braddock Place, Suite 350 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 571.699.3011 Fax: 703.566.2267 Email: info@parking-mobility.org Website: parking-mobility.org Postmaster note: Send address label changes promptly to: The Parking Professional 1330 Braddock Place, Suite 350 Alexandria, VA 22314 Interactive electronic version of The Parking Professional for members and subscribers only at parking-mobility. org/tpp. Periodical postage paid at Alexandria, Va., and additional mailing offices. Copyright © International Parking & Mobility Institute, 2018. Statements of fact and opinion expressed in articles contained if The Parking Professional 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 The Parking Professional; 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. The Parking Professional is printed on 10 percent recycled paper and on paper from trees grown specifically for that purpose.
IPMI: A Change for the Good By Shawn Conrad, CAE
T
HE 1960S SINGER BOB DYLAN wrote The Times They Are a-Changin’. While the world saw many new developments in politics, music, and culture, those in the transportation industry also got their voice by way of a new organization.
By 1960 visionary transportation executives were summoned by the president of the American Municipal Association to help cities solve their parking and congestion problems. From that came a trade association that would represent all segments of the parking industry—the Institutional and Municipal Parking Congress (IMPC), working to develop new ways to manage automobile use and avoid perpetual gridlock. For many, IMPC was the launch point of a career in parking management. In 1995, IMPC’s name was changed to the International Parking Institute (IPI) to better reflect the growing international aspects of our Conference & Expo, which was fast becoming a must-attend event. We are immensely proud of what IPI has accomplished and what those three letters mean to parking professionals everywhere. And it’s time to queue up Bob Dylan again. The Board of Directors and I are very excited to announce that IPI has changed our name to the International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI). This powerful new name is the result of a year’s worth of brainstorming and examining the results of countless surveys that point to a widening of our members’ responsibilities. The brain trust of IPI and its thousands of members will continue to provide IPMI with cutting-edge learning, networking, management techniques, and technological advances that showcase how integral
6 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
parking and mobility are to their communities. IPMI will help better define what mobility is and how it can be fully utilized. That’s an important role. IPMI will continue our strong tradition of overseeing and strengthening the most respected certification and accreditations in the industry, and its only accredited certification program. You’re in for many surprises during the IPMI Conference & Expo in Anaheim, Calif., when we focus on parking and mobility’s role in curb management, utilizing TNCs, data collection, increasing revenue streams, and giving customers options. Yes, the times are a changing but our commitment to you will never waiver. The change to IPMI provides us with the platform to offer our members the means to advance their careers while enhancing their value to their organizations and local communities. For 10 years we have had a public relations campaign that gave parking professionals a seat at the table. IPMI will boldly make the case that parking and mobility matters will own the table! I look forward to your involvement in IPMI and please let us know how we can better serve you. SHAWN CONRAD, CAE, is CEO of
IPMI. He can be reached at conrad@parking-mobility.org.
Strategic Planning and Management Maintenance and Restoration Design and Construction Technologies www.kimley-horn.com/parking
5
THINGS TO KNOW
?
Creative Recruiting Ideas that Worked
Stupid human tricks. One CEO wanted to cast a wide net with commercials before feature films at the local movie theater but had no budget for videography. So she challenged her employees to film six-second spots of them performing their dumbest talents. Her graphics department turned those snippets into videos encouraging people to find their own talents with her company. And the applications poured in. What the heck are you driving? That same executive decided if she had it, she was going to flaunt it. So she wrapped an RV with her company logo, parked it near the offices of companies whose employees might have the talent she wanted, and had employees hand out flyers to those people at lunchtime when they left the building. They might have called it odd; she called it targeted recruiting—and it worked. Source: forbes.com.
5
3 4
Do you want to work here? That’s the real question, isn’t it? So internet company Upworthy asked exactly that, posting an “open-ended job” ad with no real job description or qualifications list. Those who wanted to work there were encouraged to just do it. Ambiguity for the win! Source: brazen.com.
Puzzle them. During World War II, codebreaking company Bletchley Park needed codebreakers. So they ran an ad in the paper— but not just any ad. This ad was a crossword puzzle. Anyone who solved the game knew what jobs were open and how they could apply. Mysterious and we like it! Source: beamery.com.
Embracing the boomerangs. Lots of people leave a job and realize they’ve made a mistake. It can be hard to admit that and go back to the first company, unless you work for Tufts Health Plan. The company has embraced what it calls “boomerang employees” and makes it easy for them to reapply for jobs and come back home. Tufts even has a hashtag for it: #THPBoomerangs. Source: glassdoor.com.
8 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
ISTOCK / ALEKSEI_DERIN / SERGIO BELLOTTO / OJOGABONITOO
1 2
It’s easy to put a job ad on Indeed or LinkedIn, but does it always bring you the best talent? Some people say getting a little more creative can open the floodgates, and they have the experience to prove it. Here are five out-of-thebox ways companies have recruited new employees.
Every year, there are
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MOBILITY & TECH
Parking Technology: Key Steps to Selecting Technology By Michael Drow, CAPP, PMP, and Blake Laufer, CAPP
A
PARKING OPERATION WILL NEVER BE AT A LOSS to find technologies to implement in a facility. However, not every technology is appropriate for every location, regardless of how innovative the technology might appear. The following steps will assist an operating team to understand theirs and their customers’ needs and to identify the technologies that fill the needs:
Understand operations today and in the future. ■■ Define customers today and in the future. What are
their transportation and parking needs? Remember parking is just one step on a person’s journey; parking is not the destination but rather a transition point from driving to some other modality. Does the facility support office workers in the building or in buildings in the area? This drives whether custom ID credentials should be supported or not. Does the facility support local attractions and events on the weekend? This might indicate the desire to support
This is excerpted from A Guide to Parking, the industry’s first comprehensive textbook, published by IPMI and Routledge Publishing, and written by top experts in mobility, transportation, and parking. It’s available on Amazon.com.
10 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
online marketing firms that will generate electronic barcode permits or LPR based credentials. ■■ What types of businesses might need access to the facility? Does the organization support downtown-based universities or a convention center that requires dedicated access to specific spaces? Is there a business in the building that has a large number of daily guests who may desire the ability to park near an elevator (i.e. a nested area)? Does the operation serve a medical facility with a g reater-than-mandated requirement for disabled spaces? ■■ What type of parking and transportation services will the operation offer? Will the facilities allow rideshare vehicles to drop off and pick up customers? Are carshare services parking in the facility? Do companies rotate a fleet of vehicles across several facilities? Will amenities like EV chargers be provided? ■■ How will customers interact with facilities? Will the organization have a mobile website that allows customers to search and pay for parking online? Will the operation work with third -party marketing and ticketing firms? How will customers access the facility—will they use-barcode, license plate, toll tag credentials? ■■ What data is required to manage the operation? To share with others? Data examples include occupancy, pricing, enforcement, and access credential details with building security or hotel ■■ Are there operational or financial constraints? Everyone wants to implement the best solution, but most live with budgets and need to prioritize their wants. Will the management team have the resources to support a new technology? Are the necessary IT resources and maintenance resources available to support the technology?
Once an organization understands the technology needs to support its operation’s goals, a manager will be able to prioritize the selection and implementation of technology solutions in an orderly fashion. More importantly, the plan will ensure that the sequence of technology implementation is correct and that the technology solutions are effective and support the organization’s goals. ■■ Develop a roadmap or timeline highlighting when key park-
ing and transportation services will be started or launched. When will the valet service start? When does the operation intend to work with the local restaurant for validations? When will the new building security system be installed that provides one access credential to the parking and building? Understanding when these operational services will launch is a key step in defining priorities for technology. It is likely that the services will be introduced over time. Documenting the rough timing will help to prioritize and sequence a facility’s technology needs. ■■ Identify the technology need to support the rollout of the services. Evaluate the technology needs for each service. Identify the technology that needs to be implemented first to support future services and understand the relationships and dependencies of the various technologies being considered. ■■ Adjust the plan to match service launch with technology needs and the financial and operational constraints. This brings the desired plan in line with the realistic plan that considers financial and operations constraints. The ability to be objective will ensure a successful plan can be defined. With a successful plan, the probability of delivering innovative solutions on time and on budget increase significantly. ■■ Taking the time to develop a technology road map will prove MICHAEL DROW, CAPP, PMP, is senior vice president,
corporate development, with T2 Systems, Inc., and cochair of IPMI’s Parking Technology Commmittee. He can be reached at michael.drow@t2systems.com.
to be invaluable. Understanding the services an operation wants to deliver for its internal use or to support customers more effectively, will make it much easier to identify the technology needs. Once an organization understands the technology needs to support its operation’s goals, a manager will be able to prioritize the selection and implementation of technology solutions in an orderly fashion. More important, the plan will ensure that the sequence of technology implementation is correct and that the technology solutions are effective and support the organization’s goals.
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THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 11
THE GREEN STANDARD
Smart Parking Lots: Tech Hubs of the Future By Rita Azrelyant, MA, CAPP
P
ARKING LOTS ARE OFTEN THOUGHT OF AS VAST WASTELANDS of bituminous pitch for the sole purpose of lodging vehicles—vehicles that sit idle for hours, days, weeks, and possibly months—but what if we alter our concept of parking lots and envision them as technological hubs of the future? Parking lots are invaluable in terms of land use and sustainability opportunities, and every inch of unusable asphalt, earth, and open space is an opportunity for smart, green, sustainable growth.
Every day, technology revolutionizes our lives, altering the way we travel, communicate, eat, live, and so forth. What was once a simple vehicle that would transport individuals and/or goods from one place to another is now capable of autonomously driving the individuals and wares and soon, flying the same cargo with a simple flip of a switch. The evolution of communication has gone from a fixed phone to a portable computer that can make phone calls, take verbal commands, and purchase items with a simple click or swipe of an application. Even simple toys and recreational uses of the past such as skates and bicycles have been electrified and transformed into alternative modes of transportation.
Getting Smart
Smart technology is all around us, and parking lots need to be smart to be at the epicenter of that movement. The notion of parking needs to go beyond smart meters and plate readers. Parking lots are prime real estate, centrally and strategically located for their accessibility. On average, individuals frequent parking facilities as much as their home, work, and/or school, thus the perfect setting to bring together all of the various sustainability initiatives into one coordinated site(s). Charging stations, smart benches, rainwater collectors, smart features such as book lending machines, and even smart trash cans illustrate how municipalities, universities, and hospitals around the world have invested in progressive sustainable initiatives transforming the way we live.
12 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
The most important part—the missing link that connects all of these smart initiatives—is the need to have an accessible and central location to refuel and recharge vehicles, electric bicycles, hoverboards, e-skates, etc. The need for parking lots will not decrease, but their use and the demand will change and shift to accommodate the needs of the community.
Rethinking Parking
As parking lots undergo transformations, their use, expenses, lack of green initiatives, and sustainability measures are being called into question, and it is important to envision parking lots in a smart sense. Asphalt, bump outs, landscapes, and smart meters must include green walls, charging stations, smart benches, smart receptacles, smart traffic lights, recycled water, and more. Investing smart and sustainable practices in parking lots results in growth, sustainability, and promotion of green standards for the community. Everyone will be invested and more conscientious of how humans can contribute to the environment. RITA AZRELYANT, MA, CAPP, is principal
consultant and owner of Laybel Consulting, LLC. She can be reached at laybelconsulting@ gmail.com.
Envision a Parking Lot Like No Other:
THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 13
THE BUSINESS OF PARKING | HUMAN RESOURCES
Civil Discourse By Julius Rhodes, SPHR
T
HIS IS DESIGNED TO PROVOKE YOU, BUT NOT IN A NEGATIVE SENSE . I want you to think deeper and start a dialogue with others that addresses the concept of civil discourse in our society and at work.
Biases
How many of you will admit you have biases? If we are being truthful with ourselves, we should all be willing to admit we do. And guess what? There is nothing wrong with having biases. Every decision we make is built on a bias for something or against something else. Biases are essential if we hope to be able to function and execute our daily responsibilities. What makes biases a danger point is when people believe the biases they have are the ones everyone should have and that their beliefs or biases are the only ones of value. There is a term—ethnocentrism—that means I think my beliefs are better than your beliefs because they are mine. The converse can also be said: A person might believe your beliefs are better than his or hers because they are yours. Each of these systems is equally flawed and dangerous, as they take away from an individual’s ability to behave in a free and rationale manner.
Handling the Truth
In the movie “A Few Good Men” (one of my all-time favorites), Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise) implores Colonel Nathan R. Jessup after a few tense moments of verbal sparring, “I want the truth.” Jessup responds (and you all know this), “You can’t handle the truth!” I like to say that as it relates to biases, there is no such thing as truth—at least, it’s extremely difficult to find. Why? There are several layers to the truth. There is my truth, then there is your truth; there is the truth as others see it, the spin that is added to truth, and finally the truth as it really
14 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
is after all the other levels have been distilled away. So as you can see, finding the truth can be a laborious but necessary endeavor. Given all of this, what are some of the steps or what is a process we can use to engage in civil discourse or civility in our workplaces? I’m glad you asked: ■■ Remember, if you believe you are the smartest person in the room, you’re probably in the wrong room. As social creatures we crave interaction, affiliation, and acceptance. One sure way to defeat the need for this interaction and put people off is to believe you are better than them. ■■ Accept others as your psychological equals. What this means is that you approach situations with an open mind but not so open that you allow your brains to fall out. We have to be willing to provide for the opportunity to learn from anyone at any point in time regardless of his or her station in life. ■■ Accept people where they are versus where you want them to be. You can’t change anyone and if you’re being honest with yourself, often the most difficult person to attempt to change is yourself. ■■ Always remember to treat people as if they matter, because they do. ■■ Be authentic. People know when you’re faking it, and nothing of value can come from actions that are not authentic. I hope I’ve provided you with not only something to think about but something to share. I’d like to hear your views on this matter, perhaps at forum.parking-mobility.org. Let the dialogue begin. JULIUS E. RHODES, SPHR, is founder and principal of
the mpr group and author of BRAND: YOU Personal Branding for Success in Life and Business. He can be reached at jrhodes@mprgroup.info or 773.548.8037.
ISTOCK / BOONYOO
Where once we were actively taught to mind our manners, today it seems more and more like manners don’t mind. As I see it, civil discourse and civility will always have a place in society. Difficulties will arise, and it’s at these times when our way of existing is threatened that we, individually and collectively, must escalate our intent to be known as among the best of us by our actions.
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ON THE FRONTLINE
Avoiding the Shortcuts By Cindy Campbell
A
h, California. How I love you. The brilliant ocean sunsets, the majestic redwood forest, the colorful fields filled with poppies swaying in the gentle afternoon breeze. I could tell you great things—and there are many—about my lifelong love affair with the Golden State, but if I’m honest, there is one minor thing that I cannot grow to appreciate: freeway traffic (OK, not so minor). It accounts for much of our daily frustration and is the topic of many casual conversations. Even NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” ran a recurring parody titled “The Californians.” One of the common themes portrayed California drivers as obsessed with beating freeway traffic by using side streets as shortcuts. NBC wasn’t entirely wrong with this depiction. On many occasions, I have been that Californian in search of the ultimate freeway shortcut. That’s a long introduction to get to my cautionary advice: Beware of the shortcut.
Led Astray
Heading home from Southern California after a recent work trip, the automated female voice came from the mapping program on my mobile phone (let’s call her “Suri” to protect the innocent). Suri’s upbeat voice tells me that I can save 10 minutes by taking an alternate route. While I’m unfamiliar with the suggested path, saving a little time sure sounds good. Roughly 10 minutes into the new route, Suri offers me yet another time-saving alternative. Excited about saving even more time, I opt in to the second suggested shortcut. I was feeling a little giddy about all of the “extra time” I was racking up because,
after all, shortcuts rock. You know, until they don’t. Thirty minutes into this awesome time-saving route, I found myself negotiating twists and turns, traversing a very steep, narrow, undivided, mountain road. I was too far in to turn back, and even if I could, there wasn’t enough room to pull over, much less turn the car around. For the next hour, only two motorcyclists passed me going the opposite direction. As I reached flatter terrain at the base of the mountain, the back road turned in to a thoroughfare for slow tractors. I made my way through a small farming community and back onto a rural highway. For five glorious minutes, it was smooth sailing, until the loud thump from hitting unavoidable road debris and the resulting flat tire. I will spare you the additional details of my driving adventure that day, but I will say that what was originally anticipated to be a dull four-hour drive turned into a very expensive eight-hour ordeal. So much for shortcuts.
16 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
Off Road
Have you ever cut corners to save yourself a little time at work? Perhaps you’ve been enticed by the promise of an easier path when faced with a tedious task. Do you take shortcuts as a quick fix to an issue or in the interest of expediency? When we take the time to thoughtfully consider how to streamline or improve a process, we increase the likelihood of enhancement without sacrificing quality. While shortcuts frequently save us time, they often cost us more in the long run. It may cost us in extra time spent or additional money when we’re forced to backtrack and correct a new set of problems created by the shortcut. Skipping the step of due diligence can be costly. The initial temptation of an easier path may cause us to sacrifice quality. We ultimately give up more than we gain. As professionals, our reputations are affected, positively or negatively, by the choices we make. When someone consistently takes shortcuts in his or her work, chances are good that the quality of the work product suffers and in turn negatively affects the person’s reputation. As I sat that afternoon at the auto repair shop, I had plenty of time to reflect on the poor choices I’d made about shortcuts that day. (I’m also carrying some deep resentment toward Suri.) CINDY CAMPBELL is IPMI’s
senior training and development specialist. She is available for onsite training and professional development and can be reached at campbell@parkingmobility.org.
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PARKING SPOTLIGHT | BOOK
Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places By Jeff Speck
N
ORTH AMERICA, ALONG WITH MUCH OF THE WORL D, has been building and rebuilding its cities and towns quite badly for more than half a century. To do it properly would have been easy; we used to be great at it. But, like voting for president, just because something is easy to do does not mean that it will be done, or done well.
To rectify the sporadic spread of city planning best practices, I published “Walkable City” in 2012. The timing was fortunate: while the term was not often used before 2010, walkability now seems to be the special sauce that every community wants. It took a while, but many of our leaders have realized that establishing walkability as a central goal can be an expeditious path to making our cities better in a whole host of ways. Packaged as “literary nonfiction” and “current affairs,” Walkable City was effective at finding readers, armchair urbanists curious about what makes cities tick. It made its way into mayors’ offices, council chambers, and town meetings, held aloft by people demanding change. Sometimes, change was begun , ..., and that’s when the problems started. While the book does a decent job of inspiring change, it doesn’t exactly tell you how to create it. Hence this new book, “Walkable City Rules,” an effort to weaponize Walkable City for deployment in the field. A brief excerpt follows.
Rule 17: M ake Downtown Parking a Public Utility Provide parking in consolidated facilities.
ELIMINATING THE ON-SITE PARKING requirement is the clear best choice for every main street and downtown. Eliminating parking is not. Many American downtowns need to provide new parking as they grow, especially as ugly surface parking lots become building sites. The typical way to densify an unwalkable urban area into a walkable one is to turn surface parking lots into structured
18 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
decks with a smaller footprint. How that parking is built and managed can be key to a place’s success or failure. Most of the parking for a new performing arts center, for example, should be located at least a block away. In most places, the best and easiest way to transition away from on-site parking to something better is through in-lieu fees. Instead of being required to build parking, new developments are required to pay a similar amount into a fund that is then used to build large, collective parking facilities. This effort can be managed by the city, by a parking authority, or even by a master developer, but the outcome is the same: parking that serves an entire district, located and designed to help that district thrive. How much in-lieu fees to pay should be based loosely on how much that parking costs to provide, minus anticipated net revenue from users. Fees per space across the United States range from $2,000 in Northampton, MA, (too low) to $27,520 in Carmel, CA, (too high?). As of 1999, Donald Shoup had identified thirty-one different North American cities with inlieu fee programs, including Chapel Hill, NC ($7,200), Lake Forest, IL ($9,000), and Vancouver, BC ($9,708),70 Keep in mind that, since municipal spaces are shared among many users, fees can typically be based on a parking requirement that has been adjusted well downward. However you pay for it, municipal
In Northampton, MA, a municipal lot anchors shopping and offices downtown.
and a healthy dose of skepticism, it was determined that—with shared parking, satellite parking, and high-tech demand management—all parking needs could be met using existing facilities. The $10 million has been rededicated to squares and parks within the District. RULE 17: If on-site parking minimums cannot be eliminated entirely, replace them with in-lieu fees supporting shared parking lots. Regardless of how they are funded, locate large parking structures strategically as downtown anchors. And don’t build them unless no other option exists.
FOOTNOTES
70 Donald Shoup, “Instead of Free Parking,” Access, no. 15 (Fall 1999), http://shoup.bol.ucla.edu/InsteadOfFreeParking.pdf. 71 Andres Duany, Suburban Nation, 167. 72 Michael Manville and Donald Shoup, “People, Parking, and Cities,” Access, no. 25 (Fall 2004), https://web.archive.org/ web/20141026062915/ http://www.uctc.net/access/25/Access%2025%20-%20 02%20-%20People,%20Parking,%20and%20Cities.pdf.
Rule 19: Price Parking Based on Its Value If the curbs are full, the parking is underpriced.
WHEN DRIVING is too cheap, roads get too crowded. When parking is too cheap, parking gets too crowded. And when people park too much, a bunch of bad things happen: people circle in search of spots; they double park; or they get frustrated and drive back home without shopping. Next time, they drive to the mall instead. Since most places currently price their parking so arbitrarily, a switch to an unsophisticated system that merely tries to respond to demand can have a profound impact. For a downtown area to function rationally, its parking must be priced rationally. This means that price must reflect value, with the most desirable spots getting the highest price. In many places, this price should vary around the clock to reflect changing demand. What’s the right price? Donald Shoup
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BING MAPS
parking lots should be carefully located, with an understanding of the important role that they play in downtown. Effectively, they are anchors: receivers and disgorgers of large quantities of pedestrians. Like in a shopping mall, they should be located at some distance from the other anchors, to give business to the shops in between. In this way, downtowns need to be organized cunningly, with a strategic separation of origins and destinations.71 Most of the parking for a new performing arts center, for example, should be located at least a block away. This is the opposite of what usually happens in US cities. Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall sits directly atop its six-level, $110-million parking garage, built at a cost of $50,000 per space72— about twice what it would have cost to build it on the empty lot one block east. This nonsense needs to stop. The downtown parking discussion is given a new twist by car-sharing, ride-sharing and ride-hailing services, and the anticipation of driverless cars. Futurists tell us that it is folly to build any new parking facilities, since they will be obsolete in a decade or two. Whether or not these predictions are accurate, the fact remains that some downtowns need more parking now. In utterly car-dependent cities like Las Vegas and Tampa, getting new growth financed means a commitment to more parking. Or does it? In a plan for the River District, an expansion of downtown Elkhart, IN, the City had determined that a 600car parking structure was needed to serve a new aquatic center, and funded it at $10 million. With careful analysis
PARKING SPOTLIGHT | BOOK
CITY OF REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA
One of the earliest plans of its type, the 2007 Redwood City, CA, parking plan priced different spaces based upon their desirability, to allocate demand efficiently. Streets closest to the action cost the most, and underutilized parking structures were free.
suggests that parking be priced at the amount that results in 85% occupancy, which means that there is one empty spot on each curb face. This outcome can be achieved in high-tech ways, such as San Francisco’s sophisticated SF park system, which constantly changes prices based on occupancy measured by in-road sensors. Or it can be achieved, with slightly less accuracy, by setting a price that changes once or twice a day based on a little bit of testing. Since most places currently price their parking so arbitrarily, a switch to an unsophisticated system that merely tries to respond to demand can have a profound impact. And remember: the laws of supply and demand are not suspended at 6 p.m. or on Sunday, so properly priced parking shouldn’t be either. Shoup documents how, in city after city, a switch to properly-priced parking has changed merchants’ fortunes for the better. He reminds us that the parking
meter was introduced (in 1935) by store owners in order to improve revenue by creating more churn at the curb and encouraging workers to park elsewhere. Still, whenever someone suggests raising the price of parking in over-parked areas, it is almost always the local merchants who fight it the hardest. In some cases, no amount of evidence or reason is adequate to change a merchant’s mind. One restaurateur in Norwalk, CT, recently printed up a flyer. It says: “Donald Shoup’s theories are right—just not here in Norwalk.”76 For this reason, Shoup introduced one other great idea, the Parking Benefits District (PBD). A PBD makes a commitment to the merchants that the additional revenue collected from higher meter prices will be spent in the location where it is earned. Typically, it can be directed toward street and sidewalk improvements, street furniture like lighting and benches, new trees and landscap-
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ing, and even facade improvements to private businesses. Eventually, it can pay for new parking structures as well. PBDs are an excellent carrot for merchants, but they are potentially much more. Probably the most effective PBD is the one that Shoup helped establish in Old Town Pasadena. Begun in 1993, it paid for all of the benefits mentioned above, as well as a team of public service officers, the burying of overhead wires, and the conversion of a rear alley network into a lovely pedestrian zone. There are no dumpsters in Old Town; each block has its own industrial trash compactor. The experience in Pasadena has been truly transformative: a virtuous circle in which improvement has led to more visitors, which has led to more meter revenue and more improvement. Within five years of its inception, property tax revenue from the district tripled and sales tax revenues quadrupled.77 Clearly, this is an effort worth copying. Rule 19: Reprice parking with an eye to Shoup’s 85 percent rule, and establish a Parking Benefits District to direct revenue toward local improvements.
FOOTNOTES
76 This is quoted from memory and may be slightly inaccurate. 77 Jon Geeting, “Ideas Worth Stealing: Parking Benefit Districts,” WHYY Radio (March 28, 2016), https://whyy.org/ articles/ideas-worth-stealing-parking-benefit-districts/. For more, visit islandpress.org/book/walkable-city-rules
JEFF SPECK is author of
“Walkable City” and “Walkable City Rules.” He can be reached at jeff@jeffspeck.com.
ASK THE
EXPERTS
What’s the No. 1 quality you look for in applicants when hiring?
Vicki Pero, SPHR
Principal Marlyn Group, LLC Resourcefulness. The business environment is dynamic, and it’s difficult to anticipate what you will need to know in the future to do your job effectively. Having a desire and ability to find information you need is crucial.
Vanessa Solesbee Schnipkoweit, CAPP President The Solesbee Group
A willingness to do any task, regardless of whether it is in their job description. I would hire someone with that trait— and a positive attitude— over someone with a lengthy resume any day of the week.
Victor A. Hill, MPA, CAPP
Director of Parking and Transportation Services University of Wisconsin-La Crosse I look for someone who shows a willingness to consider options beyond the immediate answers to customers’ questions. That initiative invariably means the customer will receive better service. Applicants who show such initiative tend to excel at customer service and in technical aspects of the operation that require independent thinking.
Irma Henderson, CAPP
Director, Transportation Services University of California Riverside A natural inclination to smile; a warm and friendly face is the start to any great experience and the best conflict resolution tool a person has.
James C. Anderson Regional Sales Manager Watson Bowman Acme Corp.
Character. Self-directed candidates who wish to passionately work toward their career goals.
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.
THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 21
CUSTOMER SERVICE
The Disney Way Author and former Disney EVP Lee Cockerell talks about hiring, training, customer service, and parking—and why it all matters.
A
By Kim Fernandez COMMON REACTION IN ANY CONVERSATION ABOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer service is in Cockerell’s blood—we’ll Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney;” and get to that in a minute—and was a priority during his “Time Management Magic: How to Get More Done Ev10 years as executive vice president for operations at ery Day and Move from Surviving to Thriving.” Disney, where he created and managed Today, he consults on customer serDisney Great Leader Strategies, used vice, including for the Disney Institute, to train 7,000 company leaders. Cockand hosts the Creating Disney Magic: erell led 40,000 cast members and was Lessons in Leadership, Management, responsible for the operations of four and Customer Service podcast. So theme parks, 20 resort hotels, two water what’s any of this got to do with parkparks, a shopping and entertainment ing? Lots. village, and the ESPN sports and recreation complex. Service Basics He served in executive roles at Marri“My grandmother was the nicest person ott and Hilton hotels before joining Disyou ever knew,” Cockerell says. “She ney and is author of several bestselling taught me courtesy, politeness, and to books about customer service, including treat people properly.” He heard her “The Customer Rules: The 39 Essenvoice in his head during high school, tial Rules for Delivering Sensational when he worked in a lumber yard and Mickey Mouse reading Service;” “Creating Magic: 10 Common Creating Magic making deliveries for a local pharmacy,
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SHUTTERSTOCK / GHENADIE
is to reference The Walt Disney Company, whose resorts, where no detail is left to chance, are known as the pinnacle of outstanding service. If you bring up customer service at Disney, though, they’re likely to mention Lee Cockerell. And Lee Cockerell, as it turns out, has a lot of thoughts about customer service and parking.
Lee Cockerell
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Hiring and Training
“We were very careful who we brought in,” Cockerell says of his time at Disney. And it might be surprising what the company looked for in applications and interviews. “We’re always looking for passion and attitude. We can train you to do 99 percent of the job unless you’re an attorney or an IT person. So we look for the person with the passion and attitude first,” he says. Those things come through in an interview and almost always trump hard skills. That’s where training begins. Disney developed a video all new hires watch before they do anything else. It doesn’t teach specific job skills, but it does outline general expectations, most of which center around customer service and attitude while on the job. That means no arguing, no yelling, and service with a smile. “People don’t always understand the ramifications of their actions,” he says. “We want professionals, not people digging deep into their own problems to react to a customer. It’s like your mother said every day— remember your mother. She told you over and over and over how to behave.” The film also explains the rules for Disney staff, including strict dress codes and personal expectations.
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And about a quarter of new hires decide after seeing it that their new job isn’t a great fit. “They decide they don’t want to work here because they don’t like the rules,” says Cockerell. “That’s fine with us.” Disney has a point system for employees, says Cockerell, and it works very well. Employees get a point every time there’s a complaint, a point for showing up for work late, a point for violating the dress code. Points have a shelf life, and it’s possible to get rid of them in a year. “If you get 12 points, you’re gone and everyone knows that,” he says. “But it spells out what infractions are causing problems for people. If you want to have an argument every time a customer starts one, that’s your decision. And we make it clear that these are good people who fire themselves. We don’t fire them.” From there, the training continues with lessons, conversations, and tests on the material. And they explain why some of the rules exist—a strategy Cockerell says would work well in parking. “If you train your people that they can’t raise their voices, they’ve got to also know what the consequences are,” he says. “It’s not in your job to do any yelling. Your job is to give out the ticket. When you’re encountered, you’re not going to do any fighting back. With the world the way it is, you’re going to get hurt one day. There’s a huge problem of anxiety—people are wired—and that’s a consequence. Train that from the beginning.” Training, Cockerell says, is a chance to create the right culture from the ground up. “We have a discussion that says we want you to be great at this and we’re going to work with you to get there,” he says. “Frankly, a lot of times, governments aren’t very good at this. They just hire and put people out there. Everything can be done better, and it’s never too late to get better. We wake up every morning wondering how we can do things better, how can we train our people better. When you make your people better, your organization gets better, and your people are both your brand and your state of mind.”
Parking
“If I was running parking in New York City, I’d have a different program than they have now,” he says. “We’d be connecting and touching people. We’d have videos, audio recordings, and they’d get a lot of recognition.” And all of those materials would be for both employees and the public, because sometimes customers need training, too.
SHUTTERSTOCK / GHENADIE
and learned at an early age that her simple words carried a lot of wisdom. “I learned early on to just be nice to people and don’t let it get to you when they misbehave. They’ve got problems you don’t know about. They don’t know you so they can’t be mad at you personally.” The theory served him well, and in 1965, he started waiting tables at the renowned Washington Hilton, where showing up on time, doing his job carefully, and always being nice soon earned him a promotion into management. That, he says, taught him the second big lesson of his career. “The best way to have a good life is to have a good attitude and be organized,” he says. “When you’re reliable and you have a good attitude, you’re going to do pretty well.” The promotions kept coming and, he says, always came as a surprise as he never felt expert enough to move up to the next level. And that, he says, was the third lesson: “Nobody knows what’s going on. I was in good company feeling that way, and attitude is the No. 1 thing.” A career in customer service with the company that values it more than anyone solidified that lesson, which he continues teaching today, and which he tells clients should guide their hiring more than anything.
Lee Cockerell, former Disney EVP, author, and speaker on customer service and leadership.
“We’d get the message out there: Don’t beat up on the poor guy out on the street who’s just trying to do his job. There’s a lot you can do about that over time and people start to stand back, say you’re right, and commit to not doing that again. You end up with more focus by citizens on the people doing their jobs.”
The Customer Service Rules
Cockerell’s book, “The Customer Rules,” spells out 39 specific rules for offering outstanding customer service. They apply to any business, he says, from Disney to parking. A few examples: ■■ Never, ever argue with a customer. “The louder they yell, the quieter you get,” Cockerell says. “It’s easy to have somebody yelling and start to think, ‘I hate this. I wish I was doing something else. This jerk is talking to me like this from his big Mercedes and I want to get even.’ Just don’t do it.” He recommends letting the person finish his or her tirade and then speaking in a quiet, very calm voice. “Be polite and professional,” he says. “You can apologize: ‘I’m sorry my job requires me to give you this ticket. I wish I
didn’t have to, but it’s my responsibility.’ Do not let people control you—start by controlling yourself.” ■■ Great service follows the law of gravity. A great onboarding program is job one of managers, Cockerell says, but leading by example is a close second. “Yelling at people usually gets you very little except in trouble,” he says. “It starts at the top. People in cities need training to understand there are ways to overcome these situations. If it gets bad enough, people will quit, and you don’t want turnover. Remember that once you train people how to be professional, you’ve improved their lives. When you become great, it affects your children and grandchildren and on down the line. It becomes your legacy.” ■■ Be a wordsmith—language matters. “The words you use in daily life are important,” Cockerell says. “How many people want to be called a subordinate?” Once managers get it, it’s important to train everyone on words to use and not use in every situation. Cockerell recommends creating a booklet of scenarios and possible language to use, from the person who didn’t feed the meter on up. “Use language to be the THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 25
bigger person,” he says. “When you get riled up, it ruins your whole day. How many of us end up upset about something we said?” ■■ Look sharp. Disney has refined its dress code by asking focus groups what’s appropriate and not over time, but some rules remain: No cotton pants (they wrinkle too much), no golf shirts (they can look sloppy), no reflective sunglasses (customers want to see people’s eyes when they’re talking). Cockerell says it’s important to dress people for the job and industry they’re in. “I would have my parking staff in very professional uniforms,” he says. “Make them look like a million dollars. People are less likely to work them over if they look really sharp. Make them look as official as you can.” ■■ Apologize like you mean it. “It doesn’t bother me to say I’m sorry,” Cockerell says. “I’m sorry this happened. I’m sorry the meter ran out. I’m sorry you didn’t understand the sign. But I’m required to write this ticket. I‘m required to tell you that you have to do this or that. I’m sorry, but I’m required.”
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What about the old rule that says the customer is always right? It stands—sort of. “The customer is not always right,” says Cockerell, “but he or she is still the customer. We want to save this relationship. We want to avoid an argument. We don’t want to have this back and forth. Like the song says, let it go.” It doesn’t mean invalidating a citation or ignoring an offense, but it does mean avoiding the yelling. “Do you want me to discuss your problem or do you want to just keep yelling at me?” he recommends as an answer. “Companies now have to deal with violent people who are unreasonable. You’re not going to take the ticket back just because somebody’s yelling. So you have to sit down as a group and figure out what the strategy is going to be.” Above all, he says, ingrain in everyone that these jobs matter. Parking and mobility keep everyone moving, and it’s critical to never lose sight of that. Every person is critical to the mission. “These jobs are hard,” he says. “All of them are hard. Being a parent is hard. So you’ve got to do hard things. But to do that, you’ve got to know why they matter.” KIM FERNANDEZ is IPMI’s director of
publications and editor of The Parking Professional. She can be reached at fernandez@parking-mobility.org.
Find a Job. Post a Job. IPMI’s Career HQ. Discover your next parking and mobility industry job or candidate in IPMI’s Career HQ. Reach thousands of parking, transportation, and mobility professionals. New positions are posted daily with opportunities for every level.
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Keeping Cornell on the
Mo
A unique bus system offers comfort and convenience, earning loyalty from customers despite its long-distance rides.
28 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING.ORG /TPP
ve
A
By Bridgette Brady, CAPP S WE KNOW, mobility solutions take on many
forms: trains, planes, boats, automobiles, human and animal-propelled modes, and of course the bus—one of the most used forms of transport in the world. Buses are among the most important forms of urban and rural passenger transport around the world. Increases in population, shifting mobility patterns, and a greater focus on environmental issues are changing the face of public transport. Whether through short or long distances, buses and motorcoaches are one of the safest, greenest, most user-friendly, affordable, and inclusive means of transport. The diversity of services within the bus world creates more connections into the furthest reaches of society for the masses. This form of transport has a tremendous effect on the economy, both in access to employment centers and in employment within the system. There are more than 2 million jobs in the U.S. as a result of transit expenditures. Both with public and private services, buses arrive in all shapes, sizes, colors, and designs, taking us to adventures, work, competitions, shopping, medical facilities, and school. As mobility providers, buses are the cornerstones of our efforts to move people; they are the connection between the first and last miles of travel.
THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 29
Each of the six MCI buses dons a specially designed wrap that turns heads wherever it goes, is the backdrop in many selfies, generates pride in being a Cornelian, and provides some of the most notable, bold, mobile marketing Cornell could imagine.
With all of that said, although they are seemingly the most impactful form of transport, these systems are not celebrated. I’ve been fortunate in my career to witness some impressive bus systems. One was named after the horse that pulled the first “shuttle,” a passenger-designed and -named system—Hop, Skip and Jump—and another was a system connecting the entire Puget Sound region to a university on the hill, just to name a few. I’ve also had the distinct pleasure of working for one of the greatest bus systems imagined. True, I may be biased, but I believe the widely recognized Cornell University-owned and -operated Campus-to-Campus (C2C) executive motorcoach operation evokes more pride than any other, celebrating the vision of “an institution where anybody can find instruction in any study,” block by block.
An Extensive System
Cornell University’s world-class research and academic centers span globally, generating mobility challenges beyond the capacity of conventional solutions. Including two international locations in Qatar and Italy, one in Washington, D.C, and three in New York state, Cornell generates extensive knowledge corridors for learning, discovery, and engagement. One corridor in particular includes 200-plus miles of interstate, travels through
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three states, experiences 1.5 miles of tunnel vision, and arrives in the middle of Manhattan. The essential need to connect academic, business, and research centers on the Ithaca campus (main) in Central New York to Weill Cornell Medicine on the Upper East Side, the brandnew Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, and eight more programs and locations throughout Manhattan requires a unique mobility solution. In 2004, Cornell’s president commissioned the express C2C executive motorcoach service between the Ithaca main campus and two locations in Manhattan, at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Cornell Club. At the time, the pilot motorcoach service was outsourced to a local operator. After a three-month pilot of 16 one-way trips per week, C2C became a permanent enterprise service for the university community and the general public. By 2011, the number of one-way trips had increased to 40 per week. With a service so important to the campus community, uncompromised safety and quality control were the highest priorities. To ensure the highest level of service possible, in 2103, C2C was insourced by Cornell Transportation Services and Cornell affiliates and departments benefited from discounted fares. In 2018, a third stop was added to facilitate travel to the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, with a stop near the subway station providing a train under the East River to the island or blocks away from a tram ride over the East River.
Logistics
A logistics-heavy operation like the C2C requires round-the-clock support. If all goes as scheduled, there are roughly five hours of rest between the last arrival and first departure from Ithaca the next morning. Operation of the C2C service is carried out by staff that consists of motorcoach operators, detailers, mechanics, administrative staff, outreach, and a calling service for after hours. The trips connecting Cornell campuses go smoothly as a result of a combined dedication to exceeding the expectations of our clientele. This hinges on a well-orchestrated effort by all involved, from maintaining and cleaning a fleet of six motorcoaches, professional driving with highest levels of customer service, ensuring compliance with Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations for driver hours of service, driver qualifications, and vehicle condition. “Operating C2C has introduced me to facets of the transportation industry that I most likely would not have otherwise had the opportunity to experience,” says Carl Hoaglin, assistant director for the East Campus Service
In a C2C motorcoach, 32 first-class reclining leather seats give way to a fully stocked galley in the rear of the bus, with a Keurig machine, complimentary snacks, and a refrigerator full of cold beverages. Center. “From the inner workings of motorcoaches as an interstate transportation solution, to bus parking in New York City, to the options and amenities possible on a luxury motorcoach, the components that make a service of this caliber viable and successful are truly impressive.” Considerations for external impacts are crucial in minimizing delays and planning efforts, including monitoring road construction in the highest traveled corridors, maneuvering city traffic, and evaluating evolving weather conditions, particularly when the route involves the Poconos Mountains. With curb space at a high premium in New York City, permits for pickup/drop-off locations must be maintained, requiring approval by neighborhood boards that can be fatigued and irritated by congestion and an ever-evolving New York City DOT bus loading permit system. Given the distance between destinations, having a driver run a roundtrip, down and back, places C2C in a position of possibly exceeding a mandated 10-hour driving time limit. As a result, a complex driving schedule is maintained to ensure the number of hours driven falls within regulations with three motorcoach operators and two motorcoaches spending layover time in a contracted hotel in Secaucus, N.J., to facilitate the three departures from New York City at 6:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. Motorcoach parking is found in a large lot of a neighboring big-box retailer.
An Eye for Comfort
There have been several changes to the service in the past 14 years. However, one thing has remained the same: Each bus provides one of the most comfortable travelling experiences you can imagine. Fostering an environment conducive to productivity for business and study requires offering as many comforts as possible on the four-hour ride. “I have ridden the C2C bus several times per year for Cornell business in the last five years and have always been impressed with the service: punctual, clean, and comfortable with handy Wi-Fi and coffee,” says Leslie Schill, Cornell’s director of planning.
A traditional motorcoach packs in 55 passengers. In a C2C motorcoach, 32 first-class reclining leather seats give way to a fully stocked galley in the rear of the bus, with a Keurig machine, complimentary snacks, and a refrigerator full of cold beverages. “I really appreciate that Cornell provides this excellent transportation option to New York City,” Schill says. As impressive as the interior of the bus is, one of the most amazing things about the C2C bus is the exterior, with each bus having a unique identity. Each of the six MCI buses dons a specially designed wrap that turns heads wherever it goes, is the backdrop in many selfies, generates pride in being a Cornelian, and provides some of the most notable, bold, mobile marketing Cornell could imagine. Although different in design, the theme remains consistent: Each wrap includes scenes of both New York City and the Ithaca campus, and metropolitan scenes blend into rural campus settings. The designs have been so popular over the years that highly soughtout, limited edition miniature buses were also wrapped.
Partnerships
The success of any transport system program requires strong partnerships and institutional resolve. C2C continues to grow and foster strong working relationships with many stakeholders, including university administration, the Cornell board of trustees, academic units, student organizations, and local charities. A free trip is one of the most anticipated prizes in so many THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 31
raffles for a good cause. One particular relationship that has grown through the years has become incredibly important to all involved. “I’ve been with C2C since the beginning. One of the greatest sources of pride for me is the relationship with the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes, providing free rides to cancer patients (and a companion) seeking treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center located next to Weill Cornell Medicine,” says Tammy Lopez, manager of C2C customer relations. “This service removes one worry during this difficult time in a cancer patient’s life.” There is so much to celebrate in the C2C service, but the absolute best part of the service is the clientele. The ridership is a global representation of students, staff, faculty, university partners, and casual travelers. The buses transport students arriving to Cornell for the first time, dignitaries traveling abroad, researchers seeking cures, an executive with great responsibilities, the traveler just needing a weekend away, and many more. Oftentimes, repeat customers form friendships with their favorite drivers and they have their favorite seats and know exactly which beverage and snack to grab when they board. All of the drivers, are my favorites, and I’m partial to 7A on the single row of seats, ginger ale, and cheese doodles.
Measuring Success
Even when you know something is great, it can always be better. Success of the service can be measured using several performance indicators. However, there is a strong focus in measuring performance surrounding the customer experience. C2C customer service satisfaction surveys always return with glowing reviews, high ratings, and productive feedback. Even during competitive market conditions, ridership has grown each year for several years, many times experiencing unmet demand. Along with providing a superior product, the ridership growth can be attributed to a comprehensive marketing plan. While many forms of outreach are used in the plan, two of the more popular and effective programs are the loyalty program and an award-winning social media campaign. The loyalty program, instituted in 2016, celebrates customers’ patronage by providing a cozy C2C-branded travel blanket after five one-way trips and thereafter offers a complimentary one-way trip for every 10 trips taken. There were two overwhelming discoveries in the months following the start of the program: C2C has a very loyal customer base, and they love their travel
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blankets almost as much, if not more, than a free trip.
Being Social
The furthest reaching marketing program is a social media platform to help establish relationships with our customers, alumni, and potential customers around the world. C2C’s social media platform has provided a tremendous amount of positive exposure for our entire department. “Cornell University’s mission is learning, discovery, and engagement. Learning and continually trying to understand how to use social media as a communication channel has changed my career,” says Gary Cremeens, manager of outreach and transportation demand management (TDM). Building meaningful social media relationships involves taking time to share content that recognizes customers and organizations rather than yourselves. “It is very rewarding seeing others be successful when engaging with their audience,” Cremeens says. Roughly 90 percent of C2C social media efforts are dedicated to building relationships and providing useful information, such as upcoming weather conditions and local events, and sharing fun facts about various topics related to Cornell or New York City. We only spend 10 percent of our time with content for self-promotion, but by creating relationships with the 90 percent effort, people and organizations tend to like, share, comment, or click a link. The posted content typically reaches more than 100,000 people, resulting in over 5,000 doing something actionable with our posts weekly—a 5.4 percent engagement rate. Given the industry standard for action after a post is 1 percent, C2C is miles ahead of the competition. The C2C team is relentless in its pursuit for excellence and is dreaming up plans for enhancements as I type. With a new bus on the way to design and up-fit, a new reservation system in the works, and thoughts of different food offerings, the possibilities for improvements are endless. The C2C team is extremely proud to have the opportunity to facilitate these connections. If after reading this, you’re not convinced C2C is one of the most unique, celebration-worthy mobility programs offered, I invite you to visit Ithaca and check it out for yourself. #KeepingCornellOnTheMove. BRIDGETTE BRADY, CAPP, is senior director of
transportation and mail services at Cornell University. She can be reached at bb635@ cornell.edu.
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Saving Lives M Suicide mitigation updates for parking garages. By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP
ITIGATING SUICIDES IN PARKING FACILITIES is a continuing
topic of interest. Recent media coverage of the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain revealed that people may be struggling and in pain with mental health issues to the point where they may consider suicide, but still exhibit few outward signs of their distress. Recent research released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that suicide rates rose by 25 percent across the country from 1999 to 2016, and 45,000 Americans age 10 or older died by suicide in 2016. In more than half of all deaths, the people had no known mental health conditions.
They asked me to look at more than 70 campus buildings. At first, it was overwhelming, but I went back to the same guiding principles I had previously used to review our own facilities. For the past seven years, this university has been working on its suicide mitigation efforts while following best practices, which resulted in halting more than 20 suicide attempts. Even so, a small number of suicides had occurred, and the university administrators wanted to make sure they were staying ahead of the curve in their efforts. I spent one and a half days onsite and was impressed by the investment level of the university’s prevention efforts and creative and effective initiatives.
34 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
ISTOCK / HOBO_018
Experts say people are likely to scout convenient locations when they are considering suicide. That’s when parking garages and facilities become part of the concern. A large university in California asked for my assistance in a campus-wide assessment to help make parking locations safer or more unattractive for those who might be considering suicide attempts. I’ve become a somewhat reluctant resource in an ongoing problem of parking garage suicide issues based on my experiences with the issue with a city parking authority. I expected the campus visit would enhance my knowledge of mitigation efforts, but I was surprised at the extent of the university’s surveillance.
Simple signage should be the standard.
Stairwells are often open-air in milder climates, and they can become a potential jumping zone.
THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 35
We all learn from each other in this area. Here’s a 10-step list to help your organization mitigate garage suicides and stay up-to-date with best practices: 1. Bring together individuals from different departments to begin a strategic assessment that includes focused investments and agreement that suicide mitigation is a priority. This multidisciplinary team may include police, fire, facilities management, environmental health/safety/risk, student affairs, design and construction, and parking and transportation services.
This trailer is a creative way to mitigate a landing location.
2. Recognize how geography can affect solutions. On the West Coast, many garage stair towers are open air because they do not have the winter weather conditions of the East Coast. 3. Develop consistent suicide prevention messaging with a simple message and number of the local suicide prevention hotline. The message could be one listing the local help hotline, and it needs to be included in written publications and in all communication outlets. 4. Place signs with your suicide prevention message strategically throughout garage roofs and building locations. 5. In all trainings, try to include the importance of establishing a connection with individuals, which experts say could be the key to preventing suicide. Recognize that mental disorders are stigmatized by society, and it is difficult for people to admit that they have mental health issues.
Creative use of cement-filled trash cans to eliminate potential landing area.
6. Focus on minimizing landing zones to act as a major deterrent. Look at options such as placing chairs and tables, umbrellas, trees (fake and real), awnings, landscaping, bike racks, trash cans (sometimes just filled with concrete), or anything that would make a potential landing area not so appealing to people who might be contemplating taking their own life at that location. 7. Conduct evaluations every three to five years of all building and parking facilities greater than four stories in height. 8. Offer ongoing training in CPR, first aid, first responder, assisting individuals in distress, customer service, and conflict resolution to all employees who may encounter someone in a distress situation. 9. Use permanent and/or mobile CCTV units to target trouble areas. 10. Don’t wait to have a suicide to deal with it. Be proactive—and do it now—because losing one life is one life too many. For more information, please refer to: “Savings Lives,” The Parking Professional, August 2015; “Suicide in Parking Facilities: Prevention, Response, and Recovery,” available at parking.org/sprr. LARRY J. COHEN, CAPP, is executive director of the Lancaster
(Pa.) Parking Authority. He can be reached at lcohen@ lancasterparkingauthority.com.
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Greenery planted next to a garage offers a visual barrier for someone thinking of jumping.
Knowledge is Power. Shared Knowledge is‌
MAGIC The Parking Professional is IPMI’s award-winning monthly magazine, featuring articles and insights from industry experts on the latest in technology, design, and management. If your company is an IPMI member, your entire staff receives a digital subscription. Read now at parking-mobility.org.
Chautauqua National Park
How the City of Boulder managed parking demand in one of the country’s most popular historical landmarks. By Julianne Wilhelm
F
OR NEARLY A HALF CENTURY , the state of Colorado has been a leader in the
stewardship of land, environment, and sustainability, striving to achieve cleaner air and water and improve public health for its residents. On any given crisp, cool day, you can see bikers, mountain climbers, hikers, and runners taking in the clean air and wellprotected scenery. It is no wonder then that the state’s natural landmarks are the first to be protected from potential threats, including that of vehicle congestion at Chautauqua Park. One of Colorado’s top national historic landmarks, Chautauqua Park brings in more than half a million visitors each year. The landmark stretches across 26 acres of land, with adjoining public open space and mountain parks on two sides. The space is often used for hiking and recreational activities and draws large crowds to the Auditorium, a space that hosts live artists and educators, including the likes of cellist Yo-Yo Ma and B.B. King, along with Stephen King and Rev. Jesse Jackson, among others. As such, the Chautauqua remains committed to preserving the area’s natural and cultural resources and its surrounding neighborhoods while continuing its historical and educational programs. In recent years, as the city of Boulder has risen in popularity (most recently being rated as the happiest
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city in America by National Geographic in 2017),1 the Colorado Chautauqua has faced a variety of issues. The bulk of those issues come from one popular supply and demand matter: parking.
Background
The City of Boulder and the Colorado Chautauqua Association (CCA) came together in 2015 when both parties acknowledged that the Chautauqua was facing difficulties in visitor transportation and mobilization. For a variety of reasons, most visitors arrive at the Chautauqua area by automobile. Combined with the popularity of this area, this creates traffic congestion, parking congestion, and high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, some visitors park in the
neighborhoods around the baseline of the park, which, although permissible, has become a challenge for the area’s permanent residents. Other issues included: ■■ Inadequate parking supply for peak times during the year. ■■ Parking issues in the surrounding neighborhoods. • Quality of life for residents. • Finding a place to park. • Vehicle circulation issues. ■■ Pedestrian access issues to Chautauqua Park. • Drivers not yielding to pedestrians at crosswalks. • Overcrowded parked vehicles encroaching pedestrian walk areas.
Planning
To find a solution to these specific issues, the Chautauqua Access Management Plan (CAMP) was created. CAMP explored ways to manage existing demand for access to and from the Chautauqua area that minimized impacts to surrounding neighbors, visitors, and the area’s natural and cultural resources. The CAMP pilot program was implemented to test a solution for three months in the summer of 2017. This
“The parties [the city of Boulder and the CCA] recognize that during peak periods, parking demand for all uses with and around Chautauqua far exceeds supply. Chautauqua needs a tailored access management strategy to balance the access of the variety of users and modes while also maintaining the natural, built, and historic environments. The movement of vehicles looking for parking presents safety issues and degrades the visitor experience.”
—from the 2015 lease signed between Colorado Chautauqua Association (CCA) and City of Boulder2
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To balance the entry of the variety of users and modes while also maintaining the natural, built, and historic environments, the City of Boulder chose to place five pay-byplate meters along the baseline of Chautauqua in five specific paid parking zones
pilot program would manage parking in the Chautauqua historic core and surrounding neighborhoods and provide free shuttle service to and from Chautauqua from downtown and nearby parking lots. Once the threemonth test was completed, the city of Boulder would assess the results for permanent implementation.
The Goal
The city of Boulder defined the following goals to be met during the testing period: ■■ Increased use of the free shuttle to and from Chautauqua. ■■ Reduction in traffic volume on Chautauqua’s Baseline Road/increased parking supply for peak times during the year. ■■ Reduction of conflicts between automobiles and pedestrians in highly trafficked areas. ■■ Reasonable compliance with parking restrictions. ■■ Reduction of parking throughout adjacent neighborhoods.
The Strategy
To balance the entry of the variety of users and modes while also maintaining the natural, built, and historic environments, the city of Boulder chose to place five pay-by-plate meters along the baseline of Chautauqua in five specific paid parking zones (Chautauqua Green, Ranger Cottage Lot, Baseline Road, McClintok
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Trailhead, and North Neighborhood temporary NPP zone). The expectation was that some visitors to Chautauqua would park in one of the offsite lots and take the new free shuttle into the park. The shuttle would be funded by revenue collected by those who parked in paid-parking meter zones. During the three months, parking ambassadors would be put in place to answer questions about parking and shuttling, along with paid digital marketing to inform visitors before they arrived. The meters would be actively tested from June to August 2017. From a series of surveys and research to find peak visitor times,3 it was determined that the meters would be active solely on weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the five specific areas. This totaled 26 days during 13 weekends. The meters would operate in pay-by-plate mode, which uses the customer’s license plate to identity the vehicle’s status in the WebOffice program, which allows compatibility with mobile payment platforms along with supporting license plate recognition software for identification and enforcement purposes. “The fact that the Cale CWT meters were compatible with mobile payment apps was very important in this process,” said Melissa Yates, access and parking manager for the city of Boulder, “Pedestrian foot traffic in the roads was already an issue. We wanted to minimize the risk of going back and forth to their vehicles to feed a meter, but instead enjoy all of their time inside Chautauqua Park.”
Results
Through data analysis,4 community questionnaires, and a stakeholder debrief, city staff determined that several goals were met through the three-month test pilot: ■■ Increase use of the free shuttle to and from Chautauqua. Not only did the meters help balance the amount of traffic at the Chautauqua baseline, the free shuttle ridership was a success. On average, 900
Chautauqua guests per day used the offsite parking to take the free shuttle into the park on the weekend. In addition, 10 percent of Chautauqua employees used the shuttle to get to and leave work, even though they had their own employee parking zone. ■■ Reduction in traffic volume on Chautauqua’s Baseline Road/increase in parking supply. On average, there was a 20 percent decrease in cars parked in the five paid parking zones, including Chautauqua’s Baseline Road, resulting in an increase in parking supply. Including all parking areas, there was an average of 768 daily parking transactions during the pilot and a total of 19,958 paid parking transactions made specifically during business hours of the 13 weekends. ■■ Reduction of conflicts between automobiles and pedestrians in highly trafficked residential areas: Chautauqua staff and “cottagers” (part homeowners, part renters) expressed great satisfaction with the pilot, finding it easier to park within proximity to their residences or rental lodging and appreciation for the reduction in cars circling for parking. When surveyed, several people specifically noted that it was quieter within the historic core than it had been in past summers and that the increased sense of safety was prevalent. ■■ Reasonable compliance with parking restrictions. Of the paid parking transactions, 64 percent used one of the five payment kiosks, and 36 percent (7,216) used a mobile payment app. On some days, there were even more mobile payment transactions at Chautauqua than downtown. Parking enforcement regularly enforced the pilot parking zones to ensure compliance within the specific areas. An average of 49 violations were cited each day of the 26-day pilot. Most violations were cited in the temporary no-paid-parking zone, which was reserved for employees of the park, with significantly fewer violations occurring in the other five zones. ■■ Reduction of parking throughout adjacent neighborhoods. Throughout the paid parking neighborhood zones around Chautauqua Park, fewer cars were parked in the study area in 2017 than in 2016, even during the weekdays when paid parking was not in place. On weekends, 48 fewer cars per hour were
observed, and 35 fewer cars per hour were observed on weekdays during the pilot. When surveyed, residents within the neighborhoods reported positive results from the pilot, including less parking congestion, greater ability to access their own homes during the peak day time hours, and less trash and noise from parkers. ■■ Additional Success: Though the goal was not to make a profit from this pilot testing period, the total revenue made from the five pay-by-plate meters was $120,497. Of this, $80,000 was used to pay for the free shuttle, leaving $40,000 remaining in profit. THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 41
In addition, due to larger groups of pedestrians getting off the shuttle to Chautauqua at once, there was an observed increase in driver compliance for yielding to pedestrians, from 74 percent in 2016 to 95 percent during the pilot in 2017. As stated by the City of Boulder council members, “Compliance generally improves with higher pedestrian volumes,” which resulted in unforeseen added safety measures.
Summary
By implementing five pay-by-plate meters, the City of Boulder and Chautauqua Access Management Plan successfully addressed current and potential transportation and mobility issues at the National Historic Landmark Chautauqua National Park. The creation of five paid-parking zones in the highest trafficked areas surrounding Chautauqua park encouraged visitors to use the free shuttle and park their vehicles offsite. In addition to increased parking availability and less traffic congestion, heightened pedestrian safety was noticeable on all fronts. Fewer cars reportedly prompted drivers to drive with more ease and yield to pedestrians, while groups of shuttle riders getting off at once also increased drivers’ yielding. Residents in the surrounding area reported satisfaction with the pilot results, noting less parking congestion, greater ability to access their own homes during the peak daytime hours, and less trash and noise from parkers. In an unforeseen result, the program’s revenue was substantially more than projected. After paying for the free shuttle with paid parking revenue, an additional $40,497 was left for future projects. As documented in the 2017 Pilot Debrief by the City of Boulder Council Chambers, the CAMP Pilot Program was an ultimate success and should be an ongoing funded program for a period of 5 years. After evaluating the data collection, stakeholder debriefs and community input, staff recommends that the majority of program components remain the same, extending the program to include holiday weekends such as Labor Day and Memorial Day. “The type of meter chosen for this project was vital,” concludes Melissa Yates, access and parking
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manager for the city of Boulder, “We needed one that had a strong back-end system, terminals that were easy to use by visitors, and of course, was compatible with mobile app payment.” JULIANNE WILHELM is marketing coordinator
with Cale America, Inc. She can be reached at julianne.wilhelm@caleamerica.com.
References
1. www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/north-america/ united-states/happiest-cities-united-states-2017. 2. bouldercolorado.gov/transportation/ chautauqua-access-management-plan?utm_ source=godaddy&utm_medium=redirect&utm_ campaign=chautauquaaccessmanagementplan.com. 3. www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/2012_ CAMP_Data_Packet-1-201608011116.pdf ?_ ga=2.63891692.2120839604.1515093140-325034520.1509637799. 4. www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/2012_Chautauqua_ Parking_Study_Report_FINAL-1-201602021003.pdf ?_ ga=2.113012036.1128336139.1510695896-325034520.1509637799.
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AUTOMAT A 44 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
By Amalendu Chatterjee, PhD
ING CITY Proposing a new, automated transportation system in North Carolina.
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M
edia coverage indicates that North Carolina has taken a new role of technology and innovation to attract new businesses, and many companies have responded to this new initiative. Research Triangle Park (RTP), in particular, is noteworthy. RTP is one of two strategic regions (the other is Charlotte-Mecklenburg) in the heart of the state capital of North Carolina. RTP encompasses four major c ities— Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill—is home to an international airport, and features many major universities, renowned hospitals, shopping malls, and headquarters of many high-tech companies. This region has also seen a tremendous growth in population, with a current population of more than 1 million that may double in the next decades. In the coming years, North Carolina may see 31 percent growth, but 91 percent of that growth will settle in two recognized regions and other major cities; some of those cities have been declared as the best cities in which to live. The rate of such urban growth is almost equivalent to big cities such as New York City from an economic development point of view. Because of such importance, the North Caroina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has taken a strong position toward improving the transportation systems of these regions to be competitive to attract large companies. With that in mind, NCDOT developed a strategy, 2040 Transportation Plan: Challenges and Opportunities prepared by ATKINS (a consultant) in September 2011. In addition, there is also a website, ncvisionzero.org, to track fatalities among different DOT agencies (law enforcement, emergency responders, drivers, and engineers in charge of collecting data). All of these activities drew my attention to make RTP a test case for studies on how to incorporate modern technologies such as autonomous vehicles, internet of things, automating the process with the help of artificial intelligence, hyperloop, etc. Hopefully, ideas expressed in this article will add value to the NCDOT 2040 transportation plan when it is updated based on frequent public comments.
THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 45
The objective is to raise awareness beyond just a local issue to a state one, expressed in several recent articles that have addressed the future needs of transportation: ■■ ‘’Transportation Needs are Vital,” News & Observer editorial board, August 25, 2017. ■■ “Gov. Cuomo’s Wise Move on Congestion Pricing,” New York Times editorial board, August 20, 2017. ■■ “Open-Road Tolls Could Pave the Way for Manhattan Congestion Pricing,” Marc Santora, New York Times, August 25, 2017. ■■ “Virgin Invest in Hyperloop One, With Eye on 670 M.P.H. Commutes,” Jacey Fortin, New York Times, October 12, 2017 The first editorial discusses the use of a $206.7 million transportation bond voted in by Raleigh, N.C., citizens. It raises the issue of a large population increase that has given rise to the need for modernization of our crumbling infrastructure, but it does not address the city-specific problems of parking, ride-sharing, traffic, or transportation-related services. The second editorial supports New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s move of congestion pricing strategy on certain types of traffic—a recycled idea (borrowed from an old Move N.Y. plan) with many highlighted advantages. For example, congestion pricing may be the fairest pricing scheme for heavy users of the infrastructure system, raising funds for transit improvements and reducing traffic. The third article calls attention to the technology revolution with automated toll collections—No Stop & Go. It suggests that technology has arguably advanced faster than we can take advantage of for our complex urban and associated suburban areas. Finally, the fourth article discusses the high-speed commutes between adjacent cities initiated by Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One. Hyperloop Transportation Technology (HTT) is the brain child of Musk, who has opened up the development platform for anybody to participate and enhance different components. Musk is working with SpaceX for a Hyperloop One trial between Los Angeles, Calif., and San Francisco, Calif., to achieve a transportation time of 35 minutes with an average
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speed of 600 miles per hour. This idea of reducing the transportation time to almost less than half from the current time required by train or plane caught attention nationally and internationally. Technology improvements and trials are being planned all over the world. There may be also some competing technologies beside the capsule/pod we’ve read about in the past. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is working on similar projects/trials as well. There is a detailed write-up on the subject on Wikipedia. I am proposing that a similar trial for RTP may be ripe to support NCDOT’s efforts for a business promotion in the area.
Unified Strategy
All the articles above raised important issues without providing a unified strategy or a vision for regional transportation services. Major elements of the vision might address: ■■ Powerful automation of transportation services technology. ■■ The integration of urban and suburban areas. ■■ Implementation of renewable energy. ■■ The possible adoption of Vision Zero—an internationally accepted plan for the intelligent transportation system (ITS). The objective is to have an intelligent and integrated transportation system around the greater RTP that will include at least Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill. It should also address transport from all areas to airports, railways, and bus stations. With the Hyperloop One concept, the RTP plan could be extended to adjacent cities such as Greensboro, Ashville, Wilmington, Fayetteville, and Charlotte.
Technology Automation
NCDOT is under tremendous pressure to improve RTP’s transportation services, as well as the transportation from and to other state business centers. High-speed rails have been identified as a possible approach, but no concrete plan has been approved or is underway yet. Newer vehicles have already automated self-driving and parking. Ride-sharing (Uber and Lyft)
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References
is automating the last mile of commuting. I-540 toll collections (surrounding RTP) via high-speed cameras have been automated by transponders (RFID tag or no tag) and high-speed cameras with No Stop & Go at more than 99.99 percent accuracy in RTP. Collection rates for such automated toll services are also high. Similarly, parking in a garage or a metered or non-metered space can be automated by a geopositioning system (GPS) irrespective of any meter or barrier. GPS integrated with bluetooth low-emission beacons can correlate vehicles to enable parking locations for autonomous parking charges. Truck parking in the interstate highway corridors and entry to cities can also be automated to lessen the traffic during commuting hours. Weighing stations and truck parking can also be correlated for automation with internet connectivity. Drones, like No Stop & Go, in automating toll services, can automate traffic monitoring and ticketing for traffic violations. Digital maps can automate alternate route selections to avoid congestion due to accidents or other reasons. Such automated services, in most cases, avoid face-to-face confrontation, altercation, fist fights, or cash handling without any manual handling. It is a question of connecting all the dots for auto identification and auto invoicing. It requires private and public cooperation at all levels of governments—updated policies and regulations with a clear vision to connect each technological dot in isolation or combination. It will enhance suburban economic development plans starting with suburban truck parking subdivisions (STPS) close to the periphery of the city, at a point before they enter the city for delivery and pickup activities (last mile). Even autonomous vehicles can ease the congestion to carry goods without heavy trucks entering the city.
Urban/Suburban Interconnectivity
In RTP, four cities are interlinked for education, business, transportation, and social activities. The populations of these cities and the surrounding areas are growing at faster rates than ever. Every city has been trying to solve its own transportation problems. But solving the transportation problem city by city will create a bottleneck when transportation needs among these cities grow more than eight or 10 times, according to a North Carolina demographic survey. We need a vision to automate and interconnect these cities effectively with mobile devices and automated vehicles. Fifty years from now, these four cities together could achieve traffic flow at similar levels to many big cities
today. That is why automated and integrated public transportation and parking in these cities is so important. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to plan ahead and avoid the pitfalls. One new idea is to remove all parking facilities from the city business center to the city’s periphery. One can call it a suburban parking district (SPD). Transportation to and from these two points of interests will be fully automated by frequent transportation services by subway or driverless vehicles. Both SPD and STPS implementations could move city congestion away from the center of town to the edge of the city. Motivations are to drive less in the city and take advantage of virtual transportation services. In the future, fully automated vehicles will transport both people and goods from these districts to the city business centers without trucks or big buses entering the city, reducing congestion and pollution.
Renewable Energy
Lockheed Martin has taken a pioneering step to cover several hundred parking spaces with a solar plan in one of its Florida facilities. The result is the availability of significant electricity to power their facilities from parking lots. The project saves the company 30 percent of electrical costs with the additional benefit of reduced pollution. STPDs and SPDs will be the source of renewable energy to supply all power needs of the completely and newly defined consolidated and integrated ITS and its automation. STPDs and SPDs can act as energy hubs for new economic development also.
Vision Zero Implementation
Vision Zero is an achievable target goal of the future transportation system such as ITS. The idea that life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society was conceived in the Swedish Parliament and accepted worldwide as an exceptional road safety plan. In conclusion, as the rest of the infrastructure in the Triangle modernizes, we need a comprehensive, innovative plan to automate transportation and parking services. Many innovative trial projects can be initiated to explore their high potentials. AMALENDU CHATTERJEE, PhD, is vice
president, technology, with Eximsoft. He can be reached at amalendu.chatterjee@eximsoftint. com.
THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 47
IN
short
Highlights from the PARKING MATTERS blog
THE VALUE OF LOCAL INVOLVEMENT By Kevin Emert, MEd, CAPP
I LOVE THE INTERNATIONAL PARKING & MOBILITY INSTITUTE (IPMI) ; it is a great resource for all things parking. I have learned so much and met many wonderful people through IPMI and the CAPP program (you should get your CAPP). It has been invaluable in my career. I am also active in my state’s parking association and have noticed that a lot of parking departments are not involved in state and local associations. It is a little disheartening to know that the people we work so close in proximity to may have knowledge and experiences that can help us, but we do not tap into those resources. We really do have a great association in my state. It is terrific when we go to the IPMI Conference and I know everyone from my state. We all go to dinner together and share our experiences and even our frustrations. Knowing all of the parking people from my state is what makes the IPMI Conference much more fun than a normal work day. Our state parking association even has a scholarship that helps parking professionals get to the IPMI Conference. If I could ever suggest anything to parking professionals, it would be to get involved with IPMI, CAPP (seriously go get your CAPP; yes, you have the time), and don’t forget about the local and state parking associations as well. KEVIN EMERT, MEd, CAPP, is assistant director of the Georgia Building Authority.
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT By Casey Jones, CAPP
WE LIVE IN EXCITING TRANSPORTATION TIME S, where the pace of innovation, creativity, and effort by the technology powerhouses such as Google and Amazon are at a breakneck pace. In places large and small, on college campuses, at shopping malls, and at the airports we frequent, we’re seeing a surge of car-share, bike-share, and now shooter-share offerings that previously seemed unimaginable. But with every new technology and innovation there are unintended consequences—often positive but sometimes negative—that are a necessary and expected outcome of progress. In our industry, we’re seeing this play out each day. Take car-share for example. New research reported in StreetsBlog NYC by transportation analyst Bruce Schaller recently revealed that 70 percent of trips by transportation network companies (TNCs) are occurring in nine major metropolitan areas, adding 5.7 billion vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and adding still more congestion to the places already overwhelmed by traffic jams, pollution, and growing commute times. What’s more surprising and alarming is the impact of car-share trips on alternatives to driving. Schaller’s research shows that the bulk of TNC trips—60 percent—either replace transit, biking, and walking, or would not have been made without the availability of TNCs. The remaining 40 percent of trip displacement is split evenly between personal vehicle trips and trips previously accommodated by taxis. The stakes are high for cities to address congestion, safety, pollution, and the viability of critical public transportation systems, and if TNCs wish to remain viable, they cannot compound the challenges cities face. Municipal government bodies must act now to put in place policies and management strategies to accommodate emerging shared-use transportation services in a manner that reduces their adverse impacts. CASEY JONES, CAPP, is vice president of TimHaahs.
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WOMEN, AND PARKING By David Feehan
I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE AN IGNITE PRESENTATION at the annual conference of the International Economic Development Council in Atlanta. Ignite presentations are like mini-TED talks. IEDC is to economic developers what IPMI is to parking professionals and what the International Downtown Association (which I used to lead) is to downtown professionals. The subject of my presentation is based on a new book I co-authored, “Design Downtown for Women—Men Will Follow.” As I prepared my presentation, I thought about my audience, and how the world of parking and the world of economic development (and for that matter, downtown development) are closely interlinked. I can’t count the number of times I was recruiting a business for a downtown location when the first question I was asked was, “Where will my employees or my customers park?” If I could not provide a satisfactory answer, I knew I could not close the deal. So, in this age of ride sharing and autonomous vehicles, what are parking professionals supposed to do to support economic development? First, parking professionals should educate themselves about how economic development professionals do what they do. Parking is not just a matter of supply and demand, building wellconstructed and well-designed parking facilities, or managing enforcement programs. Parking professionals need to understand how business leaders think when they are looking for locations. What are the most important issues site selectors have to deal with? For most businesses, the most important issue is: can I attract the talent I need to grow and run my business? And that means providing safe, convenient access for current and potential employees. In terms of customers and employees, when we were doing the research for our book, we surveyed more than 100 women business leaders. What they told us was that the most hated thing about coming downtown was parking. As parking professionals, we need to understand why this is so, and do everything that we can to correct it. Women are the most important demographic for any successful business. Women make up 60 percent of college graduates and control more than 50 percent of the private wealth in the U.S. If you are concerned about running a successful parking operation that supports economic development, ignore women at your peril. DAVID FEEHAN is president of Civitas Consulting, LLC.
Ready for more? Read IPMI’s blog every business day in your daily Forum digest email (10 a.m. Eastern) or at parking-mobility.org/blog. Have something to say? Send post submissions to editor Kim Fernandez at fernandez@parking-mobility.org.
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STATE AND REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT | PARKING ASSOCIATION OF VIRGINIAS
Serving Members, Serving the Industry By Rob Maroney, CAPP
T
PAV BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Conference
PRESIDENT Robert Fries, CAPP City of Virginia Beach
HE PARKING ASSOCIATION OF THE VIRGINIAS (PAV) serves members of the parking industry from Virginia, West Virginia, and the greater Mid-Atlantic region by providing educational and networking opportunities. PAV has a broad membership base consisting of municipalities; colleges and universities; airports; hospitals; transit agencies; and various commercial partners and vendors throughout the region. We’ve been busy!
PAV’s Annual Conference and Tradeshow was held October 10-12, 2018, in Richmond, Va. More than 130 industry leaders gathered at the Downtown Omni for three days of educational session and networking with their peers. In addition to the many great presentations on subjects ranging from Smart Cities, Parking Guidance and the Journey, and Operations-Driven Facility Design, attendees were afforded the opportunity to learn about the City of Richmond’s new bus rapid transit (BRT) system, The Pulse, which was launched earlier this year. After an informative session discussing the planning, design, and construction process, everyone boarded The Pulse and headed from downtown to Scott’s Addition for a fun evening spent in one of Richmond’s most vibrant entertainment districts. Kicking off the conference was the second annual PAV golf tournament, held at the beautiful Jefferson Lakeside Country Club. Golfers of all abilities enjoyed some friendly competition while raising funds for the PAV Scholarship program.
Scholarship Program
PAV is dedicated to promoting education and supporting the educational opportunities of its members, their employees, and dependents. Accordingly, PAV has established a scholarship program to: ■■ Assist students with demonstrated financial need to defray their college expenses. ■■ Recognize academically talented students and help them attand the institution of their choice. ■■ Provide financial aid to support the association’s commitment to advance educational opportunities. To learn more about the annual PAV Scholarship Program or for more information on upcoming events, please visit our new website at pavonline.org. ROB MARONEY, CAPP, is vice
president of government services with LAZ Parking and co-chair of IPMI’s State and Regional Committee. He can be reached at rmaroney@ lazparking.com.
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VICE PRESIDENT Lynne Lancaster, CAPP City of Richmond TREASURER Becca White, CAPP University of Virginia SECRETARY Rob Maroney, CAPP LAZ Parking Josh Cantor George Mason University Justin Nelson Eastern Virginia Medical School Bart Neu, CAPP City of Norfolk Chis Polk, CAPP Republic Parking Scot Silsdorf Old Dominion University Kyle Williams Kimley-Horn PAV Contact Information: 5700 Park Road, Crozet, VA 22932 pav@pavonline.org pavonline.org
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Around the Industry INRIX Enables Retailers to More Efficiently, Affordably, and Accurately Choose New Store Locations FACED WITH CONSTANT COMPETITION,
forward-thinking retailers are increasingly turning to big data to inform their business decisions. INRIX, a connected car services and transportation analytics provider, introduced a new dataset in its INRIX Site Selection suite for candidate locations. INRIX Volume Profile 2018™ provides typical traffic counts by day of week, time of day, and direction of travel to more accurately and efficiently choose new store locations.
National companies—including Famous Dave’s BBQ, Five Guys, Jiffy Lube, Pita Pit, Planet Fitness, Subway, and Wing Stop Sports—are currently using INRIX Volume Profile, a big data-fueled dataset that uses real-time, historical, and predictive traffic information and travel pattern analysis to enable the selection of retail locations with promising return on investment. As the only dataset with day-parted, direction-of-travel traffic counts, INRIX helps determine the potential profitability of millions of retail locations. “In order to evaluate a traffic corridor and to make determination on which corner we should locate—it is imperative to look at the decision point from multiple angles,” says Jeff Rubino, vice president of Five Guys Real Estate. “INRIX Volume Profile is one of the more important datasets we have found to determine the inflow and outflow of traffic as it relates to who our customer is and which corner makes the best decision for Five Guys.” Eight of the largest site selection companies in the industry currently use INRIX traffic services: Buxton, eSite Analytics, IdealSpot, LocateAI, Megalytics, Property Capsule, SiteZeus, and Tango Analytics. INRIX not only provides insight on how many potential customers drive by a candidate location but also identifies who they are, when they visit, and where their trips originate and end. The INRIX Site Selection product suite eliminates the need to physically visit locations and conduct expensive studies. “We are excited to partner with INRIX to bring the most extensive and sophisticated vehicle count solutions to our
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retail and CRE clients that demand sophisticated, custom, and accurate traffic insights,” says Thomas Byrne, CEO of Property Capsule.
Key features of the INRIX Site Selection product suite include: ■■ INRIX Volume Profile provides typical vehicle count data on more than 2.6 million miles of roads nationwide by day of week, time of day, and direction of travel. ■■ INRIX Parking provides typical parking availability for both on-street and offstreet to better understand customer parking trends at candidate locations. ■■ INRIX Trade Areas includes anonymized, geography of customer trips data, including GPS-based starting and ending points for trips. ■■ INRIX Drive Time measures distances in terms of minutes rather than miles, relaying how far customers travel and the accessibility and desirability of a candidate site. Kevin Foreman, INRIX general manager and vice president-enterprise, says: “Never underestimate the importance of visibility and accessibility a site offers. Whether it is ensuring that a drivethrough location is based on right-hand turns or determining the neighborhoods to consider based on target audiences, INRIX Site Selection and Volume Profiles has transformed the process of scouting and securing new locations from a demanding, time-consuming project to a more intelligent, data-driven development.”
The Harman Group Promotes Janine La Marca to Associate THE HARMAN GROUP is proud to announce that Ja-
nine La Marca, CPSM, director of business development, has been named an associate to the firm. As part of the leadership team, La Marca draws on 25 years of experience in the architecture/engineering/construction industry to help The Harman Group grow and expand. A gifted networker and connecter, La Marca’s experience includes results-driven business development and marketing, strategic planning, and client development—all of which enable the firm to earn new and repeat business, while ensuring a high level of client satisfaction. “Janine’s passion for relationship-building and client satisfaction has contributed significantly to the growth of our firm,” says Kirk Harman, president and managing principal at The Harman Group. “Her skills and industry expertise coupled with The Harman Group’s ability to provide the highest level of engineering services to our clients is a recipe for success.” La Marca holds leadership roles in several professional organizations. She is a committee member
for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Philadelphia Chapter; the Build Business 2016 national conference co-program chair for the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS); past president of the SMPS Philadelphia Chapter; and a volunteer for several other Philadelphia-area professional organizations.
The Parking Spot Expands Its Presence Near Dallas Love Field Airport
THE PARKING SPOT, the nation’s larg-
est owner and operator of near-airport parking facilities, announced the expansion of The Parking Spot 1 at Dallas Love Field Airport. The Parking Spot 1, located at 6900 Cedar Springs Road, added 632 covered parking spaces by taking over operation of the adjacent facility, formerly known as Best Parking. The expanded facility will now contain over 2,700 covered parking spaces. “As Dallas Love Field Airport con-
tinues to grow, The Parking Spot is constantly evaluating our offerings to ensure they meet market demand,” says Kevin Shrier, president and CEO
The Parking Spot has already begun introducing Best Parking’s customers to The Parking Spot’s worldclass customer service and parking amenities. These amenities ® include continuous shuttle service to and from Dallas Love Field Airport, the Spot Club loyalty program, and The Parking Spot’s free mobile app, which allows users to manage their entire airport parking experience from a mobile device.
theParkingSpot of The Parking Spot. “We are excited about our newly expanded parking facility on Cedar Springs Road, which further establishes The Parking Spot as the preeminent near-airport parking operator at Dallas Love Field Airport.”
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Around the Industry
continued
Passport Invests in Mobility Platform to Help Cities Manage Parking, Scooters, and Ride-share Services NEW MODES of shared transportation,
from ride-sharing to dockless scooters, hold promise for improving how citizens move around their cities, but cities across North America need new tools and systems to effectively manage these emergent modes of transportation. Passport, a mobility solutions provider, has set out to partner with municipalities to create a bridge between city infrastructure, such as curb space,
environment that can handle, and even encourage, new modes of transportation,” says Bob Youakim, Passport CEO. “That’s why we developed the Passport Platform, which helps municipalities connect their mobility data, extract insights about the utilization of public space, and provide an interface to make and communicate operational changes in real time across each connected system. This can dramatically improve a
and private sector mobility companies that interact with people using that space. The company is announcing a $5 million investment to expand the Passport Platform, which helps connect multiple modes of transportation and payments and provides a way for cities to understand, manage, and collaborate with an increasingly complex ecosystem of mobility services. “We have heard from hundreds of cities across the world—our own clients and prospective clients—and they told us they continue to struggle to manage their curbside assets and create an
city’s ability to accommodate the rapid pace of on-street innovation and makes it simpler and more predictable to deploy new technologies to improve urban mobility. It also enables them to better serve the people in their communities.” With over 50 existing integrations into some of the largest mobility technologies, Passport has deep experience bringing it all together. With this new investment, the company is looking to bolster its platform and enable cities to connect additional services, such as ride-share, dockless scooter, and bike services, as well as any other new
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technologies that are introduced in the future, such as autonomous vehicles. “Municipalities need to build solutions that anticipate the future and new technologies that might be introduced tomorrow,” says Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Data Smart City Solutions Project at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and former deputy mayor of New York, N.Y., and mayor of Indianapolis, Ind. “City officials will be continuously challenged to manage the issues that new services, such as Bird and Uber, bring to their cities. As companies introduce these technologies often without a formalized partnership with the city or path to compliant entry, they create pressure on cities to adapt to the demands of the market. Cities need their own dynamic platform in order to respond to these new services, which will help officials assemble information, seamlessly integrate new technology quickly, and manage everything in real time on their own terms.” For example, one of the biggest challenges that cities currently face is how they can manage the sudden influx of dockless scooters and bikes. While citizens tend to adopt them as an easy way to get around cities, these micro-mobility services cause unforeseen issues as they vie for valuable sidewalk and curbside space. Without the ability to provide a scalable path to compliant entry into their cities, city leaders are stuck in the middle trying to reactively manage it all. Most of these cities, including San Francisco, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; and Oklahoma City, Okla., have been forced, for the sake of speed and simplicity, to implement permit regulations for these modes,
which don’t allow the cities to incentivize the appropriate use of public space or optimize for congestion relief or bad air days in real time. These medallion-like programs are proving to not be the most effective way to regulate these services, and leaders are already calling for more of a parking-focused solution instead. “Like other forms of transportation, one of the best-proven ways to manage micro-mobility services will be the implementation of parking-like rules and policies like cities use for on-street parking. Paid parking systems are well-understood, effective, proportional, and flexible,” Youakim says. “At Passport, we have deep expertise, having already helped over 450 clients manage business rules, collect payment, and ensure compliance through our platform. The same framework makes it easier for cities and mobility providers to work together to come up with mutually beneficial, usage-based pricing that balances the need for innovation with the need for consistency.” By enabling a more flexible way to extract data-driven insights from multiple systems, and then allowing the cities to act upon them in real time, the Passport Platform is the first in the industry to give the municipal leaders the power to effectively manage their cities from one platform. Passport is already working with five out of the top 50 fastest growing cities in the U.S. by creating pilot programs to enable them to be more effective with the way they manage mobility. In the past three months, the company has doubled its engineering resources and has hired product, engineering, and mergers and acquisitions leaders to ensure the success of this program.
Paris-Beauvais Airport Retains ParkCloud to Ensure ‘Bon Voyage’ for Drivers EUROPEAN ONLINE PARKING reservation leader ParkCloud has renewed its
long-standing contract with popular French international airport, Paris-Beauvais Airport. Having worked in partnership with the airport for over four years, ParkCloud will continue to offer its passengers the option of pre-booking their parking at all three of Beauvais’ onsite car parks. To cater for its 3.6 million annual passengers, Paris-Beauvais Airport has two short-term car parks—P1 and P2—which are both open-air, CCTV-operated, and fully secure for drivers’ peace of mind. For travelers jetting off for extended periods, P4 is able to offer a cost effective long-stay alternative just a short distance from the terminal buildings. All parking options will continue to be directly marketed to airport passengers through ParkCloud’s existing database of more than 3 million registered users and alongside its existing partnerships with Blue Air, Wizz Air, and Ryanair. The renewal arrives on the back of Paris-Beauvais Airport’s decision to add P1 and P2 to ParkCloud’s global database, following strong booking numbers for P4 in its initial agreement. As one of the three international airports serving France’s capital, Paris-Beauvais is a popular and smart gateway for tourists jetting off across Europe and beyond. Mark Pegler, managing director of ParkCloud, said, “With direct road networks connecting the airport to the city of Paris, parking is a necessity for many travelers flying out of Paris-Beauvais, so pre-booking parking alongside their flight and other travel extras presents a convenient one-stop solution for travelers. “It’s our experience that airports are increasingly looking to address this consumer need to pre-plan and manage the journey process effectively. Therefore it’s great to continue building upon partnerships with airports such as Paris-Beauvais to deliver just that for our shared customer base.” It has recently been reported that France is on track to stay “champion of the world in tourism,” as it’s confirmed that the tourism industry grew in the first half of 2018 and had a record 2017. ParkCloud currently holds official car park contracts with three of France’s top 10 airports: Lyon-Saint Exupéry, Nice-Côte d’Azur, and Paris-Beauvais. THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 55
Around the Industry
continued
Nicole Chinea, CAPP, Joins WGI in Houston Office WGI IS PLEASED to announce that Nicole
Chinea, CAPP, joined the firm’s Parking Solutions Division as a senior project manager in its Houston, Texas, office. She comes to WGI with over 15 years of experience with specific expertise in parking master planning, garage operations, strategic marketing planning, and patient transportation operations. Prior to joining WGI, Chinea served as director of parking and transportation for the largest medical center in the country, Texas Medical Center. There she assisted in the management of approximately 69,000 parking spaces and the transportation operation for a system servicing approximately 4,000 riders per day. Chinea’s expertise in parking planning and design includes roles as a parking consultant with a national firm, serving as vice president of operations
for a national parking operator, and working for the City of Houston’s Parking Management Division. At the city of Houston, she focused on on-street parking programs such as the Parkmobile
pay-by-phone program, Parking Benefit District program, and the deployment of 1,000 pay-by-space smart meters. Moving forward, Chinea will utilize her experience by working collaboratively with the Parking Solutions team and other WGI disciplines. David Wantman, PE, president of WGI, says, “We are extremely fortunate to have Nicole join our team. Her experience seamlessly aligns with WGI’s commitment to continued excellence and growth.” Chinea holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Houston-Downtown, is a CAPP, and a certified Parksmart assessor. She is the recipient of the IPMI Parking Program of the Year Award. Chinea serves on the Education Development Committee for IPMI as well as the Texas Parking and Transportation board of directors.
SKIDATA Announces the Completion of City Center Plaza Installation in Bellevue, Wash. The SKIDATA Northwest office has just completed another efficiently installed project with new partner CommonWealth Partners. The City Center Plaza in Bellevue, Wash., services over 500 monthly tenants as well as 100+ daily visitors to the nearby outlets. The SKIDATA system was selected for its reliability, sleek design, and ease of use. “The equipment is super sleek and clean,” says Elizabeth Vance, assistant property manager at CommonWealth Partners. “We also really like that the displays on the machines were somewhat customizable to our building. Every step of this process has been straightforward and easy to follow.” The SKIDATA system consists of two Power.Gate entry columns with custom digital displays, three Power.Gate exits equipped for credit card payment in the lane, four Smart.Gates—barrier-only lanes with goosenecks housing the readers in the lane for contract parkers. Ron Machon, sales professional with SKIDATA, shared his excitement for this new install via his LinkedIn account: “We are very happy to partner with CommonWealth Partners and look forward to the start of a great partnership.”
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ParkWhiz Brings Its Parking Platform to Canada ACCORDING TO AN ONLINE SURVEY conduct-
ed through Google’s survey panel in August 2018, nearly 60 percent of people living in Ontario, Canada, complain that parking is somewhat or very difficult. Area residents cite the high cost of parking and availability as the two biggest pain points. Now, ParkWhiz—the leading mobile parking platform—is coming to Canada and providing drivers in the greater Toronto area with a solution. Starting in October, Toronto drivers can find, book, and pay for parking with their phones, saving them time, effort, and money. ParkWhiz, known as the fastest and most convenient way for drivers to find and book parking, is adding Toronto parking inventory to its two apps, ParkWhiz and BestParking. Users of the apps, as well as its distribution partners like Ford and Groupon, can reserve parking while planning a night out on the town or at Scotiabank Arena. ParkWhiz plans to expand quickly to other Canadian cities. “Expansion into Canada is a very natural step forward for ParkWhiz,” says Yona Shtern, CEO of ParkWhiz. “We’ve made significant investments in Toronto over the past
few months to ensure that we are everywhere drivers need us to be. In fact, we’re proud to say that it’s our largest new market launch to date.” Prior to joining ParkWhiz, Shtern was co-founder and CEO of Beyond the Rack, a Montreal-based e-commerce marketplace. ParkWhiz will power over 150 parking
locations for airport travelers and in the downtown core for commuters and event- goers through partnerships with local real estate companies. ParkWhiz will also provide sports fans the ability to purchase parking when buying tickets or planning their trips to hockey and basketball games or concerts at Scotiabank Arena via team websites, apps, and ticketing platforms.
ParkWhiz is also working in collaboration with local parking operators, such as TargetPark, to roll out new, innovative services in Toronto. In the coming months, drivers who did not pre-book parking will also have the option to wirelessly enter and exit select Target Park garages or simply pull a ticket at the gate and pay by scanning in their ParkWhiz app of choice. “TargetPark has watched ParkWhiz save U.S. drivers time, money, and ease the frustrations of finding a parking space since 2007. For these reasons, TargetPark has selected ParkWhiz as its preferred parking reservation provider for their upcoming Toronto launch,” says Hercules Modopoulos, CEO and owner of TargetPark. “We are excited to access ParkWhiz’s extensive customer base and platform partners and to provide new, innovative ways for TargetPark customers to purchase parking in Toronto and throughout Canada.” ParkWhiz has hundreds of distribution partners and offers drivers up to 50 percent off standard drive-up rates. It is available in 230 cities in North America.
TravelCar Launches Global Parking Reservation Platform for Travel Agents TravelCar.com, the global innovator in airport parking and car-sharing for travelers, announced it has launched a platform that allows travel agents to book commissionable parking for clients at airports, seaports, train stations, and city centers in more than 50 countries. In the U.S. alone, TravelCar’s off-airport parking network covers more than 50 cities, including 18 of the top 20 major airports. TravelCar prides itself on aggregating the most options and, for example, has 17 options for agents to choose from for travelers out of California’s LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). TravelCar is also the only airport parking platform to list many official on-airport parking options as well. In addition to booking parking, travel agents can also purchase amenities for their clients, such
as valet service, car wash, gas filling, lounge passes, and more. “From where to go, to what to do, and how to get around, we understand the value travel agents play in helping travelers make their vacation choices,” says Ahmed Mhiri, CEO of TravelCar. “Travel agents will now have direct access to book parking for their clients, which we believe will help complete their packages.” TravelCar offers a competitive commission rate with a platform that is available in 29 languages and 40 currency options. Agents receive monthly reporting and have complete transparency to see completed and cancelled reservations. Multilingual partner support is also available for agents 24/7. Travel agents can sign up for access for free at join.travelcar.com and begin making reservations for clients.
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Around the Industry
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Lehigh University Celebrates Car Free Day ON SEPTEMBER 20, Lehigh University
participated in the annual national Car Free Day. This year was the university’s most successful yet, counting 2,017 student, faculty, and staff participants—a 20 percent increase from 2017. Of those that pledged to participate in Car Free Day, 13 percent biked, 12 percent carpooled, 24 percent used public transit, and 51 percent walked or ran. The longest recorded distance traveling car free was 13 miles. Further, 85 percent of those who chose to carpool did so with three or more people in their vehicle.
Lehigh’s manager of parking services, Sharon Field, said, “At Lehigh, we love to take the opportunity of Car Free Day to connect with the campus
community and educate them further on the many opportunities to reduce their dependence on vehicles, as well as the sustainability and wellness benefits that come along with them.” In addition to actively promoting Car Free Day through email com-
munication and social media using the #carfreelu hashtag, Lehigh also provided participants with a number of events to bring the community together and learn more about alternative transportation options. The university’s Student Auxiliary Services department hosted a VIP breakfast to participants. The university also hosted a vendor showcase offering additional information related to the alternative transportation services offered on campus, as well as activities and a drawing for a new bike, as well as, other prizes.
Fulham Introduces Low-profile Versions of Popular LinearHO High-output LED DC Modules FULHAM CO., INC., a leading supplier of lighting components and
electronics for commercial and specialty applications, is now shipping new low-profile versions of its popular LinearHO LED modules. The new LP-LinearHO high-output DC LED modules are available in eight configurations and are ideal for linear highbays or linear strip luminaries, for example four- or eight-foot vapor tights and troffers. The LP-LinearHO DC LED modules are high-lumen units with an output range from 14,699 lm down to 219 lm, delivering higher lumens per watt and higher thermal conductivity. LP-LinearHO DC LED modules allow for OEMs to meet the DLC Premium requirement much easier and with greater flexibility. What makes these different from Fulham’s standard LinearHO units is their lower profile, both in width (1.26 inches) and height (.29 inches), higher thermal performance, and 8 percent higher lumen output. The LP-LinearHO DC LED modules are easier and faster to install when compared to standard DC modules. The LP-LinearHO is rigid and has self-thermal management; the MCPCB is mounted in an aluminum extrusion to eliminate the need for heatsinking. They also are suitable for dry or damp locations. For maximum versatility, the LP-LinearHO DC LED modules are offered in six standard models—5.5 inches with 1,959lm (480mA); 11 inches with 3,919lm (640mA); 22 inches with 4,899lm (800mA); 22 inches with 7,700lm (1250mA); 44 inches with 8,656lm (1400mA);
and 44 inches with 14,699lm (2400mA). A 46-inch model with 8,656lm (1400mA) and a 58-inch version with 14,699lm (2400mA) are also available as custom orders. All the LP-LinearHO units are compatible with Fulham programmable drivers as well as Fulham’s HotSpot LED emergency lighting systems. “Demand for our LinearHO DC modules continues to grow as the market for new LED installations and LED retrofits continues to heat up,” says Edwin Reyes, product director, LED light sources, for Fulham. “We are especially seeing more demand for linear modules that can be installed otdoors or in harsher environments such as vapor-tight applications. With the addition of these new low-profile DC modules, we are giving OEMs and installers even more flexibility when it comes to high-performance LED luminaires.” A snap-on, diffused lens accessory, as well as a two- or four- module harness is available for all the LP-Linear DC LED modules. The units also are cURus certified, CE listed, and RoHS compliant.
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Installation of INDECT UPSOLUT Parking Guidance System Makes Parking a Breeze at Houston’s City Centre Parking is easier and more convenient at Midway City Centre in Houston with the installation of INDECT’s premium multi-function, camera-based UPSOLUT sensor. The sensors have been installed in all three of the complex’s on-site parking garages, monitoring a total of 6,000 individual spaces. City Centre is an winning, up-scale retail, restaurant, and entertainment hub in the heart of Houston. Designed as an elegant self-contained community, City Centre also boasts a flagship urban fitness facility, two office towers, 655 residential homes, and a 255-room luxury hotel. “The UPSOLUT parking guidance system perfectly compliments the City Centre experience,” says Dale Fowler, president of INDECT USA. “City Centre is know for offering a refined and elegant experience. With the edition of the UPSOLUT parking guidance system, City Centre has extended that experience to the parking facilities.” The INDECT parking guidance sensors feature highly visible LED lights that make it easy for drivers to spot vacant spaces from several hundred yards away. Different colors indicate each space’s status, with green indicating a space is available, red meaning occupied, blue for ADA, and flashing purple
for reserved and valet. Each space has its own light, allowing drivers to easily recognize which spaces are available even during high-volume times. Additionally, Matrix signs have been installed at the entrance to each parking garage to provide real-time rotating information about LED color definitions, capacity counts, and directions to alternative garages when those facilities are full. The installation of the INDECT system also permitted City Centre to establish premium paid parking sections on the first level of each garage. These premium sections offer easy and convenient access to restaurants, retailers, and the plaza. Free parking is still pro-
vided on all other levels. “Prior to the installation of this system, Garage 3/Residence Garage was often empty, while the two other garages were routinely at capacity,” says Fowler. “Because it is tucked away between two smaller side streets, Garage 3 wasn’t an obvious choice for visitors, who often incorrectly assumed it was full. Now that all of the garages are connected on one server, drivers can be easily directed to any available space no matter where they are in the City Centre complex. This is especially helpful during weekends, when visitors flock to the complex to enjoy live music performances in the plaza.”
Park and Shop and LaSalle Court Install OPUS
Amano McGann was awarded the contract for the Park and Shop and LaSalle Court parking ramps in Downtown Minneapolis, Minn. The Park and Shop and LaSalle Court ramps are family-owned and have been serving Minneapolis for over 70 years. The ramps are centrally located, connected to the Twin Cities extensive skyway system, and they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days out of the year. With 1,700 spaces and a diverse parking clientele of contract and transient patrons, Park and
Shop and LaSalle Court required a comprehensive and intuitive Parking Access and Revenue Control System (PARCS) to help their operations run at their full potential. Amano McGann installed OPUSeries® hardware and iParcProfessional® facility management software. As an added convenience to the parking patronage, central pay-on-foot devices and credit card-only central pay stations were installed in strategic areas of each site for intuitive payment options.
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DESMAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 desman.com 877.337.6260
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. . . . . . . . .7, 60 kimley-horn.com/parking 919.653.6646
Toledo Ticket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 toledoticket.com 800.533.6620
EDC Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 aimsparking.com 800.886.6316
ParkMobile.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C3 parkmobile.io 770.818.9036
Walker Consultants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 walkerconsultants.com 800.860.1579
Flexpost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 flexpostinc.com 888.307.6610
Rich & Associates, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 richassoc.com 248.353.5080
Walter P Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 walterpmoore.com 800.364.7300
Flowbird. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 flowbird.group 800.732.6868
Tannery Creek Systems Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 tannerycreeksystems.com 855.738.1406
WiseMoving Technologies Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . 15 wisemoving.co 305.424.1684
International Parking Design, Inc.. . . . . . . . . .60 ipd-global.com 818.986.1494
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CALENDAR
2018 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII NOVEMBER 6–15
IPMI Training Parksmart Advisor Online, Instructor-Led Training parking-mobility.org
NOVEMBER 7
Abrapark Conference Brazil abrapark.com.br
NOVEMBER 7–9
California Public Parking Association 35th Annual Conference Los Angeles, Calif. cppaparking.org/conference
NOVEMBER 14–16
USGBC Greenbuild Conference featuring Parksmart Chicago, Ill. greenbuildexpo.com
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII DECEMBER 4-6
Gulf Traffic & Transpotech Conference 2018 Dubai gulftraffic.com
DECEMBER 4–7
Florida Parking & Transportation Association Conference Sawgrass, Fla. flparking.org
NOVEMBER 7–8
Mid-Atlantic Parking Association Annual Conference midatlanticparkingassociation.com
2019 JUNE 9-12
2019 IPMI Conference & Expo Anaheim, Calif. ipiconference.parking.org
THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG 63
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In Case You Missed It… ON THE BLOG ➚ An Interesting Equation for Managing the Curb, by L. Dennis Burns, CAPP. People, by Matt Penney. Sometimes the best part of going to a ➚ Parking conference is remembering how amazing your colleagues really are. Prevention. Jennifer Tougas, PhD, CAPP, on the sobering realization that ➚ Suicide looking out for co-workers and friends makes a huge difference. Ponders the Future of Transportation. What happens when a city ➚ Houston considers its whole system and what’s coming down the road. Read more at parking-mobility.org/blog and in your daily Forum email.
AT THE FORUM customers. What methods have worked for you? ➚ Reaching loyalty programs. ➚ Customer enforcement of oversized vehicles. ➚ Parking limits at EV charging stations. ➚ Time and murals on garages. ➚ Art lots more. Join the conversation at forum.parking-mobility.org. ➚ And
ON THE WEBSITE about IPMI’s new name—don’t miss it! ➚ Everything events, trainings, and state and regional conferences, on the calendar. ➚ Upcoming news—read about others or submit your own. ➚ Member articles, and research in the Resource Center. ➚ Documents, this and more at our new address: parking-mobility.org! ➚ All
Stay up on everything in parking, transportation, and mobility—parking-mobility.org! 64 THE PARKING PROFESSIONAL | NOVEMBER 2018 | PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
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NOVEMBER 2018 The Parking Professional ● DISNEY EVP LEE COCKERELL ON PARKING ● JEFF SPECK’S WALKABLE CITY RULES ● CORNELL’S UNIQUE SHUTTLE SYSTEM ● TOURISM PARKING MANAGEMENT ● STRATEGIES FOR MITIGATING SUICIDE RISK