Blogs

For years, we’ve focused on curb management, organizing space, setting time limits, and enforcing payment. That approach made sense when the curb was primarily used for parking. That is no longer the case.

IPMI hosted a Learning Lab on Pittsburgh’s rollout of curb digitization and ticket-by-mail technology, presented by gtechna. Matt Jendrzejewski, PECP, of the Pittsburgh Parking Authority outlined the city’s phased implementation, beginning with smart loading zones in 2021 and expanding to street cleaning enforcement by 2025. The session highlighted the importance of pilot programs, legislation, human review, and technology integration. Ben Pisch from Sensen explained how AI supports plate detection, rule enforcement, and occupancy analytics. Panelists also discussed technical challenges, compliance impacts, and revenue trends following implementation.

This webinar, presented by Nick Mazenga and Carmen Donnell, co-chairs of IPMI’s Technology Committee, explored global parking enforcement technologies and their potential use in North America. The presenters examined international examples including Amsterdam, Rome, the United Arab Emirates, Adelaide, China, and Bogotá, highlighting approaches such as tax-based parking, SMS-first enforcement, sensor systems, valet robots, and behavioral science techniques. While many of these technologies are feasible in North America, the discussion emphasized that cultural, legal, and governance differences present major challenges. The presenters concluded that staffing, public trust, and governance are often bigger barriers than the technology itself and encouraged organizations to focus on compliance-first strategies, pilot programs, and locally tailored solutions.

The Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority (dba Wave Transit), in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO), provided much needed relief to southeast North Carolina with expanded microtransit service and Transportation Demand Strategies (TDM) during the recent temporary closure of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge for a preservation project.

The presenters discussed strategies for improving recruiting pipelines and employee retention through stronger engagement, training, and leadership practices. Allison emphasized using employee surveys and idea-sharing platforms to strengthen both recruitment and retention. Colin highlighted Tech Painting Company’s approach, including structured training, safety programs, and multilingual communication to support workforce growth. David focused on leadership buy-in, data-driven management, and building a strong workplace culture to support long-term retention and development. They also addressed balancing employee input with decision-making speed, along with broader challenges such as AI adoption and workforce time management. Overall, the discussion centered on creating environments that attract, develop, and retain employees for long-term organizational success.

If your parking lot is full, the revenue is rolling in, right? Not necessarily. Full occupancy doesn’t automatically translate into maximum revenue. In today’s environment, rising costs, changing mobility habits, EV growth, and increasing customer expectations mean that volume alone isn’t enough.

I wonder if Orville Wright would have ever invented flight if his brother Wendell wasn’t by his side in their bike shop in Dayton, OH. Of course, they are both credited with the first sustainable flight flown over the Outer Banks of Kittyhawk North Carolina. Success comes mostly through failure. The Wright Brothers knew plenty of failure. In the same room, the boys sketched, dreamed, tinkered and collaborated one of the most important and significant inventions the world has ever conceived. The boys won the Race for Flight. There isn’t a bit of a chance that it would have happened over a Zoom call.

Like many cities, Royal Oak didn’t suddenly end up with a complicated parking system. Over time, well-intentioned upgrades, new policies, and layered technologies created a program that no longer matched the way people experience parking day to day. What was meant to make parking easier had, in some cases, made it more confusing for customers and more cumbersome for staff.

We received so many great responses to the May/June 2026 question that we couldn’t fit them all in one place!

Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) face a web of new challenges in facilitating payments: Merchant expectations are rising, payment environments are getting more complex, and software platforms are under pressure to deliver more connected, secure and value driven commerce experiences. These challenges require ISVs to sharpen their focus on what’s most important to succeed in the current environment. For 2026, we advise ISVs to concentrate on three key goals. These represent the biggest opportunities to strengthen competitive position, deepen merchant relationships and unlock new revenue.

The Learning Lab focused on applying game day best practices to campus-wide events. Moderated by Drew Lee (JustPark), the session featured Brian Riggs (University of Notre Dame) and Brett Litterell (Ohio State/CampusParc), who shared insights from managing large-scale concerts and third-party events. They emphasized key differences from football operations, including a higher volume of first-time visitors at concerts. Discussion topics included real-time data management, pre-event communication, and coordinating simultaneous events across campus. The panel also covered challenges like parking capacity, cashless payments, traffic control, and integrating platforms such as JustPark and Ticketmaster, along with considerations for towing, rideshare, and medical staffing.

I like to think I’m tech savvy. I love geeking out on systems thinking, automation, and leveraging technology to work smarter. In many ways, I’m very excited about what AI can do. At the same time, the proliferation of AI slop, occasionally frustrating shortcomings of the tools, and the sheer ubiquity of the topic in our personal and professional lives sometimes leaves me thinking “enough with the AI already…”.