By Mark Toro, PTMP
When I tell people I run operations for a parking authority, I get that look, the polite smile, the raised brow, and the unspoken, “Wait… really? Parking?”
Fair question. For over 20 years, I was deep in healthcare construction, overseeing $85 million expansions, building out senior living campuses (complete with their own utility plants), and managing environments where failure was never an option.
So how did I end up managing curbs, license plate readers, and debates about whether people should back into spaces?
Simple: I said yes.
Yes to a new challenge. Yes to an industry most people overlook. And yes to discovering that parking isn’t just about asphalt and meters, it’s about movement. It’s about infrastructure, logistics, and how cities actually breathe.
At my first IPMI convention in Louisville, somewhere between a smart mobility panel and a tasting table (it was Kentucky, after all), I realized: this isn’t a detour. It’s a new lane entirely, one that blends engineering with community trust, operations with real human behavior.
I even found myself explaining why you can’t throw a rooftop party on a parking deck (people move around more than 4,000-pound vehicles). That’s parking: where physics meets people, and strategy gets tested by reality.
So if you’ve ever wondered whether your skills can leap industries, here’s your sign.
Sometimes, the best opportunities don’t shine.
Sometimes, they just look like a parking spot.
Mark Toro, PTMP, is the Deputy Director of Allentown Parking Authority. Mark can be reached at mtoro@allentownparking.com.