Resource Search

TOPIC: Operations

  • IPMI’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Readiness Guide

    IPMI EV Readiness Resource Guide available for download. Excerpted from the Executive Summary  Electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure are poised to transform the parking, transportation, and mobility industry. The launch of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, along with complementary federal, state, and local funding, policies, and Read More »

  • Navigating the Parking Industry’s “Jump the Shark” Moments

    Navigating the Parking Industry’s “Jump the Shark” Moments   By Katherine Beaty In the vast landscape of the parking industry, certain decisions have earned the dubious distinction of “jumping the shark.” For those who remember the iconic show, Happy Days, the pejorative signifies a moment when a creative endeavor takes Read More »

  • news

    IPMI Launches Parking & Mobility Accessibility Survey

    IPMI Launches Parking & Mobility Accessibility Survey October 18, 2023 IPMI has just issued a new national survey to capture critical benchmarks and data on the state of the industry’s policies, programs, and practices on accessibility in parking, transportation, and mobility operations and programs. We are seeking your feedback as Read More »

  • 2023 FHWA Resources and Links

    Featured Federal Highway Administration Resources Parking Cruising Resources Bringing Understanding to the Cruising Phenomenon   By Rachel Weinberger, PhD, Adam Millard-Ball, PhD, Dr. Robert Hampshire, Allen Greenberg, Tayo Fabusuyi and Ellis Calvin New FHWA tool to enable cities to measure and ultimately reduce parking cruising It has been stubbornly difficult for city officials to gain a Read More »

  • IPMI’s Parking Garage Safety Symposium Links and References

    IPMI’s Parking Garage Safety Symposium Links and References Access the recorded symposium here: How Safe are Your Parking Facilities? Garage Safety Symposium – YouTube. Complete the survey by June 1 to share your feedback. Download a copy of the presentation deck. This symposium and all related materials are the intellectual Read More »

  • news

    ITE & IPMI Open Call for Data to Update Parking Generation Manual

    ITE & IPMI Open Joint Call for Parking Data to Update Landmark Parking Generation Manual  Data collection open through June 1, 2023. The Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) opened the joint Call for Data to revise ITE’s landmark publication, the Parking Generation Read More »

  • news

    ITE & IPMI Launch Strategic Partnership to Update Landmark Parking Generation Manual

    ITE & IPMI Launch Strategic Partnership to Update Landmark Parking Generation Manual   The Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) announced a new strategic partnership in support of an updated version of ITE’s landmark publication, the Parking Generation Manual (PGM).  Currently in the Read More »

  • news

    IPMI Releases Industry-Wide Electric Vehicle Readiness Survey

    IPMI Releases Industry-Wide Electric Vehicle Readiness Survey March 8, 2023 IPMI releases landmark survey to capture critical benchmarks and data on industry readiness to prepare for electric vehicles and charging needs to support national initiatives. Electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure are poised to transform the parking, transportation, and mobility Read More »

  • Five Languages of Love in Parking

    5 Languages of Love in Parking   By Katherine Beaty The parking industry has changed very rapidly in the last few years.  Vendors/operators/parking programs can no longer be dependent on their products and services to build meaningful and stainable customer relationships.  We must move beyond the widget.  So how do Read More »

  • So Why Carpe Datum (Seize the Data)?

    So Why Carpe Datum (Seize the Data)?   By Katherine Beaty First, data helps you make better decisions.  It adds long-term value to your organization, has positive financial implications, and gives your organization competitive advantages that are achievable in no other way.  All data is filled with potential if you Read More »

  • Developing a Curb Management Strategy: Three Factors of Formulation

    Developing a Curb Management Strategy: Three Factors of Formulation   By Andrew Lamothe and Jason Sutton, CAPP As cities navigate complex parking environments, adapt new policies, and integrate innovations, curb management continues its trend toward mainstream adoption. Most if not all parking and transportation experts across the U.S. agree that Read More »

  • IPMI Shoptalk: Diversity: Rising through the Ranks

    Register for Free Industry Shoptalks here. 

  • Resiliency and imagination; a post-pandemic plan

    Resiliency and imagination; a post-pandemic plan. Harry Delgado, CAPP, ED.S. We are a parking authority in the City of New Brunswick, N.J. (NBPA). Pre-pandemic, we experienced the highest occupancy rates, with garages and surface lots running full and a thriving valet business. New Brunswick is the county seat serving court Read More »

  • article

    Telecommuting at UCLA: Featured Article from Parking & Mobility Magazine

    Telecommuting at UCLA: Avoiding gridlock, finding parking, and having room to breathe. By David J. Karwaski THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES (UCLA) sits within the Los Angeles Basin, one of the most traffic congested areas in the U.S., that unfortunately has some of the worst air quality—if not the Read More »

  • article

    New brunswick performing arts center transit-oriented development

    Parking and Transit-oriented Development: Featured Article from IPMI’s Parking & Mobility Magazine

    The Orientation Toward Transit: Has COVID cooled the hot market of parking and transit-oriented development? By Jim Zullo, CAPP As we look ahead to life in a post-COVID world, there will certainly be some level of return to commuting, transit, and parking normalcy. But are the benefits that have traditionally Read More »

  • article

    Parklet Design: Featured Article from IPMI’s Parking & Mobility Magazine

    Never more popular, tiny park spaces are seeing more use than ever next to the curb. Here’s everything you need to know to launch a parklet program in your operation, including parklet design elements. By Jonathan Wicks, CAPP, and Chrissy Mancini Nichols IF THE CURB IS THE GATEWAY TO YOUR Read More »

  • IPMI’s Mobility Framework

    IPMI’s Mobility Framework May 12, 2021 IPMI’s Mobility Framework was developed by the IPMI Mobility Task Force, with expertise from our volunteers across our community, committees, subject matter experts, and volunteers.  As our industry evolves, we anticipate that this Framework will also change and adapt to both innovations and disruptions Read More »

  • IPMI News: IPMI Releases Roadmap to Recovery, University Planning, Strategies, and Benchmarking for 2021

    IPMI Releases Roadmap to Recovery, University Planning, Strategies, and Benchmarking for 2021 Download or read the document online.   The fall 2020 semester for higher education campuses has been a mixture of trial and error, adaptation, and survival. With the impacts of the global pandemic continuing to evolve, ensuring some Read More »

  • IPMI COVID-19 Response & Recovery for Universities: Video Resources

    IPMI interviewed members from the academic sector to find out more about how the pandemic has impacted operations and their plans for the future.  Check out these short video segments here: Flexible Permit Options Adapting Policy & Practice for COVID Operations Planning & Adapting for Operations & Transit Enforcement & Read More »

  • IPMI News: International Parking & Mobility Institute and Veterans in Parking Announce Strategic Partnership

    International Parking & Mobility Institute and Veterans in Parking Announce Strategic Partnership The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) and Veterans in Parking (ViP) are joining forces to get esteemed military veterans back to work by helping our members and allies in parking, mobility, and transportation post available positions and Read More »

  • A Win-Win: Improving Post-Event Traffic Flow

    A Win-Win: Improving Post-Event Traffic Flow By Jennifer I. Tougas, CAPP, PhD IT’S A COOL FEBRUARY NIGHT and Western Kentucky University (WKU) is hosting Louisiana Tech in an end-of-season men’s basketball game to determine placement in the upcoming Conference USA tournament. This season marks the first for activating the university’s Read More »

  • University Plans and Strategies for Fall 2020

    University Plans and Strategies for Fall 2020 A panel of experts discusses recovering from COVID-19 in the academic world. OUR PANELISTS JOSH CANTOR, CAPP, is director of parking and transportation at George Mason University. He was previously at Cal State Fullerton. He serves on IPMI’s Board of Directors and served Read More »

  • Is COVID-19 a Force Majeure?

    Is COVID-19 a Force Majeure? By Michael Ash, Esq., CRE THE PARKING AND MOBILITY INDUSTRY (like most industries) is held together through a series of interconnected contracts and agreements for goods and services. The on­going pandemic resulted in federal, state, and local jurisdictions issuing declarations of emergency and stay-at-home orders Read More »

  • Modern Mobility and Commercial Office Towers

    Modern Mobility and Commercial Office Towers By Michael Cramer A YEAR AGO, this article would have contained a plethora of pie-in-the-sky ideas and innovations. Cars and trucks were changing, mass transit was improving, Uber, Lyft, bicycles, work from home—it all seems so Jetsons now. Millions of people now work from Read More »

  • Managing Through Crisis

    Managing Through Crisis Airport parking, mobility, and transportation department professionals share their COVID-19 experiences, what they’ve learned, and where they go from here. IT WASN’T LONG AFTER COVID-19 SHUTDOWNS STARTED BACK IN MARCH that news cameras began descending on airports—empty, desolate airports. Every sector of the parking industry has Read More »

  • Traveling New Roads

    Traveling New Roads By Ken Lovegreen D EVON MIX, president and co-owner of Nevada Premier Valet & Detail, was parking cars at record numbers in March, but business came to a screech­ing halt the last week of the month. Like most operators across the US, this one saw its valet Read More »

  • Navigating the New Normal

    Navigating the New Normal By Michael Drow, CAPP THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has had a significant impact on individuals, businesses, cities and society. While some of its effects will be short-lived, others will be long lasting and in many cas­es, the pandemic is accelerating the adoption of trends that have been Read More »

  • The Motor City Becomes Comeback City

    The Motor City Becomes Comeback City By Bill Smith IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN FOCUSED on what’s happening in Detroit, you’re missing one of America’s best stories. The Motor City is in the midst of a revival that has seen an eruption of development. Businesses are return­ing to the downtown, restaurants Read More »

  • Tire Chalking Ruled Vital and Legal for Parking Enforcement

    Tire Chalking Ruled Vital and Legal for Parking Enforcement By Michael Ash, JD, CRE IN A column published in February 2020, I clarified the ruling from a federal court in Michi­gan that started a misimpression that tire chalking was ruled unconstitutional. The case was sent back from the appellate court Read More »

  • Tell Me a Story

    Tell Me a Story By Cindy Campbell I’VE GROWN INCREASINGLY DISENCHANTED with the escalating price of my cable tele­vision. I would even go so far as to say it’s become downright offensive. Not to sound like Methuselah, but I’m from the generation that created and first embraced cable TV. Before Read More »

  • IPMI News: Secure Parking UAE celebrates achievement as IPMI’s First International Accredited Parking Organisation with Distinction

    Secure Parking UAE celebrates achievement as IPMI’s First International Accredited Parking Organisation with Distinction Awarded under the Accredited Parking Organization program, this is the highest accreditation in the parking, transportation and mobility industry Dubai, UAE, November 10, 2020: The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) has announced Secure Parking UAE Read More »

  • The Fundamental Things Apply

    Joe Scuilli, CAPP Some 22 years ago, a team of parking consultants completely turned around Washington, D.C.’s then-underperforming meter program in a relatively short time, implementing privatized meter installation, maintenance, and collection and counting functions for the District’s Bureau of Parking. From March through August 1998, broken housings, faded domes, Read More »

  • IPMI’s Roadmap to Recovery, October 5, 2020

    Download the document and find out how the industry is adapting and shaping steps for recovery. 

  • IPMI News: ParkHouston’s Maria Irshad, CAPP, Recognized as Industry Professional of the Year

    International Parking & Mobility Institute hails Irshad as its James M. Hunnicutt, CAPP, Industry Professional of the Year The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) is pleased to announce Maria Irshad, CAPP, as its James Hunnicutt, CAPP, Industry Professional of the Year. The award is part of IPMI’s Professional Recognition Read More »

  • IPMI News: Philadelphia Parking Authority Lauded as 2020 Organization of the Year

    PPA recognized by IPMI for its exemplary leadership, comprehensive programming, and innovation August 2020 — The Philadelphia Parking Authority is the recipient of the International Parking & Mobility Institute’s 2020 Organization of the Year Award. The award, recognized during the 2020 IPMI Parking & Mobility Virtual Conference & Expo and Read More »

  • special publications

    IPMI News: IPMI Releases Roadmap to Recovery, Special Edition: July 2020

    Download IPMI”s Roadmap to Recovery, a special edition capturing the latest on the parking, transportation, and mobility industry’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Share your experience and your expertise.  Complete the 2020 IPMI COVID-19 Industry Response and Impact Benchmark Survey before July 30, 2020. One lucky participant will win a Read More »

  • news

    Member News: Propark Mobility Begins Hospitality Operations at Three San Diego Hotel Properties

    July 1, 2020 San Diego, California – Propark Mobility announced today that the company has started operations at three hotels in San Diego, representing the company’s flagship operations in this new market. Propark will bring a fresh style of service delivery, innovative approaches to revenue generation and an old school Read More »

  • blog

    Balancing the Post-pandemic Budget

    By Pamela Corbin, CAPP There is little doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on the budgets of parking systems throughout the country. Operating budgets are one of the most important work products in municipalities. They give the authority to incur obligations and pay expenses, allocate resources, and control Read More »

  • news

    Member News: Nashville’s Music City Center Selects Park Assist’s Parking Guidance System

    NASHVILLE, TN – June 10th, 2020 – Park Assist® has been awarded the Parking Guidance System (PGS) contract for Nashville’s Music City Center. This 2.1 million-square-foot convention complex opened in 2013 in the heart of downtown Nashville. The facility was primarily built to host large city-wide conventions. Attracting local and Read More »

  • news

    Member News: Westward’s GO-4 Vehicles Enhance Purdue University Parking Efficiencies While Reducing Fuel Costs by 65%

    Purdue University recently obtained two GO-4 parking specific vehicles from Westward Industries. The GO-4 vehicles will support the university’s efforts to expand their mobility, transportation, and parking management operations, elevating their on-street and lot presence while increasing mobile reads within their mobile LPR systems. Purdue University sought a solution to Read More »

  • podcast / video

    The Parking Podcast Episode E29: An Interview with Todd Tucker and a Conversation about Veterans in Parking

    Todd Tucker, JD, CAPP,  Senior Vice President and General Counsel with Arrive discusses learning, Arrive and Veterans in Parking. Check it out here https://www.parkingcast.com/

  • blog

    Reassessing Mobility Technology

    By John Nolan, CAPP, MSM Why do we spend so much money on business technology? We do so to help leverage our operations and improve business outcomes. These outcomes include our ability to deliver timely and accurate information—information that improves service outcomes but at the same time increases customer expectations. Read More »

  • blog

    Learning from COVID-19: Connecting with the Research Community

    By Stephanie Dock, AICP, and Katherine Kortum, PhD, PE This blog post is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of the International Parking & Mobility Institute, Transportation for America, and Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the Read More »

  • webinar

    Free Online Shoptalk: Municipalities, Finance, & Recovery: Current Challenges and Next Steps

    Wednesday May 13, 2020- 2:00 PM EST Free Online Shoptalk: Municipalities, Finance, & Recovery: Current Challenges and Next Steps Free to all Industry Professionals Access the Recording here   Join IPMI for our next online Shoptalk diving into cars, cash, and financial impacts to operations. Open to all, moderator Tiffany Read More »

  • podcast / video

    The Parking Podcast Episode E28: An Interview with Dennis Burns and Conversation about Consulting

    Dennis Burns, CAPP, Senior Practice Builder with Kimley-Horn, discusses consulting, strategic plans and Frisbee golf. Check it out here https://www.parkingcast.com/

  • Free Online Shoptalk: Leadership on Their Terms to Ease Stress and Enable Focus

    Wednesday May 6, 2020- 2:00 PM EST Free Online Shoptalk: Leadership on Their Terms to Ease Stress and Enable Focus Free to all Industry Professionals Access the Recording here IPMI invites all industry professionals in parking, transportation, and mobility to discuss how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted your various mobility Read More »

  • Member News: Introducing Park Assist’s Latest Signage Solution: LCD-NAV

    Park Assist is excited to announce its new LCD-NAV signage solution. Park Assist’s latest sign is both dynamic and customizable for real-time content updates. Increased customer engagement. With the ability to communicate a variety of dynamic messages, the LCD-NAV sign provides up-to-the-minute content updates to all customers. From guidance to maintenance Read More »

  • news

    Member News: Penn Parking Develops More than 3,000 Face Shields for COVID-19 Healthcare Workers

    May 7, 2020- Penn Parking, a Maryland-based parking management company, recently wrapped up the Herculean effort of handcrafting 3,300 PPE face shields for healthcare workers throughout Maryland, Virginia and DC area. The shields are to assist in the fight against COVID-19. Penn Parking leadership, staff and friends worked together to Read More »

  • news

    IPMI News: IPMI Partners with City Tech to Launch the Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab

    IPMI Partners with City Tech to Launch the Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab, a Cross-Sector Collaboration to Help Shape the Future of the Parking Industry May 6, 2020 In partnership with the International Parking & Mobility Institute, City Tech Collaborative is launching a new Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab, a cross-sector consortium Read More »

  • blog

    Curbside Management in a Recurring Emergency Scenario: A Municipal Perspective

    By Benito O. Pérez, AICP CTP, CPM; and David Carson Lipscomb, MCP This post is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of IPMI, Transportation for America, and ITE’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to Read More »

  • article

    McKinsey & Company: COVID-19 – Implications for Business

    March 30, 2020 By Matt Craven, Linda Liu, Mihir Mysore, Shubham Singhal, Sven Smit, and Matt Wilson The coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. It is also having a growing impact on the global economy. This article is intended to provide Read More »

  • Testing Center Conceptual Layout

    April 3, 2020 Given your role as parking and transportation professionals, we wanted to reach out in case you are asked to assist with the setup and mobilization of mobile testing facilities.  We’ve developed the attached conceptual / planning level traffic control schematic for a hypothetical mobile testing facility within a Read More »

  • Happy Anew Year!

    By Tiffany Smith, MBA Everyone is returning to work after vacations, holidays or maybe even returning to normal routines after the slowdown from closing out one year and opening another. Jumping back in can be a little challenging. How do you reignite the enthusiasm, motivation, and drive in your team? This is Read More »

  • Keeping Equipment Toasty Warm and Working in the Cold: An Alaskan Perspective.

    By Martin Klein, CAPP The thermometer reads -13 degrees this morning. A parking operator might be concerned about equipment continuing to run at that temperature but having spent 30+ years managing parking in Alaska where winter temperatures of 40 below zero are not uncommon, we’ve learned how to keep things Read More »

  • 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 A COMMON REACTION IN ANY CONVERSATION ABOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE 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 Read More »

  • 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 AS 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 Read More »

  • Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places

    By Jeff Speck NORTH AMERICA, ALONG WITH MUCH OF THE WORLD, 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 Read More »

  • Collision Course: The intersection of technology, parking, and freight can be a messy one. But it doesn’t have to be and everybody can win.

    By Richard B. Easley, CAPP TECHNOLOGY FOR PARKING IS CHANGING THINGS FOR THE BETTER—but technology isn’t only making parking better; it’s creating a sea change in consumerism worldwide. I’ll tell you a story that may not seem like it’s connected to parking, but if we open our eyes, we’ll see Read More »

  • Parking Spotlight: The Sweet Smell Of Success: Arizona State University Leads The Way

    By Shasta Philpot HOW DO YOU EFFICIENTLY MANAGE A PARKING PROGRAM for a university with 11 parking facilities spread across four campuses, and that serves more than 100,000 students? Obviously it’s a monumental task. Arizona State University Parking and Transit Services (PTS) has found that the secret of success can Read More »

  • Mobility & Tech: Data-Driven Better Communities

    By Jeff Petry OUR ROLE AS PARKING PROFESSIONALS ALLOWS US TO MEET, work, and make a difference with community members, neighborhoods, and businesses every day. We leverage these relationships to enhance economic development and strengthen neighborhood livability. In deliv­ering parking and transportation services, we combine modern and classic technology to Read More »

  • Insider’s Guide to Professional Development

    Download this comprehensive resource here!

  • Future $ense: Does designing garages with an eye—and a budget—toward future re-adaptation make realistic sense? A conversation with industry experts.

    Our Panelists James Anderson, Regional Sales Manager, Watson Bowman Acme Corp. Michael App, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, Director of Architecture, TimHaahs Jonathan Brown, Regional Manager, SP+ John Bushman, PE, President and CEO, Walker Consultants Matt Davis, Associate Principal, Watry Design John Hammerschlag, President, Hammerschlag & Co., Inc. Jeremy Rocha, PE, Read More »

  • IPMI Video: CAPP Certification for Industry Professionals

    Take your career, and your team, to the next level with CAPP Certification. Check out this short video about the program and what it meant for todays’ leaders in the parking, transportation, and mobility industry. To find out more about the program and download the Certification Handbook, visit Read More »

  • Leading with Graciousness

    By Thomas W. Gaffery IV, MBA, CAPP Years ago, I attended a mentor’s workshop entitled “The art of graciousness.” The topic is something that has crossed my mind many times since. The idea of graciousness in the workplace is fascinating because it can be a nebulous thing and takes ongoing Read More »

  • Just Published: A Practical Guide for Solving Accessible Parking Challenges

    The IPMI-led Accessible Parking Coalition (APC), has just published Let’s Make Accessible Parking More Accessible. This groundbreaking, free, downloadable 24-page publication, written for parking and mobility professionals and decision-makers, was developed by a team of IPMI members serving on the APC Advisory Council, in conjunction with advocacy groups for people Read More »

  • Overview: How to Become an Accredited Parking Organization

    Download the summary here. 

  • CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT: Managing access to a valuable resource.

    by Charley DeBow and Mike Drow, CAPP Curbside management is the collection of operating concepts, techniques, and practices that enable a municipality, university, or any entity to effectively allocate the use of their curbs and other high- demand areas. While the curb has been managed for decades, in the past Read More »

  • Airport Knights: How DFW Airport’s Courtesy Patrol helped customers, eased parking, and grew a giant fan base.

    By Robert Petersen, CAPP DALLAS FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL (DFW) AIRPORT launched its Courtesy Patrol program in 2013 to provide assistance to guests parking at its terminal garages. Members of this team seek out guests who need assistance with jump-starts, tire inflations, and locating vehicles. Ser­vice is provided seven days a Read More »

  • publications

    A Big Boost from Technology

    Thanks to new advances, parking is improving airports’ bottom lines, in the garage and the terminal. By Bill Smith, APR PARKING HAS ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT TO AIRPORTS’ BOTTOM LINES. For most airports, parking revenues are second only to gate fees and at a large airport can add up to hundreds Read More »

  • Ready, Set, Engage!

    By Julius E. Rhodes, SHPR IN THE 19TH CENTURY, an individual whose philosophy is widely mis­understood said that people are disconnected from their work and each other. Now mind you, during the 19th century there was no internet and nothing remotely related to the technology we take for granted in Read More »

  • To Charge or Not to Charge: EV Parking at a Mid-Size University

    By Victor Hill, CAPP, MPA WE WERE FINALLY ASKED WHY we do not offer charging for electri­cal vehicles, by an actual electric vehicle (EV) owner. The issue has come up infrequently on our campus—a midsize university of about 11,000 students—in the past five years as the vehicles have gained popularity. Read More »

  • Parking’s Role in the New Transportation Ecosystem

    By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE EVERYWHERE YOU TURN THESE DAYS, you hear that the personal auto­mobile will be replaced by autonomous cars and drones, advanced ride-shar­ing services, and hyperloops—technologies to improve personal transporta­tion. And some of our constituents’ outlook is that the parking industry will be gone within the next Read More »

  • WOULD YOU LIKE DATA WITH THAT?

    Everybody’s talking about data, but what does the word really mean, and how can parking and transportation make the most of it? “DATA” HAS BECOME ONE OF THOSE WORDS that has acquired a range of new definitions, but it has existed for decades (late 1940s, in fact). Type the word Read More »

  • Parking and the City

    By Donald Shoup AT THE DAWN OF THE AUTOMOBILE AGE, suppose Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller had asked how city planning could increase the demand for cars and gasoline. Consider three options. First, divide the city into separate zones (housing here, jobs there, shopping somewhere else) to create travel Read More »

  • Revisiting Green Approaches

    By Brian Shaw, CAPP STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA has a growing and effective sustain­ability enterprise that covers most aspects of the university’s operations and systems. However, it never hurts to revisit our approaches occasionally. I was recently asked by our new university leadership to provide an overview and, arguably, a justification Read More »

  • Controlling the Curb

    Dynamic curbside management creates space for everyone. By Ben Winokur ONCE UPON A TIME, the curb was readily accessible for just about anyone. Buses used it for passenger pick-ups and drop-offs, trucks delivered packages, and driv­ers parked to run errands or even go to work for the day. Those days Read More »

  • 5G IS A PRETTY BIG DEAL.

    But what exactly is 5G? Who: Major wireless companies, like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and others, are among the first to build, test, and implement 5G technologies. One of the key com­ponents is a chip, made by Qualcomm/Intel/Samsung, or others. A few other key players in the develop­ment of the 5G Read More »

  • The End of (Tax) Free Parking?

    By Leonard T. Bier, CAPP, JD; and Michael J. Ash, Esq. THE TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT OF 2017 was instituted into law Jan. 1. The sweeping revision to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code has ushered in changes to the treatment of benefits that were once tax-deductible. Experts are only Read More »

  • Autonomous and On-Demand: Radical Transformation

    By Sam Veraldi, CAPP A DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY is one that displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry or a groundbreaking product that creates a completely new industry. Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen coined the term “disruptive technology” in his 1997 bestselling book, “The Innovator’s Dilemma.” The Read More »

  • Work Smarter, Not Harder

    Great ways to leverage big data to enhance parking programs. By Nicole Ybarra IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE that we are in the midst of a parking renaissance, look no farther than the street right outside your door. In bustling city centers to sleepy suburbs once lined with coin-only Read More »

  • Making an Entrance — and an EXIT

    By Michael Pendergrass, AIA, LEED AP; Matt Davis; and Taylor Kim. AIA, LEED AP WHEN WE THINK OF A PARKING STRUCTURE as simply a store place for cars, it’s easy to see it as an end point; its purpose and function are fulfilled once a car is parked. However, the Read More »

  • Parking Guidance and the Journey

    By Michael Drow, CAPP; Blake Laufer, CAPP; and Michael Civitelli SALLY NEEDS TO BE AT HER DESTINATION in 55 minutes and she’s never been there before. Does she take mass transit? Ride-share? Or does she drive—and park? Whether attending a downtown meeting, connecting with friends for a concert, or making Read More »

  • Creating a Parking Technology Ecosystem

    By Andy Santana THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS that can be used to manage all types of parking infrastructures, and many have the capacity to share common data to help make the parking experience ideal. When implementing new technology, integration and compatibility between systems is key to achieving a Read More »

  • Mobile Applications and PARCS Integrations Best Practices

    By Todd Tucker UBER, LYFT, GROUPON, AND OTHER POPULAR CONVENIENCE applications have created an expectation of a frictionless experience for consumers. Parking consumers are no different. Many of the most popular mobile parking applications help seamlessly connect parkers with spots at their intended destinations. However, the lack of a fully Read More »

  • SPARKS OF CREATIVITY: A mural project at the Downtown Eugene Transit Station was paid for with parking revenue.

    Parking. What’s the first thing in customers’ minds when they see that word? It might be tickets or meters or parking garages, but no matter what it is, the feeling associated may not be a good one. The parking services program in Eugene, Ore., Epark Eugene, aims to change that Read More »

  • An Investment Pays Off: A new parking guidance system offers multiple benefits at the University of Oklahoma.

    By Kris Glenn and Dale Fowler PARKING GUIDANCE SYSTEMS (PGS) have become common on American campuses in the past decade. The ability of PGS to guide students, staff, and visitors directly to open parking spaces is attractive to campus parking directors because it makes parking so much more convenient and Read More »

  • HIGH-TECH NEW FRONTIERS

    How the internet of things (IoT) can help parking organizations navigate new automotive worlds ahead. By Kyle Connor THE PROMISE OF SMARTER, more connected, and highly autonomous ve­hicles is exciting news for consumers. Who doesn’t want a safer, more efficient, and more convenient driving experience? But for parking companies, the Read More »

  • Ready to Expand Your EV Offerings?

    By Daniel Ciarcia, LEED GA IF YOU’VE JOINED A GROWING NUMBER OF GARAGE OWNERS and oper­ators by installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, you’ve likely noticed demand for these stations increasing. With sales of EVs in the U.S. surging 45 percent from 2016 to 2017 and patrons competing for those Read More »

  • Adapting to Changing Consumer Expectations and Behavior

    By Charley DeBow Everything in life seems to be getting easier for people. If you have a ques­tion, you just ask Alexa. My wife and I haven’t been to a supermarket to do regular food shopping in three years. Amazon Fresh, Blue Apron, and Amazon Pantry allow us to order Read More »

  • From here to there: The best ways to shift from strategic planning to strategic doing.

    Colleen Niese It’s quite satisfying to gather all key players from across the organization around the con­ference table to talk about completing strategies for the upcoming year. People become energized by envisioning how the company will function differently, clients and custom­ers will be retained, and new business targets will be Read More »

  • IPMI Parking Data Analytics Snapshot (2017)

    Download the full pdf here.

  • special publications

    2020 Insider’s Guide to the International Parking & Mobility Institute

    Download the full document to explore member benefits, member survey results, and more.

  • Planning for the Short Term

    Industry experts talk about their strategies for sustainability and efficiency. Compiled by Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C 17-12 planning for the short term EVERY ASPECT of garage planning, design, construction, and operation has sustainability effects. The choices we make affect the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit—but Read More »

  • KNOW YOUR (PROPERTY) RIGHTS

    By Leonard T. Bier, CAPP, JD; and Michael J. Ash, Esq. Parking requires facility owners, operators, and users to occupy physical space. Therefore, real estate is an essential component of parking. A basic understanding of legal property rights can help guide parking owners and operators in making decisions about the Read More »

  • A Green Year in Review

    Sustainable parking case studies that made 2017 greener. MEGAN LEINART, LEED AP BD+C 2017 has been another year for the books, and the parking, trans­portation, and mobility industry is no exception. We continue to see significant advancements in sustainability in parking design and construction, technologies, and management and operations. Experts Read More »

  • BIKE SHARE: WHAT NOW?

    By Ron Steedley, CAPP, MEd Bike share used to be an “if” but now it appears to be a “when.” We need to plan, prepare, and be ready to roll out this mobility option in our jurisdictions when vendors come knocking. As transportation professionals, we already know bike share is Read More »

  • The Future of Parking

    By John Dorsett No one can know what the future holds, but I am optimistic parking will play a meaningful role and not be buried somewhere with all of the buggy whips. Parking has changed in past decades, it will continue to change, and the change will likely be incremental. Read More »

  • SWOT Analysis: A Valuable Tool For Your Program

    By Jennifer I. Tougas, CAPP, PhD Director, WKU Parking & Transportation Services, Member, IPMI Board of Directors Our department held a staff retreat last week. It was the first time in a very long time that we had all operating units together for staff development. Given the nature of our Read More »

  • Online Course: Dennis Snow Virtual Training: Lessons From Disney

    Level: Foundational/basic course About the course: Learn How to Create Magical Customer Service Experiences with Dennis Snow. Based on his 20 years with the Walt Disney World Organization along with many years of consulting with organizations around the world such as the International Parking and Mobility Institute in 2016, Dennis Snow Read More »

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    Parking Craves Inspiring Leaders

    By Ana Hengist Looking back at everything I’ve learned so far in parking, I think about people who taught, inspired, and engaged me. Some of them were parking owners and directors, with great knowledge and power. Others were not necessarily decision-makers. Yet, they had an incredible ability to influence and Read More »

  • A Guide to Parking

    IPI’s mission to advance the parking profession manifests in a number of ways – through top-notch education, certification and accreditation, and connecting our community through the conference and expo and now online through Forum.    Publications are another hallmark program of our organization; take a look through this magazine and the Read More »

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    Forum, IPI’s New Online Community

    Forum is an online community that gives members a powerful new way to access and share parking, transportation, and mobility-industry information and on-the-job experiences. IPI members can log in and join vibrant discussions, gain others’ perspectives on questions and challenges, access a robust, online library of member knowledge and resources, Read More »

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    On the Go

    On the Go Mobile payments gain momentum in the parking industry.  The parking industry has greatly evolved in recent years with the introduction of new and better technologies. Even well into the 1990s, some parking garages used cigar boxes to accept payments—consumers simply dropped cash into the box and parked Read More »

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    Battening Down

    Battening Down One way to deal with the unpredictable costs of winter weather.   Believe it or not, snow and ice are right around the corner. The volatility of the past several winters, from mild temperatures to record snowfall, has complicated the already difficult task of budgeting during the winter months. This Read More »

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    Safer Shuttles

    Safer Shuttles Do you know the rules and regulations governing shuttle operations? How to comply and minimize your risk.  T he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the governing arm concerning commercial transportation regulations, last year collected fines for shuttle infractions in excess of $33 million from different transit agencies around the U.S. Read More »

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    Stranger in a Strange Land

    Stranger in a Strange Land What happens when a seasoned parking planner becomes a frontline intern? (Hint: It’s half fabulous and half hilarious.)   You know, sometimes it’s just interesting to hear how other people perceive you. That’s how this all started—I was sitting around with some of my favorite Southwestern parking Read More »

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    Welcome Back to Parking … Creative Ways to Welcome Students Back to Parking

    College and university parking organizations dream up creative ways to welcome students back to school and find it’s well worth the effort. Remember when you went to college? After moving into the dorm and spending a small fortune on books, you probably had the not-so-pleasant experience of waiting in a Read More »

  • The Untold Story of Paid Parking in Vegas

    There was lots to consider when Las Vegas’s storied casinos began charging for parking late last year. From rates to occupancy to public relations, the move to paid parking made headlines around the world. The story you haven’t heard, however, is about all the technology needed to make the shift Read More »

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    Parking Management and Limiting Access

    By Gorm Tuxen There has always been a clear separation between private and public parking. Parking facilities have traditionally been either private and public—it has generally been difficult to permit private parking at certain times and public parking at other times in the same facility. However, modern vehicle access control Read More »

  • publications

    A New Home Base

    by Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP  IPI builds a new website for members and the parking community. IPI has a new online look, but our new website is far more than just a costume change. When IPI staff and the Board of Directors made the decision to launch a new Read More »

  • publications

    Community Assets

    By Natasha Labi, CAPP  The intrinsic value of parking enforcement officers to their neighborhoods. ON AN OLD EPISODE OF “PARKING WARS,” a Philadelphia parking enforcement officer (PEO) walked solemnly back to his vehicle as an irate parking violator hurled such vulgar profanity in his direction that mandatory Federal Communications Commission bleeping Read More »

  • publications

    Unleashing the Beast

    by Vanessa R. Cummings, CAPP, M.Div. Bringing the BEAST to customer service. The beast is a process for you to put into practice every day, especially in difficult or unusual situations or when someone tries to take you over the limit.  HAVE YOU EVER BEEN PUSHED TO YOUR PARKING LIMIT? Have Read More »

  • publications

    More Than Acronyms

    by Mark D. Napier, CAPP Why parking professionals need to understand NIMS and ICS and what each can do in a disaster. It is important for all parking professionals to understand the basic tenants of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS). The fundamentals of Read More »

  • publications

    Parking Safety by Design

    by Khurshid Hoda Crime prevention through environmental design boosts safety with relatively easy steps for both new builds and existing-structure retrofits. SAFETY AND SECURITY are important aspects of operating a successful parking structure. Part of developing an effective parking structure includes helping ensure that design elements support a safe and Read More »

  • publications

    Big Events Big Challenges

    How sport safety and security are greatly enhanced by parking and now, by IPI. SOME OF THE BIGGEST SPECIAL EVENTS IN THE WORLD HAPPEN IN SPORTS, and perhaps nowhere are there more people parking in a compact area at a single time. Sporting events bring unique security challenges, and many Read More »

  • publications

    Ahead of the Train

    By Robert Ferrin and Brett Wood, PE, CAPP Building a parking program from the ground up.  What if you could build a parking program from scratch? Where would you start? What would your central tenets be? How would you integrate the wealth of knowledge gained by parking professionals during the past Read More »

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    Wow Your Customers

    By Dennis Snow Three keys for delivering great service.  The term “customer service” evokes different images in people’s minds. One image could be that of friendly, smiling, helpful employees who go out of their way to serve you. Or it could be the opposite—indifferent, unfriendly employees who can’t wait for you Read More »

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    IPI Rocks Music City

    By Kim Fernandez This May, the 2016 IPI Conference & Expo offers more than ever before. Nobody knows more about staying in tune than the people of Nashville, Tenn.—Music City, USA. And nobody knows more about staying in tune with parking than IPI, the biggest association of professionals in the industry. Read More »

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    Smarter than the Average Detective

    by Charlie Francis   How municipal parking finance professionals can catch parking bandits with data visualization.  I FIRST ENCOUNTERED the parking industry in the early 1970s as an entry-level accountant. I had to manually count the number of parked cars in each of Denver’s public parking lots between downtown and what Read More »

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    Rolling It

    by Mark A. Vergenes Changing jobs? 401(k) rollovers come with lots of choices. Learn how to make the best ones.  If you’re changing jobs, you may be wondering what to do with your 401(k) plan account. No matter what stage you are in your career or how close you are Read More »

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    ICE PARKING

    By Ryan J. Givens, CAPP The unusual parking challenges faced at Penn State (and the creative solutions that worked) when a new ice arena was constructed on campus.  What university wouldn’t love a brand-new ice arena for its hockey team? While it was certainly exciting (for all the right reasons) Read More »

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    The Eye of the Beholder

    The Winners of the Parking Professional’s 2015 Photo Contest Parking professionals show off their creative eyes in The Parking Professional’s annual photo contest, with amazing results. IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR—photo contest time! Every year, IPI staff gather ‘round to judge the entries we get from parking professionals in Read More »

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    White House Calling

    White House Calling The unique challenges posed to parking professionals when the president and friends pay a visit.  While presidential politics is consuming the news across the U.S. this year, it’s always a focal point of life here in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Many sites around the region serve Read More »

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    Parking Analytics: An Industry Snapshot (May 2016)

    The International Parking Institute (IPI) has launched a new initiative focused on parking analytics and benchmarking. Designed to advance the parking profession by collecting, aggregating, and publishing data, this series offers Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the industry. Parking and transportation organizations are collecting and studying KPIs as a tool Read More »

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    What’s What in Parking Technology 2016, Third Edition

    Glossary of nearly 100 parking technology terms and definitions, from Access Control to Yield Management. What’s What in Parking Technology, 2016

  • publications

    Pay, Park, Tweet

    By Chris Blondell Like most working people, those in the parking industry have good days and bad days. You’ve probably been in a situation where you’re having a great day, everyone’s car is parked where it should be, traffic is moving in great order, and then suddenly, a man who’s Read More »

  • publications

    Future Thinking

    By David Kubik, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Within the Past decade, cities have become home to more than half of the global population, and the United Nations projects that the proportion of urban dwellers will reach 66 percent by 2050. Growing populations are putting a strain on the physical infrastructure Read More »

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    Careful Considerations

    By Pierre Koudelka I wrote an article last year about parking equipment and new applications in which I said, “Our system of specifying, purchasing, and managing, for whatever reason, is far too accepting of the status quo” (See the January 2015 issue of The Parking Professional). Since then, lots of Read More »

  • publications

    Why Cash May Still be King

    By Bryan Alexander The data breaches that hit the parking industry in 2014 offered a stark reminder that parking is just as vulnerable to credit card fraud as any other industry. Worldwide, credit card fraud has reached $14 billion a year, and while the hit experienced by the parking industry Read More »

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    Going Green with LED Lighting Retrofits

    By Jennifer I. Tougas, PhD, CAPP If you are looking for ways to save money in your operation, take a hard look at your lighting system. Recent advances in the lighting industry allow us to save energy with more efficient fixtures, more intelligent controls, and lower maintenance needs. All of Read More »

  • publications

    No More Procrastination

    By Mark A. Vergenes Human beings are natural procrastinators. Most people struggle with the temptation to put things off until that last minute—particularly those tasks we don’t enjoy. How many times have you claimed to “work better under pressure” or promised yourself to finish a task when you had more Read More »

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    Parking Management — Planning, Design and Operations

    The third volume in the Parking 101 Series provides you the best information and training available to succeed as a parking and transportation professional. Learn from the top experts in the parking industry through chapters such as: Parking Demand Studies Projecting Parking Usage Successful Parking System Organizational Models Essential Elements Read More »

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    Experts Needed

    Why the way your RFPs are written is setting you up for disappointment and what the industry can do about it. By Pierre Koudelka As it pertains specifically to parking access and revenue control systems (PARCS), your RFP may not be getting you what you intend. In my career as Read More »

  • Parking Safety Matters PSA and Fact Sheet: Heatstroke

    Combined public safety ad and fact sheet on preventing heatstroke deaths of children in parked cars. Get the fact sheet only.

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    Industria del Estacionamiento – Winter 2016, Volume 1

    Industria del Estacionamiento, launched in January 2016, is IPI’s Spanish-language magazine, bringing news, trends, case studies, and analysis to Spanish-speaking parking professionals with a focus on Mexico and Latin America. Each biennial issue of the electronic magazine includes a note from IPI and four to six features, incorporating original content Read More »

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    Going Green with LED Lighting Retrofits

    By Jennifer I. Tougas, PhD, CAPP If you are looking for ways to save money in your operation, take a hard look at your lighting system. Recent advances in the lighting industry allow us to save energy with more efficient fixtures, more intelligent controls, and lower maintenance needs. All of Read More »

  • Form and Function

    By Tracey Bruch, CAPP, and Anderson Moore Lots of people don’t think “gorgeous” when they think “parking.” Members of IPI know they should because the parking lots and garages currently under construction and being renovated are often things of beauty, offering amenities and aesthetics to their communities and often serving Read More »

  • Autonomous Vehicles and Parking

    By Mike Robertson Slightly more than 100 years ago, our daily transportation mode began to shift from horsepower (the literal kind) to the internal combustion engine, ultimately providing us with the freedom to travel in a way that could not have been imagined. Self-driving vehicles (or autonomous vehicles) have the Read More »

  • The Right Moment

    By Phill Schragal When it comes to independent parking operators, owners, and property managers often adhere to the old adage, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” However, when assessing the bottom-line performance of an operator, it makes sense to take a closer look every now and then—“broken” can be Read More »

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    Modern Chauffeurs

    By Soumya S. Dey, PE, PMP, and Stephanie Dock, AICP The parking industry has seen more changes in the last decade than it did in the preceding 60-plus years, since the first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City in 1935. Fundamental shifts are underway that can be categorized into Read More »

  • Lessons from LEED

    By Paul Wessel It was a pretty audacious idea. Certifying green buildings? Who cares about that? And even if people care, who’s going to pay for it? That was the response David Gottfried received back in 1992 when the founder of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) was just starting Read More »

  • Not So New

    By Isaiah Mouw, CAPP, LEED GA The first purpose-built garage was constructed in Chicago in 1898. Again in Chicago, the earliest recorded multilevel parking garage was built in 1918. Less than a year later, as World War I came to a close, downtown Louisville, Ky., welcomed its first parking facility: Read More »

  • Before I Do

    By Brian Mitchell The average parking facility operator or owner may be involved in one or two major purchases a year, while the average parking sales rep is involved in hundreds. At any given time, a sales rep could be involved in initial discussions with a potential customer, preparing a Read More »

  • Illuminating

    By Philip Lavee The historic Hills Plaza building in San Francisco’s South of Market waterfront district is home to high-profile companies including Google and global architecture and design firm Gensler. When global commercial real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) decided to upgrade the lighting in the parking garage, Read More »

  • Predictive Parking

    By Robert C. Hampshire and Tayo Fabusuyi The Pittsburgh Cultural District is home to the arts and entertainment scene supported by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT), a nonprofit arts organization established in 1984 to lead the cultural and economic development of downtown Pittsburgh, primarily through the use of the arts. Read More »

  • Papal Preparations

    By William Wasser In late September, Philadelphia was honored to host Pope Francis and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. From near and far (sometimes very far), they flocked to Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway to catch a glimpse of the pontiff as he celebrated Mass in front of the world-renowned Philadelphia Read More »

  • Municipal Residential Permit Parking Programs Legal or Not

    By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP Resident permit parking (RPP) is a well-established parking management tool throughout the United States. However, what we take for granted today was not a legal certainty until 1977. Steve Monetti, former executive director of the Fort Lee Parking Authority, N.J., as well as a Read More »

  • Going Gateless

    By Chris Chettle Parking access revenue control systems (PARCS) remain the most popular solution deployed to manage access and payment in garage facilities. These systems provide a range of valuable solutions to deal with complex user requirements for permit and transient parkers while supporting gated access to maximize compliance and Read More »

  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Parking

    By William F. Kavanagh, AIA A ccessible parking requirements are fairly straightforward and easy to comply with if you understand what all of the applicable requirements are for a given garage location. This article will focus on some of the basic accessible parking requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act Read More »

  • Giving Drivers A Pass

    By Tyler Johnson Our vision as municipal employees is to make Boise, Idaho, the most livable city in the country. Part of making a city “livable” means encouraging visitors to return for subsequent visits, send their children to college in town, or even call our home their home at some Read More »

  • Fact or Fiction Taking A Fresh Look At Old Views

    By Julius E. Rhodes, SPHR How many of you have heard that lightning never strikes the same place twice? How about the one that says opportunity never knocks twice? Then there are the popular “rules” that relate to the work world: You cannot turn a bad employee into a good Read More »

  • Big Picture

    By Mike Martindill and Mitch Skyer Georgia Regents University Augusta (GRU) is a ­newly-formed consolidation of two long standing universities: the Medical College of Georgia and Augusta State University. The schools are only a few miles apart in Augusta and were two of eight the Georgia Board of Regents elected Read More »

  • On the Road; In the Lot

    By Irma Henderson, CAPP By now, there are very few people who have not heard the terms “global warming” and “climate change.” While there are some who feel the increasing temperatures are a result of Earth’s natural cycles, others point to the increase of mankind’s use of fossil fuels. Regardless Read More »

  • Parking a la Pavarotti

    By Chip Chism Freshman orientation is an exciting time for any college community. The campus is full of both eager students and anxious parents trying to learn as much as possible about the school that will become a home away from home for the student. During the two days of Read More »

  • The 2015 IPI Conference & Expo Sets Records, Makes History

    Were you in Las Vegas this summer? More than 3,200 parking professionals landed at the Mandalay Bay in late June for the biggest and best conference and expo in the industry, and the 2015 IPI Conference & Expo delivered. More than 250 exhibitors in a hall the size of three Read More »

  • No Decal, No Hang Tag, No Problem

    By Vicky Gagliano, LEED AP I remember those days during college when I waited in line for more than an hour at the parking office/trailer to pay for and pick up a parking decal. They gave me a plastic card with suction cups that I could use to display the Read More »

  • Video Surveillance: The Rise of the Machine

    By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP What is the connection between video surveillance, police brutality, and the parking industry? To begin with, many off-street parking facilities use closed-circuit television (CCTV) to monitor vehicle entry and exit lanes, capture license plate information, and record video of persons entering and leaving. This Read More »

  • Parking Woes in Developing Countries

    By Annaliza Vasallo Parking is hell. This is according to a Freakonomics podcast episode dealing with the hidden side of free parking. It made me think that if you think parking is hell in cities such as New York and San Francisco, imagine how the parking situation is in densely Read More »

  • Constant Change

    By Colleen M. Niese Never before has the parking industry had readily available big data to exploit its parking revenues and space utilization. With the help of a number of emerging tech partners, we can now analyze our parking customers in a number of different ways and cater to their Read More »

  • Guarantee Yourself a Win!

    By now, you know the 2015 IPI Conference & Expo, June 29–July 2 in Las Vegas, will be the parking industry’s biggest and best event, offering more professional development, hands-on product and technology experience, and networking (oh, the networking!) than ever before. What’s on tap? A few highlights: 225 exhibitors Read More »

  • An Image Turnaround

    By Marc Denson It was a beautiful morning when I reported to work years ago, but within a few hours the real picture began to unfold: a parking unit in chaos with only one employee remaining after an internal affairs investigation; 70 percent of meters were more than 30 years Read More »

  • Mixing It Up

    By Bill Kavanagh, AIA, NCARB Mixed-use projects with parking facilities are becoming more common. As land becomes ­scarcer, building a freestanding garage may be a missed opportunity. Often, parking authorities and other parking entities are involved in mixed-use projects that include multiple owners, both public and private. Let’s examine issues Read More »

  • Simple Fixes

    By Ron Steedly, CAPP, MEd, LCI Let’s face it: Bicycle transportation on a college campus is essential. No matter if the campus is 5,200 acres like Texas A&M University (10th in the nation in overall acres) with nearly 56,000 students or 14 acres like Thomas More College of Liberal Arts Read More »

  • Boosting Credit Security

    By Randy Vanderhoof The U.S. is more than three years into its migration to Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) chip payments, and 2015 is expected to be a year of great progress. Last year, there were approximately 120 million chip cards in the market, and this number is expected to leap Read More »

  • Being Prepared

    By Bruce Barclay, CAPP This exercise was the culmination of a 10-month process that included a planning team of 35 people from 20 different organizations. In the months prior to the exercise, the planning team worked diligently to solidify objectives and expected actions, confirm extent of play from participating agencies, Read More »

  • Legal Updates

    By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP Since 2011, this column has addressed actual and hypothetical legal issues based on new state and federal laws, employment situations, parker conduct, and litigation that affects the operation of public and private sector parking operations. Here, we review some subjects we’ve covered and bring Read More »

  • Automated Vehicle Storage Retrieval System Update

    By Donald R. Monahan, PE After completion of the first two fully automated vehicle storage/retrieval systems (AVSRS) in October 2002 (Hoboken, N.J., and Washington, D.C.), it took another five years before the third system was completed in the U.S., in New York City. To date, 14 systems have been completed, Read More »

  • The Two Tier Solution

    By Donald Shoup and Fernando Torres-Gil Almost everyone can tell an anecdote about disabled placard abuse. One of mine stems from a visit to the California capitol building in Sacramento. After noticing that cars with disabled placards occupied almost all the metered curb spaces surrounding the Capitol, I talked to Read More »

  • Real Numbers

    By Jay Primus The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) manages San Francisco’s parking, but for many years couldn’t answer a simple question: how many parking spaces are there in the city? We weren’t alone; to the best of our knowledge, no other major city can accurately answer this question. Read More »

  • Student Smarts

    By Charnae Sanders As is true on college campuses across the nation, parking has been and continues to be a big issue among students at Central Michigan University (CMU). With limited parking and a large student population, problems are expected to arise. Student Government Association (SGA) President Chuck Mahone says Read More »

  • A Robotic Revolution

    By Wes Guckert, PTP A report recently issued by the United Nations highlighted a global trend: More than half (54 percent) of the world’s population lives in urban areas. This trend isn’t expected to slow anytime soon. In fact, that number is forecast to rise to 66 percent by 2050. Read More »

  • A Smarter Parking Solution

    By Graham Arndt A new smarter parking initiative at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, illustrates that meters are no longer the must-have item for paid parking. Curtin University’s pay-as-you-go (PAYG) parking system is the first of its kind to be introduced into Australia and possibly the world. The system successfully Read More »

  • Looking Into The Crystal Ball

    By Bill Smith, APR The installation of the original parking meter in Oklahoma City in 1935 represented the first time a technology was introduced to improve parking management. But we can hardly call that the dawn of parking’s Technology Age. After all, the parking meter served as the zenith of Read More »

  • Meeting Conflicting Demands

    By Dave McKinney, EdH, CAPP Customers have highly diverse expectations of those who provide parking services. Administrators of parking operations face the formidable challenge of meeting multiple customer expectations while also achieving financial business objectives. In the course of setting and achieving goals related to meeting many diverse demands, parking Read More »

  • Success On Two Wheels

    By Holly Parker As a practitioner in the specialized profession of higher-ed sustainable transportation for more than 13 years, I can confidently say that I looked for the perfect bikeshare solution for a university campus for about a dozen years. Anyone who sees bikesharing as the economical, scalable, and emission-free Read More »

  • Simple Savings

    By Jon Martens, AICP, CAPP Every parking owner is concerned with parking facility operations costs. Those who depend on parking to produce revenues want to make sure their costs don’t cut too deeply into profits. Owners who rely on parking to support their residential, commercial, or retail developments need to Read More »

  • Power Struggle

    By Kim Fernandez IT happens all the time: Driving down the road, you glance at your fuel gauge to see it’s nearly empty. You pull into the gas station, line up behind the car at the pump, and see there’s nobody there actually pumping gas. Maybe that driver is in Read More »

  • Paying the Freight

    By Duke Hanson Whether you live in, work in, or just visit dense urban centers, it is likely that you’ve had to run the on-street gauntlet of double-parked delivery vehicles. Certainly, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has noticed, as that agency attributes a significant amount of city gridlock to restrictions Read More »

  • Metadata and Parking

    By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP The defection by Edward Snowden from the U.S. to Russia spotlighted the metadata intelligence gathering of the U.S. National Security Agency’s (NSA) Prism Program. The general practice of collecting and analyzing telephone metadata by the NSA and the federal government significantly intensified after Sept. Read More »

  • Real World Results

    By Matt Davis and Michelle Wendler, AIA While communities often add parking to meet existing demand, some forward-thinking areas, such as Pasadena and Baldwin Park, Calif., have flipped their thinking to see parking as a catalyst for redevelopment. Pasadena has a successful track record in its historic downtown of building Read More »

  • Resetting Public Opinion

    By Frank Ching Santa Monica, Calif., is more than a quintessential Southern California city—its status as home to the world-famous Santa Monica Pier and a vibrant downtown area make it among the most celebrated beach cities in the world. Each year, more than 20 million vehicles transcend on 8.5 square Read More »

  • The Difference Between Getting By and Moving Forward

    By Matthew Inman I’ve had the privilege of working with parking programs all across North America. I’ve seen some that excel and some that struggle with seemingly basic responsibilities. I’ve seen brand-new parking organizations spring to life and well-established programs fall into decline. What differentiates the successful organizations from the Read More »

  • The Critical Rear View

    By Jason Bare We live in a fast-paced world where everyone is always busy, whether answering phone calls, texts, and emails or trying to get to our next destination in the least amount of time. Sometimes, that split second of turning one’s head to check our surroundings when backing up Read More »

  • Thinking in Groups

    By Alvin “Aalim” Turner In almost every aspect of our busy lives during the last few decades, we have witnessed technology solutions grow by leaps and bounds. Who knew that something called an “app” would become such a resourceful and necessary tool in our daily lives? We continue to live Read More »

  • Hiring an Expert

    By Patrick Wells While the argument is out there for construction companies to be more diverse and have more variety in their pursuits, I have found that there is tremendous value in searching out and hiring a true specialist for new projects. Coming from the construction industry and having experience Read More »

  • Beyond Just Parking

    By Gloria Gallo, CAPP, and Patricia Rumi, CAPP For many years, the four-square-mile Borough of Fort Lee, N.J., has made clever use of its parking authority. To keep taxes down and offer residents increased services, the municipal government has called upon the department from time to time to assume responsibility Read More »

  • Doubling Down

    By Eric VanDuyne and John Vincent We were given the opportunity to investigate deteriorated conditions in a five-level, post-tensioned concrete parking structure located in the midwest U.S. back in 1991. At that time, the structure was 15 years old and exhibited widespread deterioration to concrete surfaces on elevated levels of Read More »

  • SPREADING THE WORD

    By David G. Onorato, CAPP A 2012 decision by the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh established the city as the first in the U.S. to commit to the adoption of multi-space, pay-by-license-plate technology to manage a full network of on- and off-street metered marking. The primary objective of the commitment Read More »

  • NEW Technology Will Drive Airport Parking In 2014

    By Dan Kupferman, CAPP Flying can be stressful. It’s really not the flying that creates tension, but getting to the gate on time that stresses us out. Driving to the airport, finding a parking space, getting through security—if you have an early morning flight, you may be tempted to leave Read More »

  • Free Wheeling

    By Bill Smith, APR Airports are always striving to find new ways to make the traveling experience more convenient and enjoyable. Competition for travelers can be fierce, and terminals need to offer the amenities and services that travelers are looking for. Entrepreneurs are helping many airports in their quest for Read More »

  • Lessons Learned

    By Diane Confer, CAPP What do you do when you have a large garage that’s nearly half empty despite rates that are already lower than other garages in the area? As parking professionals, isn’t our job to fully utilize our resources and keep garages at full occupancy to maximize our Read More »

  • Time Bandit, or To Catch a Thief

    By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP Technology has made it easier for employers to track the performance and location of their field employees using GPS locators embedded in company vehicles, cell phones, and tablets issued to employees in the ordinary course of business. In the June 2011 The Parking Professional, Read More »

  • Car Sharing at a Mile High

    By Robert Ferrin Launched earlier this year, Denver’s car sharing program is a fee-based service that provides a shared vehicle fleet to members 24 hours per day, seven days per week, at unattended self-service locations. Car use is provided at minute-based, hourly, or per-mile rates that include fuel, insurance, and Read More »

  • Minimum Efforts

    By Daniel Rowe Multifamily residential buildings often provide too much parking, which can be an impediment to achieving a wide range of community goals. King County Metro Transit (Metro), Seattle, Wash., recently embarked on a project to rewrite the rules for multifamily parking. Through its Right Size Parking Project, Metro Read More »

  • Overnight Options

    By Mike Estey It’s not often that those of us who manage on-street parking for city governments do something that results in near-universal praise. But it happened here in Seattle! Seattle has an active nightlife. While grunge may have put our music scene on the map a couple of decades Read More »

  • Modernizing Municipal Technology

    By Joseph Balskus The July Consultants Corner focused on rebuilding and reinventing our core cities. This month’s column continues that theme with a demonstration of the initiatives that Park New Haven (PNH), formerly the New Haven Parking Authority, has undertaken to modernize parking technology, meet the demands of a growing Read More »

  • A Prolific Partnership

    By Gina Fiandaca Public private partnerships (P3) between major local governments and private companies are critical to the successful development and execution of sophisticated, high-volume programs such as the processing and collection of parking tickets. These partnerships allow governments to allocate resources to establishing policies, building core competencies, providing oversight, Read More »

  • Unlocking the Grid

    By Bill Smith The eyes of the world will be on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the next few years, as the city gears up to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. These events bring prestige, lots of attention, and billions of Read More »

  • Parking Power

    City planner and author Jeff Speck talks about the role parking plays in creating walkable cities. Jeff Speck, AICP, CNU-A, Leed AP, Hon. ASLA, didn’t start out writing about parking. A renowned city planner and architect, his first book, Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the Read More »

  • Defending the Enforcement Officer

    By Colleen M. Niese But I was only going to be gone five minutes.” “Your meter doesn’t accept cash.” “I don’t have to pay for parking—I’m on staff.” Parking enforcement officers can be subjected to listening and resolving the proverbial “dog ate my homework” excuses from customers trying to extract Read More »

  • Park Your Park Here

    By Kim Fernandez Midway through an otherwise ordinary day three years ago, Jeff Petry picked up the phone to hear the voice of a seriously stymied parking enforcement officer. “He said we had people sitting in parking spaces outside Starbucks and other downtown businesses,” says Petry, parking manager at the Read More »

  • Maintenence Matters

    By Gregory J. Neiderer, PE Some parking facility owners and operators believe that as long as their structures continue to serve the public, few maintenance-related tasks need to be performed. Nothing could be further from the truth—facility maintenance is downright essential. One of the most important things an owner or Read More »

  • Forward Momentum

    By Kim Fernandez Don’t tell anyone, but newly-elected IPI Chair Liliana Rambo, CAPP, fell into parking because she wanted a space, well, for free. A student at Miami-Dade Community College-Downtown Campus in 1987, Rambo was chatting with a friend who worked as a cashier in the garage nearest the administrative Read More »

  • One Year Later NYC’s EStar Test

    By Guillermo Leiva Last year, I wrote about the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Bureau of Parking’s audition of all-electric eStar vans in our meter collection fleet (see the July 2012 issue of The Parking Professional). We began our tests as optimists, hoping this new, sustainable technology Read More »

  • Maximizing Change Minimizing Pain

    By Garrett Coleman Does the idea of upgrading your parking facility’s payment systems raise the hair on the back of your neck from the thought of lanes being shut down, traffic jams, issuing new monthly access credentials, and facing a complete database transfer? Upgrading a garage parking system does not Read More »

  • Find It Fix It Then Raise the Bar

    By Wanda Brown Is your parking operation riddled with staff excuses? Can’t get your employees to produce excellence? Feeling frustrated and sometimes defeated? Every parking manager has had to deal with less-than-favorable performance from frontline and administrative staff. Whether poor performance is due to motivational or training issues, it is Read More »

  • In the Blink of an Eye

    By Kim Fernandez Gina Fiandaca completed the 2013 Boston Marathon run at about 2:42 p.m. on Monday, April 15 and started making her way through the congested finish-line stations. It was, she noted later, the first year in 14 that she didn’t have family members waiting for her behind the Read More »

  • The Importance of People

    By Vanessa K. Solesbee, MA This issue of The Parking Professional—the one that celebrates excellence in our industry and highlights some of the talented men and women who exemplify the term “parking professional”—is the issue I look most forward to reading each year. I am deeply inspired by the stories Read More »

  • Tourist Transitions

    By Brian Andersen, CAPP, MBA Over the years, I have witnessed the parking metamorphosis of Park City, Utah, which is a resort town. The city’s skiing is legendary and attracts many to this beautiful region, but its proximity to an urban area and major airport hub has generated some parking Read More »

  • Prep Work

    by Holly Doering When “Big Joe” McGinnis stole $2.7 million from the Brink’s Depot in Boston (now a parking garage) in 1950, he needed an ice pick to enter the building. Today’s thieves only need to find a way to breach your online defenses. That’s the reason for the rise Read More »

  • Mensa Meters

    By Jon Martens and Steffen Turoff, AICP Shoppers, business owners, visitors, and even residents in cities and towns across the U.S., all face the same persistent, driving-related problem: finding an available parking spot. Recent surveys from around the country have shown that regardless of a municipality’s location, some of the Read More »

  • Beyond Supply & Demand

    By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE The parking supply and demand study is one of the oldest staples in the parking professional’s toolbox. It happens in all sorts of parking departments and operations, and is always intended to answer the questions: How much parking do I have? How much parking do Read More »

  • Rolling Controversy

    By Kim Fernandez The City of Chicago followed several other major cities last July when it passed an ordinance banning food trucks from parking within 200 feet of fixed businesses that serve food. Their ordinance, which also required the trucks to broadcast their whereabouts via GPS devices, went a bit Read More »

  • Managing Moped Parking

    By Patrick J. Kass, CAPP The University of Wisconsin-Madison is located in downtown Madison and is home to 75,000 employees, students, and visitors on a daily basis. The campus has 13,000 parking spaces to meet its daily need. To support the access needs of the campus, a number of alternative Read More »

  • SAVE ME A PARKING SPACE

    By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP We often ask our friends and family to save us a place in line to purchase tickets at a concert venue, to get into a theatre, or for in-store promotions. Not as common but certainly a practice that occurs on a daily basis is Read More »

  • Sowing Seeds Harvesting Rewards

    By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP My job as a consultant provides three great benefits I treasure. The first is that, when done right, it is a continuous learning experience. The second is that the travel allows me to see and keep in touch with a wide network of professional colleagues Read More »

  • Garages are for Parking

    By William F. Kavanagh, AIA, NCARB There has been a lot of news recently about a variety of people- gathering events being hosted in parking garages (see p. 28 for one). Some of them include the following: Sports event tailgating. Fireworks viewing. Parade watching. Dances or raves. Grand opening/ribbon-cutting ceremonies. Read More »

  • Lets Get This Party Started or Not

    By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP And the winner in the category of Parking Innovation in a Parking Program goes to…The Lancaster Parking Authority, for their garage rooftop events!” So went the annual awards banquet of the Pennsylvania Parking Association last September. That night, I accepted the award for innovation in Read More »

  • Always on Stage

    By Stephen Rebora, R.A. Mr. Rebora, I am pleased to inform you that your firm has been selected to present its qualifications at an interview that is scheduled for next week.” Being short-listed for a new project is always great, but it also sets a chain of efforts in motion Read More »

  • Establishing a New Technology

    By Clyde Church We are usually skeptical when a new technology arrives in our industry. We wait to see if it will live up to its developers’ claims and who adopts it first, and then listen for unanticipated problems and risks in deployment. When we select new technologies, our reputations Read More »

  • Plow Planning

    By Phill Sexton If you are a parking facility manager in a region that gets any amount of snow and ice, you probably already know that your risk and liability increase during the winter. While February may seem an odd time of year to begin the planning and qualification process Read More »

  • Total Revolution

    By Dennis Carter and Clarence W. Kemper, Jr. Parking technology: where is it heading? Everyone wants to go faster and be greener and more efficient. The parking industry is incorporating and adapting new technologies to meet the needs of the industry and the public. Mechanical to Digital Over the past Read More »

  • Taking Command

    By Mark Wright The line was growing by the moment. Six cars ahead, a driver—who had overlooked or ignored the “pay before you leave” signs—puzzled over the ticket slots and buttons at the exit gate kiosk. As moments turned into minutes, waiting drivers’ hands started inching toward their horns. One Read More »

  • Culture Club

    By Julius E. Rhodes, SPHR I may be dating myself this month. Some of you will remember the group of which I am about to speak with great fondness, while others will have to go to the internet to get my references. Back in the 1980s there was an English Read More »

  • The Consultative Approach

    By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP Have you ever read a book and said to yourself, “Man, I should have written this!” That was my first reaction to The Consultative Approach, by Virginia LaGrossa and Suzanne Saxe. My second thought was, “Man, I wish had read this book 20 years ago.” Read More »

  • Smile

    By Jim Bass Smile! You’re in landside. That phrase came to me one night as I lay in bed thinking about customer service and what we could do at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, Little Rock (BHCNA), to improve or better understand what appears on the surface to Read More »

  • Social Media 101

    By Sue Cornell The growing phenomenon of social media has extended into almost every portion of our society. In the last 10 years, social media has grown from a passing fad enjoyed by college students to a prime communication and intelligence tool. More and more average citizens are Tweeting, turning Read More »

  • Service Blueprinting

    By Melinda Alonzo-Helton, CAPP, Theresa Fletcher-Brown, and Nancy Stephens Why should you care about your customers’ experiences? Because that is one of the few places you can win in the service business. It can be a basis of distinguishing you from competitors. This is especially true for private and municipal Read More »

  • At a Crossroads

    There’s no question that the parking industry has seen massive change in recent years. Technology, sustainability, and a growing perception of professionalism have all deeply affected the way people in parking think about their work. But what’s ahead for the future? We asked industry leaders who work in airports, universities, Read More »

  • There’s an App for That

    By Colleen M. Niese The business case has been presented, the green light given to fund a new technology-based solution—a pay-and-display system, an automated monthly parker program, or perhaps an upgrade to a corporate support function—and you’re in the driver’s seat to source the right vendor to provide the deliverable. Read More »

  • Parkapalooza

    By Debbie Hoffmann What is the key to successfully managing large events on a college campus? Planning, planning, and planning. Texas A&M University was rated in the 2011 preseason edition of Sports Illustrated as the top college football game day environment, with Fox Sports chiming in by listing the school’s Read More »

  • Parkaholics Anonymous

    By Suzanne Williams Parking professionals come into contact with parkaholics every day—you probably recognize them as pesky repeat offenders who refuse to follow the rules. But how many of us are willing to admit we may have a problem ourselves? If your operation is struggling to manage peak demand and Read More »

  • Parking Pricing & TDM

    By Kurt Matthews Parking and traffic demand management (TDM): are they friend, foe, or partners? In Boulder, Colo., we look at these two concepts as elements of a larger notion that we call access management. Properly managed parking supports TDM by helping control and, at the same time, ensure access Read More »

  • Growing Pains

    By Justin Bean Roosevelt Island is a small community with big aspirations. Located on New York’s East River between Manhattan and Queens, it is a prime two-mile by 800-foot section of real estate that features housing developments, parks, and commercial areas. The island is linked to Manhattan by a three-minute Read More »

  • Multi Modal Magic

    By Ross Allanson, CAPP, and Atif Saeed, CAPP Infrastructure that’s designed and built to meet transportation needs makes a big difference in how our communities function and grow. The City of Minneapolis’ leadership and regional partners have traditionally been forward-thinking when it comes to creating a favorable environment for a Read More »

  • Reforming Parking Policies

    By Valerie Knepper Parking policies are emerging as a key and sometimes volatile issue in land use development and transportation planning efforts. A growing group of public and private interests are seeking changes in parking policies, pointing to problems such as inefficient usage of limited land, negative economic effects of Read More »

  • Walking the Line

    By Hal King, CAPP On-street parking might seem to work against the principles of Transportation Demand Management (TDM). To most observers, it promotes single vehicle trips and undermines mass transit. So how does on-street parking fit into TDM? How do we use it to reduce increasing congestion in urban centers Read More »

  • ON THE CUTTING EDGE

    By Allen Greenberg The U.S. Secretary of Transportation recently announced discretionary funding awards for 12 different programs, including the Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP). The VPPP awards include seven parking pricing projects. Before this announcement, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) comprehensive Contemporary Approaches to Parking Pricing: A Primer (visit parking.org/fhwaprimer Read More »

  • High Value

    By Colin Stewart The discussion of on-street parking rates is a common one in the media as municipalities large and small realize they need to increase rates to increase revenue or generate turnover. Most cities have recognized that price is a more demand-based and customer-friendly way to generate turnover than Read More »

  • Hitting Moving Targets

    By Mike Carneiro In some parking enforcement jurisdictions, as few as 25 percent of parking fines are collected in full before the first enforcement escalation. Even the best-run parking programs only achieve voluntary payment rates in the 35 to 40 percent range unless they initiate a process of mailing follow-up Read More »

  • Bench Warrant

    By Haskell Nussbaum Having written a book about how to beat parking tickets and sat as a judge who decided such cases, it’s somewhat amusing to be approached by “the enemy” to pen an article about how to make parking tickets stick. The truth is that the overwhelming majority of Read More »

  • Answers and Questions

    By Brad Johnson, CPA, MS Perhaps you read the thoughts of former U.S. Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell about the parking industry in the August issue of The Parking Professional. One of his themes was that useful knowledge about a business comes from visiting and talking with the people Read More »

  • Mixed Use Parking Structure Design

    By John Purinton, PE, SE A trend in the parking industry for the last decade, especially in downtown, urban, or educational settings, has been to include some type of mixed-use in new projects. Most of these mixed-use applications are retail and are located on the ground floor, where pedestrians will Read More »

  • Reach the Beach

    By Ken Stewart If you fly into San Juan, Puerto Rico for IPI’s Latin Parking Conference & Expo, Dec. 9-12 (latin.parking.org), from the north during daylight hours, the view from the plane will be of sandy beaches, high rise hotels, and condos. Just to the north of the city, you’ll Read More »

  • Reconnecting

    By Julius E. Rhodes, SPHR Reconnecting! Reconnecting. Reconnecting? It’s one word with three different potential interpretations. The first way implies excitement. The second implies a statement of fact, and the third implies uncertainty, as in to what or with whom am I reconnecting and why? Reconnecting in the workplace seems Read More »

  • Parking and Idling

    By Richard B. Easley, CAPP When most people think of parking, they think of empty vehicles with their engines turned off. Let’s look specifically at diesel engine idling, which primarily involves commercial buses and trucks. This happens so often that environmentally-savvy communities are trying to eliminate or minimize this practice. Read More »

  • Man vs Machine

    By Don Monahan, P.E. Robotic parking structures, more commonly referred to as automated vehicle storage/retrieval systems (AVSRS), are rapidly gaining momentum and popularity. Does an AVSRS garage make sense for you? The first two automated vehicle storage systems in the U.S. were completed in 2002 in Hoboken, N.J. (314 spaces) Read More »

  • Taxi Hydrant Zones

    By Troy McLeod Like many large cities, Alberta, Canada’s Calgary has a high demand for on-street, short-stay public and taxi parking space. Calgary’s taxi industry faced changing restrictions in 2010. Taxis were no longer allowed to wait for fares at the airport, but had to move to the downtown core. Read More »

  • Degrees of Hilarity

    THINK YOU’VE HEARD SOME GREAT STORIES from people trying to talk their way out of tickets and fines? (We’re partial to those featured in the June issue of The Parking Professional.) Wait until you hear the best ones from higher education. Late summer and early fall mean one big thing Read More »

  • America’s Parking Lot

    By Kim Fernandez IT STARTED, AS MANY THINGS HAVE, WITH A BET. Aspiring filmmaker Jonny Mars was tending bar in Texas in 2006 and talking smack with a longtime customer about football. The trash-talk wasn’t about the game itself, though. It was about the best way to watch. “I’d never Read More »

  • Between the Lines

    By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP Conventional wisdom says the first rule of parking in an off-street parking facility is: park your car within the lines of the marked parking stall. However this was recently found not to necessarily be true. In Gilmore vs. Maryland, the Maryland Court of Appeals Read More »

  • Setting Priorities

    By John M. Porter and Greggrey G. Cohen Parking structures are exposed to severe conditions such as rainwater, snow, de-­icing salts, and temperature and moisture changes that can lead to structural ­deterioration and damage to other building systems. Owners can implement routine maintenance programs to repair damage and reduce the Read More »

  • Form & Function

    By Michael Greco, Michael Pipitone, Wendy Feuer, and Guillermo Leiva In 2008, the New York City (NYC) Department of Transportation (DOT), in partnership with the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, announced an international design competition for a unique NYC bicycle rack. The goal was to develop an attractive, functional rack Read More »

  • Illuminating

    By Pete Barth When a Baltimore County, Md. garage was about six weeks into its high-tech lighting makeover, Wayne Mixdorf, CAPP, director of parking for the Baltimore County Revenue Authority (BCRA) received a phone call from the local power company. “They thought something was wrong with the electric meter,” recalls Read More »

  • Its Not My Fault

    Spend any time in parking enforcement and it’s not long before you’ll hear an excuse for a violation that’ll make you shake your head (or burst out laughing). It’s kind of like the dog eating the homework, only for grown-ups who are caught in the act of parking illegally. You Read More »

  • Planning to Ride Smart

    By Mike Harris Over the last few years, Mississippi State University has experienced historic growth. This increase is a national trend, from the numbers I have seen in academia. Factors behind our institution’s recent growth include the economic climate that has slowed job creation and the realization that the world Read More »

  • The Modern Toolbox

    By Brett Wood and Adria Koller, AICP Remember middle school? Remember being concerned about everyone talking behind your back? Wasn’t much fun, was it? Do you know what your stakeholders are saying about you now? Because more than your image is on the line; the success of your parking program Read More »

  • Parking Garage Fires

    By Mark Wright When Katie Stanciel answered her home phone early in the morning of Sunday, May 1, 2005, she knew her day would not go as planned. Stanciel, aviation parking manager at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, was alerted to a multiple-vehicle fire burning on the third level of the Read More »

  • Legal Immunity and Part-Time Employees

    By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP The United States Supreme Court in Filarsky v Delia recently considered the issue of whether someone who was hired by the government as a part-time special counsel for an employment matter was entitled to the personal limited liability or immunity granted a full-time employee. Read More »

  • Getting On The Bus

    By Josh Cohen No one needs to be reminded that parking decks are expensive to build and maintain. In 2010, the University of Florida built a $20 million LEED-certified, 927-space parking deck. Likewise, no one needs to be told that campus transit is expensive. North Carolina State University spends almost $5 Read More »

  • Mission Possible

    By Frank Giles What is your mission and how do you get each member of your team to adopt it as their own? How do you refine your team so they are not only willing but also able to take on the mission? Failure to explore these questions can allow Read More »

  • The Information You Need

    By Brad Johnson, CPA, MS In an intermediate accounting class I taught in the 1980s, we began the semester with a Real World Accounting lecture. My point was that when you get tired or lazy with a homework problem, you surrender because you know you will get the answer in Read More »

  • The People Factor

    By Bridgette Brady, CAPP Becoming a sustainable organization means creating a new approach to supporting the organization’s mission and achieving its goals. Truly sustainable organizations take a holistic approach by deeply embedding the principles of the triple bottom line—environment, economic, and social—into their business practices. This creates a dynamic sustainable Read More »

  • Street Smarts

    By Heather Medley and Eric Crouch Students riding the bus to the Texas Tech campus felt and heard a thump after their vehicle stopped to pick up more passengers. Looking out the window, they saw a student sprawled on the ground with his backpack contents scattered and his cell phone Read More »

  • Ten Hut Present Vehicles

    By Don Walter When was the last time your parking department was cheered? Last fall, hundreds of grateful University of Georgia (UGA) students lined up to have their vehicles inspected to help them get home safely for the Thanksgiving holiday. When interviewed, many of these happily smiling students actually screamed Read More »

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    Balancing Funding for Parking and Transit at UNC Chapel Hill

    By Cheryl Stout The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill is the nation’s oldest public university. Today, it receives an A+ rating in transportation from the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, but struggles with the challenges of maintaining an expanding multi-modal transportation system. The university had Read More »

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    Campus Cycle Program Makes a Difference

    By JC Porter, CAPP Boise State University launched the Cycle Learning Center (CLC) on the main campus last August, just in time for the 2011 fall semester. The CLC is a collaborative program funded through a 50/50 partnership between Boise State University’s Transportation and Parking Services and Health and Wellness Read More »

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    Hide Lock Take

    By Jordan Wendelken It’s not every day that a person can boast about being a crime fighter or helping thwart experienced criminals, but people are doing so across the nation. With a simple concept in mind, growing populations have taken a stand to fight auto theft by just being aware. Read More »

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    Explosion Erosion

    By I. Paul Lew, P.E., CAPP It’s been nearly two years since a failed attempt to detonate a vehicle bomb in New York’s Times Square. As was demonstrated in this event and more so in the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing and bomb in the garage of the World Read More »

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    Being Prepared

    By Geary L. Robinson, Ph.D., CAPP Do you have a disaster plan for your parking facility? Safety and security planning is used to protect the nation’s critical infrastructures and key assets, and parking facilities have a role to play. Threat analysis requires a true understanding of a facility’s purpose, be Read More »

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    More Than Conventional Wisdom

    By Norman D. Bates, Esq. A woman went to an urban hospital to visit an ill friend. While walking to her car in the nearby parking garage, she was stabbed and robbed by an unknown assailant. A year later, the garage manager finds himself sitting in a deposition that is Read More »

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    Sustainability and Valet Operations

    By Isaiah Mouw, CAPP, LEED Green Associate Modern valet parking in the United States began as early as the 1930s. As parking demand in urban areas increased, available parking adjacent to a driver’s specific destination grew smaller and smaller. Drivers became willing to pay to have someone else park and Read More »

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    Recognizing Advances

    By Joseph Wenzi At one time or another, we have all used the toll road system. If you live on the east coast, traveling on a toll road may be a daily experience. Residents of the south know that Florida’s toll roads can present a welcome relief from the congestion Read More »

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    Mythbusters

    By Kim Fernandez What do you do if you’re in an historic district that’s popular for its shopping, dining, offices, and waterfront scenery, but people say has a lack of parking? If you’re Alexandria, Va., you get to work differentiating perception from reality and finding solutions. “The city has, for Read More »

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    Founding of IPI

    By James A. Hunnicutt, CAPP The International Parking Institute is 50 years old and few members are aware of how it started, who the players were, and what motivated them in the early days. This article is intended to provide readers with an understanding of the founding of IPI (formerly Read More »

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    Ergonomics is for Everyone

    By Julius E. Rhodes The topic for this column is ergonomics. Some of you may be saying, “What is a guy who is versed in human resources doing talking about ergonomics? Isn’t ergonomics more the province of safety, operations, or even production?” Ergonomics is not and should not be relegated Read More »

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    Press Release, 9/25/15, Hospital Parking

    Two-Day Symposium Provides Insights on Best Practices and Latest Technology  Register now for third annual Cleveland Clinic CARES about Parking Symposium October 28-29 (Cleveland – Sept. 25, 2015) How can the parking experience at your healthcare facility efficiently and effectively meet patients’ needs and still meet the parking needs of Read More »

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    New IPI Emergency Preparedness Manual Released

    New IPI Emergency Preparedness Manual Helps Parking Professionals Deal with the Unexpected Valuable free tool offers guidance for developing emergency plans for parking facilities and operations. (ALEXANDRIA, VA. –September 1, 2015) Are you and your employees prepared for an emergency? Parking and transportation professionals are charged with the safety and Read More »

  • IPI Recognizes 16 Parking Industry Programs

    2015 Parking Matters Marketing and Communications Awards Highlight Best Practices and Innovative Strategies (LAS VEGAS -July 1, 2015) The International Parking Institute (IPI) recognized 16 outstanding marketing and communications programs in the parking sector during the 2015 IPI Conference & Expo in Las Vegas today. In its second year, the Read More »

  • Texas A&M University Sweeps IPI’s Professional Recognition Awards

    Texas A&M University Sweeps IPI’s Professional Recognition Awards Peter Lange is named 2015 James M. Hunnicutt, CAPP, Parking Professional of the Year Clint Willis is Parking Supervisor of the Year Cindy Ishaq is Parking Staff Member of the Year LAS VEGAS – JUNE 30, 2015) — The International Parking Institute Read More »

  • IPI Launches New Accreditation Program

    IPI Launches New Accreditation Program for Parking Organizations The Accredited Parking Organization (APO) establishes national and international standards for professionalism, accountability, innovation, responsibility, and performance (ALEXANDRIA, VA – June 30, 2015) The International Parking Institute (IPI) launched the Accredited Parking Organization (APO), a new certification for parking organizations that have Read More »

  • Press Release, 11/21/14, Holiday Parking

    Holiday Parking? Seven Tips and a Positive Attitude Put You in the Best Spot Simple strategies to help you preserve your sanity and show goodwill this season The weeks between Black Friday and January can present some of the year’s greatest parking challenges, turning holiday cheer into stress and Read More »

  • Press Release, 6/10/14, IPI Recognizes 12 Industry Programs

    International Parking Institute Recognizes 12 Industry Programs for Marketing and Communications Excellence 2014 Parking Matters® Marketing and Communications Awards Highlight Best Practices and Innovative Strategies The International Parking Institute (IPI) recognized 12 outstanding marketing and communications programs in the parking sector during the 2014 IPI Conference and Expo in Dallas, Read More »

  • Press Release, 6/4/14, IPI Announces Top Parking Professionals of 2014

    International Parking Institute Announces Top Parking Professionals of 2014 Josh Kavanagh, CAPP, of University of Washington is Parking Professional of the Year Joseph Wlostowski, Binghamton University, is Parking Supervisor of the Year Wendy Glenn, University of Georgia, Athens, is Parking Staff Member of the Year (DALLAS, TX) – JUNE 4, Read More »

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    New Research Reveals Local Governments Need to Get Up to Speed on Parking

    New Research Reveals Local Government Officials Need to Get Up to Speed on Parking Findings Show Disconnect between City Decision-makers’ Awareness of Parking Technologies that Can Remedy Traffic Congestion and Improve City Life DALLAS, Texas – June 2, 2013 – A new survey of city and county officials shows that Read More »

  • Press Release, 4/1/14, IPI to Host First Municipality (Smart) Parking Symposium

    IPI to Host First Municipality (Smart) Parking Symposium: Real Solutions for Real Cities,  Sunday, June 1, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dallas (Alexandria, VA) Don’t miss a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in the latest smart parking technology and innovative approaches to municipality parking at IPI’s first Municipal (Smart) Parking Read More »

  • Press Release, 12/10/13, LEEP Competition to Honor Parking Facilities

    LEEP Competition to Honor Parking Facilities for High-Efficiency Lighting April 2014 awards, sponsored by a coalition of parking and building groups with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, will recognize facilities with the greatest energy and cost savings January 10, 2014 is the deadline for submissions to be recognized Read More »

  • Press Release, 11/20/13, Parking Experts Share Ten Tips for Finding the Perfect Spot

    Parking Experts Share Ten Tips for Finding the Perfect Spot this Holiday Season Although it is estimated there are more than 800 million parking spaces in the United States (that’s about three for every automobile), finding one during the busy holiday season is often a challenge. Airports, shopping malls, train Read More »

  • Press Release, 7/16/13, Best Practices in Hospital Parking

    Best Practices in Hospital Parking: An Inside Look at Cleveland Clinic’s World-Class Parking Operations Register Now for Two-Day Parking CARES Symposium, August 5-6 (FREDERICKSBURG, VA – July 16, 2013) Healthcare executives, facility managers, and parking operations managers: How can the parking experience at your healthcare facility efficiently and effectively meet Read More »

  • 2013-05-20 IPI Announces 2013 Parking Professional Recognition Awards

    International Parking Institute Announces 2013 Parking Professional Recognition Awards (FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – May 20, 2013) – The International Parking Institute (IPI) has announced the 2013 recipients of its Professional Recognition Program, created to honor parking industry professionals who exemplify excellence in the industry and who are changing the perception Read More »

  • 2013-05-14 Green Parking Council Becomes an Affiliate of IPI

    Green Parking Council Becomes an Affiliate of the International Parking Institute Joining forces will further enhance the parking industry’s efforts toward sustainable solutions (FREDERICKSBURG, VA – May 14, 2013) Under an agreement approved by the boards of both organizations, the International Parking Institute (IPI) and the Green Parking Council (GPC) Read More »

  • 2013-01-31 Parking Industry joins with U.S. Department of Energy

    Parking Industry Joins with U.S. Department of Energy to Support Obama Administration Initiative to Expand Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in the Workplace U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu recognizes International Parking Institute, world’s largest parking association, along with leading automotive, communications, high tech, energy and environmental groups during keynote speech Read More »

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    Parking Experts Offer 10 Tips for Stress Free Holiday Parking

    As holiday shopping gets underway and travelers take flight, there’s one quest we all share: finding the perfect parking spot. (Fredericksburg, VA – November 16, 2012) – What do the holidays mean to you? Loving reunions, bountiful feasts, thoughtful gift giving? Or traveling hassles, crowded shopping centers, and long check-out Read More »

  • 2012-10-29 Smart Parking, Smart Cities

    Smart Parking, Smart Cities: World’s Leading Parking Experts to Share Insights with Latin American Architects, Urban Planners, Developers, Government Officials, and Business Leaders Latin Parking Conference & Expo to Convene Dec. 9-12, in San Juan, Puerto Rico An increasing number of government leaders, architects, urban planners, transportation officials, and economic Read More »

  • 2012-10-08 IPI Launches Parking NewsLink

    IPI Launches Parking NewsLink: A New Online Forum for Industry News IPI Members Can Now Upload News Releases about Parking People, Products and Services (FREDERICKSBURG, VA – October 9, 2012) International Parking Institute members have a new, cost-free way to share their news about parking, people, and products, thanks to Read More »

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    2012-05-08 New Report Highlights Importance of Parking to Airport Operations

    New Report Highlights Importance of Parking to Airport Operations Airport parking facilities contribute between $2 and $118 million in gross revenues annually to an airport, with a typical large hub airport generating $55 million per year FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA (May 8, 2012) – Parking is a key component of business operations Read More »

  • Why Parking Matters – 2015 White Paper

    Explains why parking and the expertise of parking professionals are integral to the future of cities. Why Parking Matters – 2015 White Paper

  • What’s What in Parking Technology 2015

    Glossary of nearly 100 parking technology terms and definitions, from Access Control to Waiting List. What’s What in Parking Technology 2015

  • Tale of Two Cities Smart Parking Infographic

    Illustrated comparison of a city with and without smart parking solutions. Tale of Two Cities Smart Parking Infographic

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    EMV and Parking White Paper

    Developed by IPI and the Smart Card Alliance, the publication offers parking-related guidance and recommendations on managing EMV chip-based payments. EMV and Parking White Paper

  • DOE Workplace Charging Challenge

    Led by the U.S. Department of Energy, the initiative urges employers to install workplace plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging stations. DOE Workplace Charging Challenge

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