Resource Search

Is Big Data Coming to a Parking Facility Near You

By Mike Robertson When many industries consider big data, they envision large dollar signs. In certain industries, big data is the magic ingredient for guaranteed success into the future. But how could big data affect the parking industry? Big Data Defined If you are unsure what is meant by big Read More »

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 »

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 »

Parking Management — Planning, Design and Operations

May 12, 2016

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 »

Smart Card Alliance and International Parking Institute Publish New Edition of EMV and Parking White Paper

May 10, 2016

White paper provides updates on EMV chip technology, transition, and implementation in parking PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., May 10, 2016 –With the U.S. moving to EMV chip technology for more secure credit and debit card payments, parking industry stakeholders across the payments value chain recognize the need to learn about EMV Read More »

Going Green with LED Lighting Retrofits

February 25, 2016

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 »

Simplifying the EV Charging Equation

February 13, 2016

By Michael Nichols The statistics are compelling and the pressures are mounting: It’s almost a foregone conclusion that at some point in the future, your facility will add electric vehicle (EV) charging capabilities. In other words, it’s not a matter of if, but when, your facility will adopt EV charging. 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 »

INTRODUCING PAID PARKING

By Cristina Lynn The introduction of paid parking is complex, and owners and managers justifiably worry about public reaction. Embarking on a paid parking exercise may be motivated by a range of issues such as: The parking facility is being abused by commuters and other drivers who are not visiting 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 »

Doing It Right

By William Timmer Up until late 2010, Tacoma, Wash. was one of the few U.S. cities with a population of more than 200,000 that did not have some form of paid on-street parking. The downtown retail core is zoned for mixed use with commercial space for a full range of Read More »

Permits? What Permits?

By Alan M. Rucker and David Davitaia Nearly 25,000 daily parkers use lots and count on the Department of Transportation to provide an accurately enforced and cost-effective approach to parking at the University of Maryland, College Park. Decades ago, the backbone of that system was bumper stickers indicating lot assignment, Read More »

From the Far Horizon

By David Hill, MA, CAPP, and J.D. Hassan As parking professionals, we are no strangers to technological innovation; our industry turns on technology and new ideas and concepts are all around us. But every once in a while, a new idea comes along that has the potential to completely change 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 »

Going Gateless

February 12, 2016

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 »

Giving Drivers A Pass

February 11, 2016

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 »

Learning to Flex

By Matt Darst When hourly parking meter prices don’t keep up with demand, finding parking can be a real burden. Static prices force static behavior. When every meter is priced the same every hour of the day no matter how many spaces are filled or how many drivers want them, Read More »

A Five-Year Approach to Protecting Your Parking Investment

By John Dorsett, AICP You have a lot invested in your parking assets. Parking can be capital intensive and represents a significant investment for owners. In light of this, it’s remarkable how often parking owners take a set-it-and-forget-it approach to their parking assets. How can owners ensure their parking is Read More »

Big Analytics & Business Strategy

January 26, 2016

By Soumya S. Dey, P.E., PMP; Benito O. Pérez, AICP; and Cliff Wickstrum Big data is an evolving term that describes any voluminous amount of structured, semi-structured, or unstructured data that has the potential to be mined for valuable information. Although big data does not refer to any specific quantity, 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 »

A New Evaluation Criterion For Parking Equipment

By Vicki Pero, SPRH Not so long ago when an organization considered facility parking equipment for purchase, there were three common areas of consideration: ease of use, durability, and revenue control and reporting. Like many other things in our industry, the criteria have expanded in recent years to include a Read More »

Five Key Drivers for Financial and Sustainable Success

By Daniel Ciarcia Most of us are keenly aware of the changing global climate and resulting critical environmental challenges. A recent Yale University study reported that 87 percent of Americans believe mankind is more (or at least equally as) responsible for climate change than natural events. We agree on the Read More »

Salary-Based Rates Take Off

By Melinda Scott Anderson, CAPP Instead of employing new and exciting rate strategies designed to maximize revenue and space utilization or simply continuing with proven strategies, sometimes we are required to go in a direction that runs counter to our understanding of best practices in the industry and even our Read More »

SANDAG Parking Management Toolbox

By Antoinette Meier, AICP, Marisa Mangan, and Brett Wood, CAPP For cities well-staffed and versed in all things parking, it may seem easy: Assess the problem, apply the solution, and keep moving along. But what about communities or towns who have never even considered the benefits or impacts of parking Read More »

Tech Check

By Pierre Koudelka I had the pleasure of attending the Airports Council International (ACI) conference in Atlanta recently. Like any participant, I spent a good deal of time attending the seminars and walking through the exhibit hall. It became clear early on that ACI is a tight organization in that Read More »

Garage Ventilation Options Improve

January 20, 2016

By Frank Nagle One of the major sources of energy consumption and operational cost for an enclosed garage is the mechanical ventilation system. Indeed, as much as two-thirds of the monthly/annual energy bill can be attributed to ventilation costs for garage operators running their properties’ garage fans in accordance with 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 »

A Path to Profitability

By Saloni Vastani Your latest financial forecast shows modest improvement over last year. Most economists are predicting a 2 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014, which is lower than the 3.7 percent increase we experienced during the second half of 2013. How will you increase profitability and 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 »

Simple as a Wave

January 19, 2016

By Monica Tanksley Wave and pay seems to be taking the world by storm, and the parking and transportation industry may be next in the revolution. The basics: wave and pay is a contactless payment system that includes debit and credit cards, smartphones, key fobs, smartcards, and any other device Read More »

Paying Power

By Amie Devero and Brett Wood, CAPP The parking industry has seen a technological revolution during the past few decades, especially in payment processing and flexibility. This quickly-evolving landscape stands in contrast to our not-so-distant past, when a cigar box and a smile were all the tools frontline parking professionals 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 »

Urban Parking as Economic Solution

By Andrew R. Long The past generations have been ominous for many cities as urban sprawl, prompted by easier transportation and cheaper land outside of cities, has caused an increased population migration from urban to suburban areas. In the past decade, however, cities have seen a divergence from this trend. 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 »

Parking Space Invaders

By Christopher Speers, CAPP I have to admit right from the start that I did a double take when I received my first call in 2012 from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP). They were inquiring about the Pittsburgh Parking Authority’s interest in collaborating with BikePgh—the city’s main bicycle advocacy group—to 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 »

Goregous Green

By Roy Diez New garage decks are obviously developed to fill a perceived need for additional parking in a given area. The bet is that, as in the movie “Field of Dreams”, if you build it, they will come. Mixed-use structures hedge that bet by combining supply and much of Read More »

Dispensing the Future

By Kim Fernandez It’s not often one can win an architecture award for a structure that hasn’t been built, but that’s exactly what Boston firm Moskow Linn Architects did a few years ago. Better yet, they did it with a parking garage. This wasn’t any parking garage, mind you. The Read More »

Campus Lighting Swap Saves

January 18, 2016

By June Broughton, CAPP Two years ago, Transportation Services at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, embarked on a massive lighting project that involved replacing all fixtures in five parking garages, including those in stairwells, elevator lobbies, and roofs. Transportation Services engaged a consultant to conduct a thorough lighting study Read More »

Why Going Green Makes Business Sense

January 16, 2016

By Dominick Brook With pressures from stakeholders, customers, and, to some extent, government entities and regulations, many companies are increasing their focus on sustainability strategies. Along with these motivations, certain green initiatives, particularly focused around the reduction of electricity use, have a quick and positive payback and can help a Read More »

Prep Work

January 15, 2016

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 »

To Market To Market

By Michael Klein, CAPP Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to use market forces to allocate on-street parking without incurring the wrath and ire of the public? Would you like to improve customer service, support efficient development, and improve your financial performance? One paradigm shift will allow you to 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 »

On Abolishing Parking Citations

By Anam Ardeshiri and Mansoureh Jeihani Parking management is an essential part of transportation studies. The provision of sufficient parking spaces is vital to sustaining urban activities; parking shortages affect streets’ level of service and reduce mobility and safety. As parking professionals know, a noticeable percentage of cars need to Read More »

Let There Be Light

By Kyle Leighton Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing, Mich., is a public research university ranked as the ninth-largest university in the U.S., with 47,800 students and 2,954 faculty members. It is home to the renowned Wharton Center for Performing Arts, whose massive facility hosts 17 Lansing Symphony Orchestra concerts 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 »

Electric Vehicles Notes from the Field

January 12, 2016

By Rick Decker, CAPP The landside department of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) is advancing an electric vehicle program on several fronts. To better serve our customers, we want to understand their experiences operating electric vehicles (EV) in the wide variations of Minnesota’s climate. We also want to understand 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 »

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 »

City of Wonders

By Mark Wright Gehry is one of a small constellation of star architects who have arguably raised parking garage design to that ideal in Miami Beach, Fla. “We are very lucky in Miami Beach, because we have a wealth of world-renowned designers and architects who have discovered new opportunities to Read More »

First of its Kind

By Jeonghoon Lee Parking garage sites are very unique. They are located in the heart of the city where there is a high volume of traffic. However, how many of them are built and used properly? When I first started designing the Herma Parking Building outside of Seoul, South Korea, 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 »

Illuminating

January 4, 2016

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 »

Financing the Sustainable Parking Facility

By Michael Cramer Can incorporating sustainable elements in a parking facility affect the revenue models used for attracting capital? In only a short time, it’s likely that this could become an area of focus for investors in green facilities. Posing the question creates challenges, because most garages are on a Read More »

Backing In

By John A. Nawn, P.E., PTOE In many communities’ central business districts (CBDs), a lack of available parking close to retail and commercial establishments is seen as a deterrent to continued retail development and reinvestment. One solution is back-in angle parking. The biomechanics necessary to position a car into a 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 »

Slaying the Mythical Dragon

By Roy Diez A sustainable parking garage? LEED certified? Conventional wisdom said it couldn’t be done, but conventional wisdom was wrong. Committed to completing construction projects in a manner that is as environmentally sustainable as possible, Duke University in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., made a conscious decision to attempt LEED certification for Read More »

Shooting for Three

By Jeff Petry On January 11, 2011, the University of Oregon opened the doors of its Matthew Knight Arena. The state-of-the-art $227 million, 12,500 seat arena was built next to a traditional residential, university neighborhood in Eugene, Ore. (population 150,000). The night was a success for the Oregon Ducks, as Read More »

Lancaster Parking Authority Lights the Way to Savings

January 3, 2016

By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP Budgets for parking organizations across the nation have been strained from declining or flat patronage, steadily rising operating expenses, and increasing maintenance costs. Raising rates can alienate long-time customers, especially in a struggling economy. But that doesn’t leave parking professionals without options to improve the Read More »

The 179D tax deduction for energy- efficient lighting investments in parking structures

By Dominick Brook This article is about a tax deduction. I’ve got my work cut out for me in making this interesting, but let me try: it’s also about money in your company’s pocket. How does a $300,000 federal tax deduction for a lighting retrofit of a 500,000 square-foot parking Read More »

2012-12-04 International Parking Institute Joins Merchant

January 2, 2016

International Parking Institute Joins Merchant Payments Coalition to Combat Unfair Swipe Fees FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA (December 4, 2012) The International Parking Institute announced today it has joined the Washington, D.C-based Merchant Payments Coalition in an effort to fight unfair swipe fees imposed by big banks and credit card companies. The Merchants Read More »

Why Parking Matters – 2015 White Paper

December 15, 2015

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

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