An Interview with Jim Gibbs and a Conversation about Pay By Vehicle
Jim Gibbs, CEO and Co-Founder of Meter Feeder, discusses mobile payments, pricing the curb and pay by vehicle.
Tag Archives: curb management
Curbing COVID-19 at the Curb
By Matthew Darst, JD
COVID-19 has changed how we fundamentally live and the pandemic promises to continue to disrupt curbside management for months to come. While the tunnel is still dark, there is light—in the form of pandemic relief and vaccines—in sight.
There are measures that can be taken to help cities further mitigate viral spread, promote economic relief, and fund critical municipal programs. Parking professionals have a vast toolkit at their disposal, including digital curbside policies, virtual parking permissions, optimized enforcement, and data science. Coupled with data-driven amnesty programs, tailored payment plans, and sustainable, “asset lite” technologies, cities can deliver immediate assistance to those constituents and stakeholders most in need. And they can do it in a way that encourages social distancing.
In addition to decisive action, now is the time for planning and establishing a vision for the curb post-COVID-19. While average curbside occupancy may be returning to pre-pandemic levels, bock-by-block utilization presents a much different picture. Demand is uneven largely driven by the types of businesses proximate to the curb.
This reality provides opportunities to reassess the value of the curb and rethink use. We can better manage demand, allocate parking permissions, and restructure loading zones to help restaurants stay in or return to business. We can also reimagine parking enforcement to ensure those motorists most in need of economic relief today are not disproportionately impacted tomorrow. And we may even find that parking data offers clues to help identify and stop the spread of future viruses.
I’ll be discussing some of these strategies January 13 during an IPMI Webinar, “Curbing COVID-19 at the Curb,” and look forward to additional thoughts and feedback.
Matthew Darst, JD, is director of curbside management with Conduent Transportation. He’ll present on this topic during an IPMI webinar Jan. 13; click here for details and to register.
The Value of Curb Space
By Chrissy Mancini Nichols
A century ago, in establishing the first parking regulations, planners recognized the value of curb space. In The Storage of Dead Vehicles on Roadways, William Phelps Eno discussed how parallel parking at the curb caused, “considerable waste[d] space” and that on roads dedicated to commercial purposes, “the importance of getting to the curb is paramount.” There was even a discussion on prioritization of curb use. Eno wrote, “Surely conveyances such as streetcars, buses, and taxicabs, which are available to the general public, should have precedence, if necessary, over those for private vehicle use.”
Our predecessors understood that the curb was a tool to promote local business activity, grant people more access, and keep traffic flowing—the curb was there to serve people. But historically the curb has mostly served as a place for private vehicle storage.
The curb isn’t a parking lot. It is a vital community space and one of the most extensive and valuable pieces of real estate in a city—and it is a finite commodity. Current trends that have only escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic have shown the importance of curbs in helping many industries succeed. Ride apps need pick-up and drop-off spaces, commercial and on-demand delivery companies compete for loading zones, dockless scooters and bike-share operators need parking spots, and restaurants want parklets for outdoor dining.
Given these trends, cities can use the policy tools at their disposal–zoning, regulations, financing mechanisms–to align private-sector goals with public-sector priorities for curb use. With active and intentional curb management, communities can offer more equitable access among different users, improve the level of service for everyone, collect data on transportation behaviors, and eventually create a sustainable revenue source.
Chrissy Mancini Nichols is the national curb management lead for Walker Consultants. She will present on this topic during IPMI’s 2021 Mobility & Innovation Summit online, February 24-25. Early-bird rates expire Jan. 15; for details and to register, click here.
MSNBC: Transportation Changes Equal Effect of Building Railroads
An analysis on MSNBC equates pandemic-born changes to transportation with the birth of the U.S. railroads in the 19th century.
“If the pandemic were to continue or a vaccine was distributed right away, it really doesn’t change anything, because this was a train already moving down the track,” said Rich Thompson, who leads the global supply chain and logistics solutions team for the commercial real estate company JLL. “It’s just now accelerating.”
Thompson goes on to say a new network being created by private delivery carriers is effectively the same kind of revolution as the construction of the railroads hundreds of years ago.
“Parcel deliveries are akin to the creation of the American railroad system,” he said. “These alternative logistics providers are trying to create a private delivery network across the country — because that’s what we need.”
The article looks at what COVID-19 has meant for retail and delivery and briefly, into what it’s meant for cities; while curb management isn’t mentioned, there’s no question its acceleration has been a huge, permanent effect of the pandemic. Read the whole story here.
IPMI Webinar: Curbing COVID-19 at the Curb, presented by Matthew Darst, Conduent Transportation.
Curbing COVID-19 at the Curb
Matthew Darst, JD; Director of Curbside Management; Conduent Transportation
Register here for this webinar.
Or purchase the entire 2021 professional development series bundle.
How we think about traveling and commuting in the cities where we work and live has changed dramatically with the spread of COVID-19 . We drive less, eschew public transportation, and are less likely to use shared mobility devices. This new definition of mobility has exacerbated declining municipal revenues. Cities and states face a unique challenge: stimulate local economies and generate revenue all while working to reopen responsibly to prevent new hot spots of infection and protect public health.
Curbside technologies offer unique solutions to help fund government programs while safeguarding the public. Curbside technologies can help monitor and mitigate viral spread, provide economic relief to constituents, and create a path for municipal revenue recovery. Cities have an opportunity to quickly pivot and utilize metered parking, permit parking, citation issuance and processing, and data science to achieve critical municipal goals.
Attendees will:
- Identify curbside strategies for reducing the risk of contagion, providing relief to customers, and helping fund critical municipal goals.
- Assess curbside data for its effectiveness as an early indicator of people congregating/flaunting social distancing guidelines, the need for enforcement, and the spread of COVID-19.
- Detail best practices and measure the effectiveness of amnesty and relief programs for constituents and revenue recovery efforts.
Offers 1 CAPP Credit towards application or recertification.
Presenter:
Matthew Darst, JD; Director of Curbside Management; Conduent Transportation
Matt Darst, JD, oversees Conduent Transportation’s analytics team, helping cities use data to better manage curbside resources to promote social equity, improve pedestrian safety, and increase physical distancing during the pandemic. Prior to joining Conduent, he served in the public sector for 16 years.
Register here.
Parking Lots, Public Spaces, Social Distancing, and Safety
By Rob Reiter
Six months into dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans are finding ways to keep commerce moving amid many restrictions on use, occupancy, and physical spacing. In addition, the sharp drop in the use of public transportation has increased the pressures for re-purposing some very valuable real estate — curbs, parking lots, and parking structures.
Restaurants are expanding out onto sidewalks and curbside locations all over the United States; more than 8,000 permits have been issued in New York City alone. Exposure of diners and waitstaff to passing vehicles has already been documented with security camera footage from more than a half-dozen injury accidents since late June.
Restaurants are also expanding into their off-street parking areas–physical distancing requirements along with the attraction of fresh air and sunshine for people who have been staying home for so long have made such arrangements very popular. Some restaurants are handling this better than others.
Retailers of all stripes have jumped onto the curbside bandwagon at shopping malls, regional centers, and basic strip centers. Companies providing services for retailers report doubling and re-doubling of retailers offering it along with customers taking advantage of the convenience and safety that the service offers.
I expect that 2021 will see the start of a national campaign where “Share the Curb” will become a battle zone between restaurants, retailers, rideshare providers, and local merchants like salons and small retailers who want to keep parking near their stores convenient for their customers. Read more about what this means for the parking industry and why safety is a big concern in this month’s issue of Parking & Mobility magazine.
Rob Reiter is co-founder of the Storefront Safety Council.
D.C.’s Curb Management Technology Showcased to Consumers
Washington, D.C., garnered attention in the parking and mobility industry when it launched its innovative curb management program last year, installing several dozen cameras in business windows to inform systems in delivery trucks where and when they could park on the street. This weekend, the system was explained to consumers through an article in the Washington Post.
The piece explained why curb management is being used, why D.C. was the first city in the U.S. to try this system, and how exactly it works–along with the benefits to both delivery drivers and everyone else. It’s not often parking technology gets this kind of attention in the mainstream media, and this piece offers a nice primer on how automated curb management works.
Member News: City of Santa Monica Renews with Conduent Transportation to Provide Curbside Management Systems and Services
Since 2004, Conduent has helped the city to deliver a convenient experience for Santa Monica residents, merchants and visitors. 9-year contract expands online and mobile self-help options for customers to resolve parking citations and manage parking permits
FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Aug. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Conduent Transportation, a unit of business process services and solutions company Conduent Incorporated (Nasdaq: CNDT), today announced its selection by the City of Santa Monica, California, to continue providing intelligent parking and curbside management systems and services. The 5-year base contract, plus up to 4 years of options, will expand online and mobile self-help options for customers to manage their account.
“Our partnership with Conduent has been instrumental in helping optimize our parking program and offering our customers easy-to-use systems to resolve their parking citations and procure various parking permits offered by the City,” said Henry Servin, Parking Manager for the City of Santa Monica. “We are very pleased that our online customer access, provided by Conduent, has received numerous compliments for readability and ease of use.”
Since 2004, Conduent has helped the city to simplify its parking programs and deliver a convenient experience for Santa Monica residents, merchants and visitors. Current services include the processing of parking permit applications and citations, as well as the facilitation of payment plans.
Under the new contract, enhanced online and mobile options will make it easier for customers to resolve parking citations and manage parking permits. The city’s online portal will also provide the ability to apply online for a payment plan to resolve overdue citations, upload documents to streamline permit applications, and communicate with customer service through text and additional emails options — contactless solutions that are valuable in the current COVID-19 environment.
“As on-street parking continues to rapidly evolve and cities seek innovative curbside management solutions, our company remains an industry and technology leader,” said Mark Brewer, President, Global Public Sector Solutions at Conduent. “Building on our long-term partnership with Santa Monica, we’ll continue to elevate the customer experience while improving the effectiveness of the program for the City.”
Nearly half of the 20 largest cities in the U.S. use Conduent Transportation to implement curbside solutions. In California, the company delivers curbside management systems and services to Santa Monica as well as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles County.
Conduent also provides dynamic pricing software and hardware for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s LA Express Park™ program. The award-winning, on-street parking technology enables the department to manage curbside usage, improving access to spaces and increasing turnover, ultimately reducing congestion.
In addition, Conduent provides various transit and tolling services across Southern California. The company helps public transit agencies in San Diego and Orange County operate their fleets and provide quality and on-time service for passengers, and it helps Los Angeles County by providing modernized tolling solutions for the Metro ExpressLanes.
Conduent Transportation is a leading provider of automated and analytics-based transportation solutions for government agencies. These solutions, spanning roadway charging and management, parking and curbside management, and advanced transit and public safety systems, enable streamlined and personalized services for citizens and travelers who use them. The company has been helping transportation clients for more than 50 years and operates in 27 countries.
About Conduent
Conduent delivers mission-critical services and solutions on behalf of businesses and governments — creating exceptional outcomes for its clients and the millions of people who count on them. Through people, process and technology, Conduent solutions and services automate workflows, improve efficiencies, reduce costs and enable revenue growth. It’s why most Fortune 100 companies and over 500 government entities depend on Conduent every day to manage their essential interactions and move their operations forward.
Conduent’s differentiated services and solutions improve experiences for millions of people every day, including two-thirds of all insured patients in the U.S., 11 million employees who use its HR Services, and nearly nine million people who travel through toll systems daily. Conduent’s solutions deliver exceptional outcomes for its clients including $17 billion in savings from medical bill review of workers compensation claims, up to 40% efficiency increase in HR operations, and up to 40% improvement in processing costs, while driving higher end-user satisfaction. Learn more at www.conduent.com.
Media Contacts:
Neil Franz, Conduent, +1-301-820-4324, neil.franz@conduent.com
Investor Relations Contacts:
Alan Katz, Conduent, +1-973-526-7173, alan.katz@conduent.com
Rebecca Koar, Conduent, +1-862-308-7105, rebecca.koar@conduent.com
Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit www.news.conduent.com. For open commentary, industry perspectives and views, visit http://twitter.com/Conduent, http://www.linkedin.com/company/conduent or http://www.facebook.com/Conduent.
Conduent is a trademark of Conduent Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Member News: Walker Consultants Shares New Guide: Curbs, Streets and Parking for Reopening
Walker Consultants presents Curbs, Streets and Parking for Reopening, a guide for communities to use these spaces to aid in pandemic response.
As cities and states begin to lift stay-at-home orders related to COVID-19, there will be a phased reopening of business and other institutions. Physical distancing will continue to remain especially important. As restaurants and retail begin to reopen, new measures will need to be taken to ensure customers, visitors, and employees can maintain adequate physical distancing.
This guide highlights ways for cities and communities to re-purpose their curbs, streets and parking to create more space for people. To ensure these efforts adequately consider the needs of business, customers, and residents—and are community appropriate and equitable—careful and considerate planning of public right-of-way will be essential.
Want to talk to a Walker Consultants expert about managing your curb? Contact Chrissy Mancini Nichols, Walker’s curb management lead.
Member News: Sidewalk Labs-backed Coord Selects Four Cities for Curb Management Pilots
Coord Selects Aspen, Nashville, Omaha and West Palm Beach for 2020 Digital Curb Challenge
The four cities partner with curb management platform Coord to pilot a Smart Zone program to better coordinate curbside loading, promoting safety, efficiency and local economic activity
NEW YORK— June 30, 2020 — Coord, the leading curb management company, today announced that the City of Aspen, Nashville, the City of Omaha and the City of West Palm Beach have been selected as Pilot Cities for the 2020 Digital Curb Challenge. Each Pilot City will partner with Coord on a Smart Zone pilot program tailored to its unique mobility challenges, with the goals of reducing congestion, improving safety and supporting local economic activity. The programs come as cities increasingly look to curbs to meet communities’ changing needs, such as growing delivery, ride-hail and shared micromobility activity, promotion of sustainable transit like buses and bikes, and the need for more dedicated space for recreation and commercial activity.
Smart Zones, powered by Coord’s technology, enable commercial drivers to use the mobile devices they already use every day to locate nearby available loading zones and to hold, book, and pay for time in them. This creates opportunities for cities to better manage their curb space, while improving the loading experience for both delivery companies and local businesses.
By providing cities with information about when, where and how long drivers are loading, the Coord platform also supports data-driven operational changes. For example, cities can use this information to create more loading space where it’s most needed, or they can manage demand for it through pricing and time limits. Because Smart Zone availability, rules and prices are digitally communicated to drivers, cities can adjust rules for zones in response to policy changes, special events or emergencies without the hassle and expense of modifying signage on the street.
“We were delighted at the outpouring of interest in the Digital Curb Challenge from across the US and Canada,” said Stephen Smyth, Co-Founder and CEO of Coord. “We look forward to working closely with Aspen, Nashville, Omaha and West Palm Beach to develop and launch Smart Zone pilot programs that address critical mobility challenges in these cities and to demonstrate the power of the curb in creating significant, tangible impacts in their communities and local economies.”
Due to enormous interest in the Digital Curb Challenge, in addition to the Pilot Cities, Coord has selected nine other cities across North America – Vancouver, BC, Baltimore, MD, Sarasota, FL, Bend, OR, Norwalk, CT, Fort Smith, AK, Halifax, NS, Portland, ME and Walnut Creek, CA – as Cohort Cities. These cities will have a front row seat to the work that Pilot Cities are doing as part of the Digital Curb Challenge and will form a community for city leaders and staff to share best practices, learnings and resources across curb management.
About the Digital Curb Challenge Cities
The City of Aspen, an outdoor recreation mecca with a bustling downtown generating $1 billion in retail economic activity annually, is undertaking this pilot program to help streamline commercial deliveries serving the city’s many popular restaurants, retailers and other businesses.
“We are very excited that Coord has selected The City of Aspen to participate in their pilot program,” said Mitch Osur, Director of Parking at the City of Aspen. “This partnership will make it possible for us to discover in more granular detail how our loading zones are utilized. Our goal ultimately is to provide a more seamless, organized, and coordinated delivery experience for both our commercial vendors and our business owners.”
Nashville, one of the most visited downtowns in the United States, will undertake this pilot to better coordinate access to its curb space as an initial step toward rationalizing policies for commercial users of the curb in order to support broader city goals around safety and sustainability.
“With Nashville’s growth, the demands put on our extremely-limited curb space downtown have increased dramatically—from rideshare and transpotainment, to delivery services for freight, online shopping, and take-out dining,” said Faye DiMassimo, Mayor John Cooper’s Senior Advisor for Transportation and Infrastructure. “By partnering with Coord to pilot Smart Zones downtown, we hope to increase compliance with loading regulations, improve traffic flow and safety, accommodate rising curb-access needs, collect quality data, and ultimately capture the true cost of Metro-provided services to reframe and re-value private use of public space.”
Metropolitan Omaha, home to nearly a million residents, four Fortune 500 companies and thriving food and cultural scenes, is undertaking this pilot program to better coordinate access to its curb space for vehicles performing commercial loading in order to reduce congestion and safety hazards caused by double-parking.
“We are excited to participate in the 2020 Digital Curb Challenge with Coord. This will support our organizational goals to provide a positive experience for downtown visitors by actively managing our curb space,” said Ken Smith, Parking and Mobility Manager at the City of Omaha. “The Parking and Mobility Division looks forward to working with Coord and the other pilot participants to create data driven policies that will help the citizens and visitors of our metropolitan area.”
West Palm Beach, a vibrant, growing waterfront city, is undertaking this pilot program to better coordinate access to its curb space for vehicles performing pickups and deliveries in order to reduce congestion and safety hazards in the Rosemary Square area.
“West Palm Beach is committed to utilizing the latest in technology and data to drive transportation policies that improve the overall quality of life of residents and visitors in our city,” said West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James. “We are excited and proud to participate in the Coord’s Digital Curb Challenge and look forward to identifying new ways to optimize curb space management.”
Coord announced the launch of the Digital Curb Challenge in January 2020, inviting cities of all sizes across North America to apply to partner with Coord to undertake a curb space management pilot program to meet their cities’ unique needs. The Digital Curb Challenge was inspired by Transportation for America’s Smart Cities Collaborative, which focused on curb space management this year and generated tremendous interest.
About Coord
Coord helps cities manage their streets, starting with the curb. The company was founded in 2016 with the belief that streets should serve people – not vehicles. Coord is the only comprehensive curb management platform, empowering cities with the necessary tools to digitally inventory, allocate, price and operate the curb. The platform supports over 4.9 million curb spaces across 15 cities, with the goal of serving over 100 cities across the globe by 2021. Coord is based in New York City, and backed by Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, Alliance Ventures, Trucks, Urban.us and DB Digital Ventures. Learn more at Coord.com