Do you think curbside pickup should continue once things get back to “normal?”
I used the Walmart pick up/delivery services long before COVID-19 came along. I’m not a shopper and would much rather select what I need and move on to better things. I’m all for the curbside staying in place!
There are so many good reasons to keep it. Along with the ability to continue distancing, we also save time and money, and there are no lines or crowds to wait in. It’s a win-win in my eyes!
I’m still using curbside service for larger grocery orders, online shopping, and dinner pick-up. Curbside saves me money by letting me avoid the temptation to pick up random things to add to my cart, and it gives me more time to do other, more important things. Many businesses have this service down to a science while others leave a lot to be desired and could really use some pointers! How does curbside pick up affect you?
Tina Altman is IPMI’s manager, member and events services.
Just a few years ago, “curbside management” wasn’t a thing–certainly not a thing anyone talked about. But today, it’s a very big thing, and a specialty many parking and mobility organizations are working to master. Making use of that valuable curbside real estate is a big challenge, and doing it effectively can make a city or campus move much more effectively.
One challenge is that everybody uses different words to describe different facets of curbside management, so having a conversation can be a little muddled. But IPMI’s Research & Innovation Task Force has come to the rescue, working to identify common terms, define them, and package them up into a handy resource for the industry–one that will make collaboration much easier.
Everyone hears a lot about curb management, congestion mitigation and data gathering, but sometimes finding solutions in action can be difficult. Join us for a free, online, IPMI Shoptalk June 2 to learn more about the real-life solutions two cities are testing to manage the curb.
In late 2019, the City of Columbus worked with partner curbFlow on a six-month pilot to reimagine how loading zones could be established, evaluated, and monitored by testing innovative strategies. The program is all part of a broader culture of innovation and testing born out of Columbus’ Smart City Challenge award and work program implementation.
The City of Las Vegas has launched a program aimed at helping TNCs operate in the downtown area. The program consists of both on-street and off-street components:
A loading and unloading zone managed by 8-foot digital displays, including countdown timers by individual space and enforcement notifications.
An off-street staging area where TNC drivers can use a restroom, get access to Wi-Fi, and rest while waiting for their next ride.
Launching these two programs required a lot of collaboration with many different stakeholders, including elected officials, business and property owners, TNC regulatory agencies, Uber and Lyft, taxi companies, TNC drivers themselves, etc. It also meant creating new and expanding existing partnerships with private companies to develop the hardware, software and support needed to put the solutions in action.
Join us online June 2 to learn more about these pilots, lessons learned, and how these two cities are moving from pilots to scalable solutions for curbside and loading zone management programs. Click here to register, and bring your questions.
Robert Ferrin is assistant director, parking services with the City of Columbus, Ohio.
Brandy Stanley, CAPP, is parking services manager with the City of Las Vegas, Nev.
Curbside Pickup Pilot Program Becomes a Permanent Service
Curbside pickup option will support businesses who utilize pickup or delivery services
Anchorage, Alaska – October 23, 2020
EasyPark has added the Curbside Pickup program to its list of permanent parking services for downtown Anchorage due to the growing need of delivery services, such as GrubHub, Uber Eats, and Doordash.
“The 15 minute parking service is meant to increase the ease of to-go operations at local
businesses by designating on-street parking spaces for delivery services or customers,” said Chris Kersbergen, Operations Manager for EasyPark. “Priced at $2 a day, this affordable parking option supports businesses that have been able to offer pick-up service for their customers.”
If you are a downtown business owner and would like to get started with the Curbside Pickup parking program, visit the EasyPark website here.
EasyPark is the brand name of the parking services operated by Anchorage Community
Development Authority (ACDA). ACDA is a public corporate authority for the Municipality of
Anchorage. ACDA’s parking division, EasyPark, manages more than 6,000 parking spaces in
downtown Anchorage.
For Immediate Release, Contact: Melinda Gant (mgant@acda.net)
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.
Graphic: Kimatu, J.N. / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
By David C. Lipscomb
This blog is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of the International Parking and Mobility Institute, Transportation for America, and Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to COVID-19, as well as create a knowledge base of strategies that communities can use to manage the curbside during future emergencies.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, jurisdictions around the world are preparing to shift from emergency response to recovery with forward-thinking sustainability in mind. The status quo is untenable, meaning innovation will be essential to restoring our way of life.
Enter the triple helix model of innovation which describes the relationship between academia, industry, and government as it pertains to social and economic development. At the model’s core, academia supplies education and research, governments fund or influence educational priorities and regulate industries, while industry provides jobs, infrastructure, and taxes, though these are not rigidly set roles.
Where the triple helix may be most evident is how federal and state COVID-19 response guidelines affected government operations, educational institutions, and businesses. The trickle-down effect has led to ever-evolving resource collaborations and emergency changes to curbside operations and mobility management.
NYU’s C2SMART produced an invaluable tool for municipal responders: an interactive dashboard and white paper on the impact of COVID-19 on transportation in the New York metropolitan area. NYU students also learned how to use modeling techniques to predict the effects of pandemics on transportation systems. Their findings give key insight into mode shifts likely to shape future policy.
Retailers will have a key role in innovation as they adapt to consumer trends. Adobe Analytics data showed a 208 percent increase in curbside pickup during the first three weeks of April. Many jurisdictions face questions about the necessity and sustainability of curbside management strategies to facilitate on-demand delivery services like Uber Eats, GrubHub, Postmates, and DoorDash, which generate about $82 billion and are projected to more than double by 2025. These trends have started to influence government policy and operations with Seattle announcing in May the rollout of curbside pick-up zones for retailers. Future considerations of infrastructure or operations that limit personal contact or facilitate quick curbside access will depend on clear communication of needs.
In the technology world, Apple and Google are working on contact tracing technology that would integrate with government health agency apps. The apps would alert users when they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, though challenges around privacy, data integrity, and participation remain. Still, successful implementation of this technology could empower users or transportation systems managers to make better real-time transportation decisions based on risk.
The Triple Helix Association is calling for papers on innovation in pandemic and societal crisis response; transportation will be an integral part.
What innovation looks like going forward remains to be seen, but opportunity abounds. For example, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) hosts an internship program in conjunction with the Howard University Transportation Research Center. These students play a critical role in expanding the DDOT’s work capacity (including now as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic). In turn they gain real-world experience to boost their careers in the public, private, or academic sectors.
These are a few examples of how governments, academia, and private industry are jointly responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’re aware of other examples, please share it with david.lipscomb@dc.gov.
David C. Lipscomb is curbside management planner for the District Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.
(MIAMI, FL – MARCH 19, 2020) – In these challenging times, the well-being, health and need of the Miami community is of our utmost concern. To that end, the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) has set aside a number of on-street spaces in high-demand commercial areas, free of charge, for vehicles picking up and delivering food and other essential items to customers. The program is being rolled out immediately throughout the downtown core, with other commercial areas expected to be added within the next couple of days.
“We are conscious of the impact of the COVID-19 from the human health as well as economic perspectives, and we are asking for the public’s help not to use these dedicated spaces for purposes other than pickups and deliveries,” said Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, Chief Executive Officer. “We stand ready to do everything possible to help the community in the face of this emergency, but we need the public to cooperate with us.”
These free, dedicated spaces are expected to make pickups and deliveries quicker and more efficient, in an effort to help customers, drivers and merchants alike. The on-street spaces will be identified by the signage posted in front of them. Please refer to the attached photo of the on-street signage and check our website periodically at www.miamiparking.com, as we dedicate additional spaces in commercial areas, where restaurants are open for pickup and delivery service.
About Miami Parking Authority
Miami Parking Authority, officially known as the Department of Off-Street Parking of the City of Miami, was created in 1955 by a Special Act of the Florida State Legislature and incorporated into the City of Miami’s Charter in 1968. MPA manages and develops on- and off-street parking in the City of Miami. It shares responsibility with the City of Miami Police Department and Miami-Dade County for enforcement of parking regulations. For more information, visit www.miamiparking.com.
Not since the 1930s has curbside management (formerly known as on-street parking) received so much attention among the transportation industry (and the public!). With cities far and wide densifying and becoming the centers of population activity, city transportation officials are looking at ways to optimize not only multi-modal mobility (via increased diverse transportation investments), but also multi-modal accessibility. Regardless of mode, both people and goods meet on the city’s curb. Left unchecked, cities face ramifications from the obvious (congestion, safety implications) to the abstract (vulnerabilities to climate change, health expectancies). It becomes imperative for municipalities, large and small, to come to terms with the need for multi-modal curbside management.
However, what is curbside management? Depending on the perspective, the term can have varying definitions. Common between them is that curbside management involves the nexus point between the roadway and the pedestrian realm. It is in this space where people and goods transact. In older cities, regulations were enacted to manage horses and carriage access and the maintenance of that nexus space (see Washington, D.C.’s Parking Acts from the late 19th century). In the early 20th century after the advent of the automobile, technology innovation to manage the curbside led to the advent of the parking meter in 1935 and its subsequent proliferation in cities far and wide since then.
Today, technology disruptions in mobility have led to the rise of transportation network companies, connected/autonomous vehicles, expansion of mass transportation services, and on-demand delivery (as a result of on-line commerce). Because of this disruption paired with densifying cities, the curbside demand has diversified and intensified. Gone are the days of facilitating the curb for vehicle storage. Today is the day to facilitate the optimization of people and goods movement.
The IPMI Research & Innovation Task Force is offering a blog post series to help demystify the approach to implementing curb lane management strategies for the industry. The blog series will present a common model for implementing curb management:
Measure
Manage
Monitor
Optimize
Benito Pérez is curbside management operations planning manager at the District Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., and a member of IPMI’s Research & Innovation Task Force.
By Tina Altman
Just a few years ago, “curbside management” wasn’t a thing–certainly not a thing anyone talked about. But today, it’s a very big thing, and a specialty many parking and mobility organizations are working to master. Making use of that valuable curbside real estate is a big challenge, and doing it effectively can make a city or campus move much more effectively.
By Robert Ferrin and Brandy Stanley, CAPP
By Rob Reiter
