Tag Archives: mobility

Resources, Transportation & Mobility

Free Webinar: Reducing Cruising for Parking: New Research & Tools Presented by the Federal Highway Administration

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Reducing Cruising for Parking: New Research & Tools Presented by the Federal Highway Administration

 

Experts say 30 percent of urban traffic comes from cars circling in the hunt for parking—but recent research says that’s not necessarily true.

Join experts from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration to learn why that number is usually much lower. They have developed a new tool to reduce circling even more, potentially transforming the way people find parking, and how professionals limit costly cruising and maximize on-street and off-street resources.

Click here to view webinar.

Resources from Parking & Mobility

Read the January issue of Parking & Mobility, featuring our cover story on FHWA’s groundbreaking research on cruising and new tools to help industry professionals manage parking assets.

 

IPMI Blog, Resources

Ask the Experts: How Do You Define Mobility?

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Conversation bubbles with the words question and answer.“Mobility” has been used to describe everything from shared bikes and scooters to mass transit to walking to the ability of people to simply get around. If someone outside the industry asked, how would you define “mobility”?

That’s the question we posed to our Ask the Experts panel for the February 2022 issue of Parking & Mobility, and the answers we got were quite insightful. A few additional thoughts we loved:

  • “The range of options any given person may convey themselves from point A to point B at any given time. As Mobility pertains to our industry, we strive to solve for the myriad of individual circumstances which vary based on economic status, geographic location, available time, physical mobility, and weather, among other variables.” – Ben Wesley,  CAPP, market president Nashville, Premium Parking.
  • “Often, I think we mistake mobility for accessibility.  The difference between the two concepts is simple: Mobility is how far you can go in a given amount of time (how far you travel to go to work or visit a place of business).  Accessibility is how much you can get to in that time (access to different modes of transportation, or parking spaces once you have arrived).”   Katherine Beaty, vice president of implementation, TEZ Technology.
  • “While the generic definition of ‘mobility’ can have a multitude of industry meanings, in my world, it’s primarily providing alternative transportation and environmentally friendly solutions and methods to the general public in an effort to help shift individual (single occupancy) vehicle driving behavior.  Also, it’s providing the public with the policies, education, and networks necessary to encourage and promote the adoption of new/alternate modes of travel.” – Scott Bauman, CAPP, manager of parking & mobility services, City of Aurora, CO
  • “Mobility is everything that happens from A to B. It is the series of intentional choices users make to transport themselves or their goods to a destination. The term mobility allows us to describe an ever-evolving landscape that adds new modes methods daily.”  – Casey Jones, CAPP, director, customer success, FLASH Parking.

Read from more our experts in February’s magazine. Interested in joining our panel as an expert? Email Melissa Rysak.

IPMI Blog, Resources

From Static Storage to an Engaged Curb for People and Goods

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By Benito Pérez, CAPP; Lawrence Marcus; Alejandra Argudin, CAPP; and Michael Sawyer

Parking management demands have evolved in the past two decades while municipal practice is catching up. There are several components for organizations to consider, including  technology and   workforce development to the evolution from being  a storage manager to manager of  a dynamic curb serving the movement of people and goods.

Parking management has been a static practice for a better part of six-plus decades with the introduction of the parking meter in 1935, the proliferation of automobiles, and little innovation for a long time after. Municipal parking management led to a standard practice of managing vehicle storage. When parking pressures overwhelmed a community, they built more and more parking.

Fast forward to the early 2000s, when cities had been hollowed out by large roadways and oceans of parking. Municipal leaders in several cities realized things needed to change (can’t build your way out of a parking problem) when it came to transportation and parking management to liven up their economic fortunes and community vitality. Adding to the pressure of revitalizing municipal economic fortunes, there has been an evolution of shared mobility, commercial docking, and pending connected automated vehicle (CAV) and zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) demands competing with traditional parking at the curb.

Some municipalities have taken innovative measures to redefine their curbside management practices within the past decade. Such efforts have been aimed toward improving the urban fabric, sustainability and resiliency, and maximizing the value of the curb to serve the movement of people and goods. However, those efforts did not happen in a vacuum or overnight.

Reflecting on work from Washington, D.C., Richmond, Baltimore, and Miami, what does it take to manage shifting mobility practices? Key to the discussion is understanding and valuing the components of the streetscape that are essential to a vibrant curbside and mapping a path forward towards building and evolving a successful municipal curbside management program.

Benito Pérez, CAPP, is a transportation advocate formerly with the District Department of Transportation. Lawrence Marcus is with Forward Progress. Alejandra Argudin, CAPP, is with the Miami Parking Authority. Michael Sawyer is with the City of Richmond, Va. They will present on this topic at the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, Nov. 29 – Dec. 2, in Tampa, Fla.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion In The Age of Mobility

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By Marcía L. Alvarado, PE

For as long as it’s been around, urban planning has failed to sufficiently consider diversity, equity, inclusion, and impact. Historically “groundbreaking” urban planning trends, however well-intentioned, negatively impacted and disrupted the lives of marginalized groups. Although implemented 100 years ago, exclusionary zoning laws created to promote segregation of race and class are still used today. Racial disparities can be observed in redlining practices, land development, and transportation. This leads to issues like “food deserts,” gentrification, lack of access to adequate healthcare, clean water, and air. Ensuring Black and brown neighborhoods have access to the same resources as more affluent communities is beyond overdue.

In transportation planning, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 was especially harmful to minority neighborhoods by destroying them and making way for the interstate highway system. As a result, more than one million low-income Americans were displaced— mostly Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

As we find ourselves on the cusp of a new urban planning movement—mobility—it’s imperative that we understand how planning initiatives marginalize certain communities. With a shift from intent to impact, we can be sure not to repeat history as we guide the mobility movement.

Mobility planning is about keeping people moving safely and efficiently, but it’s also about economic development and improving quality of life for the very communities in which we design, develop and plan. Specifically, mobility planning cannot achieve safety and efficiency without also addressing its past and present contributions to systemic disparities among Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

Serving these communities means learning their specific needs so we can provide what local residents and businesses need now. Only then can we assure the parking and mobility plans we are creating promote diversity, equity, inclusion and consider impact over intent.

Marcía L. Alvarado, PE, is structural market leader with WGI. She will present on this topic at the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, Nov. 29 – Dec. 2, in Tampa, Fla.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Embracing “E” Words for Campus Mobility

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College student wearing a mask and biking on campus.By Sarah Blouch, Carl DePinto, Zachary Pearce, and Keith Palma

Initiating changes to parking and mobility systems on college campuses can be difficult and frustrating for campus parking professionals. New solutions to old problems abound as technology and innovation flourish in the industry. But the fear of the unknown, competing needs for a scarce resource that require established priorities, and the inability to gain consensus (much less a direction) on those critical priorities are all frequent reasons why university leaders tend to resist making changes. They have enough challenges to deal with at any given time, so why create more?

Well, it turns out there is nothing like a good crisis to help the evolution of change move forward! While the pandemic forced everyone into crises management mode for the past 15 months, we have now shifted into planning for a “new normal” and at the same time, seizing opportunities to implement long-desired changes to make our systems more effective for the customer and efficient for operations. Flexible and scalable parking options to address hybrid work schedules, protocols around cleanliness and social distancing, and event parking changes to better manage traffic and enhance safety for the sellers are all now possible (and in many cases required) to manage the long-term aftereffects of COVID-19.

It is time to embrace the ”E” words: Evolutions in operations to Enhance Efficiency and Effectiveness.

Carl DePinto and Zach Pearce are with Duke University and Duke Health; and Sarah Blouch and Keith Palma are with CampusParc. They will present on this topic at the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, Nov. 29 – Dec. 2, in Tampa, Fla.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Managing and Thriving Amid Disruption

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Line drawing of man jumping over missing step in staircaseBy Brett Wood, CAPP, PE

The past 15 months have taught us many valuable lessons, including some aroudn increased awareness and adapting to change. Our industry has certainly managed this change in its own unique way, with parking and mobility programs implementing improvements that were rooted in being proactive and using policy, operations, technology, and service as a means of strengthening our communities and promoting wellness and accessibility without compromising safety.

As we leave the final stages of the pandemic and move into the full stages of recovery, the lessons learned from the pandemic era will serve us well as we encounter new and different disruptions along the way. From the immediate effects of changing commutes to the longer-term impacts of climate change and a transportation system shifting to autonomy and shared-fleet services, our industry will continue to face disruption. And the last year has proven we don’t really know what’s in store for us.

At next week’s virtual IPMI Mobility and Innovation Summit, the IPMI Research & Innovation Task Force has assembled a panel of parking and mobility professionals who are facing immediate and long-term disruptions head on and moving their communities forward with transformational projects, pilots, and policy changes:

  • Jeff Petry from Eugene, Ore., is implementing community-based changes to promote equity in the community and support re-opening efforts.
  • Phil Garcia of Facebook is preparing the campus for a return to work with innovative practices to support changing commutes.
  • Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPA, of UC Davis is implementing a new payment structure rooted in transportation demand management and flexible options for changing commutes.

We hope you’ll join us for the Summit and this particular discussion on Wednesday June 30, at 4:15 p.m. Eastern. And we hope you’ll continue to prepare yourself and your community for change in a positive way!

Brett Wood, CAPP, PE, is president of Wood Solutions Group.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Tucson Expanding Shared Mobility

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Young woman on an electric scooterThe City of Tucson first piloted a shared e-scooter program in fall 2019, and extended that pilot through COVID-19. Now, with micro-mobility’s popularity growing, the city is seeking growing shared mobility program.

Full details are available on the city’s website, but it’s seeking vendors and partners to make e-scooters available in the city going forward. Two applicants will be chosen to provide scooters for 12 months, with the option to renew for three additional 12-month terms.

Micro-mobility grew during COVID and is projected to become even more popular. If your organization is growing its program, we’d love to hear about it.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Transit Works to Win Back Riders

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Woman wearing a mask on a busGetting on a bus or train wasn’t a first choice for most during COVID-19.  The thought of being in an enclosed space with more people than comfort allowed sent car sales soaring and boosted micro-mobility in cities. But with the pandemic waning and more people going back to work, school, and other destinations in person, getting people back on transit is a priority.

President Joe Biden made transit a big part of his new infrastructure plan, calling it fast, safe, and clean. And lower-income people rely on it more than others, but making it a viable and attractive choice for everyone is a challenge.

An AP story run over the weekend examines the challenges and potential solutions to getting people back on transit as a choice and making them feel as safe as possible. It’s a great read–find it here.

 

IPMI Blog, Resources

Drawing Back the Curtain

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By Kevin White, CAPP, AICP

Information is power, as they say. This is certainly true in the world of parking and mobility, where a wealth of payment, curb use, traffic, travel pattern, citation, and a variety of other data is being collected and documented. Emerging platforms and technologies bring new technologies, and municipalities, universities, and other parking and mobility operations are working to ingest data from a variety of platforms and use it to make informed planning, policy, and operations decisions. But data-driven parking and mobility management is certainly not easy. Data streams are vast, and it can be difficult to identify and distinguish truly useful information. Operations need personnel experienced in organizing, summarizing, handling, and analyzing data. A plan has to be in place to ensure regular data collection, analysis, and evaluation–a clear pathway that identifies the types of decisions and outcomes that can be made based on key data performance indicators.

These topics and more are explored in “Drawing Back the Curtain,” in the April issue of Parking & Mobility. We will host a discussion-based Shoptalk on May 5 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on this same topic.

The learning objectives of the Shoptalk are as follows:

  • Define and demystify data-driven management.
  • Learn how operations are leveraging and benefiting from data.
  • Understand key considerations of a data-driven approach.
  • Evaluate how your organization can benefit from data.
  • Focus on data that matters and that you can gain value from.

We hope you’ll attend and hear from the municipal and university panelists, and also contribute your ideas and questions. We look forward to seeing you there.

Kevin White, CAPP, AICP, is a parking and mobility consultant with Walker Consultants. He’ll host an IPMI Shoptalk on this topic May 5. Click here for details and to register.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Are Flexible Work Arrangements the New TDM Tool?

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Cartoon of man working from home, teleconferencing with colleagues.By Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPA

Rahm Emanuel said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”

I started as executive director of UC Davis Transportation Services on January 2, 2020, and while I was still learning my way around the campus, the COVID crisis struck. The industry suddenly faced unprecedented difficulties that challenged the most senior mobility experts.

March 16 came and suddenly, there were discussions of campus closures, distance learning, and teleworking. Until that time, telework was a wish for many in the transportation industry but not considered plausible due to supervisor and management reluctance. Within a week, these discussions made campus-wide telework a reality. When this COVID thing lasted longer than a few weeks, the campus started to look at how we could use the lull to continue the momentum of flexible work arrangements (FWA–the term our campus now uses for telework and compressed work schedules), and our department pushed the campus to continue planning using them past the pandemic.

To address all the issues for making FWA an ongoing TDM strategy, I am co-chairing a university committee: “Reimagining the Workplace.” Stakeholders from human resources, technology, planning, safety and ergonomics, employee/union relations, communications, legal, and finance are all involved. The committee has already identified several advantages to FWA: recruiting the best talent, employee well-being, more campus space for students, and reducing traffic congestion and air pollution. However, there are challenges to be overcome to arrive at the advantages.

Join Ramon Zavala and me April 21 when we host the IPMI webinar, Teleworking: An Alternate Mobility Mode. We will look at what institutions should consider when creating their own FWA program and planning lessons learned.

Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPA, is executive director, transportation services, at UC Davis. He and Ramon Zavala, the university’s transportation demand manager, will present on this topic during an IPMI webinar, April 21. Click here for details and to register.