Tag Archives: parking

ParkHouston App, Powered by ParkMobile, Unveils Spanish-Language Version

ParkHouston App, Powered by ParkMobile, Unveils Spanish-Language Version

 

The Spanish translations are available when a ParkHouston user updates their device settings to Spanish.

HOUSTON, TX – January 26, 2022 – ParkMobile announced an enhancement to the City of Houston’s ParkHouston app that will give users access to view the app in Spanish. This new feature makes the app more accessible for ParkHouston’s Spanish-speaking users as the city continues to make parking easy and convenient.

“Houston es la ciudad más diversa del país, por lo que ofrecer una versión en español de la aplicación es muy importante para la ciudad de Houston”, dice Tina Paez, Directora de Administración y Asuntos Regulatorios. “ParkHouston quiere que los pagos de estacionamiento sean lo más conveniente  posible para todos los residentes de Houston y visitantes de nuestra comunidad”.

“Houston is the most diverse city in the country, so offering a Spanish version of the app is very important to the City of Houston,” says Tina Paez, Director of Administration and Regulatory Affairs. “ParkHouston wants parking payments to be as convenient as possible for all Houstonians and visitors to our community.”

ParkMobile and the City of Houston have been in partnership for more than a decade, and the ParkHouston app launched in 2017. Since then, ParkHouston has seen more than 300,000 lifetime users, resulting in more than three million transactions.

The ParkHouston app, powered by ParkMobile, is free to download on both iPhone and Android devices. To view the app in Spanish, a user must change their default language to Spanish (United States) in their phone settings. From there, users can use the app to pay for parking or reserve parking in advance, just as they would on the English version of the app.

“The City of Houston has been an incredible partner of ours since 2011, so we’re thrilled to further our partnership with the addition of Spanish capabilities for the ParkHouston app,” says Jeff Perkins, CEO of ParkMobile. “Providing the option for Spanish in the ParkHouston app is just another way Houston is using innovative technology to create a better experience for all.”

About ParkMobile

ParkMobile, LLC is the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in North America, providing a contactless way for millions of people to easily find, reserve, and pay for parking on their mobile device. The company’s technology is used in thousands of locations across the country, including 8 of the top 10 cities as well as college campuses, airports, and stadiums. People can use ParkMobile solutions to quickly pay for on-street and off-street parking without having to use a meter or kiosk. Additionally, ParkMobile offers parking reservations at stadium venues for concerts and sporting events. Reservations are also available in metro area garages, allowing people to drive into the city without having to worry about finding parking. ParkMobile has been named to the Inc. 5000, Deloitte Fast 500, Smart Cities Connect “Smart 50,” and the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Top Workplaces. Additionally, the company won the 2020 Stevie Awards for Achievement in Product Innovation and the 2019 Stevie Awards for Most Innovative Tech Company and Best Travel App. For more information, visit ParkMobile.io or @ParkMobile on Twitter.

About ParkHouston

ParkHouston’s mission is to provide safe and convenient parking for Houston residents and visitors.  We support economic development by providing superior customer service, investing in cutting-edge technologies, and actively collaborating with stakeholders. As a solution-focused division of the Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department, we service and maintain over 9,500 parking spaces across the City. ParkHouston also works to create more sustainable communities by reducing congestion and supporting alternative modes of transportation.

ParkMobile Contact: Mark Lister, SVP of Marketing, mark.lister@parkmobile.io

ParkHouston Contact: Cory Stottlemyer, Public Information Officer, cory.stottlemyer@houstontx.gov

Why We Love Parking

By Robert Ferrin, CAPP

If you’ve listened to an industry podcast or interview of late you often hear the question, “How did you get into parking?” Responses vary, but two common themes emerge:  one, I have no idea how I got into parking, I certainly didn’t plan to be a parking professional;  and two, I wouldn’t think of doing anything else, I love the industry and the people I work with.

Little did I know I’d get this same question from my nine year old kids at the dinner table a few weeks ago.  It started simply enough about how my work day was.  As I talked about a new garage we are wrapping up construction on, my son looked me square in the eyes and said, “How did you get into parking?  And why do you love it so much?”  As industry professionals we are trained to react quickly on our feet, and this moment was no exception.  And I wasn’t about to tell my impressionable kids the initial reaction we all have – I have no idea how I got into parking.  My simple response was that I got into parking and love what I do because I love to solve complex and challenging problems.  Parking allows me to do that on a number of levels, and no two days are alike.

This started a 30 minute conversation about all the things my team and I work on day in and day out.  Our dinner table conversation was both energizing and therapeutic.  In one week you could work across a dozen different professions, from facilities management to fiscal oversight to security and process improvement and everything in between.  As professionals this industry keeps us challenged and stretches our problem solving skills constantly.  I count myself blessed to be in this fantastic industry and have had the opportunity to connect with so many amazing professionals.

So I ask you, how did you get into parking?  And why do you love it?  What would your response be to an impressionable nine year old?  Share your comments on the Forum or on a blog post.

Robert Ferrin, CAPP, is assistant director, parking services with the City of Columbus, Ohio, and a member of IPMI’s Board of Directors.

ROPEd Into the Future

Black flying car (air taxi) takeoff from or land to Drone Port. 3D rendering image.By Kirk McManus

The future of parking is already here. The next generation of parkers and parking entities will involve flying airships, driverless automobiles, a phone app, a web browser, and a car charger. Lift Aircraft already has an FAA-approved, single seat flying airship. A person with a backpack or purse can fly themselves to their next destination. The airship has no doors or windows and maybe not a heater or air conditioner, but when the model T first originated it didn’t have air conditioning, GPS, a radio or heated seats. It only takes an hour of training to begin flying back and forth to work. Eventually flying airships will have the same safety and comfort features as the modern automobile.

The arrival of airships completely changes the parking paradigm. Parking garages and parking lots will have to be redesigned or renovated to make room for flying airships. Airships driverless vehicles and vehicles will use the same parking spaces.

Typically when an entry lane or exit lane of a parking garage or parking lot and the gate arm won’t raise, the driver presses an intercom button or a screen to get assistance. But what happens in a driverless car when there is no driver to press a button for help? What happens when the driverless car is disabled in the entry or exit lane?

A driverless car simply returns to its point of origin or parks elsewhere, most likely in a free parking stall. (Return to Origin or Park Elsewhere—ROPE). This frees up more parking spaces for more vehicles in payment stalls and fills up free parking stalls faster. It also reduces revenue to the parking provider since the driverless car doesn’t pay to park.

An airship can’t be booted and may be require a larger tow truck or towing airship The airship must be chained and locked to the ground or other surface object to prevent takeoff.

The technology in a driverless car must be able to detect a gate arm when entering or exiting a parking garage or lot. Whatever frequencies a driverless vehicle or airship uses to navigate must not interfere with the frequencies used in raising gate arms or counting parking stalls. A driverless car can’t insert a credit card or debit card to pay on exit, print out a ticket upon entry, and pull a receipt at an exit lane either. A flying airship can’t easily stop at an entry lane to pull a ticket, print a bar code ticket or insert a credit or debit card to enter or exit a parking area.

Accommodations must be made so that flying airships can take off and land. Flying airships, driverless vehicles and standard vehicles will all be in the mix, making parking a challenge and with many opportunities for growth!

The future is here. We can start now to prepare by installing conduits and infrastructure and electric services for future growth. Installing airport lighting on top light poles, parking garages and our facilities so the infrastructure is there before the flying airship arrives.

Conduit can be installed underground to make room for future expansion. Parking garages will need higher ceiling heights and larger entrances and exits to allow for airships to enter and exit. A decision may need to be made as to how old a passenger can be in a driverless vehicle in case the driverless vehicle becomes inoperative or in an accident. Typically, technology evolves faster than safety policy, or public policy.

What a great time it is to be in parking. As we look to the future we’ll need more technology experts, GIS experts, and happy faces at the customer service counter to keep our customers happy!

Kirk McManus is a parking and transit service repair technician at the University of Nebraska.

The Cruising Phenomenon

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently developed a tool to help cities help their drivers find parking and stop circling–after all, circling for parking creates a lot of downtown traffic. The first thing they did was study all that circling. And what they found was surprising:

The top line finding is that cities have likely overestimated their parking search problem by abstracting from the areas known anecdotally to be the worst. In spite of the myth that 30 percent of traffic is circling for parking, we find that the percentage of trips that include excess parking search is between 5 percent in Ann Arbor and 7 percent in Seattle. These lower rates don’t mean that cruising isn’t a problem, but rather is less universally one than previously thought. That’s good because it also means that cruising is likely more solvable through targeted measures.

That’s from their article about their study and their new tool in this month’s Parking & Mobility magazine–and there’s more, including an upcoming, free webinar with FHWA experts and researchers for IPMI members.  With the accepted number of 30 perhaps being as low as five, we think you might not want to miss either.

 

Woman Launches “Don’t Curb the Access” Campaign

Portrait of young afro american woman yelling into a megaphone on grey background. African female making an announcement with megaphone.A 21-year-old woman from Leicester, England, is getting press for her social media campaign urging drivers to be mindful of wheelchair access routes when they park.

Umaymah Dakri, who has spina bifida, launched an Instagram account to document what happens to her when other drivers park blocking wheelchair routes. #DontCurbTheAccess is gaining attention in both the press and the public.

Meet Umaymah here.

A Fee That Works. Almost.

By Chuck J. Boddy, CAPP

On many college and university campuses, mandatory fees can increase the overall costs to attend an institution. From technology fees to other auxiliary fees such as recreation, student activities, or a transportation fee, many services or offerings would be impossible without a fee.

At UMBC, (University of Maryland Baltimore County) the parking and transportation departments are separate. Parking is under the division of administration and finance, and transportation is under the division of student affairs. Although this structure is no longer common in the university sector, as far I know, our leadership has no plans to change it anytime soon.

UMBC has a non-refundable transportation fee that supports the maintenance of parking facilities, shuttle buses, the campus program of traffic control, and parking administration. The student judicial parking appeals board, which is separate from the parking department, hears the appeals and adjudicates contested parking citations.

One great thing about the transportation fee is that students do not have to pay out of pocket for a parking permit, as it is included in the mandatory fee. The not so great thing is that many students decide to drive to campus, as they look at it as parking being free, since they do not have to physically pay for it. Crazy? I know, I’ll save that topic for a different post. Financially, this works out well because both the transportation and parking departments are always fully funded. This keeps the cost of our citations, parking permits, and visitor parking rates much lower than those of our peers. The rates have only increased once since 2012. So, as we look to future and look for alternative ways to fund our departments, there will always be pros and cons to consider.

Chuck J. Boddy, CAPP, is director, UMBC Parking Services.

Detroit Launches Comprehensive Parking App

Female's hand looking for her car with smartphone API in a parking lot. Blur Cars background.The City of Detroit launched a new version of its parking app this weekend that allows users to identify where spaces are available, compare prices, and prepay for parking in off-street lots and garages. It includes parking in public and private lots and garages as well as metered, on-street spaces. Users can compare prices by the block and zoom in on specific spaces.

It also includes upcoming city events with search-by-event parking information and reservations, and can lead drivers back to their cars if they forget where they parked.

Drivers who don’t use smartphones can access the app’s features online in any web browser before they head out.

 

Putting Places Worth Visiting in Parking Priorities

Traditional cities are typically found on and around transport routes–rivers, roads and railways. They occupy strategic locations for trade, security, crossings, and meeting points. Streets/roads define the city/urban form as both paths and edges. In the past few centuries, attempts to fix the city have focused on the restructuring of the road and transport systems. New transport technologies have been central to the rethinking and reshaping of the city; that has been the case in the past and will very likely be the case in the future.

Rethinking parking for the twenty-first century requires that we think beyond the professional silos we have created. There is a need to integrate parking with a range of evolving policy areas and new challenges and opportunities. The extent of change will vary by place, but a helicopter view highlights a number of notable trends. These include the rise of AI (note how this may also radically improve urban transit options and reduce costs), electric vehicles, and provision of charging stations with parking, the booming car-share/ride-share economy, a decline in dependence on the private car, a concern to minimize climate change impacts and improve environmental outcomes, and rethinking cheap/free and expansive park-and-ride in favor of transit-oriented development.

Learn why it’s so important to factor in destinations and places worth visiting when setting parking priorities, in the November issue of Parking & Mobility.

 

Seattle Reviewing 72-hour On-street Parking Rule

street in SeattleCaught between advocates for people living in recreational vehicles, vans, and other cars, and businesses who say such vehicles using on-street parking long-term keep customers away, the City of Seattle is revisiting its rule that says vehicles can’t stay in the same on-street space for more than 72 hours in the city.

The rule was suspended in April 2020,when COVID-19 kept many people home from work and regular shopping and outings, which meant they weren’t using their cars as much. It was reinstated this past April, and that set off controversy: Homeless people live in vehicles and, advocates say, asking them to move every three days is unfair; businesses, on the other hand, say vehicles that don’t move regularly clog streets and create garbage and crime that keep customers away.

It’s a conundrum being seen by an increasing number of municipalities. For its part, Seattle says it will revisit the rule to balance all needs as COVID-19 continues to affect travel patterns and lifestyles.