Tag Archives: parking

Education & Training, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

Parking Safety by Design

November 21, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

by Khurshid Hoda

Crime prevention through environmental design boosts safety with relatively easy steps for both new builds and existing-structure retrofits.

SAFETY AND SECURITY are important aspects of operating a successful parking structure. Part of developing an effective parking structure includes helping ensure that design elements support a safe and secure environment for patrons and their vehicles. Promoting a safe and secure environment is important for the businesses within the facility and the future success of the parking facility.

If the facility should experience criminal activities, the negative effect on the business and its patrons can greatly damage the parking organization’s reputation. Once a negative impression is publicly released in the media, it is difficult to reverse its effect on the businesses and gain back the trust of parking patrons.

Parking facilities, especially multi-level structures, encompass large land areas but have a low activity level compared to the businesses they support. Typically, the building and the businesses within the building are where patrons congregate, and there is a small percentage of individuals in the parking facility compared to those inside the building. Although there are various factors to consider, such as location, parking facilities can often be at risk for “opportunity” crime, given the relatively low occupancy. A non-scientific review of crime data shows that among all types of real estate (excluding residential), parking facilities can be prone to larceny and violent crimes. The data also show that a majority of individuals assaulted in parking structures are women walking alone to their vehicles.

Inherent Challenges
There are some characteristics inherent in parking facilities that make ensuring safety and security for parking patrons and their vehicles a challenge. A criminal’s vehicle looks like nearly every other vehicle so it would likely not be noticed in a parking facility. Additionally, blind corners, sightline obstructions, and parked vehicles can provide a hiding place for a criminal and potentially block the lighting in the area where a criminal could hide.

Often, a parking patron’s ability to see and be seen is reduced because parking structures are partially or fully enclosed, elevated, have multiple levels, or include ramps that provide vehicular access to multiple floors of the facility. Although there is no one perfect solution when determining how to address the security of a parking structure, providing reasonable safety and security in the parking facility is in the best interest of the owner and the traveling public. Reasonable security measures will help to deter and prevent criminal activity.

For a security measure to be a deterrent, it has to have a psychological effect on a criminal. It should discourage potential criminals from committing a criminal act. Examples of deterrence are adequate lighting, closed-circuit TV (CCTV) monitoring, and signs posted indicating security patrols within and around the facility.

The opportunities for criminal activity in a parking facility can be significantly reduced by properly planning and implementing security measures in the design and construction of the parking facility. The security measures should seek to affect both the psyche of the criminal mind and the parking patron, as well as improve the physical conditions within the facility with proven security enhancements.

By Design
Incorporating security features in the design of a parking structure is one of the best examples of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED). This approach deters criminals by making them feel trapped, out of place, exposed, and concerned that others inside and are many design elements that enhance the CPTED approach—we’ll discuss them shortly.

Any measure or technique not requiring human interaction or response, including lighting, glass-backed elevators, open or glass-enclosed stairs, etc., is defined as passive security. Passive security features also can be referred to as security-by-design. This approach refers to specific parking facility design elements, features, materials, and systems that can enhance the overall security of the facility without active human interaction. Passive security measures are cost-effective and last the life of the parking facility. If these measures are implemented and maintained well, they significantly contribute to patrons’ feeling of safety and comfort within the parking facility.

Based on input received from various owners, parking consultants, and this author’s experience, the following five passive security features have a significant positive effect on parking structure security:

1. Lighting Design. Parking and security consultants strongly agree that adequate and uniform lighting is the first line of defense and most effective deterrent against criminal activities in parking facilities. Several studies have been conducted by security experts that prove sufficient lighting has reduced crime in an area.

Eliminating dark areas deters crime, promotes enhanced user comfort, and improves the overall perception of safety. Ample lighting helps encourage safe movement of pedestrians and vehicles within the parking facility and improves internal wayfinding.

Lighting levels are generally not mandated by building codes, other than certain minimum levels required for emergency egress. The industry guidelines for parking facility lighting are established by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). These guidelines are not legal building codes, but failure to comply with IESNA recommendations does carry significant liability risks.

For improved safety and increased customer security in parking facilities, it is suggested that these lighting levels be increased by 50 percent and motion-sensor controlled lighting be installed. The security experts agree that motion-sensor systems will further enhance patrons’ safety and reduce energy costs. In high-crime areas, some security experts suggest increasing the IESNA light levels by 100 percent. Of course, these suggestions are based on the understanding that the project budget could support the cost of higher light levels (first and operating and maintenance [O&M] costs). However, with advancements in energy-saving light fixtures and building management systems, it is expected the O&M costs would be significantly lower than those of older fixtures and systems.

Lighting fixtures should be paired in each parking bay. The paired-fixture approach improves lighting uniformity and provides a certain level of redundancy should a single lamp failure occur. Additionally, this will minimize shadows created by parked vehicles, as well as reduce the lighting glare in the drive aisles. The paired fixture approach is also beneficial if a CCTV system is used.

Staining ceiling and beams of parking facilities is a way of increasing reflectance of concrete surfaces, thus increasing overall brightness and improving overall parking environment. This approach also improves overall lighting uniformity because stained concrete uniformly reflects light on the driving surface. Staining or painting walls may encourage graffiti and will become a regular maintenance issue. Therefore, wall staining is not recommended.

2. Clear-Span Construction. Clear-span construction technique reduces the number of columns within the parking facility, creating an open environment, better visibility, and minimizing potential hiding places.

One of the factors that should be evaluated is the structural system. Structural beams in cast-in-place (CIP) systems are generally located at more than 25 feet apart. The wider span provides for a higher ceiling perception, which provides more open space, better lighting from fewer fixtures, and better visibility of signage. All these factors improve visibility, thus enhancing the safety of patrons and their vehicles.

3. Glass-backed elevators and open stairs. The more open and visible parking areas can be made, the better they are for passive security purposes. The theory behind this is that criminals are less likely to assault a parking patron in front of a clear glass window or open stairs than in an enclosed area. Therefore, it is recommended that parking structures have glass-backed elevators and open stairs.

4. Landscape design. Almost all parking structure projects include some level of landscape design. Inappropriate placement of shrubbery, hedges, and trees can restrict line of sight for pedestrian and vehicular traffic and may negatively affect parking safety and security. Therefore, landscaping should be kept low to the ground to minimize potential hiding places around the parking facility. It is important to properly maintain landscaping elements because if they are allowed to grow too tall, they may cause safety and security concerns.

5. Human activity. Legitimate human activity in any parking facility improves the safety and security of patrons and their vehicles. However, it is difficult to establish appropriate and legitimate human activity in a parking structure. To some extent, locating a parking office in a parking facility achieves this purpose. Additionally, providing pedestrian access to mixed-use elements (if available) through the parking structure, without sacrificing pedestrian safety, may also achieve human activity in parking structures. These features will assist in improving patron and vehicle safety.

Other Security Enhancements
Depending on the use and type of parking structures, the following measures may be implemented to further enhance parking security:

The addition of escalators (generally used in parking structures at airports and large malls) provides vertical movement for pedestrians with a high visibility, which is an excellent passive security feature inside a parking structure.
Security screens protect potential hiding places, such as areas below the first flight of stairs.
The addition of convex mirrors in elevator cabs allows patrons to see if anyone is hiding inside the cab before they enter.
Glass panels in stairwell doors improve visibility.
Curbs and wheel-stops should be minimized as they are potential trip hazards. For enhanced visibility, faces and tops of curbs/ wheel stops should be painted yellow.
Signs should not impede drivers’ vision or create hiding places for intruders.

The above discussion and suggestions are by no means a complete list of measures for all parking structures. For each parking structure, a site-specific safety and security evaluation should be conducted, and appropriate measures should be implemented including “active” security measures (if needed) during design and construction phases.

KHURSHID HODA is a parking practice builder with Kimley-Horn and Associates. He can be reached at khurshid.hoda@kimley-horn.com.

TPP-2016-05-Parking Safety by Design

Education & Training, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

Big Events Big Challenges

November 21, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

How sport safety and security are greatly enhanced by parking and now, by IPI.

SOME OF THE BIGGEST SPECIAL EVENTS IN THE WORLD HAPPEN IN SPORTS, and perhaps nowhere are there more people parking in a compact area at a single time. Sporting events bring unique security challenges, and many start right in the parking area.

The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at the University of Southern Mississippi supports the advancement of sports safety and security through training, professional development, academic programs, and research. The organization works with professional leagues, collegiate athletics, and professional associations, private firms, and government agencies to promote special-event security.

NCS4’s director, Lou Marciani, is the principal investigator in more than $9.4 million in externally funded grants through the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security and U.S Department of Education. He has an extensive background in sports management, was executive director of two sports governing bodies for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and is an expert in sports event safety and security. He recently talked with The Parking Professional about security at sporting events and the critical role played by parking and IPI.

The Parking Professional: How did NCS4 get its start?
Lou Marciani: In 2005, faculty members initiated research in sport security. We began with grants from the Office of Mississippi Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to study risk assessment, simulation modeling for evacuations, and training. As a result of our research, The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security was established in 2006. The purpose of the national center is to support the advancement of sport safety and security through training, professional development, academic programs, and research. NCS4 collaborates with professional leagues, open-access events, intercollegiate and interscholastic athletics, along with professional associations, private-sector firms, and government agencies.

TPP: What are some of the safety concerns NCS4 has dealt with?
LM: Since 2006, we have worked with the sport industry assisting with their safety and security issues for stadiums, arenas, and outdoor events. The emphasis has been on terrorist activity. Research has indicated many common vulnerabilities in terrorist activities as well as all-hazard incidents. To protect facilities against threats and to mitigate the effect of an attack, we have been assisting sport organizations with the following countermeasures:

Planning and preparedness.
Personnel development and training.
Access control strategies.
Barrier protection.
Communication and notification.
Monitoring, surveillance, and inspection.
Infrastructure interdependencies.
Cybersecurity.
Incident response.

TPP: What obstacles do sports venue have to implementing certain safety solutions?
LM: The No. 1 obstacle is funding for physical security measures that include equipment, personnel, and procedures. In addition, educating administrations on the importance of enhancing security measures can be a challenge.

TPP: How has event safety evolved over the years?
LM: Event safety and security has evolved since 9/11. Providing a safe and secure environment is a priority for all stakeholders involved in delivering a sporting event. The increasing profile of sport and event properties has resulted in increased exposure to risks that affect spectators, participants, and other entities. High-profile sport events provide a perfect target for terrorists. It is important for sport managers responsible for safety and security planning to be able to detect, deter, respond to, and recover from a catastrophic incident, be it natural or man-made.

TPP: What effect does parking have in providing a safe environment at sporting events?
LM: Parking plays a much greater role today than in the past. We have seen a dramatic change in parking at sport centers. Both on the collegiate and professional levels, parking is a place for congregation before and after contests or events. We have witnessed an increase in tailgating that’s put additional importance on securing these parking lots. These congregations create additional safety and security issues such as alcohol, pedestrian/vehicular traffic, and ingress/egress issues.

TPP: What role can a parking professional have in providing a safe environment at sporting events?
LM: At most events, the parking attendant is the first person to greet the customer. In order to enhance the safety and security for customers, it’s very important to have good perimeter protection. Thanks to a new collaboration, the sports industry has an opportunity to reach out to the International Parking Institute. The entire sports industry will benefit from IPI’s members, manufacturers, and suppliers of products and equipment, as well as professional planners and consultants, architects, and engineers to provide insight into creating more enhanced safe environments.

TPP: What do you hope will come from a relationship with IPI?
LM: With major sporting events bringing together tens of thousands of spectators in a confined space, security challenges can be daunting. NCS4 has developed industryleading programs to ensure high levels of security at such events, while IPI’s members, manufacturers and suppliers of products and equipment, as well as professional planners and consultants, architects, and engineers, continuously strive to provide safe environments for their customers. We hope to address the unique security challenges through information sharing, support of each other’s programs, and interaction between the organizations’ respective members.

NCS4 and IPI members share the common goal of protecting spectators and employees at sport centers from crime and terrorist attack. Both organizations are committed to developing clear channels of communication between their members that will educate to mitigate risk and to enhance response. We hope to promote collaboration between the organizations to address the unique security challenges facing sport centers.

TPP: Is training a core component of NCS4?
LM: Yes, NCS4 offers comprehensive sports safety and security training focused on building capabilities for multi-agency collaboration pertaining to risk management, incident management, evacuation training and exercise, and crisis management. The intact security teams from professional programs, intercollegiate, and interscholastic athletics, as well as open-access events, learn the concepts relative to planning, training and exercise, and recovery/business continuity through scenario-based training modules. Training is delivered by specialists from law enforcement, facility management, event management, emergency management, fire/hazmat, emergency medical/health services, and public relations.

TPP: Can a person earn a degree in sport safety and security?
LM: Yes. There is a master of business administration degree with an emphasis in sport security management program. As the only program of its kind in the U.S., the University of Southern Mississippi College of Business and the NCS4 are proud to offer this new program, designed for those who currently work (or aspire to work) in management or leadership positions in the sport safety and security industry in a face-to-face or online format.

Today, it is essential for individuals seeking top management positions in the sport security industry to possess the business knowledge needed to manage operations, including the ability to present a business case for return on investment for security and management solutions. By supplementing the MBA with an emphasis in sport security management, graduates will be able to differentiate themselves by gaining the standard principles of business in conjunction with real-world experience necessary for security practitioners.

TPP: Does NCS4 offer certifications?
LM: Yes, NCS4 offers certifications to ensure individuals responsible for the secure and safe
operations of sport venues have the adequate knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform duties. NCS4 offers two certifications: Certified Sport Venue Staff (CSVS) and Certified Sport Security Professional (CSSP).

CSVS is designed for an organization’s front-line staff. The targeted roles are ushers, ticket takers, gate security, concession staff, retail associates, parking attendants, guest services, and cleaning attendants. The candidates receive fundamental basic and role-specific
competencies as well as background screening.

The CSSP certification program is designed to establish standardized competencies among individuals holding leadership positions in the sports security industry and to ensure that the most current techniques, strategies, and solutions are used to mitigate safety and security risks inherent to spectator sport venues. The CSSP certification focuses on advancing the sports safety and security industry by addressing the competency
requirements of current security professionals and those related professionals.

TPP: Does NCS4 offer risk management assessments?
LM: Yes, NCS4 offers a security management assessment process designed to promote a standardized methodology for security planning at sporting venues and events. The goal of Sport Event Security Aware (SESA) is to provide a tool to facilitate a comprehensive approach to security planning, management, and operations. A SESA designation recognizes organizations that have embarked on a process to provide a safe and secure facility/event environment based on research, current best practices, and lessons learned.

TPP: Tell us about NCS4’s National Sport Security Laboratory?
LM: The goals of the laboratory are to offer opportunism for security observation and practice; technology tests and experimentation; and investigations of feasible robust security solutions applicable to sports venue operations. The primary mission is to advance global sports security by serving as the epicenter for the enhancement of technology, training, and research.

TPP: What does NCS4 offer in other professional development areas?
LM: NCS4 works very closely with professional leagues, open-access events, intercollegiate and interscholastic athletics, and professional associations, private sector firms, and government agencies in providing a platform to gather knowledge, technology, and strategies to deal with today’s sports safety and security challenges and solutions.

On an annual basis, NCS4 sponsors the National Sports Safety and Security Conference. The conference is the gathering of top professionals in the field to provide a wholesome environment dedicated to security/safety technologies, products, services, and education for safeguarding the assets and spectators we are charged to protect.

The target audience consists of sports venue and event operators, managers, security and safety staff, first responders, and law enforcement. These are representatives from the following levels: professional leagues, intercollegiate athletics, interscholastic athletics, and marathon/endurance events.

NCS4 also conducts four Annual Summits: Intercollegiate Athletics, Interscholastic Athletics, Professional Sport Facilities, and Marathons. The main objective of these summits is to address the critical safety and security challenges facing these sport organizations that results in enhancing or modifying their current national safety
and security best practices.

TPP-2016-05-Big Events Big Challenges

Education & Training, Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

Two Plain Hamburgers. No Fries.

November 21, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

by Cindy Campbell

Very few of us have ever received specific training on effective listening. My first formal course on the topic came in a workshop about Steven Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Covey talks about listening skills, or more appropriately, the lack thereof. One of the points made about his fifth habit—seek first to understand, then to be understood—rang true with me: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

Why do we do this? Were we taught in our formative years to ignore message content? Perhaps not explicitly, but in some ways I suppose we were. For the sake of efficiency or expedience, we learned to listen for key words and to anticipate phrases so that we could reply quickly.

As adults, we filter everything we hear through our own life experience and previous knowledge. Sometimes in our haste—certainly more often than we realize—we draw the wrong conclusions, completely missing what someone is really trying to tell us. When this occurs in our business dealings, we risk being perceived as uncaring, disinterested, or even mechanical in our responses. In an industry in which the public’s perception can be critical to our success, leaving customers with a bad impression
can prove to be costly on many levels.

No Fries
In line at a fast-food place (don’t judge me), I recently overheard a conversation that illustrates Covey’s assessment of the importance of listening.

“How are you today?” asked the employee. “Would you care to try one of our new menu items?”
“No, thank you,” came the reply. “I’d like two plain hamburgers and nothing else. To go.”
“Would you like anything to drink?”
“No, no drink. Just the burgers.”
“Okay. Would you like anything else?”
“No. Nothing else.”
“OK, so that’s one hamburger …”
“No, I’d like two hamburgers.”
“OK, so two hamburgers. Would you like any fries?”
“No fries. Just two plain hamburgers. That’s it. To go.”
“So two plain hamburgers, no fries. And, I’m sorry, what did you say you wanted to drink?”
“No drink.”
“OK, will that be for here or to go?”

As I stood there, I could feel the tension radiating from the customer trying to order his meal. I wondered how long it would be before he ventured back in for another hamburger.

Listening
Now, I recognize that we don’t sell fast food, but the lesson from this observation still applies. In the parking industry, our product is a combination of services and access accompanied by a healthy dose of problem-solving and chaos prevention. Customers
don’t always fully understand or appreciate our services. Often, they can be unpleasant and difficult to assist and yet despite their attitudes and the lack of respect they may exhibit toward us, we must still provide them with an attitude of service. Pretending to listen or only listening selectively is not providing service. It’s withholding service.

As industry leaders, we must recognize that active listening plays a vital role in how we are perceived. To be successful, we must instill the attitudes and aptitudes for active listening within our organization. Active, in-the-moment listening conveys significant proof of genuine care about what the speaker is saying, thinking, or feeling. It isn’t necessary to agree with or even to understand everything that is being said; we simply have to set aside our preconceived ideas about what’s coming next and try to understand someone else’s point of view.

One last thought on the importance of active listening: Good listening skills can improve relationships beyond the office. Listening effectively can bring understanding and cooperation to our interactions with our friends, our family, and especially our significant others and our children. We owe it to ourselves and to those important to us to be fully present and listen carefully.

CINDY CAMPBELL is IPI’s senior training and development specialist. She is available for onsite training and professional development and can be reached at campbell@parking.org.

TPP-2016-05-Two Hamburgers. No Fries.

Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

A Smart Approach to Parking Technology Interfaces

November 21, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

By Steven Grant and Michele Krakowski

The parking industry is at a strategic inflection point. We are in the midst of an avalanche of new players and cutting-edge solutions to enhance or replace traditional parking systems. Owners now realize two things: There is a vast number of parking technologies on the market today that can interact with their core parking revenue control systems, and extracted data from these parking technologies provide information about financial performance and customer behavior to dramatically enhance customer services and revenue.

Technology offerings now include mobile and online applications for alternative access and payment methods, discounts and promotions, loyalty programs, space locators, and pricing. Additionally, there are third-party sales channels and demand-based product applications. Lastly, parking access and revenue control systems (PARCS) technologies, such as license plate recognition and guidance systems are also leveraged to create new offerings that increase customer service, data, and security.

All too frequently, new technology is purchased for the wrong reasons—an executive sees a cool demonstration or wants to be the first to implement something perceived as cutting-edge. Without defined goals, the results are disappointing, with low adoption rates and unexpected operating efforts. Four primary goals for implementing new technology should be:

Improve the customer experience. Provide more choices, better information, quicker entry and exits, and more
payment options with intuitive, easy usage.
Increase revenue. Provide more products, demand-based pricing, promotions and discounts within and outside of parking, and third-party sales channels for parking and other products and services.
Decrease costs. Reduce labor and maintenance and increase security.
Obtain data—data analytics, customer campaigns, product performance, competing market data, pre-registered parkers, license plate regions, and passenger counts.

A Roadmap
Every organization should keep a roadmap of the current and future technology it plans to implement. The timing of each rollout and customer campaigns is critical to prevent customer confusion. Think about how many payment options and related readers are now available. An entry station can easily have seven entry options, which is overload to a customer. Clean, smart
solutions pay off.

So what are the challenges posed to owners? They depend on several factors:
Maturity of the third-party technology.
Requirements for the application program interface (API) components that allow interaction with the core PARCS.
Total price of the application, required interfaces, transaction fees, other recurring costs, and operating efforts.
Stability of the platform.
Accuracy of the data being transmitted.
Flexibility of reporting.
Payment processing and payment card industry (PCI) compliance.
Release process and ability to influence future product features.
Support and response times during and after installation.
Hosting options (local, remote, cloud).
Network and communication options.

The market promotes modular, plug-and-play applications with installation timeframes in weeks instead of months. While today’s products bring much greater ease and speed of interfacing, the elements of implementing technology remain. And while swapping out one application for a similar one can be done more quickly now than ever before, it still requires a degree of planning and testing.

The parking industry is seeing increasing demand to interface with the myriad of software solutions now available. As parking customers demand more access to real-time parking data or software that allows them to make parking decisions quickly, owners are also looking to mine data across their parking operations to better understand that information, manipulate it for marketing and customer loyalty purposes, provide an improved parking experience, and increase revenue and margin. However, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to technology selection and implementation.

Steven Grant is owner of Aberdeen Management Group and a member of IPI’s Consultants Committee. He can be reached at steven@aberdeenmg.com.

Michele Krakowski, CPA, is principal of Lumin Advisors. She can be reached at mkrakowski@lumin.us.com.

TPP-2016-04-A Smart Approach to Parking Technology Interfaces

Education & Training, Parking & Mobility Article, Planning, Design & Construction, Resources

Experts Needed

October 28, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

by Pierre Koudelka

Why the way your RFPs are written is setting you up for disappointment and what the industry can do about it.

As it pertains specifically to parking access and revenue control systems (PARCS), your RFP may not be getting you what you intend. In my career as a manufacturer and consultant of PARCS systems, I have been involved in more than 1,000 parking projects worldwide. In all that time, I have not seen much improvement in the way we in North America go about assembling our thoughts and writing specifications for RFPs.

In the 1970s, specifications were good enough. Systems weren’t that complicated and PARCS specs were possibly 25 pages. Today, they are more than 150 pages. Granted, a good portion of that is what we call “legalese,” which protects everyone in case something goes amiss. The system can be very complicated, often consisting of mainframes; redundant backup systems; Europay Mastercard, Visa (EMV) requirements; full-blown networks; firewalls that often cause issues; and extensive software that can entail a dozen sub-systems that all have to work together flawlessly. To be fair, there are some good RFPs, but I feel a majority in the past 20 years have been flawed—some worse than others—and it’s getting worse every year. It’s smart to consider having a consultant write a spec instead of trying to do it yourself.

The advent of the computer and our ability to copy and paste has, in my view, been detrimental to the RFP process. The simple fact is that everyone seems to feel qualified to write a PARCS specification. Parking professionals take excerpts from past systems and add them to new ones and expect it all to work harmoniously. I have seen RFPs that included bits and pieces of three or four PARCS manufacturers’ ideas or features all mashed together and some that request unproven products and expect that someone will bid and make it all work. What’s worse is that when the bids do come in, they are accepted as meeting specifications when, in fact, they don’t.

Confusion
I can’t begin to tell you how many facilities I have visited after everything was installed to find that the system didn’t meet the original specs. This has always frustrated the bidders who tried to do it properly and follow the spec to a T but lost because their price was (naturally) higher. But by then, it’s water under the bridge.

In years past, we had qualified engineering firms with parking experience write specs. That has changed—architects, operators, tradesmen of all kinds, maintenance people, and local regional managers all feel they’re up to to the task. But are they really? Parking sophistication is often underestimated, and some firms don’t put enough resources into their PARCS departments to do it right. Owners, on the other hand, feel if someone has any connection with parking, he or she must be an expert on PARCS. Authors have to be impartial and very technical, understand the IT world, and have carefully studied and analyzed all the major players before they can understand and recommend the various concepts and systems offered. Just because you operate a garage doesn’t mean you’re a PARCS expert. This is exacerbated by pressures put on writers to keep fees low.

When a system manufacturer has to bid an RFP as written, it becomes clear that many specifications are disjointed and impossible to build as requested. Consider for a moment the confusion over EMV and how some authors, because of a lack of understanding, have confused everyone as to what is really required, wasting money. That’s simply not fair to the owners who paid for a good RFP or to the bidders trying to comply. It’s to the point where we in the trade can often predict whose spec will be problematic before it even hits the street. Manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors have to work to resolve these gaps or try and come to a compromise, often resulting in a customer not getting exactly what he or she thought was coming. Poorly written specs cause major delays, rewrites, controversy, wasted money, legal action, and worse, some good people their jobs.

Today’s systems offer several hundred features and thousands of pages of code. The variable differences within a single feature are immense and require real understanding. Really consider who is best qualified before hiring someone to assist you on spending your money.

Ask yourself when you last saw an RFP that mentioned anything about the quality requirements, equipment longevity, or expected maintenance cost over the life of a system. Does anyone know? Service cost over time can well exceed the initial system cost and has to be considered. Another aspect that’s always missing is quantifying or measuring any feature’s ease of use. If the system features you’re requesting aren’t easy to use or quickly attainable, your staff might not use them. You’re wasting money calling for a feature that sounds good but that ultimately won’t be used.

Good installation is critical—any cost-cutting can be extremely detrimental, but very little is written in RFPs about the quality of the installation. Why is that? The catch-all phrase is something like, “You are to provide everything necessary for a well-operated system.” That’s simply not good enough. Why is it assumed that the electrical contractor (different than the equipment distributor) will use the best components and smart switches, terminate properly, and/or provide the good, clean power? Are they proficient in fiber optics, networks, and will they exceed local codes? I’ve seen no expansion provisions on conduit runs that open up, exposing wires.

The Importance of Specifics
How can anyone make an informed buying decision if he or she doesn’t have all these facts clearly outlined and quantified? The answer is, he or she can’t. The end result is that the consultant, the operator, or someone else will make a judgment call about what to buy. Unfortunately, this often boils down to the individual’s preference, existing relationships, past experiences with a vendor, or even worse, just price, rather than a clear, comparison metric of the spec or facts. You might as well flip a coin.

Some say that quality seems unimportant to buyers and it’s all about the price. I think it’s more about simply not understanding and discerning the real difference in parking systems, and it stems in part from poorly written RFPs. All manufacturers’ systems are not similar or equal as specs may imply. There is a measurable quality and feature-set difference. Manufacturers need to do a better job of explaining these differences—I have found many cut sheets provided by manufacturers to be meaningless.

Operators make many buying decisions when it comes to parking equipment, in part because they or their company owners feel they are qualified or it falls within their contractual purview. The car park owner may feel he or she gets a better price that way, but I question that. Price aside, the decision as to what equipment to buy may be better made by system engineers and IT specialists rather than local managers, as they may feel pressure from existing contracts. Short-term contracts often result in short-term thinking, and decisions may be based purely on cost.Owners often rely entirely on others for such recommendations without asking the right questions or challenging these recommendations. Purchasing really needs to be a collaborative effort that’s based on hard data and a measurable set of metrics. You can buy whatever you like; I just want you to do it for the right reason, be well informed with accurate, up-to-date information, and get what you expected.

Improving the Process
Here are possible solutions we should consider and implement for a more proficient RFP process going forward:

It seems to me that some sort of certification program needs to be established, both to certify individual specification writers and assist them in gathering information, developing benchmarks, and establishing metrics to better identify products and services.
The industry should establish a minimum standard requirement for spec writers. Given the ever-increasing complexities of systems, spec writers should have engineering and IT degrees. Metrics have to be established to better understand and analyze firms and products. Simply saying we want good equipment is not sufficient.
Spec writers should be required to take IPI courses on a continual basis in specific fields and pass an exam as we do with CAPP to maintain their certification.
Spec writers should be required to visit manufacturing facilities every two years to determine not only what is new but the factory’s quality standard, production techniques, and financial standings. There’s no sense in buying equipment from a firm that will not be in existence a year from now. We need to know product life expectancies and estimated cost of maintenance in three, six, or 12 years after purchase.
We need a method of advising the board as to who and when a spec writer visited a manufacturing plant and verify that all assigned tasks were covered.
Equipment and systems should be made available for consultants to play with and analyze at their leisure. And specifications should be updated regularly to be more accurate and current.

This may seem like a harsh critique of the process, and those currently writing specs may say it is demanding too much. However, we have allowed the process to deteriorate over the years, and we can’t continue to copy outdated and error-filled specs and disseminate them as new, merely because it’s easy. We have to start somewhere, and given the importance of PARCS and its ever-increasing cost, why shouldn’t there be an accreditation process?

The good news is there are people and associations within this industry that can come together and resolve many of these issues. I believe we have an opportunity and an obligation to manage who writes and how we write system specifications. We can’t continue to let manufacturers, distributors, contractors, and bidders resolve glaring errors after the fact. We need to better monitor and regulate this process to keep up with ever-changing technologies. Now is the time to review how we should approach the next decade so we can do a better job for our clients, our industry, and ultimately, the end user—our patrons. The best possible goal we as an industry can have it starts with proper RFPs.

PIERRE KOUDELKA has 45 years of parking experience globally as a leading manufacturer,
parking consultant, and author. He can be reached at jean.pierre.koudelka@gmail.com.

TPP-2016-04 Experts Needed

Education & Training, Frontline, Management & Human Resources, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Recognition & Awards

Ahead of the Train

October 28, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

By Robert Ferrin and Brett Wood, PE, CAPP

Building a parking program from the ground up.

What if you could build a parking program from scratch? Where would you start? What would your central tenets be? How would you integrate the wealth of knowledge gained by parking professionals during the past 100 years?

In reality, most people don’t get this opportunity. As we’ve found our way into the unique world of parking professionalism, we’ve largely inherited programs. And those programs were built iteratively in response to the needs of the surrounding community and challenges experienced along the way. All we’ve had to do is learn from our predecessors and implement iterative change.

In essence, all you’ve been asked to do is keep the train on the tracks. But what if you got the amazing opportunity to build the train?

Putting a Plan in Place
In Aurora, Colo., that opportunity arose as a once-suburban community turned big city found itself on the brink of transformation. The city, which has a population of 350,000 and is situated east of Denver, lacks a paid parking program. Residents are accustomed to parking for free throughout the municipality, except for a relatively new medical campus in the city. However, the regional transportation district (RTD) is on the cusp of opening a light rail line that will include nine stations in Aurora and connect the community with both Denver and the airport. To say that things are about to change in Aurora is an understatement.

City planning staff realized the tremendous potential for transit-oriented development (TOD) and set out planning for the future of the community. As planning efforts occurred, it soon became evident there would be a need for advanced parking management. In 2015—less than two years before the lines would open—Aurora hired consultants Kimley-Horn to evaluate the implementation of comprehensive parking management within the community.

The study was driven by the fact that RTD intended to construct most light rail stations without the addition of significant public parking—a decision that could negatively affect surrounding neighborhoods and businesses as new parking demands were generated in the community. The study was intended to lay the groundwork for creating a public parking management entity in the area. This new program would be a radical shift for a community with no preexisting parking assets.

As the consultants and the City of Aurora worked together, the basis for the program evolved from primarily parking management to more of a parking and mobility entity focused on not only the provision of parking but also the provision of pedestrian, cycling, transit, and connectivity amenities. The decision to provide these features as part of the program was made to create a more cohesive connection with the community, linking the transit stations through enhanced first- and last-mile amenities.

Planning Process
During the course of an eight-month period, Aurora and Kimley- Horn worked hand-in-hand to identify a program structure, largely based on best-management practices assembled from around the country. The resulting Parking and Mobility Program Business Plan, which was delivered in summer 2015, provided a rare platform to define a program based on the best our industry has to offer. Throughout the project, we joked that Aurora had the opportunity to create a parking utopia, where they learned from all the lessons of the many communities that had previously braved this transition. Before long, what was a funny line became a mantra for the project, with these central tenets:

The community, including the customer and the economic vitality of the community, is the most important aspect of the program.
It’s about so much more than parking; the system should be a conduit for improving mobility, access, and growth within the community.
Enforcement should be based on compliance and education rather than on heavy-handed regulations.
Technologies should be designed to be easy to use for both the customer and the manager.
The staff should act as ambassadors for the program, helping the community learn about how and why we manage parking.
The community should be engaged throughout the life of the program, helping define the future by providing feedback.
Decisions should be made based on real data from the community, ensuring that new program elements meet the needs of those they serve.
Parking should be priced to manage demand and promote community needs, not generate revenue.
Any positive revenue generated by the parking program should be reinvested into the community.

Central to these themes was the concept of building the program around the community. Utopia doesn’t have to mean cutting-edge technologies, progressive policies, or innovative strategies. Simply put, the Aurora Parking and Mobility Program should be built with the success of the community and program in mind.

Implementing the Plan
As the parking and mobility manager for a brand-new program within a city, what would your first task be? How would you implement a comprehensive business plan in a mere 12 months? Being the first parking and mobility manager for the City of Aurora means having the opportunity to be in an exciting position to help shape a program that puts the customer first and is about much more than parking.

With that excitement also come challenges related to a lack of infrastructure and history. The Aurora Parking and Mobility Program Business Plan serves as the city’s guiding policy document but also very specifically outlines action items that need to be implemented with a phased approach. These action items serve as the foundation of a work plan that will create a program from the ground up to support neighborhood access, promote economic development, and drive ridership to Aurora’s new light rail line opening at the end of the year.

Implementation of the business plan required a multi-pronged approach focused on education and outreach, municipal code development, contracting, and the establishment of fees and permitting. Because parking touches so many of the daily functions of a city, an interdepartmental team was formed of professionals from seven different departments, all working together to create the program.

A series of public meetings was held, with more being scheduled, to educate the public about the proposed neighborhood parking permit program. In the public meetings, residents learn how the program will benefit them and provide access to their communities after light rail operations commence.

Working meetings were established with the city attorney’s office to revise a municipal code that included little to nothing about parking programs, enforcement, or citation adjudication. Finally, requests for proposals (RFPs) and contracts were executed to implement what will be a completely outsourced implementation of the parking and mobility program.

A true team effort, Aurora’s first parking facility opened in March with the completion of a conference center hotel project. Much has been accomplished, yet much is left to complete on the action item list.

What’s Ahead?
As a cornerstone of the program’s development, Aurora will continue to provide education and outreach to residents, businesses, and city departments regarding the benefits of a holistic parking management system. The city will be contracting with a qualified parking services vendor in the late summer to implement the municipal operations side of the parking and mobility program, including managed on- and off-street parking, enforcement, and the issuance of parking permits. The program is also deeply involved in economic development and redevelopment opportunities to identify how parking can assist in furthering Aurora’s urban development vision around nine new TOD sites. And finally, the city is continuing to work with transportation partners, such as car share and shuttle operators to provide additional mobility options to residents, businesses, and visitors. It is an exciting time for Aurora, with many changes on the way. Stay tuned to find out if Aurora achieves parking utopia with the implementation of the parking and mobility business plan.

ROBERT FERRIN is parking and mobility manager with the City of Aurora, Colo. He can be reached at rferrin@auroragov.org.

BRETT WOOD, PE, CAPP, is a parking and transportation planner with Kimley-Horn. He can be reached at brett.wood@kimleyhorn.com.

TPP-2016-04 Ahead of the Train

Education & Training, Frontline, Management & Human Resources, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Recognition & Awards, Resources

Wow Your Customers

October 28, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

By Dennis Snow

Three keys for delivering great service.

The term “customer service” evokes different images in people’s minds. One image could be that of friendly, smiling, helpful employees who go out of their way to serve you. Or it could be the opposite—indifferent, unfriendly employees who can’t wait for you to leave or hang up the phone.

Most people can recall many examples of poor customer service. Whether it’s the help desk employee who puts you on
hold for 20 minutes or the store cashier who engages in a personal conversation instead of ringing up your purchase, poor
customer service can make people feel frustrated and vow never to do business with that company again.

On the other hand, great service feels like a gift. It makes us want to continue to do business with an organization for the long haul. And that alone is the secret to business success—retaining customers by providing great customer service. With so much competition out there, customer loyalty is the single most important attribute your business can have. You achieve loyalty by doing the little things that make customers want to deal with you again and again and recommend you to their friends. The real difference is how a business makes its customers feel. If customers feel valued, most will remain loyal. If they feel under-valued, sooner or later, they will defect to a competitor.

Why They Leave
Several reasons exist for why customers defect from a company. They may move away, a competitor may lure them away, or they may leave because they are unhappy with the product. However, a recent study found that a whopping 68 percent of customers who defect do so because of poor service. That’s a sobering statistic. The study further noted how customers defined poor service: “an attitude of indifference on the part of employees.” So while bad service certainly causes customers to leave, indifferent service can be just as detrimental.

Nurturing Loyalty
With two out of every three customers citing poor customer service as a reason for leaving, what can your company do to achieve customer loyalty? Assuming your products and prices are competitive, you need to focus on providing superior customer service. To do that, here are three simple steps to help you make sure your customers stay with your company:

1. Look through the lens of the customer.
No matter what industry you’re in, chances are that you interact with customers at some level. Realize that customers can be drivers who want to park their cars, shoppers at a store, patrons at a bank, patients of a doctor, clients of a law firm, etc. Because customers have their choice of where to obtain goods or services, the business has to convince the customer that it truly cares. An engaged, caring employee raises the customer’s confidence that the business is looking out for the customer’s interests. When that employee suggests a new product or service, the customer trusts that his or her best interest is at heart. On the flip side, if the customer senses a lack of caring, he or she will question the motives behind any recommendations.

Every business has its jargon, so be careful to speak in a language customers understand. Successful businesses speak the language of the customer, not the language of their own industry. Take, for example, the banking industry. Would a young couple buying their first house be looking through the same lens as a customer who buys and sells real estate for a living? Of course not. That young couple purchasing their first house is excited and nervous—that is the lens with which they are experiencing this purchase. Therefore, they need loan officers who are excited for them, who explain the terms in everyday language, and
who provide information that will make their buying experience easier. A bank that shows that level of care is likely to earn that young couple’s ongoing business.

The same applies for customer complaints, which can be frustrating for customers and employees alike. As employees, we often can’t understand why a customer is making such a big deal about a particular issue. Didn’t the customer read the contract? (Probably not.) Doesn’t the customer understand that researching a problem takes time? (No.) Remember, it’s not the customer’s job to see through the business’s lens; it’s the business’s job to see through the customer’s lens and show an understanding
of the customer’s frustration.

Next time you are working with a customer, stop and ask yourself: “Am I seeing this experience through the customer’s lens?”

2. When it comes to a company’s environment, recognize that everything speaks.
Imagine visiting a fine-dining restaurant for a special occasion. You’ve been looking forward to the meal, and you’ve heard good things about the restaurant. Then imagine noticing something crusty dried to your silverware and old lipstick marks on your water glass. Wouldn’t you begin worrying about the cleanliness and quality of everything else in the restaurant? Everything speaks!

Now imagine a customer entering a place of business. She notices trash in the parking lot. When she enters the reception area, she sees delivery boxes stacked by the receptionist’s desk. She sees employees standing around eating and having personal conversations. All of this detracts from your business’s image. Consciously or unconsciously, the customer’s antenna goes up and
makes him or her question, “Do I really want to spend my money here?”

The “everything speaks” philosophy means all employees understand that even the little things count. So pay attention to everything, including whether the physical environment is neat and clean, whether all necessary supplies are available, whether
employees are dressed appropriately, etc. Anything that sticks out as wrong becomes an intrusion on the customer experience. These intrusions add up and result in customer concern. On the other hand, when customers sense an atmosphere of professionalism, care, and order, they feel a sense of confidence.

How many times have you seen employees in a business walk right past trash on the floor or a display that has been bumped
out of alignment? Employees who understand that everything speaks will take a moment to pick up some wadded paper
and straighten the display because they know such behaviors have a direct impact on the customer experience.

Take a moment to think about your company’s environment. Because everything speaks, what are the details saying about
your organization?

3. Create customer “wow”s.
Small gestures can create customer wows. Consider the housekeepers working in the hotels at Walt Disney World. Housekeepers have a tough job. Cleaning up after people on vacation is a challenge. Even in such a challenging job, Disney’s housekeepers will do little things that make guests say “wow.” For example, while spending a day in the Magic Kingdom, children will often leave their stuffed Disney characters in their hotel room. Housekeepers have been known to position the characters with playing cards in their hands or tuck the characters into the children’s bed to create a moment of magic.

Employees can do many things to create wows. Remembering a customer’s name is a huge wow, creating a feeling of family. Letting a customer know that another product may better meet their needs is another wow. Sending a goody basket with a handwritten note to that young couple who just took out their first mortgage is a wow. Some wows are small, and some are large, but make no mistake about it—wows add up.

One of the most powerful ways to create wows is to share best practices with fellow employees. Hold a company meeting so employees can share things that they have done that dazzled customers. Just talking about these behaviors increases the likelihood
that others will adopt some of the practices or create new ones of their own. It is also likely that some wows can become standard procedure, whether it’s a grocery store bakery handing out fresh-baked cookies to children or salespeople escorting customers to a product rather than simply pointing.

Next time you’re helping a customer, ask yourself, “Will my behaviors make this customer say or think ‘wow’?”

Take Action Now
Excellent service is not about policy manuals. Excellent service is about excellent behaviors. When employees focus on excellent service, the results can be magical. Customers are happy, employees are happy, and shareholders are happy. Everyone wins. The key is to make service excellence a habit. Encourage every employee to internalize the above steps so they become habits. When employees focus on these principles, your company will achieve the most powerful result of all—intense customer loyalty.

DENNIS SNOW is a speaker, consultant, and author of two books, “Lessons from the Mouse: A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life” and “Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service.” He can be reached at dennis@snowassociates.com or 407.294.1855.

TPP-2016-04 Wow Your Customers

Education & Training, Management & Human Resources, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Recognition & Awards, Resources, Technology, Transportation & Mobility

IPI Rocks Music City

October 28, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

By Kim Fernandez

This May, the 2016 IPI Conference & Expo offers more than ever before.

Nobody knows more about staying in tune than the people of Nashville, Tenn.—Music City, USA. And nobody knows more about staying in tune with parking than IPI, the biggest association of professionals in the industry. Put the two together, and it’s an unforgettable and invaluable experience, and it’s coming up next month. The 2016 IPI Conference & Expo, May 17–20, brings the most education and networking, the largest Expo in parking and transportation, and a complete professional tune-up for parking professionals to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center. You’ll harmonize with more than 3,500 peers from around the world (they’re coming from 45 countries!) and strike a chord while learning from industry leaders, engaging in high-energy sessions and roundtables, and soaking in real-world ideas and lessons you’ll take home to put to work for your organization and your career.

All of this is set against the remarkable background of Nashville, whose rich history and lively culture offer a visiting experience like no other city in the world. Ready for the parking event of the year? Read on for more information on this year’s plans, exciting events, and registration information. It’s time to tune up!

More Than Ever Before
The 2016 IPI Conference & Expo offers something for parking professionals in every segment of the industry. Whether you work in operations, management, planning and design, sustainability, or enforcement, you’ll find tremendous value in this year’s event. More than 45 education sessions in five tracks, inspiring keynotes that hit all the right notes, and the biggest parking-specific Expo in the world all combine with countless networking events to offer an invaluable experience.

Education
No matter your industry experience or expertise, you’ll find lots of new ideas in Nashville next month, organized into five unique tracks of formal education:

Personal Development. Set your personal or professional goals, and understand the difference between book smarts and street smarts.
Technology & Innovation. If it’s new or coming down the pike, it’s here. Learn about the innovations and improvements that will affect your operation.
Finance & Auditing. By the numbers—if it’s part of your spreadsheets or bottom line, it’s part of this track.
Mobility & Alternative Transportation. Learn where you and your business fit into the new mobility equation and how to make the most of these trends.
Planning, Design, & Construction. Explore best practices and take a deeper dive into more complex topics that will help you plan, build, and maintain your facilities.

Specialize in one track for in-depth education, or pick and choose for a broader experience. And don’t miss the high-energy IGNITE session, where speakers deliver their messages in rapid-fire tempo for presentations that are concise and entertaining. Looking for more? Register for one of two in-depth, pre-Conference programs and learn to become either a Green Garage Assessor or APO Site Reviewer.

All IPI Conference education sessions offer CAPP points, and candidates can also register for two multi-day CAPP courses (University of Virginia Business Management and Behind the Fine Print: A Blueprint to Parking Management, Operations, and Regulations) offered on-site. Visit ipiconference.parking.org for registration information and details.

Keynote
IPI keynote sessions are educational, inspiring, and high-energy, and this year is no exception. Meet Dennis Snow, a 20-year veteran of the Walt Disney Company, who has a passion for service excellence. Who in parking doesn’t want to provide the best customer experience possible? Snow presents “Learning a Culture of Service Excellence,” focusing on developing a service excellence strategy, executing it, cultivating buy-in and dedication from employees, and highlighting specific leadership behaviors that help hardwire excellence into an organization’s culture (see p. 26 for more).

Jump into the Park Tank™
Did you catch last year’s IPI Park Tank competition? Based on television’s popular “Shark Tank,” this is where entrepreneurs and innovators face tough parking “sharks” to try and get their dreams off the ground. This year, it’s a General Session, and you won’t want to miss the excitement! Last year’s contestants say Park Tank gave their companies huge boosts (See p. 44 in the February issue of The Parking Professional for more), and this year’s expect even more. The competition is fierce, and it’s going to be exhilarating.

The Networking!
IPI Conference & Expo veterans know there’s no networking like IPI networking—where else are the industry’s top leaders, biggest innovators, and most connected professionals together in one place, ready for a conversation day or night? This year’s event promises even more unparalleled opportunities to get to know your peers from around the world and tap into their expertise in structured events, outdoor activities, or casually walking in the halls. A few highlights:

A day of fun and introduction awaits you Tuesday, May 17, from golf to walking/running to Nashville tours (even on Segways!) and paddleboarding or ziplining.
First-time attendees and new IPI members can get to know each other on Wednesdsay, May 18, and Thursday, May 19, in casual events designed to get you oriented to the Conference and introduce you to new friends.
A Taste of Nashville, this year’s opening welcome event, takes you to the Grand Ole Opry for a reception and show like no other city can deliver (this is a two-part event; the second half at the Opry requires separate ticketing).
IPI’s Young Professionals in Parking (YPIP) will enjoy a special mixer, Beer, Ball, & BBQ, complete with a baseball game!
State & Regional Associations welcome their friends to a beer garden mixer that kicks off the Nashville experience in great style at a fabulous downtown location.

Be sure to make time to connect with new and old friends from parking at these events and lots more opportunities for networking. This is real value-added, and it’s only at IPI.

The Expo
It’s the biggest and best parking Expo in the world, and this year offers more exhibitors, products, services, innovations, technologies, and ideas than ever before, all in one massive 170,000-square-foot space (bigger than the famous Ryman Auditorium!).

Going green? It’s easy to find Green Star program exhibitors, featuring sustainable products and services, by looking for special markers on the show floor, right in front of designated booths.

Looking for in-depth insight? That’s easy too. TECHtalks are 45-minute-long presentations on the show floor that will explain different technologies and the best ways to implement them in your operations for the biggest bang.

This is that huge show your colleagues use to improve their businesses, customer service, and the bottom line. It’s the best place to see everything new under one roof, and with more than 12 hours of Expo time, you’ll be able to fully explore any future purchasing decisions. See p. 38 for a complete listing of this year’s exhibitors and to start planning your experience.

Spotlighting the Brightest
Need more inspiration? Join IPI in recognizing this year’s CAPP graduating class, Awards of Excellence, Professional Recognition Program awards, and Marketing & Communications Awards winners in presentations that will warm your heart and give you some great ideas you can put to work at home. This year, Certified Green Garage and Accredited Parking Organization (APO) leaders will also be highlighted—you’ll definitely find new ideas here.

Music City
As always, the 2016 IPI Conference & Expo takes place in a vibrant city—Nashville, Tenn., birthplace of so much of your favorite music and an experience unto itself. With fantastic restaurants, an unbelievable music scene for both up-and-comers and already-famous singers and songwriters, and charming shops and historical attractions, Nashville has something for everyone.

Did you Know:

Nashville’s United Records is one of only four remaining vinyl record manufacturers in the U.S.
The Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry, is widely considered the best theater in the nation.
Jazz and rock play a huge part of Nashville’s music history. Greats that include Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Etta James, and B.B. King played in local clubs.
Oprah Winfrey was raised in Nashville.
Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union during the Civil War and the first to be readmitted when fighting ended.
Three Presidents—Andrew Jackson, James Polk, and Andrew Johnson—were from Tennessee.
Goo Goo Clusters, considered the nation’s oldest combination candy bar and a Southern icon, are produced by the Standard Candy Company, which can make 20,000 every hour.
The Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson’s home, has a driveway in the shape of a guitar.
The Parthenon in Centennial Park is the world’s only exact replica of its famous Greek namesake.
The radio program now known as the Grand Ole Opry was founded in 1925 by the National Life & Accident Insurance Company.

Elvis Presley recorded more than 250 songs at RCA’s Studio B on Nashville’s Music Row. The red, blue, and green lights still in the studio were left over from one of his Christmas albums—the crew installed them and cranked the air conditioning as low as it would go to
get the famous musician in the holiday spirit when recording in July.

The Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center contains nine acres of indoor gardens, complete with a 44-foot waterfall, and is the largest non-gaming property in the U.S.

Nashville has more than 120 live-music venues. Those that play music four or more nights a week have guitarpick-shaped “Live Music Venue” signs.

Ready for the single best parking event of the year? Don’t miss the 2016 IPI Conference & Expo—we’ve only scraped the surface of all the excitement and value. For more information, Conference registration, and everything you need to reserve your room at the Gaylord Opryland, visit IPIConference.parking.org—don’t wait! We can’t wait to welcome you to Nashville!

KIM FERNANDEZ is editor of The Parking Professional. She can be reached at fernandez@parking.org.

TPP-2016-04 IPI Rocks Music City

Case Studies, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Research, Resources, Safety & Security, Transportation & Mobility

ICE PARKING

October 26, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

By Ryan J. Givens, CAPP

The unusual parking challenges faced at Penn State (and the creative solutions that worked) when a new ice arena was constructed on campus.

What university wouldn’t love a brand-new ice arena for its hockey team? While it was certainly exciting (for all the right reasons) when Penn State opened its new facility more than two years ago, the arena also presented unusual challenges when it came to parking. Fortunately, it was nothing a little creative thinking couldn’t solve.

In September 2010, Terry and Kim Pegula donated $88 million to The Pennsylvania State University—the largest private gift in the university’s history—to fund a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose ice arena that would help establish NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs. In 2012, during the groundbreaking ceremony, it was announced that the donation amount had increased to $102 million. The money covered additional construction costs for the arena, operational costs, and some additional scholarships.

I did not start my employment with Penn State until January 2012, but as a lifelong hockey fan, I was already well aware of the pending construction of the arena and very excited to know I was moving to an area where there would be Division I hockey programs just a short drive from my new home. But as a parking professional, seeing the final site selection for the new arena brought on some serious concerns and worries. These concerns and visions of challenging parking situations emerged before I’d really begun to understand the ins and outs of the campus parking program and day-to-day parking requirements at Penn State.

The Arena
Allow me to paint a picture of where the Pegula Ice Arena (PIA) was built in relation to other campus buildings and facilities. In many ways, the eastern side of the University Park campus is a large athletic compound. To the south of PIA is Holuba Hall, an indoor practice facility for many of the sports teams; the Lasch football complex; an indoor and outdoor tennis complex; and the East Area Locker Rooms Building, which houses many of the sports teams’ locker rooms along with training and rehabilitation facilities. Located to the west of PIA is the field hockey complex and beyond that, the natatorium (swimming pool facility). To the north of PIA is the recently renovated and expanded Intramural (IM) Building, and to the east is the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC), which hosts the Penn State basketball teams, concerts, and other events. Just past that to the northeast is the 107,000-seat Beaver Stadium. Also in the vicinity of PIA are several other sports facilities, the military ROTC building, and the building that houses the admissions and bursar’s offices.

Most of the parking lots close to PIA are primarily permitted faculty and staff parking areas, with a few larger commuter parking lots in the vicinity as well. The faculty and staff lots are allocated to around 107 percent and reserved for permit holders to either 5 or 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. That higher allocation level still provides us the ability to handle daily permitted parking demand. PIA is open to the public daily from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m., sometimes opening even earlier and staying open later than posted operations hours. Daily activities inside PIA include public skate times, ice skating classes, other ice programs, a coffee club, youth and adult hockey leagues, small conferences, meetings, luncheons, and other regular events. The lots around PIA are permitted, so the most significant day-to-day challenge is providing enough parking for PIA patrons so they have a positive customer experience while ensuring our permit holders can still find spaces. One of the most important things we strive to do within transportation services is ensure that everyone who comes to campus has a positive experience. We do not want to be the reason a patron of the PIA, the campus hotels, or any other facility or venue does not return.

While PIA was under construction, we already were giving strong consideration to adding multi-space pay stations at selected locations on campus. One unique situation we faced was that one of the lots adjacent to PIA is the primary lot for the daily customers of the admissions and bursar’s offices. Additionally, many of our faculty and staff permit holders had voiced preemptive concerns about how PIA was going to affect the availability of parking for them, their personnel, and their daily customers. Knowing where we could assign PIA patron parking and in what amounts, we determined the best way to immediately address these issues was by moving forward with the plan to add multi-space pay stations strategically around PIA, which we did in late 2013. Depending on the lot regulations and number of additional daily patrons we could handle, we set up the multi-space pay stations either on a pay-by-space basis to limit parking to one-hour or pay-by plate in lots where we could handle large volumes and allow longer transient daily parking.

Meeting Challenges
For the most part, deployment of the pay stations, along with significant communications efforts, have worked very well and minimized most potential day-to-day conflicts. There have been two recurring situations, no matter our efforts, that lead to the majority of parking citations issued in the area:

Inside the arena is a well-known sub sandwich chain. Many customers knowing or thinking they are only going to be inside 15 to 30 minutes choose to gamble and risk not paying the $1 hourly rate at the pay station. Unfortunately, those visits often end with someone’s sandwich becoming quite expensive.
The faculty and staff lot with multi-space pay stations is reserved until 5 p.m.—not 9 p.m. like other facilities. Some PIA patrons and campus visitors take a chance that they will not receive a ticket between 4:30 and 4:59 p.m. Many have found through experience that this is not the case. We have to continually use directed enforcement in this area to garner better compliance and keep it from becoming an overwhelming issue.

An interesting situation that we’re glad has only happened a few times occurs when PIA patrons use the pay station before entering the building; once there, they find out the public skate or class has been cancelled. These patrons want to be reimbursed for the hour or two of parking they paid for prior to entering the arena. Needless to say, this has resulted in some very interesting conversations with upset patrons and PIA staff. Even though our office wasn’t responsible for the mix-up, we’ve tried to be good partners and work to come up with solutions for each situation.

Some of these situations may be unique to a campus ice arena, but for the most part, the challenges we have faced are not much different then what many other universities face on a daily basis somewhere on campus. Parking for men’s hockey games, though, is really where more of our challenges have existed.

Game Day Parking
PIA holds a maximum capacity of approximately 6,100 patrons for each hockey game. Without competing events in surrounding venues nearby, there is more than ample parking within the vicinity of the arena to handle the demand. One of the specific event-parking challenges is that three of the lots designated as premium hockey game parking are reserved faculty and staff lots during the day; this includes the lot that serves the admissions and bursar’s offices. Changeovers from daily employee parking to premium parking on event nights required a limit to be placed on the number of hockey premium parking permits that were distributed. We worked very closely with Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) to develop the initial premium parking permit distribution numbers and continue to work with ICA prior to each season to determine if modifications are needed.

We also knew that for games that started after early afternoon, it is often dark, cold, and windy, and there are overlapping events during hockey games. A solution was needed that created visibility for police officers and parking attendants as vehicles approached, sim plicity for season-ticket holders, and less exposure to the elements for our parking attendants on cold evenings and afternoons. Frank Pope, event parking coordinator, came up with an excellent concept for our three hockey premium parking lots: a game-specific, lot-specific, oversized hangtag made of reflective material that incorporates a detachable voucher that is collected by event parking attendants. These hangtags have worked so well for men’s hockey that a similar hangtag is now in use for the special parking areas for men’s and women’s basketball.

Building In More
When a nearby commuter lot was expanded, we took the opportunity to add more than 50 magnetic plates and Gorilla Post space delineators in the lot. These have not only allowed us the flexibility and ability to properly size the space we capture for Americans with Disabilities Act-parking patrons and premium overflow, but additional plates added later allow us the ability to control traffic flow out of some specific lots. This was very important in one of the lots during changeover from daily employee parking to premium parking, when failing to control the direction of exiting traffic added congestion and wait times to both the exiting and incoming vehicles. The posts are now used in several event lots and for many different events.

Addressing parking for hockey and a new arena required us to take our event parking planning to a new level as constant adaptability, creativity, and innovation became increasingly necessary pieces of our event parking operations. Never before did we need a tiered event-parking rate. Those attending non-athletic events without permits or vouchers paid $10 per vehicle; athletic event parking cost $5 per vehicle. Last season and again early this year, we anticipated almost sellout crowds—more than 15,000—attending a non-athletic event and a PIA sellout crowd of 6,100 for men’s hockey.

We put in place a tiered system for these events: $10 per vehicle in lots immediately adjacent to the events and $5 per vehicle to park in two parking decks about a quarter mile to the west. Hockey patrons are used to only paying $5 per vehicle so this was a change for them. The tiered rate was implemented to incentivize people to park farther away for a lower rate and try to spread out the parking through more locations to help ease the stress placed on the roadway infrastructure on and near campus. Spreading more parking to the west better allows university police officers to direct traffic in opposite directions post-event, rather than having thousands of cars try to exit in the same direction.

Creative Thinking
A typical hockey weekend consists of a Friday evening game and Saturday afternoon game that starts sometime between noon and 4 p.m. Several weeks ago, we had to take unusual steps to ensure that premium hockey parking would be available for the Saturday game; also scheduled that day were a men’s basketball game in the BJC, an all-day swimming event in the natatorium, an all-day volleyball tournament in the IM Building, and non-varsity hockey games on both ice rinks in PIA prior to the men’s game, plus several other smaller events. With so many events taking place, it would be very difficult to maintain premium hockey parking. We could have selected to staff the event lots very early in the morning, but this would lead to hours of many face-to-face discussions involving our event staff personnel being yelled at, which would be an onerous and unfair situation for them.

After much deliberation, we decided to communicate that we would be securing and locking those lots about an hour after the Friday night game. They would then reopen only after event-parking personnel staffed their positions for the Saturday game. Through the efforts and collaboration of our department, intercollegiate athletics department, and university police, we distributed the information, put up the necessary signage, and put in place steps to be taken if a vehicle was locked in one of the lots overnight. The new system was a huge success, with the only real complaint being from a basketball patron who was upset he could not park in one of these lots for free.

We continue to learn, adapt, and use creativity and innovation as opportunities present themselves. To date, we have conducted event parking for 48 Penn State men’s hockey games. The tremendous efforts of our event parking team and collaboration with others have successfully allowed all patrons to park in their respective lots for 47 of those games. We are not pleased that for one particular game all of the conflicting circumstances resulted in some customers having a less-than-positive customer experience. However, we are very proud of the constant professionalism and efforts displayed by our team, the learning-moment opportunities presented that we have capitalized on, and the overall high level of exceptional customer service we provide to our customers and our partners, ICA, PIA, and the BJC. If you ever have an opportunity to be in Hockey Valley during
hockey season, please come to a game. We would be happy to park you.

RYAN J. GIVENS, CAPP is associate director of transportation services at The Pennsylvania State University. He can be reached at rjg22@psu.edu.

TPP-2016-03 Ice Parking

Education & Training, Frontline, Management & Human Resources, Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

BECOMING OUTSTANDING

October 26, 2016 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

By Cindy Campbell

Customer service is an interesting thing, isn’t it? As with most service industries, it seems as if parking agencies talk about customer service and how to deliver it ad nauseam. We all want to be on the receiving end of superior service delivery, but many still struggle with how to define and deliver it. Oh sure, there are the routine descriptors: Friendly, helpful, kind, congenial, accommodating. All of these are true enough, but what tools are we providing within our organizations to deliver this top-level service?

I recently spent three days at a hotel property that I will not soon forget, and I mean that in the best possible way. From the moment I arrived, every interaction I had with hotel staff was exceptional. Everyone was accommodating, personable, and kind, but it went deeper than that. Across the board, they all seemed to genuinely like being there.

On the last day of my stay, I had a conversation with a young woman who had been my server each morning at breakfast. I shared my observations about the exceptional service I’d enjoyed throughout the hotel. She was appreciative of my comments, yet she didn’t seem at all surprised. During our brief discussion, she talked about the hotel management’s philosophy of service: Employees need to feel good about what they do and what they’re empowered to do for the customer.

She told me about daily employee briefings. They celebrate each other’s successes on an ongoing basis. “I feel really supported by my supervisors and my team of co-workers,” she said. The smile on her face gave me no reason to doubt her sincerity. I asked her if this was the first hotel property she had worked for. It was not—she had worked for other properties prior to getting this position about three years ago. “I’ll be honest,” she said, “it was a bit of a culture shock to me at the beginning, but they provide a lot of training on how things are to be done here. I’ve never worked anywhere that had such high standards, but I can tell you that I’ve never been happier. I really like what I do. I like our team.”

Does this theory of service translate to parking? I think it can and should, but we sometimes inadvertently overlook the critical step of building a strong team before we ask our team members to go out and individually deliver service.

Translating to Parking
If you’re contemplating how to go about improving customer service delivery within your organization, here are five points worth considering as you set the stage for success:

Effective customer service requires teamwork. While most staff work independently, it’s important to emphasize that they belong to a larger team. Training is required to effectively think and work like a team.
Hold team meetings or pre-shift briefings. Daily is best but not always feasible. In the absence of daily face-to-face briefings, post updates online or on a team briefing board. Make sure to include praise and positive comments received about team members.
Empower your staff. Once they’ve been trained to perform their job tasks, give them enough latitude to independently do good things for customers. I once worked for a police chief who always said, “Empower your team. You’ll find that 98 percent of the time, they’ll do good things on our behalf. We can deal with the other 2 percent.”
Make customer follow-up a high priority. An organization that doesn’t place high value on timely follow-up with customers will have difficulty being perceived as professional and customer service-oriented.
Encourage team members to feel good about themselves and what they do. Acknowledge and celebrate successes. Large or small, all positive feedback received from customers, supervisors, and other team members should be shared. Acknowledge good work and noble efforts. Offer praise for professionally dealing with a challenging customer.

They say that an organization’s reputation is only as good as the service it delivers. What is your organization’s current reputation?

CINDY CAMPBELL is IPI’s senior training and development specialist. She is available for onsite training and professional development and can be reached at campbell@parking.org.

TPP-2016-03 Becoming Outstanding