Caffeine, Attitude, and Dressing for the Job You Want

By Cindy Campbell

I’M NOT MUCH OF A MORNING PERSON. If you know me, you can appreciate what an understatement this is. On a recent business trip, my schedule required me to rise and shine several hours earlier than normal. It was 5 a.m.when I stumbled into the hotel coffee shop for my requisite caffeine infusion.

“Well, good morning,” said the smiling young man who greeted me. “My name is James, and I have the honor of serving you this morning. So, what has you up and going so early?” Now, I promise, I really tried to put an intelligent reply together but to no avail. He assured me that most of his customers at that hour of the day were still groggy and in need of a coffee. This young man clearly had my number.

James made sure I had a comfortable seat right next to the coffee station. “You know, we have coffee available all day long for our guests. Come back as often as you’d like. May I show you around the buffet? I’d be happy to.” Realizing that I must be giving off a pathetic vibe, I smiled, declined his offer, and thanked him for his kindness.

With breakfast and a sufficient amount of caffeine fortification, it was time to figure out my transportation options for the day. Once again, I turned to James. He was happy to give me his insider tips on smart commuting around San Francisco. “Are you ready to head out now?” he asked. I told him I was, and with that, he helped me gather my belongings and walked me outside to introduce me to Michael the doorman. “Michael, Ms. Campbell needs our assistance in getting to a meeting this morning. Please take great care of her for me.” With that, James shook my hand and told me to come back to see him again soon.

It’s about Attitude
As I hopped into the Uber, I felt, well, special! James went out of his way to make me feel valued and important. Were all of his efforts just a part of his duties as a café waiter? Hardly. My guess is that like many of us, James has loftier career plans. He was likely living out the old adage about dressing for the job you want, not the job you have. The thing about that saying is that it’s not really about clothing; it’s about attitude. In our careers, we sometimes focus on what we don’t have, haven’t achieved, or what we think we rightfully should have attained “by now.” Rather than consistently concentrating on the path to getting there, we feel frustrated and lament our current circumstances. Resentment can creep in when we aren’t professionally progressing at the pace we might feel we deserve. When our thoughts and attitudes include a healthy dose of resentment or indignation, we can unintentionally inhibit our ability to progress.

Playing to Win
Attaining the position you ultimately want is a little like winning the lottery: You’ve actually got to play to win. It’s rare for a lottery winner to hit it big his first time playing. So, are you playing? Are you committed to consistently putting yourself in the best position to be noticed or promoted? Let’s face it, not every effort is going to be rewarded, but to be successful, we must consciously set aside our failed attempts and disappointments and not allow them to dissuade us from our goals. Ask yourself: What steps am I taking to improve my chances of achieving my professional goals? Am I willing to apply my knowledge and skill set to a position that may provide me with a better vantage point or afford me an opportunity to attain my ultimate goals?

Thinking about it now, I wish I had the forethought to ask James what his ultimate career goals were. With his attitude and people skills, he would make an awesome parking professional. Seems logical to me.

TPP-2018-05 Caffeine, Attitude, and Dressing for the Job You Want

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. 

Managing Municipal Parking

By Daniel Fortinberry

Creating and maintaining an effective operation requires synergy in the system.  

Although municipal parking operations may vary slightly and be concentrated to one or more components that make up the system, the general design usually includes a mix of on- and off-street parking and in some cases, a violations-processing department with or without operation of a vehicle impound facility. In all cases, the primary goal of a municipal parking system remains the same: to ensure adequate and accessible parking for users. Equally important is the underlying and unofficial focus of providing a service to visitors, employees, customers, and business owners without directly competing with private operators.

This balancing act has created numerous challenges for municipal parking systems, whether they are operated by a city, a parking authority, or have been outsourced through a public-private partnership. The idea that municipal parking systems are designed to be revenue-expense-neutral is quickly becoming an antiquated notion, and managers are always searching for ways to realize increased financial benefits from their municipal parking operations. The upside to this new reality is that when they’re managed correctly, municipal parking systems are uniquely designed to meet these needs and eliminate traditional obstacles to growth and profitability, significantly contributing to economic development.

Thanks to the direct correlation of municipal parking operations and successful economic development, city managers and top officials are taking notice of municipal parking more than ever and demanding much more of the parking professionals responsible for managing municipal parking systems. This has created a need to find innovative and strategic approaches to operating municipal parking.

The Business Model
The key to operating a successful municipal parking operation is leveraging the system design and creating synergy within the structure. This can be accomplished by creating a business model that places the responsibility and decision-making authority within one department with a leader and management staff who are empowered to drive results by:

• Maximizing revenue.
• Eliminating, reducing, and controlling expenses.
• Removing traditional causes of inefficiency and ­ineffectiveness.
• Creating and implementing customer service programs that best serve the users of the parking system.

Creating synergy by leveraging the system design of a municipal parking operation has multiple benefits, and the system design creates an environment that allows for cost savings and maximized revenue. This same design and approach to managing municipal parking places the parking professional strategically in the middle of economic development activity, which is essential due to the direct effect of parking on successful positive growth within a developing market.

A centrally controlled decision-making model allows the parking professional to operate the system as a business instead of an amenity. Although labor and management agreements may create special circumstances that limit taking full advantage of the system design, some strategies can create synergy that will lead to long-term sustainable growth for the parking system and success for the municipality it serves.

Strategies that leverage the system design can be divided into areas that positively affect the operation based on financial results, increase the operational effectiveness and efficiency, reduce risk to the organization, and positively impact economic development.

Cross-trained Staff
Cross-training your parking staff to work at a high level in all the functional divisions of the parking system is critical to leveraging the system design of a municipal parking operation. A cross-trained parking staff reduces downtime in garages and on the street by ensuring fully trained backup employees are at the ready, thus maintaining and, in some instances, increasing the time during which revenue can be collected.

Operationally, a cross-trained staff benefits the organization by allowing for a more efficient staffing and scheduling process; cross-training employees also creates career paths for high-performing, motivated employees. This allows the management team to utilize employees where they are most suited and enjoy working while increasing employee satisfaction and retention by varying work assignments and reducing monotony.

Common Policies and Procedures
Developing policies and procedures is at best a difficult task that can be further complicated when each division of a parking operation is responsible for developing separate policies and procedures. With the exception of very specific details related to the different positions within separate functional departments of a municipal parking operation, policies and procedures are similar.

The obvious benefit to having shared policies and procedures is the elimination of redundancy. A shared set of policies and procedures creates consistency within the parking operation, streamlines processes and ­decision-making, and allows the parking operation to create, implement, and be accountable to a common set of goals and objectives. Common policies and procedures give management and staff a consistent environment to operate with fewer obstacles related to efficiency and effectiveness.

Shared Assets and Costs
Another opportunity to leverage the system design and create synergy with a parking operation is through the deliberate consolidation of assets and costs, specifically fixed expenses such as personnel, office space, utilities, taxes, and other related costs. High-dollar expenses such as IT service contracts, insurance, and debt service can also be reduced as a result of consolidation and eliminating redundancy with the operation. The ability to eliminate and consolidate support personnel for several different divisions within the parking system is the best opportunity for savings. The technology-driven business models of today offer a seemingly endless supply of applications for handling human resources, accounts payable and receivable, accounting, reporting, etc. that allow for greater efficiency and effectiveness with a smaller workforce.

In addition to personnel-cost consolidation savings, the system design of a well-managed municipal parking operation allows for other cost reductions and benefits with regard to vehicle fleets, maintenance shops, equipment repair turnaround times, customer service response time, and monthly reporting. Sharing costs and assets within the parking system increases efficiency and effectiveness and can contribute to positive bottom-line growth.

Risk Reduction/Business Continuity
The cyclical nature of parking and the direct effect of economic factors on a municipal parking operation expose the system to considerable risk. New construction and traffic grid changes affect on-street operations, and a soft economy impacts businesses and employees in downtown areas. This directly affects the off- and on-street operations’ ability to deliver positive financial results. Companies moving from the downtown to other locations or simply going out of business can influence the parking demand for a municipality.

The likelihood of one or more of these situations occurring at any given time is probable, but the system design can mitigate this negative impact significantly: It allows for ebb-and-flow activity within a market by balancing high-performing divisions with the underperforming ones. This risk reduction and balancing act is not possible within a fragmented parking system.

Expert in the Market/Single Point of Contact
The realization that parking is integral for long-term, sustainable economic growth has been the impetus for parking professionals who can analyze markets, gather statistical data, interpret and report on this data, and create and implement parking management plans for municipal parking operations. Parking professionals are now part of the planning and development stages of development projects, fully involved with business planning and budgeting for cities and municipalities, and completely engaged with the community leaders and officials. They are experts in their markets.

A fragmented parking system that cannot leverage the system design can only offer a limited professional opinion in matters that require a comprehensive view. A parking system is thusly named in that it represents an organization that has parts that are affected by other parts. The on-street operation is integral for a successful off-street operation and vice versa. Properly managed parking systems can effectively manage parking supply and demand by adjusting rates, enforcement, and hours of operation.

Parking information needs to be complete and comprehensive in order to be a benefit to the economic development process. Having a single point of contact who is a professional in the industry is the best way to ensure that parking is an asset to a developing market.

Customer-focused Service Model
Parking is a service, and a successful parking operation holds to the same principles any customer-service-­oriented business does. And just as with any customer-service-oriented business, municipal parking operations are concerned with attracting, retaining, and creating faithful returning customers. Moreover, it can be argued that municipal parking operations are held to even higher standards of service due to the nature of business and the fact that they deal with the public domain. The same advantages outlined regarding the system design and synergy-related efficiency, effectiveness, and cost savings can be applied to providing outstanding customer service. A fragmented parking operation can offer only a portion of the customer service completion loop.

A customer’s experience with parking may include finding accessible parking, paying for parking, receiving a citation, appealing a citation, and paying for a citation. When the response to and management of these activities occur within a single department, the customer service completion loop can be closed with little to no unacceptable delay. When this chain of activity is broken into links that are handled by separate entities or departments, there is a greater risk of providing less than satisfactory customer service.

Knowing that customers’ perception of their parking experience can form their opinion of their total experience should create the desire for parking system managers to provide the best customer service possible.

Leveraging the system design and creating synergy within a municipal parking operation is possible and can be accomplished by making a plan that holds the goals and objectives of the parking operation at the forefront, collecting good information, educating those that will benefit from the results, and staying the course through potential resistance.

TPP-2017-11 Managing Municipal Parking

DANIEL FORTINBERRY, CAPP, is parking division manager with the City of Cincinnati, Ohio. He can be reached at daniel.fortinberry@cincinnati-oh.gov.

Got Lot? 

By Kim Fernandez

Tap into this teen driving program and rev up community relations. 

In 2008, National Hot Rod Association drag racing star Doug Herbert experienced a family tragety that put his career on a different course. Herbert’s sons, new driver Jon, 17, and James, 12, were driving to a fast-food restaurant when their car slammed into the back of a large SUV, destroying the vehicle and killing both boys.

Herbert’s life changed forever, and he soon took action so fewer families would face the same kind of tragedy. He learned that car accidents are the leading killer of teens ages 15 to 19—worse than the next four causes combined—and it was an easy decision to put his unique driving knowledge and skills to use to teach kids how to drive in ways they don’t learn through traditional driver’s education programs. It wasn’t long before Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe (B.R.A.K.E.S) was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to teach teens and their parents how to drive proactively and safely, even in (especially in) crisis situations. Since then, more than 20,000 teens have been trained to drive safer, and more than 20,000 parents have been coached to monitor and help their kids develop excellent driving skills.

This year, 45 weekends of B.R.A.K.E.S training will be presented in 25 cities across the U.S. The nonprofit has plans to grow its successful program to more of the country but needs help—and that’s where the parking industry comes in.

The Program
The B.R.A.K.E.S program is presented to teen drivers and their parents at no charge, and there’s frequently a wait list. “This is not a learn-to-drive school,” says Scott McKee, strategic counsel to the organization. “People sometimes misconstrue what we do for driver’s ed. It’s definitely not that. It’s a AAA-certified advanced driver training. We put kids behind the wheel and teach them to get out of the situations that cause the greatest number of crashes and fatalities for new drivers: controlling a skid, dealing with a wheel dropping off the side of the pavement, using ABS braking in a panic situation, emergency lane changes and avoidance, distracted driving, and some ancillary lessons depending on location.”

The class starts with Doug Herbert’s personal experience. “He had the world by the tail,” says ­McKee. “Eight years ago, his two sons were killed in a car crash a mile and a half from his house while going to McDonald’s. The problem was inexperience—a new driver who didn’t have the skills to recognize the danger of what he was doing and get himself out of the situation.”

After an introductory talk, B.R.A.K.E.S. students get behind the wheel with trained and experienced instructors to face common situations that require more advanced driving skills. Twenty-one instructors are onsite each weekend of the program, offering a student-to-teacher ratio of three to one, so each student gets lots of time driving and practicing. Many are former professional race car drivers, some teach race car drivers, and some are driving instructors from the FBI, CIA, U.S. State Department, and armed services.

“Doug started by training James and Jon’s classmates,” says McKee. “He trained 50 kids the first year. He’s a racer, and he has contacts and friends who make a living being good drivers, and by the end of that year, he had another 300 parents lined up so he could train their kids.” All students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and many bring both. “At the end of this year,” says McKee, “including parents, we’ll be knocking on the door of 50,000 safer drivers on the road because of B.R.A.K.E.S.”

Teens in the program aren’t just starting out. They must have their learner’s permits and at least 30 hours behind the wheel themselves. Many students are older teens but because new drivers are trending older than they used to, haven’t been driving very long when they arrive at B.R.A.K.E.S.

The program has proven extraordinarily popular. “In Charlotte where we are based and where we do a school once a month, we have 500 to 1,000 people on the wait list at any time,” says McKee. “There’s a whole big country out there. We’ve gone to 18 different states and have had students from 40 states and three countries. People get on planes so their kids can do this.”

Once word gets out about the program in a city, he says, the wait list starts growing. “If we can go to a city three or four times a year, word of mouth takes over,” he says. “We then have a situation where we have a nonstop wait list.” And while that seems like a good thing to most businesses, for B.R.A.K.E.S., it means more kids need training in less time. “It’s a huge program,” says McKee. “Massive.”

What’s preventing the scheduling of more classes to meet demand? A shortage of parking facilities, for one thing. That’s why, B.R.A.K.E.S. and IPI are forming a collaborative effort to help spread the program and do good in individual communities, which is a win-win for everyone.

Parking and B.R.A.K.E.S.
The first thing that’s needed for a B.R.A.K.E.S. weekend is a large, empty parking lot. A lot of about 400,000 to 500,000 square feet of open space is ideal for advanced driving maneuvers. B.R.A.K.E.S. trucks in its own vehicles and provides instructors, but there are other things they need to make the program happen:

• Tent or building for classroom instruction.
• Restrooms or four port-a-potties.
• Available hotel rooms for instructors close to the instruction site.
• Snacks and drinks, which can be donated by restaurants or grocery stores, along with lunch for instructors and volunteers on Saturday and Sunday.
• Volunteers: The program requires five to six for each weekend.
• Close proximity to an airport.
• Permits: Many sites require permits from local fire departments or municipalities.
• Tables and chairs for classroom work.

B.R.A.K.E.S. provides insurance and registration for each program.

“The goal for 2017 is to have 50 weekends of programs in 38 cities that want us to come,” says Mimi Sabates, executive vice president. “We need financial and other support on the ground, which means donating money or a facility, and we need feet on the ground, meaning a team of people to get the word out locally.” She says it’s helpful to have a local sponsor who can help offset costs, including transporting vehicles and instructors to accommodate more teens in each class. Local media frequently cover the program, she says, which is nice publicity for parking facilities that are able to host it.

The Difference
McKee says B.R.A.K.E.S.’s program is proven and that parents and teens say it may be the best thing they ever did to help kids become better, safer drivers. “There’s this light-bulb moment and transformation when kids realize how little they know and how much more they can learn,” he says. “Some of the kids are really annoyed when they show up. You can tell who’s had a fight in the car on the way there. But by the end of the class, the parents and teens have had this bonding, common experience. they’re all smiles, and they realize how much they didn’t know before and that their parents brought them there out of genuine love and concern.”

B.R.A.K.E.S. is eager to talk with parking organizations that are interested in partnering to present teaching weekends in communities around the U.S. To learn more and get involved, visit PutOnTheBrakes.org.

TPP-2017-11 Got Lot

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

Getting Connected

By Mark Braibanti

What changes in technology mean for parking and municipalities in the 21st century and beyond.

Did you know drivers waste more than 55 hours every year looking for parking? Studies also show that up to 30 percent of traffic in urban areas is a result of drivers circling the block in search of that elusive parking spot. This figure doesn’t even account for the number of times drivers have abandoned their search for a parking space entirely. The point is, finding parking can be painful and is one of the biggest issues facing drivers, automakers, parking operators, and municipalities.

What can ease this pain? Widespread access to dynamic real-time information is key. As the connected car continues to evolve, real-time parking information is becoming a staple of innovation and a necessary component of the overall driving experience. Cars are no longer just for getting from point A to point B—drivers want to know where, when, and how to park.

As emphasized by Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, “The auto industry is poised for more change in the next five to 10 years than it’s seen in the past 50.” The growing millennial population, in combination with rapidly improving technology, is the stimulus for this change. Vehicle miles traveled actually decreased between 2003 and 2014 in the United States, but as a former traffic commissioner of New York City noted, “It wasn’t caused by the recession. It was millennials. They were driving 20 to 25 percent fewer miles. That was extraordinary, and the trend was that driving and parking [for millennials] was a hassle.” As vehicle miles started to decrease, innovative technology, digitization, increased connectivity, and the millennial generation began fueling the demand for smarter, more integrated driving experiences.

Poised for Change
In 1908, Ford Motors’ Model T was released to the public and became the first mass-produced commercially available automobile. As explained by Mashable’s James O’Brien, this was the “technological starting point for the car as not only a thing people could go out and buy, but also as a medium for new ideas with which future developers could work.”4 From then on, the auto industry took off, from performance improvements such as electric ignitions, four-wheel brakes, and power steering, to the adoption of an entire driving experience with the advent of cigarette lighters, car radios, and CD players.
We are now in an era of data-centricity, with complex technology and algorithms improving diagnostics, navigation, and hybrid vehicles. Among the technological innovations surfacing in the auto industry right now are what we call the ACES: autonomous, connected, electric, and shared vehicles.

Autonomous cars are defined as vehicles capable of sensing their environments and navigating without human input, such as those being tested by Google, Tesla, and Uber. They rely on connected car technology to safely drive themselves. Relatedly, connected cars are, as the title infers, connected to the internet. Connected cars provide a wide array of services for safety, navigation, convenience, and entertainment. All of these services rely on analyzing large amounts of big data so these cars are constantly collecting and analyzing information for the greater good.

Electric cars are the oldest current trend, but ownership of these vehicles continues to increase. Lastly, shared vehicles have recently taken off and are causing a slight panic in the auto, taxi, and parking industries. The millennial generation is showing a preference for using services such as Uber and Lyft over car ownership. Ironically, this trend is actually pushing automakers toward creating better connected cars to compete.

Finding Its Own Parking
By 2020, BI Intelligence estimates that 75 percent of cars shipped globally will be equipped with internet connectivity.5 That equates to more than 250 million connected cars on the road in just four years. Compared with 25 million connected cars in 2015, this movement toward connected services represents a significant shift in technological needs for the auto industry. Manufacturers are increasing their production and working quickly to offer connected features to stay competitive and on pace with consumer demand.

In addition to improving our lives through more efficient mobility, improved safety, and less environmental damage, connected cars are dramatically affecting how people park. The current parking experience can be one of frustration, wasted time, and often, disappointment. It’s painful for drivers who are faced with a non-uniform experience across lots and cities—experiences that include complicated non-standardized rate structures, limited payment options, and the stress of spending more than 20 minutes on average trying to find a parking spot during peak hours.6 Cities suffer too as uninformed drivers cause traffic delays as they circle the block looking for spots.

As much as real-time traffic is now viewed as being a necessity, drivers in the near future will expect their cars to help them easily find the closest and cheapest available parking, compare parking prices, types, etc., and pay conveniently and seamlessly.

Data-Centric, Dynamic Occupancy Models
Many connected cars already offer parking information through their navigation systems, but dynamic parking information is currently one of the strongest developing trends in the connected auto industry. Drivers want to know more than where a parking lot is—they want to know if there are spots available in lots near their destinations, in real-time.
As you likely read in the news recently, during the past five years, companies that focus on technology are beginning to transform the way people park their cars. In 2013, INRIX Parking launched the industry’s first parking navigation service to provide real-time parking information in connected cars. Two years later, it launched the first integrated on-street parking solution in partnership with BMW. Since then, automakers, including Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Volkswagen, have implemented the technology to help drivers save time, fuel, and frustration. Developers have also begun to integrate dynamic parking information into their existing products through partnerships with existing platforms such as Google’s Waze.

The technology used to determine occupancy levels instantaneously requires complex aggregation of a variety of data sources—from integrating with existing infrastructure such as smart parking meters, to analyzing historical occupancy data, to collecting data directly from vehicles. For example, our company has a portfolio of data gathered from a network of 275 million vehicles and connected devices that incorporates anonymous real-time insights from partners in the auto industry. By collecting, refining, and analyzing all of this big data, we can accurately predict where parking is available and incorporate the information directly into a car’s navigation system.

Connected vehicles transmit a wide range of data that can be collected and used to predict current parking availability on city streets and at off-street parking facilities. Cars equipped with light detection and ranging sensors, usually used to let you know if you are getting too close to objects in the road, can be used to detect where open parking spaces are located as you drive.

For off-street parking, technology can tap directly into occupancy information from gates, loops, and pay stations. Partnerships with equipment makers help convert this massive amount of data into a format that can be used by automakers, cities, government agencies, and app developers.

For the development of on-street parking occupancy technology, driver-generated data such as vehicle location, speed, and direction help create a reliable, real-time availability model. A myriad of connected-car data points are processed into individual anonymized trips with distinct starting and ending points to understand vehicle location in relation to metered zones. Initial tests showed that this model achieved 80 percent accuracy when the zone size was optimized to capture as many arrivals and departures as possible, without capturing driving behavior unrelated to parking.

The addition of GPS navigation and city data further optimize both the on-street and off-street parking experience for drivers of connected vehicles as they are routed in real-time to the location of available parking spaces and forewarned of any parking restriction for a given spot, ensuring drivers are not led to an inaccessible or illegal parking space.

Digital Payments
As business and consumers alike increasingly transition to a variety of forms of digital payment, the auto industry is taking note and integrating the ability to pay for parking, both off- and on-street, via a vehicle’s navigation dashboard. With payments available via smartphone and car, drivers can easily handle parking transactions on the go.

The Future
According to analysts at Frost & Sullivan, searching for parking costs consumers and local economies nearly $600 million in wasted time and fuel every year.

The connected car will affect every facet of the transportation, parking, and city planning industries. This makes connecting every component of the parking eco-­system to cars an essential part of the path forward. If not, parking lots risk being invisible to drivers if they aren’t integrated into the next generation of connected cars.

Much as cities were unprepared for ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, we cannot overlook the importance of connected cars. A new study conducted by the National League of Cities recently revealed that 94 percent of the world’s cities are not prepared to deal with autonomous cars.8 Cities and parking operators will soon begin to feel the effect of connected vehicles on their parking facilities. As an industry, we must embrace the connected car, or we will miss out on a whole host of benefits, from increased revenue to optimized parking management and reduced congestion. Collaboration is the key to innovation, so we must all work together to be at the forefront of the connected car revolution to drive parking into the 21st century.

TPP-2017-11 Getting Connected

MARK BRAIBANTI is director of marketing at INRIX. He can be reached at mark.braibanti@inrix.com.

A Beautiful Thing
By Mitch Karon, CAPP

How a municipal parking authority uses outdoor advertising to lend spark to its garages while boosting revenue. 

During my 16 years as executive director of the New Brunswick Parking Authority (NBPA), I have personally been involved with the development and construction of four parking garages. The comment we hear most often during the planning stage is, “Oh no, not another ugly parking garage!” While dressing up the façade of a garage would be welcome by all involved, financial constraints have prevented our authority from doing so. The greater construction costs would result in the need for higher parking fees. Higher parking fees tend to be bad for business, and we need to be conscious of the public’s needs and accessibility to affordable public parking. And so we started asking how we could afford to make our structures more aesthetically pleasing without raising rates. And we found the answer!

In 2013, the NBPA was involved in a public-private partnership development called the Gateway/Transit Village Project. When completed, this multi-use structure would consist of a 10-level garage that served as the foundation for retail space on the street level and a 24-story residential tower. It would also be home to six floors of office space; all told, it would be the tallest structure in the city.

The Challenge
We were challenged with making this icon attractive to passersby, residential and retail tenants, and all visitors. We were very limited in our solutions as keeping costs down was paramount to maintaining a similar rate structure to our other six garages. We wanted to avoid any costly additions that may require maintenance down the road or those that become outdated over time. Enclosing the decks requires mechanical ventilation and adds millions of dollars to a build-out, which was out of the question. The Northeastern climate also prevented us from relying on plantings and greenery that would only solve our problems for a small portion of the year. Our options were limited.

An unrelated trip into Manhattan led to a decision that we have not regretted for a moment. Walking around New York City and seeing advertising signs and messages on parking decks made me realize that revenue was being generated by using and monetizing blank parking garage walls and parking lots. The vibrant billboards and large-scale wallscapes that line buildings of all types, including parking structures, were impressive. Noticing them for the first time, I wondered if advertising would be a viable option for the Gateway project.

Not knowing much about outdoor advertising and how the programs work, I started doing some research to find out what the benefits would be for property and building owners. I reached out to billboard advertising companies. After speaking to them, I was sure that erecting outdoor advertising signs would not only help improve the drabness of the garage façade but also add to the authority’s revenue stream.

The signs’ size ensure they have no negative effect on the ventilation requirements within the garages. The wallscapes are illuminated and help add to security in and around the premises. With budgets tightening, these outdoor advertising signs help public and private parking garage owners, operators, and managers generate ancillary revenue and help boost their bottom lines.

Parking maintenance operations are regularly burdened with funding requests to help maintain and repair parking facilities; outdoor advertising generates funds to help cover those costs. Budget shortfalls and increased operational expenses do not have to be our customers or taxpayers’ responsibility. It seemed like the best of both world, truly a win-win.

Implementing a Program
Under my direction, the NBPA signed a 10-year lease agreement with an outdoor advertising company. The highly respected company we chose is privately owned and operated and very experienced in the billboard industry. Being new to this type of business arrangement, it was important that the company we chose excelled in explaining and communicating throughout the process. Happily, our partner proved very forthcoming with information and kept us constantly updated.

The company conducted a true market assessment and gave us the best opportunity to generate the most revenue from the space available for outdoor advertising signs. Our first lease allowed for the erection of four billboards on the Gateway Garage. After the lease agreement was signed, the outdoor advertising company practically took care of the entire project.

The sign-permit approval process was the most challenging part of the project. Regulations restricted the development of the signs on our parking deck, and I began preparing for a long and costly battle with the State of New Jersey. Under the guidance of our sign company, we worked along with the New Jersey Department of Transportation Outdoor Advertising Services Agency, and in a collaborative effort, we prepared for the special waiver request process.

The sign company had several meetings with leaders from the Department of Transportation and gained its support to request a special waiver from the New Jersey State House Commission. The issuance of outdoor advertising permits had to be unanimously approved by the select State House Commission Board.

Getting a Waiver
Staff members from the Department of Transportation first testified that they determined the signs to be in the best interest of the public and supported granting the appropriate waivers to promote the success of the Gateway/Transit Village Project. The waiver approval process also required my testimony before the State House Commission, where I explained that the aesthetic improvements would be beneficial, the signs would provide a creative and positive image, and that the revenue generated from the signs would provide revenue that will help improve our parking and customer service—all that makes up a visitor’s experience—without increasing expenses.

Of importance was support for the project from New Jersey State Sen. Robert Smith. He testified, “New Brunswick has been the phoenix rising out of the ashes. If you saw it 40 years ago, the city was in awful condition.” He pointed out that the city’s redevelopment plan has become the model for urban redevelopment in the state.

Smith testified that that the proposed signage would financially benefit the City of New Brunswick and that the signs would be an enhancement to the cityscape. He concluded by stating, “Quite frankly, that’s enough for me. They know what they’re doing in New Brunswick, and it sounds to me like they found a way to not only improve the aesthetics, which is part of their cityscape look, but also generate a little revenue. God bless America; capitalism works. I move the approval.”

Installation and Results
The sign waivers were granted with the unanimous approval of the commissioners, and we started developing the advertisements. The sign company secured the required state and local permits and with the approval of the structural engineer, arranged for the construction of the sign frames and electrical lighting.

After the signs were installed, illuminated, and operational, I was not surprised that they looked great, which was great validation that we’d made the right decision. The signs not only provided a vibrant enhancement, but their lighting provided additional illumination and security for everyone who visited the garage. Because the new lighting offered such a benefit, I asked the sign company if the lights could stay on from dusk to dawn. They understood the security aspect and agreed to extend the hours of illumination. Our outdoor advertising partner covers the cost of electricity to illuminate the signs along with all maintenance of hardware and sign materials. The company really took care of everything throughout the process and beyond.

We negotiated a lease that requires a percentage of billboard advertising sales to be shared with the parking authority, and a set minimum guarantees NBPA revenue from the billboards. Every advertising sales contract is completely transparent, and we are able to review the advertiser rates, sales commissions, and our portion of the revenue. We are also given final approval on the advertiser and content of the advertising. Being in a college town, I prefer not to advertise liquor (although I am sure liquor advertising is not needed in a college town).

The outdoor advertising signs were erected within six months from the time the lease was
executed. Since that time, we have enjoyed a constant revenue stream with no equipment malfunctions, no phone calls, and no customer complaints, and we are guaranteed to generate revenue. It all went so well that since that initial agreement we have added seven
additional billboards on the Gateway Garage and three other parking garages in New Brunswick.

The risk that we took installing outdoor advertising on our structures offered a solution to common issues both public and private owners/operators encounter, including how to manage existing services and improve and maintain these services without increasing fees. Since the signs have been constructed, there have not been any vacancies. The outdoor advertising signs promote travel, tourism, local businesses, national advertising
campaigns, and public service messages. I am proud of the risk that we took—the signs provide a stable source of revenue, increase the value of our parking asset, and look terrific. Indeed a win-win.

As of this writing, we are collecting approximately $200,000 annually in additional worry-free revenue. What were once blank walls are now revenue-generating resources, and we didn’t have to raise our rates. It is not often that a source of revenue is completely worry-free and provides substantial ancillary income by using blank walls. Creative and vibrant outdoor advertising supplements offer revenue-generating possibilities for parking operations without additional costs or services. Both on our garages and in our spreadsheets, it’s been a beautiful thing!

TPP-2017-07-A Beautiful Thing

MITCH KARON, CAPP, is executive director of the New Brunswick Parking Authority. He can be reached at mkaron@njnbpa.org.