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Community IPMI Blog Planning Policy

Policy Corner

If you work in a municipality, chances are you've received an email from a colleague in another city requesting information—anything from a simple meter rate survey to more complex issues like commercial loading zones or managing ADA parking in the on-street environment. Or perhaps you’ve been the one sending that email. You may have also participated in numerous IPMI municipal roundtables, whether in person at the annual conference or virtually.  One of the unique aspects of our profession is our willingness to share challenges and solutions. If Houston is facing a particular issue, cities like LA, Seattle, or Miami have probably already tackled it and can offer valuable insights. That’s how emails and conversations flow, allowing us to collaborate—because, after all, why reinvent the wheel?  While this informal system has worked well, it’s time to take it to the next level.  IPMI has formalized this collaboration by creating a space where we can exchange ideas, discuss policies, and share municipal codes—the backbone of any city. The newly established IPMI Policy & Legislative Cohort will offer strategic guidance and recommendations on policies and regulations impacting the parking and mobility profession.  The Cohort’s work began with a survey aimed at identifying the most pressing policy topics across cities. Among the top issues are policies around new technologies that could revolutionize parking management by reducing friction—think AI, LPR, and citation by mail. What policies or city codes are necessary to facilitate the adoption of these tools to improve efficiency and effectiveness?  However, cities are also grappling with policies that limit the use of these technologies, hindering progress. For instance, if state or city codes require parking citations to be placed on a windshield, a city can’t even begin to explore mailing citations until the code is updated—assuming there’s political will to make that change.  Other key policy concerns include curb management for critical building access and ADA parking. If you have a topic you'd like the Cohort to consider, we encourage you to share it with us.  In addition to this, IPMI has launched an updated member online community with a dedicated “Policy and Legislation” Community. The updated platform will enable seamless conversations and document exchanges where you can easily find relevant information on any hot topic you’re currently tackling.  The municipal sector of IPMI has always been a strong, tight knit, yet welcoming community. The work of the Policy & Legislative Cohort will help build on this foundation, driving meaningful change and fostering greater collaboration across the parking and mobility profession.  Maria Irshad, MPA, CAPP, is the Deputy Director for the City of Houston, Texas (ParkHouston).

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Community Frontline Magazine

The Unsung Heroes of Parking

Frontline Staff and Community Impact

Community Frontline Magazine

January 2025 | Frontline & Community Impact

How frontline employees make a difference, and how parking, transportation, and mobility organizations serve their communities.

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Community IPMI & Member News Sustainability Vendors/Products

PayByPhone’s Green December Campaign Plants More Than 6,500 Tress for Reforestation Projects Thanks to Partnering North American Clients

Vancouver, Canada – PayByPhone, one of the fastest growing mobile parking payments companies in the world, has planted 6,528 trees with reforestation projects in Kenya, in the name of its partnering North American clients. The trees are being planted following the success of its Green December initiative, where one tree was planted for every 50 parking transactions completed during December in participating locations across California, Kentucky and Massachusetts. Green December is PayByPhone’s annual initiative that supports reforestation to combat climate change, and is run in partnership with veritree, an organisation that connects businesses with verified tree planting projects to elevate global reforestation. Carmen Donnell, Managing Director NA for PayByPhone, says, “To be able to plant so many trees is incredibly exciting for us. This year’s campaign goal was to plant 5,500 trees, and thanks to our participating clients, we’ve far exceeded that target. We greatly value our community of loyal partners who support our efforts to create a greener future and would like to thank The City of Glendale, CA, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, the City of San Mateo, CA, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), and the Parking Authority River City (PARC), Louisville, KY, for their support of Green December.” This is the second year that Green December has run in North America, bringing the total number of trees planted to over 12,000. PayByPhone has seen great success from the initiative, which initially started in the UK in 2019, and has planted over 312,000 trees to date globally in Southwest France, Madagascar and Kenya. PayByPhone is dedicated to supporting the global push to restore natural landscapes affected by deforestation. Donnell explains: “Reforestation is essential to safeguard our ecosystems and combat climate change and Green December is our way of giving back.” For more information about Green December please visit https://www.paybyphone.com/green-december. About PayByPhone PayByPhone is more than just parking. We simplify the journeys for millions of people through our smart, intuitive technology and exciting features. We are one of the fastest growing mobile payments companies in the world, processing over 200 million payment transactions in 2023. To discover how our innovative services can elevate drivers’ experience, please visit  www.paybyphone.com. Contact: Sarah Claridge Communications Consultant Indaba sarah.claridge@weareindaba.com (+44) 207 692 4964

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Community IPMI Blog Municipal/Cities Parking Facilities

Hurricane Disaster Prep

As many of you all know the City of Charleston, South Carolina is a coastal city.  Hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th.  Hurricane season can provide many challenges for Charleston County.  Parking Operations is a division under the Facilities Department, all parking employees are required to assist in preparation and recovery after a storm.  In addition, we have employees that assist the Emergency Operations Center with the Citizen Information Line. We have three different operating levels at Charleston County- Opcon 1 – Normal Daily Operations Opcon 2 – Enhanced Awareness Opcon 3 – Full Alert At each Opcon Level, the Parking Division is required to take certain action.  This includes securing signage and trash cans, installing flood panels, parking gate removal, securing pay machines, sandbagging, system backups, drain cleaning, shutting down elevators etc.  In addition, as storms approach, City of Charleston and the County of Charleston offer free parking within the garages for residents and visitors during storms.  Parking is limited to cars only.  As everyone knows people don’t always follow the rules, we’ve had boats, grills, golf carts, trailers, everything but the kitchen sink.  Cars must be out of the garages on specific days and times, if not customers will pay the prevailing rate after the day and time has passed.  From a customer service aspect, we do take into consideration people that evacuated and cannot get back in time to remove their car as to whether to require payment.  This is conducted on a case-by-case basis. Paul Whetzel, CAPP is the Parking Operations Manager for the County of Charleston, SC. Paul can be reached at PWhetzel@charlestoncounty.org.

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Community IPMI & Member News Municipal/Cities Parking Facilities Sustainability

Bethlehem Parking Authority Announces Retail Tenant

New Walnut Street Garage Welcomes CAT-Coalition for Appropriate Transportation as a Future Tenant

Community Magazine Planning

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Serving vs. Impacting

When we look at impacting communities versus just serving them—that, friends, is where we make positive change.

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Community Involvement

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