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Member News: Westward’s GO-4 Vehicles Enhance Purdue University Parking Efficiencies While Reducing Fuel Costs by 65%

Purdue University recently obtained two GO-4 parking specific vehicles from Westward Industries. The GO-4 vehicles will support the university’s efforts to expand their mobility, transportation, and parking management operations, elevating their on-street and lot presence while increasing mobile reads within their mobile LPR systems. Purdue University sought a solution to Read More »

Member News: IPSENS, LLC’s Patented Software Algorithm Leads in Parking Management

One-of-a-Kind Solution is Capable of Managing Non-Delineated Parking BRANSON, MO – 5/27/2020 – IPsens, LLC a leading provider of parking guidance software, is proud to announce the installation of its state-of-the-art, patented parking management solutions in several installations around the U.S. The patented algorithms (PATENT NO. US 9,595,194 B1 & Read More »

Member News: SKIDATA Introduces World’s Most Advanced Common Access Solution for People and Vehicles

Denver, CO (May 27, 2020)—SKIDATA Inc., the world’s leading provider of solutions to manage access to parking facilities, ski resorts, and stadiums, has introduced the world’s most advanced common access solution for people and vehicles. Built on SKIDATA’s powerful software platforms, the common access technology allows patrons to use the Read More »

Member News: DDOT Encourages Contactless Payments For City Parking with the ParkMobile App

Amid COVID-19 concerns, the ParkMobile app will allow people to avoid touching the meter and pay for parking on their mobile device. Washington, DC – June 2, 2020 – ParkMobile, the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in the United States, announced today a new partnership with the Read More »

Member News: Colorado Springs Partners with ParkMobile for Contactless Parking Payments

Residents and visitors to Colorado Springs will have the option to pay for parking on their mobile device without touching the meter Colorado Springs, CO  – The City of Colorado Springs Parking Enterprise and ParkMobile have announced a new partnership to provide contactless payments via mobile app at approximately 2,400 Read More »

What Do We Do Next?: COVID-19 and the Triple Helix Model of Innovation

May 27, 2020

By David C. Lipscomb This blog is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of the International Parking and Mobility Institute, Transportation for America, and Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to Read More »

Member News: Propark Mobility Launches Certified CleanCo Parking and Transportation Program in Response to COVID-19

May 26, 2020

May 26, 2020 Hartford, Connecticut – Propark Mobility announced today that the company’s CleanCo division will be providing industry-leading comprehensive cleaning and sanitation programs for parking and transportation operations across the country, in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. “We are living in a new world, which requires different processes Read More »

A New (Ab)Normal

By Chris Lechner, CAPP As the U.S. begins to open up in ways large and small, the mobility industry is preparing for a broad range of outcomes. There are two fundamental questions facing all of us: How many people are coming back to our venues? How are they going to Read More »

Member News: Park Assist Chosen to Transform Parking at Circa Resort & Casino’s Garage Mahal

May 21, 2020

LAS VEGAS, NV – May 21st, 2020 – Park Assist® has been awarded the Parking Guidance System (PGS) contract for the Garage Mahal facility at Circa Resort & Casino. The new hotel and casino, currently under construction, is located on the famous Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas. It Read More »

Learning from COVID-19: Connecting with the Research Community

May 20, 2020

By Stephanie Dock, AICP, and Katherine Kortum, PhD, PE This blog post is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of the International Parking & Mobility Institute, Transportation for America, and Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the Read More »

Free Online Shoptalk: Municipalities, Finance, & Recovery: Current Challenges and Next Steps

May 18, 2020

Wednesday May 13, 2020- 2:00 PM EST Free Online Shoptalk: Municipalities, Finance, & Recovery: Current Challenges and Next Steps Free to all Industry Professionals Access the Recording here   Join IPMI for our next online Shoptalk diving into cars, cash, and financial impacts to operations. Open to all, moderator Tiffany Read More »

A 10-Point Roadmap for the New Normal in Parking and Mobility

May 15, 2020

By Kevin White, AICP Like many other sectors of the economy, the parking and mobility industry has been affected significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite significant impacts on revenue, staffing, and other functions, municipal operations have deftly adjusted to local conditions and are planning in earnest for an uncertain future Read More »

COVID-19 & the Curb: Private Sector Works to Adapt and Offer Creative Solutions

May 13, 2020

This post is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of International Parking and Mobility Institute (IPMI), Transportation for America, and Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to COVID-19, as well as Read More »

Member News: Heart of the Park Partners Band Together to Feed Baltimore

May 12, 2020

May 5, 2020 We’re at our best when we all work together. Since its late March launch, Heart of the Park, a partnership between Harbor Park Garage and several local organizations and businesses, has distributed about 13,000 meals to Baltimoreans in need and to those on the front lines, serving Read More »

Member News: Borough of Belmar, New Jersey, Bringing contactless payments to beachfront parking with ParkMobile

ParkMobile app will allow users to pay for parking on their mobile device. ParkMobile, the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in the United States, has partnered with the Borough of Belmar, New Jersey, to allow residents and visitors to pay for parking through their mobile devices. The Read More »

Free Online Shoptalk: Leadership on Their Terms to Ease Stress and Enable Focus

May 11, 2020

Wednesday May 6, 2020- 2:00 PM EST Free Online Shoptalk: Leadership on Their Terms to Ease Stress and Enable Focus Free to all Industry Professionals Access the Recording here IPMI invites all industry professionals in parking, transportation, and mobility to discuss how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted your various mobility Read More »

Member News: Penn Parking Develops More than 3,000 Face Shields for COVID-19 Healthcare Workers

May 8, 2020

May 7, 2020- Penn Parking, a Maryland-based parking management company, recently wrapped up the Herculean effort of handcrafting 3,300 PPE face shields for healthcare workers throughout Maryland, Virginia and DC area. The shields are to assist in the fight against COVID-19. Penn Parking leadership, staff and friends worked together to Read More »

Member News: ParkHub Launches ‘Attendant Academy’ to Support Industry Advancement During the COVID-19 Crisis

May 7, 2020

The company’s online courses aim to help prospective parking professionals develop skills for future employment. DALLAS, May 7th, 2020 — ParkHub, the leading B2B parking technology company, has launched online courses designed to support the professional advancement of parking attendants during the COVID-19 crisis. The curriculum, coined Attendant Academy, provides Read More »

IPMI News: IPMI Partners with City Tech to Launch the Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab

May 6, 2020

IPMI Partners with City Tech to Launch the Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab, a Cross-Sector Collaboration to Help Shape the Future of the Parking Industry May 6, 2020 In partnership with the International Parking & Mobility Institute, City Tech Collaborative is launching a new Millennium Gateway Innovation Lab, a cross-sector consortium Read More »

Curbside Management in a Recurring Emergency Scenario: A Municipal Perspective

By Benito O. Pérez, AICP CTP, CPM; and David Carson Lipscomb, MCP This post is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of IPMI, Transportation for America, and ITE’s Complete Streets Council, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to Read More »

COVID-19 Information Clearinghouse: Events and Education

May 5, 2020

Read all the COVID-19 Information Events & Education postings here. To search all resources by keyword, search the Resource Library. Submit Postings Here   Member Post: June 15, 2020: SWPTA Webinar- Pandemic Recovery: The Road to Re-opening, shared by SWPTA IPMI Post: May 29,2020: Thinking Outside the Box: Urban Freight Read More »

COVID-19 Information Clearinghouse: Resources and Documents

Read all the COVID-19 Information Resource and Document postings here. To search all resources by keyword, search the Resource Library. Submit Postings Here   Member Post: June 18, 2020: Barnacle® Parking Produces, Donates Critical Face Shields to Frontline Workers Across the Country, shared by Barnacle IPMI Post: June 9, 2020: Read More »

Embracing Technology: Enhance Customer Protection and Experience

By Jon Martens, CAPP, AICP Major changes have occurred since the mandatory COVID-19 restrictions. Social distancing and PPE (personal protective equipment) have become common discussion points. Grocery stores have added cashier shields, marked spacing on the floor, metered customers, and facemasks. Several retail stores are pushing scan-and-go options to allow Read More »

IPMI Sustainability Framework

May 4, 2020

International Parking & Mobility Institute’s Framework on Sustainability for  Design, Management & Operations Revised on March 2020 Sustainability in parking and transportation means meeting “the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”1 To be successful, transportation solutions and sustainable practices should balance Read More »

All Heroes Don’t Wear Capes

May 1, 2020

By Shawn Conrad, CAE I was tempted to focus this post on what potential changes our industry will experience when stay-at-home orders are lifted and we look at life post-pandemic. But as I work through my fifth week of sheltering in place, I’d like to offer an observation on the Read More »

Free Online Shoptalk: Planning for Future Municipal On-Street Operations

April 30, 2020

Wednesday April 29, 2020 @ 2:00-3:30 PM EST Free Online Shoptalk: Planning for Future Municipal On-Street Operations Free to all Industry Professionals Access recording here IPMI invites all industry professionals in parking, transportation, and mobility to discuss how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted your various mobility programs and options, including Read More »

Member News: FlashParking introduces SAFEValet

April 29, 2020

Elevated trust and safety with a touchless and ticketless valet experience SAFEValet is a ticketless, trustworthy valet experience that stands up to the demands of our world today, especially during COVID-19. By leveraging the valet technology that FlashParking customers already have access to, this comprehensive solution adds a few key Read More »

The Parking & Mobility Industry Comes Together in a Time of Need

By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE This blog is part of a special series on curb management and COVID-19. A joint effort of IPMI, Transportation for America, and ITE, this series strives to document the immediate curbside-related actions and responses to COVID-19, as well as create a knowledge base of strategies Read More »

Free Online Shoptalk: Leading Remote Teams and Best Practices

April 23, 2020

Wednesday April 22, 2020 – 2:00 PM EST Free Online Shoptalk: Leading Remote Team & Best Practices Pre-Registration is required to attend Free for all Industry Professsionals Access the recording here IPMI invites all industry professionals in parking, transportation, and mobility to discuss how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted your Read More »

Member News: NYC DOT Announces New Effort to Encourage Contactless Payments for City Parking Meters

April 21, 2020

April 21, 2020 With COVID-19 concerns, drivers will have a new pay-as-you-go option via ParkMobile smartphone app Today, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a new effort to discourage cash payments at the City’s parking meters and encourage contactless parking payment by smartphone. The Pay-By-Cell option protects Read More »

Member News: Walker Offers Solutions to Mount Sinai Amidst COVID-19 Crisis

Mount Sinai Health System in New York City is perched at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. With thousands of cases throughout the system, Mount Sinai’s employees are working more shifts and longer hours, upending their normal commutes. As authorities advise that the risk of infection Read More »

Free Online Shoptalk: Mobility Options and COVID-19

April 20, 2020

Tuesday April 14, 2020: 12:00 PM EST Access the Recording here Free Online Shoptalk: Mobility Options and COVID-19 IPMI invites all industry professionals in parking, transportation, and mobility to discuss how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted your various mobility programs and options, including fleet management, transit, and micro-mobility modes. We Read More »

Free Online Shoptalk for Universities and Campuses: COVID-19 and Our Industry’s Response

Tuesday, March 24, 2020: 2:00 PM EST Online Shoptalk for Universities and Campuses: COVID-19 and Our Industry’s Response Access the recording here.   Join IPMI for a free online shoptalk to discuss and collaborate about the effects of the COVID-19 virus and the industry’s response. Moderated by Casey Jones, CAPP, former Read More »

Free Online Shoptalk: COVID-19 & Industry Response – Municipal & Transportation Providers

March 24 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT Tuesday, March 24, 2020: 12:00 PM EST Online Shoptalk for Municipalities & Transportation Providers: COVID-19 and Our Industry’s Response Access the recording here. Join IPMI for a free online shoptalk to discuss and collaborate about the effects of the COVID-19 virus Read More »

McKinsey & Company: COVID-19 – Implications for Business

April 6, 2020

March 30, 2020 By Matt Craven, Linda Liu, Mihir Mysore, Shubham Singhal, Sven Smit, and Matt Wilson The coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. It is also having a growing impact on the global economy. This article is intended to provide Read More »

Free Online Shoptalk on COVID-19 & Our Industry’s Response – Universities & Campuses

April 3, 2020

March 31 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT Tuesday, March 31, 2020: 12:00 PM EST Access the recording here. Online Shoptalk for Universities and Campuses: COVID-19 and Our Industry’s Response Join IPMI for a free online shoptalk to discuss and collaborate about the effects of the COVID-19 virus and Read More »

COVID-19 and Our Industry

April 2, 2020

What the pandemic means for parking and mobility operations, and what professionals are doing to keep things moving. IT’S DIFFICULT TO THINK THAT WHEN A MYSTERIOUS NEW VIRUS infected 41 people in Wuhan, China, last December, anyone could have foreseen the coming global effect. COVID-19 has dominated the news and Read More »

2019 CDC: COVID-19 Factsheet

What you need to know about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 What is coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak Read More »

EMPLOYEE RIGHTS: PAID SICK LEAVE AND EXPANDED FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE UNDER THE FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. These provisions will apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. ► PAID LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS Generally, employers Read More »

Member News: Is COVID-19 the Tipping Point for Contactless Payments?

March 31, 2020

Contactless infrastructure has been in place for years but consumer behaviour hasn’t yet embraced this technology at a large scale. Are the tides about to change? April 3, 2020 The climate around coronavirus has drawn particularly close attention to the safety and cleanliness associated with both cash and the high-touch Read More »

Member News: MPA Dedicates On-street Spaces to Help the Community

(MIAMI, FL – MARCH 19, 2020) – In these challenging times, the well-being, health and need of the Miami community is of our utmost concern. To that end, the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) has set aside a number of on-street spaces in high-demand commercial areas, free of charge, for vehicles Read More »

Before You Repurpose Parking for COVID-19: Important Safety Information

By John Purinton As healthcare workers man the front lines of the COVID-19 outbreak, one of the challenges they’re forced to confront is how—and where—to manage the dramatic increase in patient volume. This unprecedented demand for additional beds and space to treat patients has resulted in some hospitals seeking to Read More »

Member News: Propark Mobility Provides Non-Clinical Services During COVID-19 Health Crisis

March 30, 2020

Hartford, Connecticut – Propark Mobility announced today that the company is providing nonclinical services to healthcare organizations across the country, through its CleanCo division, in response to the COVID-19 global health crisis. “CleanCo has been providing cleaning and maintenance services to the parking industry for decades,” explained John Schmid, Propark’s Read More »

Member News: JTA, Beep & NAVYA Autonomous Shuttles Help Transport COVID-19 Tests Collected at Mayo Clinic Drive-Thru Site in Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), Beep Inc. and NAVYA partner with Mayo Clinic to safely transport COVID-19 samples on their Jacksonville Campus JACKSONVILLE, (APRIL 2, 2020) – For the first time in the United States, autonomous vehicles are being used to transport medical supplies and COVID-19 tests at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Read More »

Member News: Frictionless Parking Promotes Public Health

Los Angeles, CA (March 30, 2020)—In this uncertain time of pandemic and public health crisis, we must find ways to minimize common touchpoints that could allow the Coronavirus and other viruses to spread more widely. SKIDATA, the leading provider of parking technology, urges parking owners, operators, and business owners with Read More »

Saving Lives: Suicide mitigation updates for parking garages.

November 27, 2019

By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP MITIGATING SUICIDES IN PARKING FACILITIES is a continuing topic of interest. Recent media coverage of the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain revealed that people may be struggling and in pain with mental health issues to the point where they may consider suicide, but Read More »

Making Accessible Parking More Accessible

October 1, 2019

By Helen Sullivan, APR, Fellow PRSA “I am a quadriplegic in a wheelchair. Parking is the biggest obstacle in my life.” READ AND RE-READ THIS QUOTE from the 2018 Accessible Parking Coalition (APC) National Survey and take in the full meaning of what this survey respondent shared with us. A Read More »

TIMBER! Considering cross-laminated timber as a solid strategy to future-proof parking

By Chelsea Webster BUILDING A PARKING FACILITY IS EXPENSIVE—not only because of the land, permits and red tape, and technology you have to incorporate into the facility, but also because of the material and construction costs. To make matters worse, after sinking piles of money into the project, some parking Read More »

Just Published: A Practical Guide for Solving Accessible Parking Challenges

August 12, 2019

The IPMI-led Accessible Parking Coalition (APC), has just published Let’s Make Accessible Parking More Accessible. This groundbreaking, free, downloadable 24-page publication, written for parking and mobility professionals and decision-makers, was developed by a team of IPMI members serving on the APC Advisory Council, in conjunction with advocacy groups for people Read More »

Airport Knights: How DFW Airport’s Courtesy Patrol helped customers, eased parking, and grew a giant fan base.

April 6, 2019

By Robert Petersen, CAPP DALLAS FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL (DFW) AIRPORT launched its Courtesy Patrol program in 2013 to provide assistance to guests parking at its terminal garages. Members of this team seek out guests who need assistance with jump-starts, tire inflations, and locating vehicles. Ser­vice is provided seven days a Read More »

Take the FEMA Training Challenge

March 20, 2019

By Victor A. Hill, MPA, CAPP IPI’S SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE—with its new crop of members—is up and running. I’m honored to co-chair this committee alongside Robert Milner, CAPP, director of parking and transporta­tion services at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. We worked in fire service and law enforcement, and Read More »

The SHAPE of Disabled Parking Enforcement

March 12, 2019

An innovative parking enforcement program deputizes volunteers to police parking spaces reserved for the disabled, and they take it very seriously. By Bill Smith, APR Anyone who has a disability or loves someone with a disability has experienced the frustration of not being able to find parking because the designated Read More »

Parking Spotlight: Design Downtown for Women— Men Will Follow

February 1, 2019

By David M. Feehan DARK, DIRTY, DULL, AND DANGEROUS. That is how one woman described parking garages in her downtown. None of us in the parking industry would like to have more than half of our custom­ers saying things like that about the facilities we manage. Yet most parking professionals Read More »

PEO Safety

By Barbara Y. Roberts When do I walk away? When do I hold my ground? AS YOU PREPARE TO GO TO WORK, do you commonly think about how your shift will include verbal cursing, being punched, threatened, or spat on? Sadly, some parking enforcement officers (PEOs) experience abuse as they Read More »

A Guide to Parking

April 14, 2018

IPI’s mission to advance the parking profession manifests in a number of ways – through top-notch education, certification and accreditation, and connecting our community through the conference and expo and now online through Forum.    Publications are another hallmark program of our organization; take a look through this magazine and the Read More »

Forum, IPI’s New Online Community

April 5, 2018

Forum is an online community that gives members a powerful new way to access and share parking, transportation, and mobility-industry information and on-the-job experiences. IPI members can log in and join vibrant discussions, gain others’ perspectives on questions and challenges, access a robust, online library of member knowledge and resources, Read More »

Reducing Theft in Parking Facilities

November 28, 2017

By Dan Fortinberry, CAPP As the holidays approach and parking operators start to gear up for a possible increase in automobile break-ins and thefts in their parking facilities, there are several cost-effective and long-term fixes to consider. As a former security professional, I have always viewed my subsequent careers through Read More »

On the Go

November 21, 2017

On the Go Mobile payments gain momentum in the parking industry.  The parking industry has greatly evolved in recent years with the introduction of new and better technologies. Even well into the 1990s, some parking garages used cigar boxes to accept payments—consumers simply dropped cash into the box and parked Read More »

Battening Down

Battening Down One way to deal with the unpredictable costs of winter weather.   Believe it or not, snow and ice are right around the corner. The volatility of the past several winters, from mild temperatures to record snowfall, has complicated the already difficult task of budgeting during the winter months. This Read More »

Safer Shuttles

November 16, 2017

Safer Shuttles Do you know the rules and regulations governing shuttle operations? How to comply and minimize your risk.  T he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the governing arm concerning commercial transportation regulations, last year collected fines for shuttle infractions in excess of $33 million from different transit agencies around the U.S. Read More »

Stranger in a Strange Land

Stranger in a Strange Land What happens when a seasoned parking planner becomes a frontline intern? (Hint: It’s half fabulous and half hilarious.)   You know, sometimes it’s just interesting to hear how other people perceive you. That’s how this all started—I was sitting around with some of my favorite Southwestern parking Read More »

The Equifax Breach: Now What?

September 19, 2017

By Mark A. Vergenes Equifax, one of the three main credit reporting agencies, recently announced a massive data security breach that exposed the vital personal identification data of roughly 55 percent of Americans age 18 and older. This data breach was especially egregious because the company reportedly waited roughly six Read More »

IPI TV, Radio, and Print Public Service Ads Seek to Prevent Child Heatstroke Deaths in Parked Cars

July 10, 2017

Parking Safety Matters campaign reminds drivers not to leave children in sweltering back seats this summer. On average, a child dies from heatstroke in the back seat of a parked car every 10 days, and the death toll typically rises to two per week from May to September. Sixteen children Read More »

Online Courses: FREE Federal Emergency Management Agency – Emergency Management Institute

March 1, 2017

Introduction to Incident Command System Length: 3 hours, 3 CAPP Points towards application or recertification. Description: CS 100, Introduction to the Incident Command System, introduces the Incident Command System (ICS) and provides the foundation for higher level ICS training. This course describes the history, features and principles, and organizational structure Read More »

Online Course: First Observer Plus

Length of time: 44 minutes. Cost: Free. Credit: 1 CAPP Point towards certification or recertification. Register here to complete the training and receive a TSA certificate at the completion of the training. Description: First Observer Plus is a Department of Homeland Security program, administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to Read More »

A New Home Base

November 22, 2016

by Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP  IPI builds a new website for members and the parking community. IPI has a new online look, but our new website is far more than just a costume change. When IPI staff and the Board of Directors made the decision to launch a new Read More »

Community Assets

By Natasha Labi, CAPP  The intrinsic value of parking enforcement officers to their neighborhoods. ON AN OLD EPISODE OF “PARKING WARS,” a Philadelphia parking enforcement officer (PEO) walked solemnly back to his vehicle as an irate parking violator hurled such vulgar profanity in his direction that mandatory Federal Communications Commission bleeping Read More »

Staying Put

by Geary Robinson What it means to shelter in place and how to know it’s the right decision during a crisis. In the first grade at Washington Elementary School, Lawton, Okla., the bell rang and our teacher instructed us to leave our classroom, line up in the hallway, turn and face Read More »

Hold that Post

October 27, 2016

by John V. Collins, CAPP What hiring managers say employees and candidates should think about before using social media, even on their own time.  I know I am getting up there in age and have to accept that technology may be starting to pass me by (if you ask my Read More »

Smarter than the Average Detective

by Charlie Francis   How municipal parking finance professionals can catch parking bandits with data visualization.  I FIRST ENCOUNTERED the parking industry in the early 1970s as an entry-level accountant. I had to manually count the number of parked cars in each of Denver’s public parking lots between downtown and what Read More »

ICE PARKING

October 26, 2016

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) Read More »

White House Calling

September 1, 2016

White House Calling The unique challenges posed to parking professionals when the president and friends pay a visit.  While presidential politics is consuming the news across the U.S. this year, it’s always a focal point of life here in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Many sites around the region serve Read More »

We May Have a Fraud Issue. Now What?

August 18, 2016

By Vicki Pero, SPHR When the term “audit” is used in the parking industry, it covers three functional areas: loss prevention, fraud investigation, and location (internal) audit. The fraud investigation component sometimes presents a challenge because many organizations don’t have a documented process defining roles and responsibilities. Establishing a process Read More »

Becoming Cyber-Super Man

June 7, 2016

By Kyle Cashion How to transform into a superhero and battle back evil (and dangerous) ransomware. COMPUTER VIRUSES have long been a problem. Initially, they were often developed simply to cause havoc and give their developers some malicious entertainment. Today, however, computer viruses are more likely to pose a serious Read More »

Future Thinking

June 1, 2016

By David Kubik, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Within the Past decade, cities have become home to more than half of the global population, and the United Nations projects that the proportion of urban dwellers will reach 66 percent by 2050. Growing populations are putting a strain on the physical infrastructure Read More »

Going Green with LED Lighting Retrofits

By Jennifer I. Tougas, PhD, CAPP If you are looking for ways to save money in your operation, take a hard look at your lighting system. Recent advances in the lighting industry allow us to save energy with more efficient fixtures, more intelligent controls, and lower maintenance needs. All of Read More »

More than ACRONYMS

May 3, 2016

Why parking professionals need to understand NIMS and ICS and what each can do in a disaster. By Mark D. Napier, CAPP It is important for all parking professionals to understand the basic tenants of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS). The fundamentals of Read More »

Parking Safety Matters PSA and Fact Sheet: Heatstroke

March 17, 2016

Combined public safety ad and fact sheet on preventing heatstroke deaths of children in parked cars. Get the fact sheet only.

How to Park: The Must-Read Manual for Teen Drivers

March 15, 2016

Tips for helping teenagers become safe drivers.  Designed for teens and their parents. How to Park

Don’t Forget the Kids

February 13, 2016

By Stasha Echols As we hit the middle of the year and temperatures start climbing, we have vacations and cookouts and summer fun on our minds. Along with the summer fun comes the summer heat, and with the summer heat come stories of children and pets being left in hot Read More »

National Guidelines A Green Idea

By Paul Wessel I was struck when reading “In Sickness and In Health,” Christina Onesirosan Martinez’s April Parking Matters® Blog (blog.parking.org) post, that Britain’s Department of Health had issued comprehensive parking guidelines. It’s hard to imagine the U.S. National Institutes of Health or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services doing Read More »

Lots of Greening

By Brian McKelligett The city of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., recently completed an almost one-year renovation of its very popular and recently renamed Cox’s Landing 15th Street Boat Launch. This launch facility has long been popular with boaters thanks to its easy access to the ocean. The city estimates that more Read More »

Making a LEEP

By Michael Myer There’s no doubt about it: Parking facility lighting has come a long way in recent years, saving energy, money, and nearly countless resources. Thanks to a new campaign and awards program, it’s taking a giant LEEP and hopes to achieve more than 500 million square feet of Read More »

Modern Chauffeurs

By Soumya S. Dey, PE, PMP, and Stephanie Dock, AICP The parking industry has seen more changes in the last decade than it did in the preceding 60-plus years, since the first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City in 1935. Fundamental shifts are underway that can be categorized into Read More »

Elevating the Art of Parking

By Jim Ketai The Bedrock Real Estate Services team is on a mission to revitalize Detroit by creating jobs, excitement, and opportunity. The short-term results we have achieved since 2011 are noteworthy: 40 properties, including several historic skyscrapers, have been acquired, and more than 100 businesses have been recruited to Read More »

Strategic Planning Sustainability at its Best

By Rick Decker, CAPP How do we incorporate sustainability into our parking operations and the strategic planning of our larger organizations? Frequently, budgeting and planning methods are already in place and can be difficult to influence. It appears a daunting task. Let me add some rays of hope. There are Read More »

Illuminating

By Philip Lavee The historic Hills Plaza building in San Francisco’s South of Market waterfront district is home to high-profile companies including Google and global architecture and design firm Gensler. When global commercial real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) decided to upgrade the lighting in the parking garage, Read More »

Permits? What Permits?

By Alan M. Rucker and David Davitaia Nearly 25,000 daily parkers use lots and count on the Department of Transportation to provide an accurately enforced and cost-effective approach to parking at the University of Maryland, College Park. Decades ago, the backbone of that system was bumper stickers indicating lot assignment, Read More »

From the Far Horizon

By David Hill, MA, CAPP, and J.D. Hassan As parking professionals, we are no strangers to technological innovation; our industry turns on technology and new ideas and concepts are all around us. But every once in a while, a new idea comes along that has the potential to completely change Read More »

Little Rock Parking Enforcement Goes All-Out for the Cure

February 12, 2016

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure was recently held in Little Rock, Ark., and the city’s parking enforcement division went above and beyond to help out. The 5K race is run through the heart of the downtown area and has not only the second-largest number of participants of Read More »

Municipal Residential Permit Parking Programs Legal or Not

By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP Resident permit parking (RPP) is a well-established parking management tool throughout the United States. However, what we take for granted today was not a legal certainty until 1977. Steve Monetti, former executive director of the Fort Lee Parking Authority, N.J., as well as a Read More »

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Parking

By William F. Kavanagh, AIA A ccessible parking requirements are fairly straightforward and easy to comply with if you understand what all of the applicable requirements are for a given garage location. This article will focus on some of the basic accessible parking requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act Read More »

Learning to Flex

February 11, 2016

By Matt Darst When hourly parking meter prices don’t keep up with demand, finding parking can be a real burden. Static prices force static behavior. When every meter is priced the same every hour of the day no matter how many spaces are filled or how many drivers want them, Read More »

An Outstanding Operation

By Alejandra Argudin, LEED AP, CAPP The Miami Parking Authority (MPA) is proud to offer outstanding service to residents of and visitors to our large city and even prouder to have recently been recognized as one of the first five Accredited Parking Organizations (APO) by the International Parking Institute. Getting Read More »

The Best Fixes

By John M. Porter, PE, and Nathan D. Boutin, PE Parking structures are an integral element in our daily lives that create an interchange between our homes, our destinations, and our built environment. These structures are often incorporated into buildings, integrated into the surrounding landscape, or serve as stand-alone architectural Read More »

Parking a la Pavarotti

By Chip Chism Freshman orientation is an exciting time for any college community. The campus is full of both eager students and anxious parents trying to learn as much as possible about the school that will become a home away from home for the student. During the two days of Read More »

Case Study Greening a Campus

By Mark Pace and J. Michael Whitcomb, PE Montgomery College in Maryland has incorporated ice thermal storage in its campus central plants as a summertime electrical demand management strategy since the early 1990s. Highly efficient rotary screw industrial chillers that use ammonia refrigerant (R717) operate at night when electrical demand Read More »

Saving Lives

January 27, 2016

By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP This is the story I never wanted to write. I have published many stories over the years but fought the urge to share my experiences on a topic we would hope to never encounter as parking professionals: dealing with a suicide from one of our Read More »

Video Surveillance: The Rise of the Machine

January 26, 2016

By Leonard T. Bier, JD, CAPP What is the connection between video surveillance, police brutality, and the parking industry? To begin with, many off-street parking facilities use closed-circuit television (CCTV) to monitor vehicle entry and exit lanes, capture license plate information, and record video of persons entering and leaving. This Read More »

Locking Down

By Bill Smith During the past decade, data breaches have become increasingly common. Retail and healthcare leaders such as Home Depot, Target, TJX, and Anthem, Inc., have been the targets of sophisticated attacks through which millions of customers’ information was compromised. In this electronic age when our personal and financial Read More »

Simple Fixes

By Ron Steedly, CAPP, MEd, LCI Let’s face it: Bicycle transportation on a college campus is essential. No matter if the campus is 5,200 acres like Texas A&M University (10th in the nation in overall acres) with nearly 56,000 students or 14 acres like Thomas More College of Liberal Arts Read More »

Boosting Credit Security

By Randy Vanderhoof The U.S. is more than three years into its migration to Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) chip payments, and 2015 is expected to be a year of great progress. Last year, there were approximately 120 million chip cards in the market, and this number is expected to leap Read More »

Being Prepared

By Bruce Barclay, CAPP This exercise was the culmination of a 10-month process that included a planning team of 35 people from 20 different organizations. In the months prior to the exercise, the planning team worked diligently to solidify objectives and expected actions, confirm extent of play from participating agencies, Read More »

Making The Most

By Ryan Baker and Chris Chettle, CAPP There’s been a shift in parking technology adoption in recent years. Where single-space meters and gated systems once monopolized the parking landscape, both public and private parking operators are now realizing the benefits of multi-space parking pay stations. This technology offers the flexibility Read More »

Automated Vehicle Storage Retrieval System Update

By Donald R. Monahan, PE After completion of the first two fully automated vehicle storage/retrieval systems (AVSRS) in October 2002 (Hoboken, N.J., and Washington, D.C.), it took another five years before the third system was completed in the U.S., in New York City. To date, 14 systems have been completed, Read More »

SANDAG Parking Management Toolbox

By Antoinette Meier, AICP, Marisa Mangan, and Brett Wood, CAPP For cities well-staffed and versed in all things parking, it may seem easy: Assess the problem, apply the solution, and keep moving along. But what about communities or towns who have never even considered the benefits or impacts of parking Read More »

Stepping It Up

January 20, 2016

By Nima Chhay, Sean Laraway, Susan Snycerski, and Marjorie Freedman The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that more than one-third of adult Americans are obese, which threatens their health and costs our nation $147 billion in health costs annually. As members of a university community, we are Read More »

Garage Ventilation Options Improve

By Frank Nagle One of the major sources of energy consumption and operational cost for an enclosed garage is the mechanical ventilation system. Indeed, as much as two-thirds of the monthly/annual energy bill can be attributed to ventilation costs for garage operators running their properties’ garage fans in accordance with Read More »

A Robotic Revolution

By Wes Guckert, PTP A report recently issued by the United Nations highlighted a global trend: More than half (54 percent) of the world’s population lives in urban areas. This trend isn’t expected to slow anytime soon. In fact, that number is forecast to rise to 66 percent by 2050. Read More »

Changing Perspectives

By Rob Ley Eskenazi Hospital was established in the 1850s in Indianapolis to treat soldiers with smallpox. It has since become one of the largest hospitals in the Midwest and primarily cares for low- to medium-income patients. A few years ago, the hospital began construction of a massive expansion. Included Read More »

Utility Meets Beauty

By Wendy DeCapite According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are more than 105 million commercial parking spaces in the U.S. As cities grow more crowded and new businesses emerge in the suburbs, the need for parking garages has increased. Despite its status as a functional necessity, the parking garage Read More »

The Hottest New Couple In Town

By Vanessa Weston, CAPP Automobiles have been around for centuries, and from their initial introduction until today, have needed their own storage: parking. Smartphones have been around since 1993 but did not become a part of consumers’ everyday lifestyle until the last decade or so. Who would ever think of Read More »

Success On Two Wheels

By Holly Parker As a practitioner in the specialized profession of higher-ed sustainable transportation for more than 13 years, I can confidently say that I looked for the perfect bikeshare solution for a university campus for about a dozen years. Anyone who sees bikesharing as the economical, scalable, and emission-free Read More »

Are We Prepared

By Dan Barion If someone had asked me on Sept. 10, 2001, what I thought I would be doing in 2014, at the very bottom of my list of responses would have been serving as chief of public safety for the City of Tampa Parking Division. Back then, I was Read More »

Paying the Freight

By Duke Hanson Whether you live in, work in, or just visit dense urban centers, it is likely that you’ve had to run the on-street gauntlet of double-parked delivery vehicles. Certainly, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has noticed, as that agency attributes a significant amount of city gridlock to restrictions Read More »

Lightening Up

By Ken Sapp Plug-in electric vehicle (EV) pioneers Nissan and Chevrolet are in their third model years producing cars with this relatively new technology. Ford, Fiat, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Tesla have all introduced EVs, and BMW is launching two luxury EV models this year. The popularity of long-range EVs means Read More »

Lighting It Up

By Antonio Giacobbe Lighting has a dramatic effect on how a parking facility is perceived. The right design creates an atmosphere that welcomes, creates an enhanced sense of security, and invites guests to return. In short, it ensures continued revenue. At the same time, smart lighting strategies can significantly lower Read More »

The Metrics that Matter

By Pete Messman It is increasingly difficult to argue against having energy-efficient lighting installed in a parking garage. Even garages that were built recently with traditional metal halide or high-pressure sodium fixtures should be considering a retrofit as the benefits affect everyone—customers, managers, and owners. But there is a huge Read More »

Being Prepared

By Scott Kangas, CAPP Every business—and parking is a business—should have a business continuation or emergency action plan (EAP). This is a plan of action should something (weather, hazardous chemical, fire, vandalism, etc.) occur that affects normal operations. The plan needs to address local, regional, and even national circumstances and Read More »

Guns In the Lot

By Kim Fernandez Joshua Stone stopped his car in a College Station, Texas, parking garage exit lane in early February, apparently to rummage for something in the vehicle. Drivers behind him grew impatient, as they often do, and honked their horns to get him to move along. Stone didn’t take Read More »

Going Green for Well-Being

By Jeff Petry Sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well-being, which has ecological, economic, political, and cultural dimensions (so says Wikipedia) for human societies. It is traditionally viewed as making decisions today that take into consideration the economic, environmental, and societal effects of tomorrow. Sustainability is infused in Read More »

Doubling Down

January 19, 2016

By Eric VanDuyne and John Vincent We were given the opportunity to investigate deteriorated conditions in a five-level, post-tensioned concrete parking structure located in the midwest U.S. back in 1991. At that time, the structure was 15 years old and exhibited widespread deterioration to concrete surfaces on elevated levels of Read More »

NEW Technology Will Drive Airport Parking In 2014

By Dan Kupferman, CAPP Flying can be stressful. It’s really not the flying that creates tension, but getting to the gate on time that stresses us out. Driving to the airport, finding a parking space, getting through security—if you have an early morning flight, you may be tempted to leave Read More »

Greening Before Design

By Brett Wood, CAPP Parking’s green movement has largely focused on the facility: How can we squeeze out the most energy efficiency through lighting, operations, and design? I have seen numerous presentations and publications documenting power savings, cost savings, and innovations in interior and exterior design that highlight and promote Read More »

Customer Service Enhancement from an Unusual Source

By Mark N. Santos, PE During the closing session of the Florida Parking Association’s (FPA) 34th Annual Conference & Tradeshow, FPA featured Liliana Rambo, CAPP, IPI chair and director of parking services, Houston Airport System. She provided an exciting and informative talk on Parking Matters®. A particularly memorable point for Read More »

Minimum Efforts

By Daniel Rowe Multifamily residential buildings often provide too much parking, which can be an impediment to achieving a wide range of community goals. King County Metro Transit (Metro), Seattle, Wash., recently embarked on a project to rewrite the rules for multifamily parking. Through its Right Size Parking Project, Metro Read More »

Upping the Ante on Parking Planning and Design

By Chris Gray, PE, and Megan Leinart, LEED AP BD+C Atlantic City is well known for its exciting atmosphere, vibrant nightlife, and boardwalk that’s alive with casinos, shops, and restaurants. People from all over the world visit the city to gamble, play on the beach, and experience an affordable and Read More »

Unlocking the Grid

By Bill Smith The eyes of the world will be on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the next few years, as the city gears up to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. These events bring prestige, lots of attention, and billions of Read More »

A Chip on the Old Card

By Tom Wunk, CAPP Now what? This seems to be the prevailing response when I bring up the subject of open-standard Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) credit card processing with parking operations folks. Like many industries, parking is slowly emerging from economic malaise and finally seeing some light at the Read More »

Cracking Down

January 18, 2016

By Kim Fernandez Monitor news about parking and you’ll get an alert just about every day that has to do with the abuse of spaces reserved for those using disabled driver permits. It’s no wonder: experts say that the dawn of affordable professional-quality home printing and scanning mean it’s easier Read More »

The Greenest Parking Space

By Matthew Inman Parking is getting greener. There is a wide range of options to choose from to help mitigate a parking facility’s effect on the environment, from energy-efficient lighting systems and solar panels to green roofs and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. One thing hasn’t changed: parking facilities exist Read More »

Dialing and Thriving

By Soumya S. Dey, PE, PMP, and Angelo Rao, PE Washington, D.C., has approximately 18,000 metered on-street parking spaces. The parking program has seen significant changes during the past few years, including two rate increases, lifting a Saturday moratorium on parking meter fees, and extending the hours during which meters Read More »

Behind The Curtain

By Jeff Pinyot Substitute LED for Oz in a memorable movie quote and you get this bold statement: “Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful LED. I said come back tomorrow.” This begs the question: is light emitting diode (LED) technology ready today, or do we, as Read More »

Who’s In Charge

By Bridgette Brady, CAPP The Intercollegiate Athletic Department at Washington State (WSU) is fortunate to have an outstanding relationship with the university’s transportation services,” says Bill Moos, Washington State University’s director of athletics. “The two units work together to establish and implement policies and procedures that apply to game day Read More »

It’s Academic

By Bryan Townley During the most recent semester at The Ohio State University, I enrolled in my first city planning studio—one of the capstone classes of the undergraduate planning program. Because these studio classes are arranged in a way that allows students to work directly with municipalities, they function as Read More »

Park Your Park Here

By Kim Fernandez Midway through an otherwise ordinary day three years ago, Jeff Petry picked up the phone to hear the voice of a seriously stymied parking enforcement officer. “He said we had people sitting in parking spaces outside Starbucks and other downtown businesses,” says Petry, parking manager at the Read More »

Campus Lighting Swap Saves

By June Broughton, CAPP Two years ago, Transportation Services at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, embarked on a massive lighting project that involved replacing all fixtures in five parking garages, including those in stairwells, elevator lobbies, and roofs. Transportation Services engaged a consultant to conduct a thorough lighting study Read More »

Campus Garages Change Perceptions

By Ian Nestler, AIA, LEED AP BD+C With growing scarcities of both capital funding and vacant land, colleges and universities have begun tucking additional uses into campus parking garages, either by expanding footprints or adding floors. The benefits are as diverse as the potential uses. Adding a street-level retail component Read More »

Off the Grid

By Bill Schoenfisch When Long Beach City College (LBCC) first opened in 1927 with an enrollment of 503 students, its current enrollment of more than 27,000 probably seemed like an impossible dream. The college later split into three separate campuses by function, and renamed its original Long Beach location the Read More »

Maintenence Matters

By Gregory J. Neiderer, PE Some parking facility owners and operators believe that as long as their structures continue to serve the public, few maintenance-related tasks need to be performed. Nothing could be further from the truth—facility maintenance is downright essential. One of the most important things an owner or Read More »

Aiding & Abetting in a Good Way

By Eric Crouch and Stacy Moncibaiz Monitoring a campus that houses a population of 35,000 and is the size of a small town often takes on a life of its own. Among the usual student, faculty, and staff activities, stolen vehicles and criminal persons of interest can pass through campus Read More »

Hands Free Heaven

January 16, 2016

By Mark Wright Whoever created the old “God is my co-pilot” bumper sticker was ahead of his time. Today, a lot of companies are praying that drivers will accept a future in which vehicles are piloted by technology instead of by humans. Whether drivers will find such a future heavenly Read More »

In the Blink of an Eye

January 15, 2016

By Kim Fernandez Gina Fiandaca completed the 2013 Boston Marathon run at about 2:42 p.m. on Monday, April 15 and started making her way through the congested finish-line stations. It was, she noted later, the first year in 14 that she didn’t have family members waiting for her behind the Read More »

Prep Work

by Holly Doering When “Big Joe” McGinnis stole $2.7 million from the Brink’s Depot in Boston (now a parking garage) in 1950, he needed an ice pick to enter the building. Today’s thieves only need to find a way to breach your online defenses. That’s the reason for the rise Read More »

Managing Moped Parking

By Patrick J. Kass, CAPP The University of Wisconsin-Madison is located in downtown Madison and is home to 75,000 employees, students, and visitors on a daily basis. The campus has 13,000 parking spaces to meet its daily need. To support the access needs of the campus, a number of alternative Read More »

For Love of Parking

By Kim Fernandez It’s not unusual to hear about people falling in love with old buildings. It’s why historic commissions exist, after all, and there are entire online communities dedicated to abandoned hospitals, homes, and schools that feature photos, commentary, and ponderings of what might become of them. But a Read More »

Let There Be Light

By Kyle Leighton Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing, Mich., is a public research university ranked as the ninth-largest university in the U.S., with 47,800 students and 2,954 faculty members. It is home to the renowned Wharton Center for Performing Arts, whose massive facility hosts 17 Lansing Symphony Orchestra concerts Read More »

Safer Places

By G. Robert Harkins, Ed.D. As owners, operators, and users of parking facilities, we all have in our minds several lingering questions: Is my parking facility safe? What can I do to protect myself and my customers while in my parking facility? There’s a lot of advice out there on Read More »

Garages are for Parking

By William F. Kavanagh, AIA, NCARB There has been a lot of news recently about a variety of people- gathering events being hosted in parking garages (see p. 28 for one). Some of them include the following: Sports event tailgating. Fireworks viewing. Parade watching. Dances or raves. Grand opening/ribbon-cutting ceremonies. Read More »

Lets Get This Party Started or Not

By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP And the winner in the category of Parking Innovation in a Parking Program goes to…The Lancaster Parking Authority, for their garage rooftop events!” So went the annual awards banquet of the Pennsylvania Parking Association last September. That night, I accepted the award for innovation in Read More »

Capturing America’s Most Wanted

Author, victim advocate, and crime-fighter John Walsh, host of “America’s Most Wanted,” shares his thoughts on the parking industry and catching the bad guys. Watch true-crime television for any amount of time, and it won’t be long before John Walsh appears on the screen. He left his career in the Read More »

Energy Efficient Structure Lighting

By Donald R. Monahan, PE Politicians and the general public have increased their attention on global warming in recent years. This enhanced awareness has resulted in new government and utility-sponsored programs that provide rebates and tax incentives to increase energy efficiency and encourage conservation. Retrofitting your parking facility with more Read More »

Plow Planning

By Phill Sexton If you are a parking facility manager in a region that gets any amount of snow and ice, you probably already know that your risk and liability increase during the winter. While February may seem an odd time of year to begin the planning and qualification process Read More »

Absolutely Automated

By Iris Sharon The City of West Hollywood, Calif., is undertaking a capital improvement project to develop premiere public facilities, parks, and open spaces. The 25th Anniversary Capital Project, launched in 2009, includes three major components. One of them is the West Hollywood City Hall Automated Parking Garage and Community Read More »

America’s Sustainable City

January 14, 2016

By Kevin Blomberg No city has a lock on the healthy lifestyle quite like Los Angeles, where I live. With its abundant presence of yoga studios, organic grocery stores, and environmental organizations, there’s no shortage of people wanting to live a more healthy existence. However, the city’s notoriously terrible traffic Read More »

The Driver Privacy Protection Act

January 12, 2016

By Leonard T. Bier JD, CAPP The federal Driver Privacy Protection Act [DPPA] was signed into law in 1994. It was passed in part in reaction to the death of actress Rebecca Shaeffer by an obsessed fan who obtained her home address from state department of motor vehicle (DMV) records Read More »

A Sustainable Parking Frontier

By Jeff Petry Leading practitioners of sustainable parking practices are incorporating electric vehicle charging stations, solar panels, bike corrals, shared car programs, LED lighting, green operational policies, and renewable energy sources. In many ways, these characteristics are off-the-shelf purchases that can be made by any parking operation or municipality. Further, Read More »

Sustainable Campus

By Gabriel Mendez and Shereen Shaw Arizona State University has a long history of dedication to sustainability. As the nation’s largest public university in terms of enrollment, ASU leads by example, setting short- and long-term sustainability goals that touch every university department. These include the mitigation of carbon emissions from Read More »

Diamond Outside the Ballpark

By Art Noriega As is true near many major league baseball stadiums, community concerns about parking convenience and availability at the new Miami Marlins Park ran high before opening day this spring. Skepticism subsided quickly once the season was underway, thanks to advance research and planning by the Marlins organization Read More »

What Has Your Parking Deck Done for You Lately

By Joey D. Rowland, PE and Thomas Carlson-Reddig, AIA, LEED AP Parking decks were once considered necessary evils and relegated to secondary status in the minds of campus planners. While much attention was lavished on academic buildings and student unions, parking was shoved onto the outskirts of campus on undesired Read More »

First of its Kind

By Jeonghoon Lee Parking garage sites are very unique. They are located in the heart of the city where there is a high volume of traffic. However, how many of them are built and used properly? When I first started designing the Herma Parking Building outside of Seoul, South Korea, Read More »

Fostering an Engaged Community

By Johnna Frosini, CAPP Research shows that as public and private educational institutions compete for quality students, engagement has become a crucial part of the formula for producing successful students. If institutions can provide an enriched learning and teaching environment, it follows that improved graduation and retention rates will be Read More »

Light for All

By Susan Pollay This summer, the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the City of Ann Arbor held a party to celebrate the grand opening of the new 711-space underground Library Lane parking structure. A disc jockey spun car-related tunes, a variety of vintage cars were on display, Read More »

Going Once Going Twice Sold

By Sheryl Boyd Chapman University has used parking auctions to allocate a portion of its parking resources for the past four years. We initially implemented three separate auctions with plans to expand the system to include most core campus parking facilities. But before addressing our parking auctions, a little background Read More »

Taxi Hydrant Zones

January 8, 2016

By Troy McLeod Like many large cities, Alberta, Canada’s Calgary has a high demand for on-street, short-stay public and taxi parking space. Calgary’s taxi industry faced changing restrictions in 2010. Taxis were no longer allowed to wait for fares at the airport, but had to move to the downtown core. Read More »

Getting On The Bus

January 4, 2016

By Josh Cohen No one needs to be reminded that parking decks are expensive to build and maintain. In 2010, the University of Florida built a $20 million LEED-certified, 927-space parking deck. Likewise, no one needs to be told that campus transit is expensive. North Carolina State University spends almost $5 Read More »

Pedaling Parking

By Rep. Earl Blumenauer America is undergoing a bicycle renaissance as more and more people discover—or rediscover—the joys of riding a bike. When I was a child, learning how to ride a bike marked a rite of passage to personal independence; I was able to travel beyond my own yard Read More »

An MIT professor rethinks parking lots as the centers of their communities

By Eran Ben-Joseph, Ph.D. I had very big shoes to fill in the early 2000s. I was just starting my career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and part of my teaching obligation included a course titled “Site Planning.” This is not just any other course at MIT: it Read More »

Preventative Parking

By Maggie McGehee and Paulo Nunes-Ueno Seattle Children’s is a highly specialized academic medical center that serves children and youth from Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. Located in a densely populated residential neighborhood in northeast Seattle, the hospital is a careful steward of its most scarce resource: land. Consequently, when Read More »

Campus Cycle Program Makes a Difference

By JC Porter, CAPP Boise State University launched the Cycle Learning Center (CLC) on the main campus last August, just in time for the 2011 fall semester. The CLC is a collaborative program funded through a 50/50 partnership between Boise State University’s Transportation and Parking Services and Health and Wellness Read More »

Explosion Erosion

By I. Paul Lew, P.E., CAPP It’s been nearly two years since a failed attempt to detonate a vehicle bomb in New York’s Times Square. As was demonstrated in this event and more so in the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing and bomb in the garage of the World Read More »

Lancaster Parking Authority Lights the Way to Savings

January 3, 2016

By Larry J. Cohen, CAPP Budgets for parking organizations across the nation have been strained from declining or flat patronage, steadily rising operating expenses, and increasing maintenance costs. Raising rates can alienate long-time customers, especially in a struggling economy. But that doesn’t leave parking professionals without options to improve the Read More »

Eyes Wide Open

By Kim Fernandez Mishka Chorny, senior parking specialist, Boise State University, says that a few months ago, the guy putting a camera in a tree on campus might have caused anything from a quick “What are you doing” yelled over the fence to a full sweep of the football stadium Read More »

The 179D tax deduction for energy- efficient lighting investments in parking structures

By Dominick Brook This article is about a tax deduction. I’ve got my work cut out for me in making this interesting, but let me try: it’s also about money in your company’s pocket. How does a $300,000 federal tax deduction for a lighting retrofit of a 500,000 square-foot parking Read More »

Being Prepared

By Geary L. Robinson, Ph.D., CAPP Do you have a disaster plan for your parking facility? Safety and security planning is used to protect the nation’s critical infrastructures and key assets, and parking facilities have a role to play. Threat analysis requires a true understanding of a facility’s purpose, be Read More »

More Than Conventional Wisdom

By Norman D. Bates, Esq. A woman went to an urban hospital to visit an ill friend. While walking to her car in the nearby parking garage, she was stabbed and robbed by an unknown assailant. A year later, the garage manager finds himself sitting in a deposition that is Read More »

New IPI Emergency Preparedness Manual Released

January 2, 2016

New IPI Emergency Preparedness Manual Helps Parking Professionals Deal with the Unexpected Valuable free tool offers guidance for developing emergency plans for parking facilities and operations. (ALEXANDRIA, VA. –September 1, 2015) Are you and your employees prepared for an emergency? Parking and transportation professionals are charged with the safety and Read More »

Press Release, 6/2/14 Public Safety Alert

Public Safety Alert: Summer Brings Fatal Consequences for Children Left in Hot Parked Cars DALLAS, TX – With another hot summer upon us, the International Parking Institute (IPI) is hoping to change a grisly annual statistic: the 40-plus child deaths caused by heatstroke because they were forgotten by parents or Read More »

Press Release, 10/8/13, Help for Teens

Help for Teens: “I got my driver’s license, but I still can’t park!” International Parking Institute offers free  How to Park: A Must-Read Manual for Teen Drivers (October 8, 2013 – Fredericksburg, VA) Even after taking driver’s ed and logging the required hours behind the wheel, new teen drivers sometimes Read More »

Press Release, 7/19/13, Parked Car Alert

Parked Car Alert: International Parking Institute Warns of Child Deaths in Summer Heat Each year, children die when parents and caregivers leave them unattended in the heat of a parked car. (Fredericksburg, VA July 19, 2013)– More than 20 children under the age of five have already died this year Read More »