March 15, 2011

The International Parking Institute now helps parking industry companies cut through the clutter of traditional search engine results with our IPI Parking Buyers Guide & Consultants Directory. Easily accessible from a link on the IPI homepage, the IPI Parking Buyers Guide & Consultants Directory enables professionals to conveniently perform targeted searches for industry-related products and services using either a user-defined keyword search, or an alphabetized directory search by product categories. Both methods produce the most industry-relevant results on the web. Download the IPI Parking Buyers Guide & Consultants Directory Desktop Search Tool and you'll have the capability to search the guide right from your computer desktop.

Click on the image above to read the proclamation.

Thanks to the initiative of IPI member and Texas Parking Association board member Scott Kangas, CAPP, and the Texas Parking Association, Texas governor Rick Perry has proclaimed March 28- April 1 to be "Parking Professional Appreciation Week."  IPI applaud's Kangas, parking and transportation manager for Baylor Healthcare in Dallas, for being an ambassador for the parking industry. It is efforts like these that work to support IPI's industry-wide Parking Matters campaign to advance the parking profession.

Most states issue proclamations for associations, enabling them to have a day or week named in their honor. Has your parking association been honored by your state or locality? If not, wouldn't you like to highlight the important role parking facilities and parking professionals play in daily life?  Imagine a proclamation, complete with your city or state seal and signed by the mayor or governor, which says to others, parking really matters!

Read tips on how to proclaim a special parking week in your state.

Make new contacts with potential business partners or discover new solutions to professional dilemmas with your colleagues and friends - the IPI Conference & Expo provides numerous opportunities for knowledge sharing and networking.  Through our special events, like the Golf Tournament, Road Runners Club, the Meet & Mingle or the popular ShopTalks & PowerPitch Forums, we believe you will be able to maximize your conference experience and quadruple your contact list.  No other meeting will keep you engaged from sun up to sun down with your peers and industry leaders.

If you are looking to make those connections now, and plan important introductions, be sure to utilize the Business Connection Portal, where you can connect "virtually" with more than 200 solution-providers.

For more information, registration, or to learn What's New This Year at the 2011 IPI Conference & Expo, visit www.parking.org/conference.

Denotes video news story

· Will You Get a Parking Ticket?  There's an App to Tell You That
· Motorcyclists Fight Parking Ruling
· Chapel Hill Working to Curb Illegal Parking
· John Kelly Spends a Day in Parking Ticket Court
· Downtown Calgary Parking Reports Headed to Aldermen
· Downtown Billings Parking Garage Project Advances
· San Angelo Parking Lot Loaned
· Winnipeg Parking Authority Asking for Hike in Ticket Fines
· Drivers Could Win Back £60m Through 'Unfair' Parking Ticket Appeals
· Students React to Athlete Exclusive Parking Lot
· New Parking Initiative: Pay Up or Get the Boot!
· Dayton Airport Parking Revenues up by Almost 15 Percent
· Boise State Named One of 20 Bicycle-Friendly Universities Nationwide by League of American Bicyclists
· Virgin Islands Parking Garage Plans Move Forward
· San Deigo Neighborhoods Get Say in Parking Meter Rates
· Nothing Has Stuck in Hunt For Athens Parking Deck Name
· Lancaster Parking Authority Worker Helps Nab Suspected Car Thief
· More Parking Meters On Their Way to Easton
· Appleton Holding Parking Ramp Naming Contest
· Neighbors: Sarasota Garage's Lights Too Bright
· Lawrence Parking, Speeding Ticket Totals Tumble
· Boston Unveils High-Tech Parking Meters
· Tacoma Officials Prepare to Ask Task Force to Review Parking Permits
· City of Berkeley to Use License Recognition Software to Increase Parking Turnover
· New York City's Garnisheed Wages of Parking Sin
· Evanston Looks to Sell City Ad Space
· Downtown Redwood City parking could get costlier
· Parking Authority Studied in Chattanooga

For these stories plus more, visit the Parking in the News section of IPI's website.

These and other open parking RFP's on available by visiting the IPI RFP Portal. Access to complete RFP/RFQ details is restricted to IPI Members. Recently posted RFPs:

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
For: Parking Facility Graphics Wayfinding

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
For: Parking Citation Processing Services

Gordon County, Georgia
RFQ For: Parking Deck Design Services

City of Burlington, Vt.
For: Transportation Study

Aviation Department of Kansas City, Missouri
For: Management and Operation of Parking Facilitites at Kansas City Intl. Airport

Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority
For: Upgrade or Replacement of the Parking and Revenue Control System

Have a RFP or RFQ you would like to have promoted? IPI is happy to provide this forum for parking organizations to post their RFPs and RFQs at no charge. For more information, contact IPI Membership Director, Mark Gedris.

How You Can Use Car Sharing to Positively Impact Parking Demand and Increase Revenue
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
2:00 PM EDT
Instructor: Brian D. Shaw, Director of Business Services, University of Pennsylvania
 
Car sharing is rapidly growing across the United States. More and more cities, universities, transportation centers and corporations are turning to car sharing to reduce fleet costs, stretch limited parking inventory, generate revenue, provide last mile transportation and mobility to transit riders, ridesharers, bikers and walkers. By knowing more about car sharing, parking professionals can be in the best position to take advantage of this growing alternative to traditional car ownership. This webinar will educate you on what car sharing is, how it works, who provides it and how to fit it into your parking operations.

$35.00 for IPI Members
$50.00 for Non-members
www.parking.org/webinars

Submit information and photographs about your sustainable parking projects for a new book on sustainability being developed as a joint project by the International Parking Institute and the National Parking Association. The book, to be published later this year, will include sustainable solutions related to structured parking, surface parking, operations and maintenance programs, and retrofits/rehabilitation.

For your project to be considered for inclusion, submit information and photographs through the online submission form. Although this call for case studies is limited to sustainable projects,  IPI will soon be launching a more detailed online submission form for a broader spectrum of parking project profiles to build its online searchable database for members.

Senior Landside Operations Manager - Port of Seattle - Seattle, Wash.

Director of Parking & Transportation Services - Cleveland State University - Cleveland, Ohio

Software Business Analyst - CTR Systems - Warrendale, Pa.

Software Engineering Lead - CTR Systems - Warrendale, Pa.

Software QA Lead - CTR Systems - Warrendale, Pa.

Software Documentation & Training Specialist - CTR Systems - Warrendale, Pa.

Director of Parking and Transportation - Loyola Marymount University - Los Angeles, Calif.

Business Development Manager, Parking Revenue - Port of Seattle - Seattle, Wash.

Executive Director, Transportation & Parking - The George Washington University

Parking Services Manager - City of Las Vegas

Transportation Special Events Manager - Boise State University

Parking Wars: Confessions of a Reformed Parker
By Andrew Dunn, Hybrid Films
 
After four seasons and 60-plus episodes as a television producer for A&E's "Parking Wars," I have become a self-confessed parking junkie. If I take a peek into the rooms where several shows are being edited right now, I cannot help but feel pride for highlighting the most under-appreciated infrastructure that is vital to the success of our cities.

So often, the media focuses on the new or revitalized architectural projects that will bring in jobs and business. If you build it, they will come - but where will they park? This, undoubtedly, is the vital responsibility of the vast readership of this publication, and I hope that "Parking Wars" has addressed the importance of a fair understanding of why parking enforcement is necessary, and how it benefits us all.

Read the complete article 

IPI News Release - March 11, 2011

The future is here in the parking world, thanks to an explosion of new parking applications for smart phones and mobile devices, says Shawn Conrad, Executive Director of the International Parking Institute (IPI), the largest association of the parking profession.

What do these mobile parking apps and parking-related cell phone technologies do?

Imagine your phone calling you to tell you your time on the parking meter is about to expire - and being able to extend time by paying remotely. Imagine tapping on your mobile device and getting a birds-eye view of available parking spots or garage locations, complete with pricing information. Or imagine landing at an airport and having your mobile device display where to go for a taxi, shuttle, train, rental car or even a helicopter ride to your destination. Can't remember where you parked? Imagine checking your phone to find your car's location, complete with navigation instructions to get to your parking spot.

You don't have to imagine any more because in cities across the United States, mobile applications or "apps" that give real-time parking information and guidance on cell phones and other mobile devices are now available.

But, Conrad says, "Content is king and the maximum benefit for drivers will occur when mobile app companies take the steps necessary to get real-time data from the parking industry."

Read the complete News Release 

The balloting for the 2011 International Parking Institute Board of Directors election ends this Friday, March 18!   Voting eligible members should have received their paper ballot, online voting instructions and nominee biography information.  Eligble members can vote online at www.ivselection.com/IPI2011 - please be careful to not choose more than seven as this will invalidate your vote.

Voting must be completed online before midnight on Friday, March 18, 2011 and paper ballots must be postmarked by that day in order for them to be tabulated.

Meet the Candidates

California Public Parking Association
CPPA held two very successful regional training sessions in the first quarter of 2011. Sessions held San Diego and Sacramento included the First Observer Training for Parking Professionals put on by the Department of Homeland Security.  CPPA is very proud to announce that CPPA is the newest program affiliate to the Homeland Security First Observer program.  Thank you to Cindy Campbell, IPI Chairman of the Board, for presenting an informative and interactive session of "Tactical Communications" to 60 members in Sacramento, California.  CPPA would like to announce that Matt Farrell, Off-Street Parking Manager for the City of San Jose is now CPPA's Professional Development... more information.

Middle Atlantic Parking Association
Most Please join your fellow MAPA members and parking colleagues in this day of informative Customer Service Training and Team Building. Real Parking Customer Service Training
Do you have what it takes to provide real customer service as it relates to parking?  If not, you will not want to miss this session. This session will cover Customer Service, as it really should be in the parking industry.  Robert Milner, with his 20+ years in the parking industry, stresses the importance of the words Service and Attitude in parking, like, they have never been articulated before.  He does this by interaction with you...the attendee as he discusses his experiences in 14 different cities... more information.

New England Parking Council
It's come to NEPC's attention that some NEPC conference attendees were advised that the $159 room rate was no longer available.  The rate has been extended through March 18th.  If you registered outside our room block please cancel your registration and re-register to get the $159 rate!  Have you been to the Royal Sonesta?  Top shelf all the way.  The food is to die for - and what a view!

Join 145 of your colleagues who have already registered for the New England Parking Council's 20th Annual Parking and Transportation Conference March 23rd-23th at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA.
Meet, network, and problem solve with your colleagues from... more information.

Pacific Intermountain Parking Transportation Association
The Time Is NOW!!  New PIPTA Memberships and Membership Renewals are NOW being accepted!
 PIPTA Members get an inside track to the following benefits and events:
 · Opportunities to network at the local and regional level.  It isn't difficult to feel isolated and alone in coping with the many challenges facing parking and transportation professionals and PIPTA provides a mechanism to stay connected.
 · A well-established regional conference and trade show each year... more information.

 Pennsylvania  Parking Association
PPA's 2nd Annual Spring Training Event
- Lebanon Country Club
- Thursday, April 28, 2011
Further details of education content and agenda will soon be announced. Stay tuned to your email and the PPA website!
REMINDER - Please visit www.paparking.org to become a member today or renew your membership for the 2011 calendar year... more information.

Southwest Parking Association
2011 Board of Directors
· President - Mike Delahanty, University of Arizona
· Vice President - Nathan Donnell, Digital Payment Technologies
· Secretary - Zach Cook, Arizona State University
· Treasurer - Deb Graham, Arizona State University
· Past President - Dave Heineking, University of Arizona
· Director - An Nguyen, iParq
· Director - Michael Robertson, Carl Walker, Inc.
· Director - Michelle Horton, University of Nevada, Reno
· Director - Skip Belcher, University of Utah
2011 Conference Update
The board of directors and the conference committee are finalizing details for the 10th Annual SWPA Conference and Trade Show... more information.

Texas Parking Association
Please remember to sign up for the upcoming 2011 TPA Conference and Tradeshow which is now just weeks away. Please join us as we will meet in Addison, Texas this year at the Crowne Plaza, 14315 Midway Road, Addison, Texas during the week of March 29, - April 1, 2011. As we are all excited about this conference, we look forward to all the educational presentations that will be offered as well as the beneficial networking opportunities we hope to gain. This year as a part of our educational value, development, and mutual networking we will be focusing on several different aspects of industry resources, training and expertise... more information.