2007

 “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” That’s what they say, but when it comes to hitting it big, the story usually gets out. That’s

“Innovation” is the business topic du jour, but what does it really mean to be an “innovative company” and how does an organization know if

Companies frequently develop vision and mission statements about being number one in their industry, the great service they provide to customers, and their rewarding work

Parking Today recently caught up with Dana Levenson, a former CFO for the city of Chicago and now Managing Director/Head of North American Infrastructure for

This is the first of a two-part series on restoration and the issue of customer comfort and safety. It will finish in the December issue

The growth of high-rise condominiums in high-density urban areas continues to cause a parking dilemma in major cities throughout the U.S. Sites often are too

News is like buses, sometimes. You wait for months and nothing really happens, and then suddenly everybody is doing something interesting, and I don’t know

Here’s the issue: We’ve moved from tracking contract card holders on 3×5 cards to complex data bases that need constant updating. They are most likely

If someone had asked me seven years ago where my future concentration would be regarding commercial lighting design, the last marketplace I would have mentioned

When “The Donald” builds North America’s tallest residential structure, he wants to be sure the condos he sells are top of the line. That goes

Parking lots and garages are familiar sites. But what drivers don’t realize are the many decisions that go into making that parking area aesthetically pleasing,

“The most important thing is that every night when I go home, I know that what we do is significant.” Sam Shanes sums up his

It’s probably the only thing that “80s hair band concerts, old-fashioned tractor shows, arts and crafts festivals, traveling carnivals and rural weddings have in common:

Most challenges facing campus parking facilities usually have been related to two types of events: emergency and the service/information situations. The essential question campus security

More students attend college and have cars than ever before, so finding parking on campus is becoming a greater concern for university officials. Many privately

Toronto Zoo calls itself Canada’s premier zoo; it’s a favorite stop for more than 1.2 million visitors a year. Its popularity translates into a very

Should parking stalls be striped with single lines or double lines? Some parking consultants strongly prefer double striping because they believe it helps parkers center

Editor’s note: PT traditionally has not reported on products that aren’t actively working in the marketplace. However, some are on the cutting edge of technology

I spent a morning recently with Fred Mitschele, President of Photo Violation Technologies, and some of his technical staff. They are beginning a test of

The tragic shootings at Virginia Tech on April 16 were over by midday; for Tech’s Office of Transportation and its subsidiary Parking Services group, the

Ralph Yeomans had a problem. He needed to expand the service his Parking Operations and Enforcement branch in Vancouver, Canada, offered its citizens, but he

Parking Today began research for this article with a premise. That is, many garages built today were designed not with pay-on-foot or pay-and-display, but with

Given the state of rising costs for concrete construction materials and shrinking maintenance budgets, many owners are requesting a viable alternative parking structure design. Steel

Parking equipment is high-tech. It’s complicated, and it needs good service and support or it’s useless. Parking Today reached out to the companies that install

With Jeff Courteau and Arlie Jonson For innovation to occur, the right combination of people, business culture, customer demands and resources must be applied. At

Rick Choate, principal of Choate Parking Consultants, gave a presentation to the Park Across America conference in April. A brief summary of his presentation follows.

The process of providing information about the parking industry went high-tech in April when nearly 250 people in four cities attended seminars “connected” through broadband

Like it or not, “green” is here to stay. It is the umbrella term for energy conservation, clean air and water, environmentally friendly structures and

When looking for a definition for valet parking, you get “parking arrangements provided by an establishment, whereby patrons leave their cars at the entrance while

On a recent wind-swept May morning, the Virginia Tech campus quietly hummed with life. Students attended their final week of classes before exams. Parents loaded

Imagine the future of your industry spread out before you. That’s what you can expect to experience by attending Expanding the Synergy of Technology 2007.

Smart Cards Are the Tool; But the Payment System Needs a Bit More We’ve all been there – You pull into a parking space, go

The year of 9/11 saw a downturn in the parking garage construction market. The bottom dropped out of all construction after the terrorist attacks in

The nation’s third fully automated garage, and the first in New York City, recently opened in Manhattan. The project, known as 23 Baxter Street, handles

Security and routine operations at most plants and refineries are often at cross purposes. Efficiency demands that workers have quick access to all areas of

(Parking Today met with a member of the board of the redevelopment district that pours money into the area of North Park, a section of

Norman Y. Mineta, the longest-serving Transportation Secretary in the history of the Department, is scheduled to open the IPI Conference & Exposition that runs May

Shade structures such as those installed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport are designed to ensure temperature reduction inside the cars of at least 40 degrees

When land is scarce and parking necessary, necessity is truly the mother of invention. In this case, as it is with so many locations in

Patron cheating and employee theft can be common in public parking operations at airports, hospitals and universities, as well as downtown. Research indicates that employee

“Parking Enforcement Officers should be more like park rangers and less like tax collectors,” says Cory Marchasin, President of Paylock. “They should be there to

Len Kilfoyle talks about his niche – valometers. “They are a revenue control device. Validation stamps carry many problems. Valometers fix those problems.” Kilfoyle has

New technologies are revolutionizing the way small payments are made in transit, retail and public venue environments. Business managers in these segments are embracing these

“It’s all about service. Our success is when we provide the best service to our customers.” That is how Karl Martin, Deputy Director of Operations,

Adequate parking for mall shoppers often means an adjoining, multi-level parking deck. But when a retail district moves beside a residential area, a mammoth deck

“I felt this was parking history in the making. They were removing parking meters and not replacing them.” Verrus Vice President Neil Podmore was describing

When most people think of heart defibrillators, they think of a doctor in an emergency room yelling “Clear!” The devices seem complicated and dangerous, and

“We are at the awareness stage. Cities, transit authorities, parking authorities, universities, airports, hospitals – all are curious. They have a problem, this is a

Your first experience in a lawsuit may be as a witness in a deposition. Here is a general guide to the process and what you

Over the past 15 years, the parking industry has experienced many technological advances. From the development of pay-on-foot technologies to the creation of advanced revenue

Few would think that one of the biggest headaches in a multi-use facility that is mainly a shopping village would be accounting for and controlling

The Port of San Francisco has a unique situation. They receive money from on-street meters and have a cap on the money they receive from

What will downtowns face in the future? The most predictable thing is craftier competition of all sorts, from all sides. Areas competing with downtowns are

Most lot owners and managers are aware that sooner or later they will have to offer virtual parking permits. With more cellphones in the world

Convenience – that’s what parking should be all about. What is more convenient than going online and ordering your parking and having it delivered a

A seminar on the sale or lease of public parking assets will lead off the Park Across America seminar to be held April 18 in

Cheating by patrons and theft of parking meter revenues by employees and by vandals or professional meter theft rings is common. More than 50 percent

Online parking lot reservation – I have been hearing about this for more than five years. Usually it’s from someone who has a personal problem

When on-street parkers in West Palm Beach, FL, use their cellphones to pay for their parking the first time, they get a surprise: Their parking

Parking industry professionals face unique insurance exposures. One obvious example is the liability for client’s vehicles. This is where Kathy Phillips comes in. Her company,

Local leaders must realize that in-depth teamwork, at all levels, is a key ingredient for successful downtown revitalization. Teamwork must entail the entire panoply of

This is the third article in a series to increase awareness in safety and security planning. Previously, I explained the aspects of safety and security

“All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men …” Pieces, pieces everywhere. Putting pieces together seamlessly is difficult. In fact, it’s outright impossible. Yet

“I can’t stress the importance of having the customer involved in the installation,” says Dan Stublaski, President of Don Harstad Co., which installed the city’s

If you took a quick look at the results of Parking Today’s biennial e-mail survey on revenue control, you would be forced to conclude the