Reflecting on Lessons Learned
By Adrienne Tucker
Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final article in a series of Parking Today articles by Adrienne Tucker. To read the first article, see “Nothing Is Impossible: Building a Parking Division from the Ground Up,” in the June 2024 issue. Tucker’s second article, “Nothing Is Impossible: Navigating the Procurement Maze,” appeared in the August issue. Her third article, “Nothing Is Impossible: Converting Critics Into Partners,” can be found in the October 2024 issue.
As I write the fourth and final installment of my series for Parking Today from my desk in my new office at Kansas State University, I cannot help but reflect upon my time as the parking services manager for the City of Manhattan, Kansas. In this role, I had a unique opportunity to drive positive change within our community, a chance to weave modernity, sustainability, and user experience into the city’s daily rhythm.
Managing parking in a growing city like Manhattan showed me how transformative thoughtful parking practices can be, and it highlighted areas where, with more resources or time, my team could have done even more.
The promise of partnerships
Reflecting on this journey, I hope my experiences offer insights to others in the industry about how parking management can be proactive, useful, and, ultimately, a powerful force for change. When I stepped into my role in February 2022, I knew we’d need to embrace technology to keep up with the city’s evolving needs. Modernizing parking isn’t just about adding pay-by-phone options or cameras — it’s about integrating systems that create smoother, more intuitive user experiences.
Partnerships with technology providers and other city departments were essential in realizing this vision. Collaborations enabled us to implement mobile payment options and digital permits, facilitating quicker, more convenient transactions. These advancements meant less stress for our residents and visitors — no lines and faster payments, making parking one less thing to worry about.
Looking back, I had hoped to explore even more technological tools. For example, smart sensors that provide real-time data on available spaces and advanced data analytics platforms for tracking parking trends were on my radar, as were curb management technologies that could have helped us better manage delivery zones. These tools could have given us even deeper insights into parking habits and occupancy patterns, facilitating dynamic pricing models or more data-driven decision-making. However, constraints like time and budget limited what we could achieve, showing how essential it is to prioritize and plan for incremental progress.
Parking as a positive
One of my goals involved redefining parking as a positive, integral part of the community experience rather than just a “necessary evil.” The public often views parking services as enforcement-heavy and user-unfriendly, leading to frustration and negative perceptions. I wanted to change that narrative in Manhattan, focusing on enhancing the customer experience by making parking more accessible, intuitive, and community centered.
To this end, we re-named our enforcement officers as parking ambassadors. We participated in the community during busy events, not to write citations, but to help with directions and provide event information. We held community open houses, registration events, and a popular stop among trick-or-treaters during Halloween.
We made improvements to signage and introduced mobile-friendly interfaces, ensuring that residents and visitors could easily navigate parking spaces without confusion. Responsive enforcement policies, designed to be fair yet firm, helped cultivate a sense of balance — we wanted everyone to feel that they had a place to park without worrying about overly punitive measures. We issued more than 20,000 warnings when we first opened our public parking garage.
Listening to feedback from the community was also vital. Their input guided some of our adjustments, reminding us that sometimes the best solutions come from those directly affected.
Steps toward sustainability
Even so, I would have liked to explore certain areas further, such as paid on-street parking, dynamic pricing, last-mile mobility solutions, and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Parking divisions today play a surprisingly influential role in environmental sustainability. Encouraging more sustainable travel habits and integrating green practices into parking management can help reduce congestion and the carbon footprint of our communities.
In Manhattan, I saw an opportunity to make a positive change by incorporating small but meaningful steps toward sustainability. I also wanted to examine ways to reduce idle traffic, which causes air pollution and congestion. By guiding people to available spots more efficiently, we could have minimized the time vehicles spent circling, saving gas and reducing emissions.
Challenges, of course, were inevitable. Budget limitations and space constraints meant we couldn’t fully implement all the green initiatives I envisioned. Ideally, I would have loved to explore partnerships with micromobility providers or develop mobility hubs to encourage public transportation use.
The list of what I hoped to accomplish is long, as it often is in any role where the work has a direct effect on the community. Some ideas, like dynamic pricing models that adjust rates based on demand, or a broader rollout of smart technology for occupancy monitoring, never came to fruition. Others, like establishing partnerships for transit-oriented development or piloting data-driven enforcement, were explored but tabled due to resource constraints.
Key take-aways
Managing expectations was another challenge. Although I envisioned a comprehensive approach to parking that balanced enforcement, community satisfaction, and future growth, the reality is that municipal budgets, political priorities, and timelines often shape what is achievable.
Nevertheless, these unrealized goals provided valuable lessons in patience, adaptability, and strategic planning. For those in the industry, I’d say the takeaway here is to pursue big ideas but be prepared to tackle them incrementally — sometimes, significant change happens in small, steady steps.
The one overarching lesson I’d pass on to future parking managers is that effective parking management is about more than the number of spaces or revenue collected. It’s about building relationships with the community, investing in technology to streamline processes, and staying flexible to adapt to changing urban dynamics.
Here are a few specific lessons learned that may resonate with others in the field:
• Cultivate cross-department collaboration: Parking doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Working with city planners, public works, and transportation departments strengthens initiatives and ensures that parking strategies align with a city’s broader goals.
• Prioritize community feedback: Engaging with the community fosters transparency and trust. In Manhattan, we found that listening to residents’ concerns led to practical, meaningful changes that were well-received.
• Adapt to technological advances: Technology in parking management is constantly evolving. Embrace tools that make operations more efficient and user-friendly but remember that every new system requires training and a commitment to regular updates.
• Think long-term about sustainability: Sustainable practices not only benefit the environment but also create goodwill within the community. Initiatives like EV charging and dedicated bike spaces signal a commitment to the future, even if they start small.
A proactive force
For anyone not in the parking industry, parking is often viewed as a background component of city life, something necessary but not transformative. My experience as Manhattan’s first parking services manager taught me otherwise. Parking management can be a proactive force for positive change, contributing to a city’s sustainability, accessibility, and overall quality of life. By focusing on technological innovation, community experience, and sustainability, we can transform parking into a dynamic tool that serves not just vehicles, but the people and community.
Although I could not achieve all my goals during my tenure, I’m optimistic that the groundwork laid will inspire future improvements. I left the City of Manhattan because I found an opportunity to truly effect change within a community for the better, without as much red tape and political jockeying. Kansas State University offered me the ability to rework its entire Parking and Transportation Services department and revamp the overall parking program. It wasn’t an easy decision, but ultimately it was the right one.
Adrienne Tucker, CAPP, is the director of parking and transportation for Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. From February 2022 to August 2024, Tucker served as the parking services manager for the City of Manhattan, Kansas. She can be reached at adriennetucker@ksu.edu.
