Houston is training its parking enforcement officers to be goodwill ambassadors for the city, too. Read about it here.
According to my contacts at the City, the officers are given training not only in communications skills, but historical facts about the city, information in giving directions, and even minor traffic control and CPR.
Wow — I think this is a fantastic idea. Let the citizenry have a positive experience with a citation writer, rather than only a negative one. Plus give the officers some positive activities to handle. Hey — they might get a better self image, too. Lets face it, firemen and cops feel good about saving people in distress. Why shouldn’t the city’s ticket writing force have some positive tasks to perform, too.
Congrats to Liliana Rambo and her crew. I’m told she got the idea from her previous position in Miami and then expanded on it here. This isn’t just a couple of hours and a pamphlet. The course lasts 10 days. These folks will be walking encyclopedias.
Perhaps the folks in the UK might do well to give their traffic wardens a bit of PR savvy. That would do more than all the meetings, managers, and new regulations sent down from Downing Street, or wherever.
JVH
