Parking Director a “Breath of Fresh Air”

Parking Director Chuck Carney of the City of Lowell, Ma — has been honored by his city for doing his job well. Rather than link, I think this is important enough to excerpt the article here:

  Parking Director Chuck Carney and
his city Parking Department have been honored by Lowell’s Center City Committee for making a
"significant impact on the downtown."

The award, bestowed at the committee’s annual meeting last Tuesday,
recognizes Carney’s department for modernizing and improving operations at Lowell’s four downtown
parking garages and theDavidson
  Street parking lot.

"He’s a breath of fresh air," said Center City Committee President
Bill Lipchitz, who added that the garages were almost a weekly topic of
discussion at committee meetings prior to Carney’s arrival, when they were
considered under-used, dirty, poorly lit, crime-ridden and unsafe.

"He spent some money and he actually cleaned them up," Lipchitz
said. "He got much better lighting. People feel much more comfortable
going into the garages. The security is much better. To me, it’s been a turn
around."

Carney has been the city’s parking director since April 2004. His department
was created in July of that year.

His tenure — which coincided with a substantial increase in monthly and
hourly garage fees and parking fines (which had been unchanged in Lowell for more than a
decade) — has seen the city’s annual spending on its parking facilities
increase from about $900,000 in July 2004 to nearly $2.7 million this fiscal
year, which began in July.

Lowell has
added new payment machines, interior and exterior lighting as well as
surveillance equipment at all its garages, which now have a 24-hour security
presence.

Before the rate increases, the city was spending about $500,000 a year more
on the garages than it took in from their operation. Under Carney, the parking
enterprise fund now pays $500,000 a year to the city coffers.

"We were surprised when I got the call for this award," Carney said.
"A lot of people in this organization have worked very hard and the city
has spent a lot of money to pull some of these things off. It’s nice to hear
our customers come back and tell us they appreciate it."

Way to go Chuck…I was also glad to see he’s a paid up subscriber to Parking Today.

JVH