The head of the Albany Parking Authority surprised local politicos by suggesting parking programs that certainly differed from those usually expected from parking professionals. My buddy Michael Klein cautioned that he wasn't backing any of the ideas, but putting them forth for discussion.
"I don't think we should follow the old model, point blank," Klein said, instead suggesting the committee look into a system that uses market forces and incentives — rather than "rationing and command and control" — to "sort out the conflicting perspectives."
I always suspected that Mike was a closet Shoupista, but this really tells the tale. Read the article here
I particularly like the suggestion that provides that residents living in a residential parking permit area can sell their permits to anyone they like for whatever they like. This means that if a hospital is next to a neighborhood the residents could sell unused permits to hospital employees on the open market. Makes perfect sense to me.
Of course some of the local politicos didn't see the wisdom in Mike's comments:
"I don't think we need to re-invent the wheel," Conti said afterward. "I think the old system, which is used in other cities, works."
What Mike is doing is exposing his board to alternatives. He wants them to consider new ideas. It's a tough road to hoe. Nobody ever got in trouble buying IBM and nobody ever had a problem doing something someone else has done.
Way to go Mike – all those seminars at the IPI really paid off, as did a couple of meetings of the Temecula Group.
JVH
