The Plan and the Reality It seems like everyone was caught by surprise by the severity of the health crisis and the resulting unprecedented shutdowns. Were cities prepared or caught unaware? Did they have an emergency plan in place? More importantly, was it even relevant to this type of emergency? And who directed and…
The absence of car noise, gate lifts and parkers chatting on their phones has left a maddening silence across the parking industry worldwide. For others like me who have been in parking for years, there is nothing worse than seeing emptiness in your lots at times they were once full. What are we supposed to…
PARKING FOR EVERYONE Whose Needs Do You Need to Meet? Municipal parking lots have a challenging mission. Unlike corporate lots, shopping malls, or hospital parking garages, their customers aren’t limited to one customer type with one agenda. City parking lots service everyone, from business owners to shoppers, government employees to people headed to medical appointments,…
Tinsel and Lights Your downtown streets will probably soon be bedecked to welcome the joy and brightness of the holidays. But that’s not all you need to do to encourage locals to patronize your city’s shops and restaurants. If people don’t have anywhere to park, they aren’t likely to head downtown, no matter how bright…
Ample Parking No One Can Find The city of Knoxville has nine downtown garages, enough to keep up with even a busy downtown evening. The best part is, all of them are walkable from anywhere downtown. But when drivers kept circling looking for spots, not sure where they’d find one, Knoxville wanted a way to…
The Search for a Spot Looking for parking is annoying. No one denies that. But could it actually be causing traffic congestion on your roads? What if traffic caused by the search for parking is causing your lots to be underused and local businesses to suffer? Could there be a simple way to reduce traffic…
If you manage or operate city parking lots, you may be left scratching your head wondering why certain lots are always full while others have spots that sit empty no matter what. What if there was an easy way to fill those spots to maximize your parking resource and increase revenue? Empty spots don’t benefit…
Of course they will. If we’re to believe in the promise of autonomy, very soon all the cars will drive themselves and park themselves. Parking will be free of course, and plentiful. Or is that a science fiction dream? Apparently, many Americans think so. 15% don’t believe there ever will be self-driving cars on the…
A healthy downtown area where stores are walkable and easy to access generates robust sales and creates jobs, contributing to a vibrant economy for your city. Studies show that people who visit downtown businesses by foot return more often and spend more time and money. Ed McMahon of the Urban Land Institute went so far…