Disability-parking abuse crackdown targets meter cheaters in Loop. Police on Tuesday launched an unprecedented sweep across the Loop to catch disabled-parking abusers and found that one of every five drivers was breaking the law The 21 officers checked 54 motorists with disability tags who parked for free in metered spots and wound up ticketing ten of them. Most of those able-bodied drivers were hit with citations that carry fines ranging from $500 to $1,000 under a new city disabled-parking ordinance that took effect Sunday. For the full article click here

The parking war - the era of free parking in San Francisco may be over -- but the MTA has some bitter pills to swallow, too.. When you talk about changing parking rules in San Francisco, you're setting off the political equivalent of shooting war. Nobody wants more parking tickets, nobody wants more expensive parking meters, nobody wants to pay for parking that's been free for years — and the Municipal Transportation Agency has, by most accounts, done a pretty poor job of selling its new parking management program. For the full article click here

 

 

Kentucky Speedway has parking solution. CEO claims 2011 traffic nightmare won't be repeated. Kentucky Speedway officials are trying to make nice after the horrendous parking snafus that plagued the Sprint Cup race there last June in Sparta, Ky. "We had a little traffic problem," Bruton Smith, chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., said during the NASCAR Media Tour last week. "This time, we'll get it right. We'll never experience traffic problems like that again. We've taken ownership of the problem and we're fixing it. Whatever could go wrong probably went wrong as far as traffic was concerned." For the full article click here

 

 

New York City Department of Transportation Collaborates with Streetline to Test Smart Parking Technology in NYC. OSTER CITY, Calif. and NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Streetline, Inc. today announced that the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) has deployed Streetline's sensor-enabled Smart Parking system along Arthur Avenue in the Bronx as part of a pilot project along with two other vendors. This week's installation is being conducted by the New York City Department of Transportation to test the use of sensor technology to provide real-time parking availability to motorists. For the full article click here

 

 

South Silver Spring pushes lower parking fees. Residents will advocate for exception during budget hearings. South Silver Spring residents plan to push for an exception to a parking garage fee in a neighborhood they say is devoid of parking options. Residents in several apartment buildings — including Eastern Village Cohousing on Eastern Avenue — want a decreased fee for residents at the Kennett Street Garage. For the full article click here

 

West Windsor OKs lease for more rail commuter parking. WEST WINDSOR - The township council has given the green light to further plans to build a new parking lot at an old compost site near the Princeton Junction Train Station. On Monday, the council approved a resolution authorizing the township to lease the property to the West Windsor Parking Authority for 50 years. During the first 10 years, the parking authority will pay the township $50,000 a year, and 10 percent of the net revenue for all of its parking facilities, including the new South Lot. Terms of the lease will be re-evaluated at the end of that time. For the full article click here

 

 

It’s official: women are actually better parkers than men. After years of debate and banter, comes the news that will have men running for cover. It’s now official;  women are actually better parkers than men. The month-long study published today looked at various aspects of parking, including technique, accuracy  and time taken, in order to produce a ‘parking coefficient’, a score of how good their parking was. In  addition, drivers were questioned about their parking beliefs and behaviours. For the full article click here

Albany lot manager: New lines should stop errant parking. I work in downtown Albany and park at the east garage. I walk from the garage to my office on State Street. I walk along Eagle Street and then turn onto Howard Street down to my office. There is a parking lot on the corner of Eagle and Howard where the cars are parked on what should be a sidewalk. Most times the cars are parked so close to the curb that I have to walk in the street to get by, especially when there is snow or it is raining, as I cannot walk along the cars with the umbrella due to lack of space. There is also a vehicle parked right next to the fire hydrant every day. For the full article click here

 

 

 

Fast & Lew-se with parking laws. A Brooklyn politician campaigning to replace admitted crook Carl Kruger in the state Senate is once again using part of a public plaza outside Brooklyn Borough Hall as his private parking space. Councilman Lew Fidler (D-Brooklyn) -- the frontrunner to fill the disgraced Kruger’s Senate seat in a special election March 20 – is up to his old tricks routinely parking on a sidewalk corridor in the plaza behind Borough Hall and then walking across the street to work at his Court Street law office. For the full article click here

 

 

 

What's Your Take on Downtown Parking? Boston Globe correspondent Kathy Shiels Tully criticized what she called the “icy wall of indifference” awaiting those who appeal their parking tickets at City Hall this week.  Tully – who concedes she was 12 minutes past her hour parking limit when she received a ticket near All Seasons Table last month – said she expected the ticket to be reversed with a personal plea to the city's parking department, but was instead aghast to learn she'd need to appeal the violation online. For the full article click here

Fort Worth almost finished replacing downtown parking meters. Coin-operated parking meters are quickly disappearing from some of downtown's busiest areas, replaced by pay stations that take credit cards and print receipts. Joining cities like San Antonio and Austin in using the solar-powered machines, city officials are touting the devices as a way to park on downtown streets without keeping a stash of coins in your car. By the end of the week, the city expects to have all 80 pay and display stations installed to handle 600 high-volume spaces in the heart of downtown, said Peter Elliott, parking manager.  For the full article click here

 

 

Hakim To Provide Capital Markets Outlook and Mergers & Acquisitions. Update The National Parking Association (NPA) today announced that Ben Hakim, senior managing director for Blackstone Advisory Partners will headline NPA’s annual executive briefings and Winter Leadership Forum February 4-8. The NPA Winter Leadership Forum is a prestigious thought leadership event that provides senior level executives first-hand insights into market trends affecting the parking industry. The forum provides expert briefings on financial markets, legal issues, technology, strategic growth and parking industry trends that affect asset management, innovation and growth. Registration is available online until January 20. Ben Hakim is a senior managing director for the Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory Group at Blackstone. He has been directly involved in various transactions including the sale of Impark to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Central Parking to a consortium of Kohlberg & Company and Lubert Adler and Icon Parking to Macquarie.  “Ben Hakim brings direct and unique insights into parking industry mergers and acquisitions, as well as the capital market trends shaping real estate and the future growth of the parking industry,” noted NPA President Christine Banning, CAE.  She added, “Ben’s breadth and depth of experience in the financial and commercial real estate markets provide NPA members with valuable knowledge and market forecast insights into the forces shaping the future of the parking industry and its competitiveness in the marketplace”. Since joining Blackstone in 1999, Hakim has advised companies in all sectors with a primary focus on real estate, leisure, media transactions and business services, including AIG, Blackstone Real Estate Partners, Carrefour, Centerplate, Citibank, Clear Channel, DreamWorks, Hilton, Intrawest, JCDecaux, Macquarie, Microsoft, Morgans Hotel, Pershing Square Capital, Sony, Xanterra Parks & Resorts and YankeeNets.Hakim earned a bachelor’s in economics with concentrations in finance and accounting from Cornell University, where he graduated with highest honors.

 

Automated Parking Innovator Augments Its Management Team with Veterans of the Materials Handling Industry.  Boomerang Systems, Inc. (OTCQB: BMER) a leading designer and manufacturer of automated robotic parking and self storage systems announces the promotion of Scott Shepherd to the position of Chief Financial Officer.  Mr. Shepherd joins Dave Koch, the Company's Chief Operating Officer hired in mid-2011, as another member of Boomerang's senior management team with decades of experience in building successful material handling businesses. Joseph Bellantoni, the Company's outgoing CFO, will remain a consultant to the Company on SEC and other financial matters. For the full article click here 

Proposed Parking Plan Will Pay For Street Cleanup, Mayor Says. On Saturday and Sunday mornings after the bars close, Nyack’s sidewalks are a mess, covered in cigarette butts, litter — and worse. Nyack’s Village Board is considering a revised parking plan that would generate new revenue to clean up the streets while also giving the evening restaurant business a shot in the arm. For the full article click here

 

Ky. Speedway Continues To Add Parking. The Kentucky Speedway is doing more and more to prevent a traffic nightmare like the one that marred last year’s first Sprint Cup race. On Wednesday, track officials held a NASCAR preseason media tour day and announced an additional 29 acres along Kentucky 35 have been purchased to allow for expanded parking.  Another 55 acres are being cleared for more parking. The speedway is putting $11 million into the parking expansion which includes 326 acres of new parking for up to 18,700 vehicles. For the full article click here

 

Developers spar over parking, redevelopment measures. A discussion over reusing vacant space in Buffalo and a debate over downtown parking policy turned nasty at Buffalo Place’s monthly meeting, as rival developers Carl Paladino and Mark Croce verbally sparred, and Paladino renewed his criticism of government grants to developers. It is not the first public spat between Paladino, who owns Ellicott Development Co. and is the biggest landlord in Buffalo, and Croce, who bought the Statler Towers last year and is slowly redeveloping it. For the full article click here

Prime downtown Montreal parking lot fetches $14 million. MONTREAL - A parking lot across from the Bell Centre has fetched one of downtown Montreal’s highest prices for land in the last five years, reflecting continued demand for sites in prime locations with sky-high zoning potential. The 31,822-square-foot site on Ave. des Canadiens, between de la Montagne and Drummond Sts., sold for $14.1 million last week, real estate services firm CBRE Ltd. said. For the full article click here

Bismarck approves parking changes to enforce time limits. The Bismarck City Commission approved changes to the city's parking citation policy Tuesday in order to better enforce parking time limits downtown. The goal of the changes is to free up more spaces for downtown customers by cutting down on "re-parking," in which drivers move up a couple of spaces instead of finding a new parking spot. "It's estimated that one parking space can create $15,000 in sales each year," said Kate Herzog, assistant director of the Downtowners Association. For the full article click here 

Melinda Alonzo was recently named Director of Parking and Transit Services  (PTS) at Arizona State University. Interim Director since July 2011,  she was assistant PTS director from 2003 to mid-2011. She joined the department in 1999 as  events program coordinator. As Director, Alonzo oversees the program serving the ASU community across four campuses and comprising more than 24,000 parking spaces 

Amano McGann has been selected to install new lane equipment and upgrade its current software for 15 parking facilities in Lincoln, NE. Company readers, AVI technology, barrier gates and the iParcProfessional Suite are expected to be installed by this winter. The new software will provide a command center approach by centrally connecting the facilities -- five owned and operated by the state, and 10 by the city, a long-term Amano McGann customer -- thus reducing costs and enhancing customer satisfaction. The city facilities have migrated systems over the years from McGann Signature Software to the most recent iParcProfessional Suite.

Central Parking System has enhanced its new proprietary parking app to allow customers in its New York market to download company coupons directly to their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch device. The free app, available at the Apple App Store or at the company's website (www.centralparking.com), includes information on parking for New York, as well as more than 50 US cities. This enhancement will let customers  directly download the mobile coupons and then redeem them at participating Central locations in the New York area simply by showing the parking attendant their device. 

Jean L. Randolph has joined CTLGroup as a Senior Petrographer. She has more than 27 years of experience as a concrete petrographer. Her experience in concrete evaluation ranges from building components such as flooring, roofs and walls to infrastructure systems such as bridges, wastewater treatment plants and dams. Randolph has been involved in materials analysis projects for airports, hospitals, universities, condominiums, parking structures and industrial plants. She also has extensive experience in expert witness testimony.  

 

 

Green Courte Partners, a private equity investment firm targeting niche real estate sectors such as parking garages and lots, has acquired the Avenue of the Arts Parking Garage in the heart of the Arts District in downtown Philadelphia. The 10-level, 668-space, self-park garage also has 17,272 square feet of ground-level retail, which is currently 100% occupied by a Starbucks, a Buca di Beppo restaurant and the Fox and Hound, a sports/entertainment restaurant

TagMaster RFID products have been used for more than a year in conjunction with FuelZone Transit,   an automated fuel management system from Coencorp, at all six Coast Mountain Bus Co. (CMBC) service locations in Canada.  Based in Burnaby, British Columbia, CMBC says it connects the region by providing “a customer-centric transportation network that values safety and excellence and strives to be a leader in environmental performance.” 

 

Standard Parking Corp. has announced four new municipal contract awards: the cities of Lawrence, MA, Milwaukee and Miami Beach and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority of Atlantic City, NJ. The Lawrence award, to the company's SP Plus Municipal Services operating division, entails on-street enforcement, monetary collection and meter repair services for more than 1,000 city parking spaces. It also will install and maintain 115 new multi-space meters. Standard Parking also announced contract awards from two medical center clients: The Mount Sinai Hospital and Medical Center in New York selected the company’s SP Plus Transportation unit to provide shuttle bus services under a multi-year contract. The Athens (GA) Regional Medical Center selected SP Plus Healthcare Services to provide parking services for two garages and one surface lot 

Marty Bruemmel, President of Cape Cod, MA-based Prestige Valet Parking.com, the second-oldest valet parking attendant service in New England, and Karen West, President of Valet Connection, Rhode Island’s first parking events company, have announced a partnership agreement to work together on certain valet parking events on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket and in Plymouth County. 

 

 

The final pieces of precast/prestressed concrete have been set in place as completion of the new state-of-the-art Finfrock manufacturing building nears completion in Apopka, FL.  Construction of the 34,000-square-foot building, which has a clear height of more than 40 feet, is necessary to incorporate the use of computer-aided manufacturing technologies in the corporation’s precast/prestressed concrete manufacturing facility.  Finfrock has been using StructureWorks 3D modeling software, for the past several years, in designing the parking structures, mixed-use buildings and multi-unit residential buildings it constructs.

POS Supply Solutions is expanding its comprehensive line of point-of-sale supplies to include parking citation tickets and moving violation ticket paper rolls. The paper is available in roll and fan-folded formats to meet a variety of application needs. Paper grades include standard, heavy-duty, long-life, weather-resistant and waterproof. The use of handheld computers capable of printing e-citation tickets on the spot has virtually eliminated traditional citation books. Printed citations are easier to read than hand-written documents, faster to issue and more likely to be paid, the company also says.

Hartford-based LAZ Parking notes that its LAZFly’s Premier Valet lot, at 24 Ella Grasso Turnpike at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT, is undergoing significant renovations designed to transform the park-and-fly into the region’s best-in-class airport parking experience and provide Premier Valet customers with exceptional quality service. In addition, LAZFly’s Premier Self-Service parking lot, at 35 Ella Grasso Turnpike, has been updated with a state-of-the-art, fully automated ticket dispenser, providing its customers with a user-friendly self-operational parking system, including its shuttle to and from the airport.

 

 

The Green Parking Council (GPC) has recognized 25 US parking facilities whose operators committed to environmentally responsible technologies and practices in 2011.  These “Demonstrator Sites,” the GPC says, are “the leading edge of an industry-wide campaign establishing open-source sustainability standards and challenging the parking industry to meet these standards.” GPC Executive Director Paul Wessel explained that the sites “begin the transformation of traditional parking facilities into certified ‘green’ garages through the adoption of energy efficient lighting systems, electric vehicle charging stations, alternative fuel vehicle fleets, recycling programs, car-sharing programs and other progressive practices.” For more information on the sites, go to http://greenparkingcouncil.org.   

Nedap AVI was praised at the Gulf Traffic 2011 exhibition and conference in mid-December in Dubai, UAE, for offering progressive parking solutions for the region. Its Sensit system took home “Innovation in Parking” honors at the show’s awards ceremony and dinner. The Gulf Traffic awards recognize the most important innovations in infrastructure, traffic management and parking management in the region. This year,  70 nominations in seven categories were considered, all of which were judged by an independent panel of industry experts. 

Dennis Burns, a Regional Vice President at Kimley-Horn and Associates, gave a keynote address at a Toronto forum in late November demonstrating how pricing strategies together with new technologies can enable drivers to plan for parking in advance, rather than leaving the decision to when they arrive at their destination. Speaking at the Transport Futures “Mobility Pricing Stakeholder Forum,” Burns explained, through his presentation “Parking Matters & the Connected Traveler,” that this combination would result in less cruising, reduced congestion and fuel savings, combined with new funding for neighborhood improvements where parking takes place.  

Alvarado Manufacturing has appointed Brian McNeill as Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships. Bringing nearly 15 years of experience in business development, sales, marketing, engineering and manufacturing, McNeill will focus on increasing the company’s market share in various vertical segments, including public transportation, aviation and government. 

Digital Payment Technologies (DPT), which launched its new Luke II multi-space pay station last year, has announced its successful trial deployments in three key market segments: municipality, university and parking operator. Trial clients across these markets -- the city of Ann Arbor, MI; Texas A&M University in College Station; and Vinci Park Services in Vancouver, Canada -- told DPT officials they are pleased with the Luke II’s new capabilities, which deliver “improved consumer satisfaction, enhanced operational security and increased revenue.” The Company also announced major deployment of the LUKE II multi-space parking pay stations in Lawrence, Mass. 

Standard Parking Corporation’s SP Plus Municipal Services operating division installed and will also manage and maintain 115 LUKE II units for the city. These high-tech, solar-powered, multilingual pay stations will provide Lawrence with additional revenue, while improving parking turnover and offering a number of features for consumer convenience.

Complus Data Innovations (CDI) has acquired the parking ticket processing business of Municipal Management Associates.  The company said the move would add 35 municipal and university clients, many of them in Massachusetts, to CDI’s parking enforcement technology and ticket processing business.  Said COO Stephen Hittman: “We are excited to be expanding our presence in the industry. … This acquisition reinforces our status as the largest parking ticket management firm on the East Coast.” 

The city of Norwalk (CT) Parking Authority and the Norwalk Transit District (NTD) launched two permanent art installations at the South Norwalk train station with a kick-off event in November.  Mayor Richard A. Moccia, NTD Chairman Andrew Glickson and Emil Albanese,  Chairman of the Norwalk Arts Commission, participated in the event.  On Jan. 2, The Hour newspaper in Norwalk reported that the first public art project had been installed at the station -- “a series of small aluminum sculptures depicting various sites, history and culture of Norwalk.” The second project, “a mural depicting the transit history of the SoNo station and the community,” will be in a tunnel that connects the east- and west-bound sides. Its completion is expected early this year.  

Choate Construction Company, with Architect SAA Architecture, begin construction on the North Parking Deck at Innovation Park.  The deck is designed to offer 1,200 spaces in a three-level facility; completion is scheduled for December 2012. The deck will contain 1,200 spaces, three stair towers, and two elevators.  Tenants are also provided with 10 electric car charging stations, supporting Innovation Park’s commitment to sustainability.  Easy pedestrian access to and from the deck is achieved with an enclosed two level bridge to the main atrium of the park.

 

 

Parking ticket holders: Pay fines or get the boot in Beaufort. About 450 people -- including one who owes Beaufort for 39 parking tickets -- could have their vehicles booted the next time they park illegally. The Beaufort Police Department and Lanier Parking Solutions are resuming a practice that hasn't been used for more than two years -- attaching a wheel boot to immobilize the vehicles of those with unpaid tickets. As of Monday, $41,565 in tickets was overdue, said Lundy Baker of Lanier, which is contracted to handle city parking. According to city code, a vehicle can be booted if the owner has at least three tickets that are overdue by 15 days or more. For the full article click here

Parking still a concern in downtown Brockton. Arthur Green has been styling hair at Exclusive Styles Hair Salon in Brockton for two years and remembers how few spots were available on Main Street before the city started enforcing parking rules again. Despite signs announcing one-hour parking, cars up and down Main Street used to sit for an entire work shift, leaving little room for Green’s customers to come in for a cut or styling. For the full article click here

Consultant Lays Out Several Downtown Parking Solutions. Study shows more spaces are needed, but a new garage is only one of many ideas. A downtown parking consultant would not come right out and say that Portsmouth needs to build a new parking garage, but all of the numbers and data that he presented show the city needs to add more parking spaces. Jason Schreiber of Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates of Boston, presented many of the same numbers he did in December and they all added up to the same thing: the city needs more spaces if it is to accommodate all of the commercial and residential development in the pipeline and downtown vacancy rates decline as the economy improves. For the full article click here

South Bend's downtown parking tickets go high tech. Hand-held devices replace chalk for marking vehicles. SOUTH BEND — When it comes to monitoring downtown street parking, modern technology has replaced old-fashioned chalk. Ampco System Parking attendants who hand out parking tickets downtown recently switched to new hand-held electronic tracking devices. The device records a vehicle’s license plate number, logs the time it was viewed by a parking attendant and takes a digital photo of the parked vehicle. When the attendant comes by again and sees a vehicle has extended the posted time limit, a ticket is printed from the hand-held device. The ticket is placed in a small orange envelope and left on the windshield. For the full article click here

 

Council awaits word from Montclair Parking Authority on final offer. Montclair had made a final offer to the Montclair Parking Authority (MPA) for a new pact, and is waiting for the agency's answer, according to 3rd Ward Councilman Nick Lewis. The agenda for tomorrow, Tuesday's, Township Council meeting includes an ordinance stating that the municipality and the MPA have reached an impasse in their talks, and calls for the dissolution of the local parking agency and the creation of a parking utility to operate parking facilities in the municipality.  For the full article click here

Uptown Dallas nightlife has businesses and residents at odds over parking. The bars and restaurants in Uptown Dallas have carved out a niche in city's nightlife. But when it comes to parking, the people who live here say it's more like a nightmare. At night, the parking is especially tricky around the areas of State, Allen, and Thomas streets. "It's usually always full there's always people parked actually behind our gate illegally in the fire zones", said resident Brittani Luecke. For the full article click here

 

Hospitals offer patients free parking, discount shopping, seminars and screenings. Credit card companies, airlines and hotels all have customer loyalty programs. Maybe it was only a matter of time before hospitals got in on the act. A growing number of hospitals are seeking to attract new patients and keep existing ones by offering them an array of perks, from free parking and gift-shop discounts to wellness seminars and health screenings. Some of the most popular programs are social mixers that have nothing to do with health care. Field trip to a casino, anyone? For the full article click here

To Park? Or Not To Park? That Is The Question. New App Answers "Yah" Or "Nay" It's one of the main causes of frustration for New York City drivers: finding a legal parking spot -- or any parking spot at all, for that matter. "They [Parking Enforcement Agents] are so quick -- especially on 14th Street to give you a ticket. The second they start writing it's over," one motorist said. For the full article click here

 

How Can Main Street Parking Improve? The Manayunk Development Corporation attempts to answer that question. When it comes to parking in Manayunk, everything is on the table. "If you ask an outsider, what do you think is Manayunk's biggest problem, you'll get parking as an answer," Manayunk Development Corporation Executive Director Jane Lipton said. "If we combat it, then they are welcome to look at the whole district." For the full article click here

 

Precious AMT parking spots erased by lingering snow piles. As a West Islander who works downtown, I take the Agence métropolitaine de transport's Deux Montagnes train line from Roxboro/ Pierrefonds station, as do thousands of other commuters. The last precious parking lot spaces fill up well before 7: 30 a.m., a sure sign of the train's success. This winter, as was the case last year, the plows clear the snow by pushing it into a huge pile at the western end of the lot, where it sits, rendering at least 10 spaces inaccessible. For the full article click here

Hundreds of UMHS employees hunt for parking spots after opening of new Mott hospital. In Ann Arbor, parking has long been considered a nuisance. The aversion to city parking experienced by those working and visiting downtown is shared by employees of the University of Michigan Health System, who often arrive at work 45 minutes to an hour early in order to find a spot within walking distance of the hospitals. For the full article click here

 

 

UPDATED: Residents Oppose Longview Parking Expansion. With Online Petition Town and Country residents have created an online petition and plan to ask aldermen Monday night to hold off on moving forward with the project. For the full article click here