In order to make our blog easier to find from the Parking Today Web Page, we have moved.  Our new URL is:

http://www.parkingtoday.com/blog/

If you use an RSS feed, you will have to renew it with the new blog location.

If you are notified by email of blog posts, they should continue without changs.

See you at the new site

JVH

I'm told by Suda and Andy that we are reworking the blog site to make it easier for people to find and use and I will be unable to blog for the next few days. Good as excuse and any. See you next week.
JVH

An outfit called Powderhouse productions is casting a reality TV show that will pit Valets against each other to find the best valet on earth. If you are interested go here. From their web site:

If you think you're the best in your particular business, have great energy , a really fun, dynamic personality and some mad skills , please apply!

In addition to Valets, they will be searching for the best Pizza Maker, Oyster Shucker, Window Washer, Garbage Man/Sanitation Worker, Blacksmith, Waiter/Waitress, Butcher, and Grocery Bagger.

They will want some information, and a short video of your talent. The form is on their web site, above.

Good Luck

JVH

Jeffrey Deaver is known for his terrific stories about quadriplegic forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme and his eyes, ears, and lover Amanda Sachs. The stories and characters are complex. Just as Ian Fleming's James Bond is a complex creature who risks all for what he believes, and breaks a few hearts along the way. However in his "Carte Blanche" Deaver sets out to replicate 007 as a modern 2011 James Bond. Do you like him as much? I didn't, but you might.

Casino Royale, Fleming's introduction of 007, begins like this:

The scent of smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. Then the soul erosion produced by high gambling – a compost of greed and fear and nervous tension – becomes unbearable and the senses awake and revolt from it.

This is world class Fleming – setting the mood for his hero to enter stage right.

Deaver weaves a serviceable tale, but without the literary trappings of the original James Bond series. With his opening line, you know what is going to happen in the first chapter.

His hand on the dead-man throttle, the driver of the Serbian Rail diesel felt the thrill he always did on this particular stretch of railway, heading north from Belgrade and approaching Novi Sad.

When Fleming's Bond introduces himself to a woman or the villain the author takes a graph or two to set the scene. Whether it's a chance meeting on a golf course, or over a martini (shaken not stirred) in a smoky bar in the Caribbean, the line "Bond, James Bond" sends chills down the reader's spine.

Deaver's 007 throws the line away on a snobbish British bureaucrat who has just walked into the spy's office. Deaver uses Fleming's pen to create the character, but misses his mark. The story is modern, no Aston Martin or shaken martini's in this novel (did Bentley pay for product placement?) and bourbon? OMG!!! This is a thoroughly modern Bond who picks up his clothes so he won't upset his housekeeper and checks a ring finger before flirting with a beautiful woman.

The protagonists are terrorists (or are they) and everything is as PC as possible. Fleming's Bond would be amazed at what the Britain he protected during the 50's and 60's had become.

Deaver takes 400 pages to get the villain, most of Fleming's books are about 200 pages or so.

Should you read it? Of course. Just remember, it's a story following characters you sort of know, seen through the eyes of a third party. Horrible? No, just enough different to worry you a bit.

And for your Lincoln Rhyme fans, check out the similarities between Amanda's love for speed and Philly's motorcycle prowess.

JVH

Thanks to Corey – over on Facebook:

Very insightful JVH-I have often thought about the very nature of parking and why it translates into a negative response instead of a positive one. I think that it boils down to three concepts, all stemming from human behavior.

First, when dealing with automobiles, there is already a sense of entitlement and everything that comes associated with it.

Second, the auto can be thought of as an extension of ourselves, our personality, and our identity.

Third, parking equals revenue-which opens a Pandora's box of issues dealing with financial accountability.

All three of these are deeply rooted and most operators and even clients, cannot (or will not) maintain the high levels of ethics and efficiency needed to improve the image of parking. Just my two cents worth...

President Bush often quoted the term "soft bigotry of low expectations." It refers to setting standards for one group lower than another, the idea being they can't, for whatever reason, achieve as much as the other group. Time and again that has been proven nonsense. Certainly some may have to work harder than others but perseverance and hard work will usually win the ay.

We have a similar problem in parking. It goes unsaid, but it's an undercurrent that permeates most of our professional lives. I call the 85% rule. We seem to think our actions are 'good enough' if we hit 85%.

1. I was walking the trade show floor at the IPI and in one booth I talked to the CEO about his product. He said, after I swept through the normal chaff and got to the wheat that his product collected, he could guarantee, 85% of the data it sought. He seemed to think that was acceptable for this industry and smilingly went on with his spiel.
2. A few years ago, an auditor friend of mine noted in a valet only garage at a major hotel in a major city, 17% of the tickets were missing on any given day. When he told the operator the response he got was "Wow, at least we have this location under control." And the guy wasn't kidding. He honestly felt that 17% ticket loss in a garage where basically every ticket was handled by his employees was acceptable because it was the best that could be done.
3. I was talking to a division manager of a major parking company and he was laughing about how those of us in parking needed a shot of Carbon Monoxide from time to time just to stay alive. He then got serious and told me, with a straight face, that 15% of the revenue is uncollectable, and we have to accept that.
4. In many cities, when we talk about collection (of citation revenue) we find that if they are collecting 85%, it's a lot. Most collect less than that.
5. I was told at the meeting of PEO's in Australia that a good rule of thumb is that 90% of all citations are never written. In other words, scofflaws get away with it 90% of the time.
6. When I was installing revenue control equipment ( back in the dark ages ) we found that whenever we put new equipment in, the revenue would immediately jump at least 15%. By the way, I think this is true of most equipment.
7. A VP at a major parking company told me that he could take away the operation from a competitor, any competitor, whenever the company had been at a location for more than five years. He would simply do an audit, easily find 15% missing, and show the owner. He also noted that any other company could do the same thing to him. He saw no real solution to the problem.
8. This same VP told me that only about 15% of the people in parking really are of a high quality. It was virtually impossible to increase that number. You had only so many good people and because of that, the rule I quoted in number 7 was true.
9. A buddy of mine does audits for cities around the country to find out if operators and owners are cheating on paying parking taxes. He says that a tremendous amount of parking revenue is not reported, particularly from so called 'fly by night' parking companies. He says if a city gets 85%, they are doing very well.
10. I was privy to an audit done of a major city when it was 'going out' for a PPP deal. The informal audit showed that revenue in the city run garages was potentially much higher than reported and that management really had no clue what was going on. The operators bidding the deal would bid almost any amount because they knew they could easily increase the revenue and meet their bid requirements

     

And so it goes. I don't speak to everyone, but these anecdotal comments have to have some basis. I didn't just make them up. Before you burn up the 'net castigating me for painting with a broad brush, I do know that some of you out there do a good job and run competent organizations. But I'm afraid, my friends, you may be the minority.

Have we grown to accept mediocrity as a way of parking life? We pay our managers less than they would make running a team flipping burgers at McDonald's. Our operators are forced to accept contracts that ensure they lose money because asset managers see us as a commodity. "They are all the same" is what you hear from owners and managers far and wide. They were talking about equipment as well as operators.

Thinking about my first example the company had its roots not in parking but in technology. Perhaps he thought 85% was "good enough" for parking. After all, how hard can it be, parking cars?

Are we better than 85%? Probably not if we see that number as acceptable. One of the most expensive, small, and successful parking operators in the country was Edison when it ran other than its own locations in the New York area. They accepted nothing but perfection. No lost tickets. Not one dollar missing. If it was, they found out why and spent thousands to ensure it didn't happen again. They charged a lot for their services and most asset managers wouldn't pay the freight. But those that did saw a slick, smart, successful parking operation. They weren't included in the "they are all the same." Edison developed its own technology, forced the manufacturer to make it 100%, and understood that the 15% rule didn't work for them.

Think about your operation. How many of your parking meters are 'down' at any one time? How many citations don't get written? In off street locations, how many pieces of equipment are broken, running off line, or don't work properly? How do you know? If you ran a card list right now how many active cards would there be for which you aren't collecting a monthly fee? Does the POF compute fees correctly? Are you sure? Are all the intercom's working? Does your staff follow up on every problem or just 'open the gate and let them out?" Are your PEOs napping? Have you actually gone to the garage or walked the street and seen what is going on out there? When did you check the lease agreements with your tenants and have you updated the rates you are charging based on those leases. Are you following the 15% rule?

Is our industry with all its fancy technology, seminars at trade shows, training programs, fancy slogans, doing only "B" level work? If you excel in your operation and know the magic – let me know. I'll be happy to eat a little crow and tell the world. You know where to find me.

JVH

I got a call from this number. It was a man claiming to be from the US Customs and Border Protection Narcotics Unit. He was calling because, he said, I had received some Narcotics (Ambien) from a foreign pharmacy and I had broken a dozen laws and in two minutes the police were coming to arrest me and cart me off to court where I could tell it to the judge.

I have to say he was very persuasive. My adrenaline kicked in. OMG – yes, on the advice of a friend (?) I ordered some of the drug from a pharmacy in India about six years ago – took a couple, didn't like the hangover, and threw the rest away.

This guy tossed around threats like pizza dough and I was afraid to hang up. Right up until he said that he would be able to call off the dogs if I would just pay an administration fee of $1000. Visa and Mastercard accepted.

The next thing he heard was "click".

I then input the number into Google and found that hundreds of people had gotten calls from this character. It was of course a scam. And the DEA and a number of other agencies have notes on their web sites about it.

This was particularly onerous coming on the heels of my TSA/brass knuckle experience (see post below.)

Sheesh… BTW I don't recommend you patronize on line pharmacies. However, prices from Canada are pretty cheap.

JVH

It never ends. Here is an article which does the numbers – EVs actually have a carbon footprint as large if not larger than an internal combustion engine. Seems they take a lot more energy to build, and the batteries (you have read about this here before) create a lot of environmental issues not only when they are recycled, but when they are mined. Come on, read the article. The study was funded by the British Government, not really a hotbed of Climate Change Deniers.

The Jaguar Electric previewed at the LA auto show. This is an EV I could get behind.

From the article:

Greg Archer, director of Low CVP, said the industry should state the full lifecycle emissions of cars rather than just tailpipe emissions, to avoid misleading consumers. He said that drivers wanting to minimize emissions could be better off buying a small, efficient petrol or diesel car. "People have to match the technology to their particular needs," he said.

Really, like that will happen.

JVH

Parking equipment vendors are beginning to bring modern computer technology to bear on the industry. The goal, it seems, is to be able to provide a high level of computer hardware and software power without the average garage having to have an MIT graduate on site to keep the equipment running. The concept is to have mainframe computers located off site (maybe rented from Verizon or whomever) and have each piece of equipment hold an IP address. They would all be connected by a high speed internet line and decisions as to whether or not a person should be let in, or how much to charge a certain ticket, would be made off site.

This would also enable extremely complex software to be brought to bear on the business of parking, and managers would have fast and complete information about their individual businesses, no matter where they are on the planet. Obviously different companies approach the problem differently, and each has an argument why their product is a better way, but that is for each to decide.

There is another reason for having this type of technology in your garage. It enables you to begin to administer your facility from an off-site central location. No more manager in the garage, no cashier, no bookkeeper. Maybe you have a 'rover' in a community to be available to help with equipment malfunctions, but that's it.

One major parking company is even considering doing away with city and regional offices. When this goes on line, the city manager will be like the "Lincoln Lawyer." He or she will be working out of their car. Talk about cutting expenses. From half a dozen employees in each garage (many more for larger facilities) and offices with rent, receptionists, and the like to a manager, a rover, and a couple of cell phones.

Some parts of this makes good business sense. But there is one area I'm not quite so sure.

Parking is a personal business. People like to see someone when they park their car. Owners like to have someone on site to give that 'personal' touch. Drivers like to wave to a familiar face, and often appreciate the ability to ask directions or for help when needed.

One attempts to change the business from a personal, one on one problem solving relationship to a "McParking" one size fits all approach, at his or her peril. The successful companies will blend the "clouds" and technology with personal contact and service. Where you remove 100% of the staff, maybe 80% would be better. Well trained concierges who solve problems, meet and greet, and frankly just make life a little better for the drivers will work for the successful companies. Those that try to replace all people with technology will not succeed.

I go to Disneyland as much to talk to Mickey, have my picture taken with Snow White, or be welcomed by a clean cut young person who simply is there with a smile, as I do to ride Star Tours and the Matterhorn. Those Disney folks know about customer service. Successful parking companies do too.

JVH

Why not? The folks over on our Facebook Page are talking about this concept and seem to be in favor. They are talking about urging folks to clean out their garages and park their cars there. I'm all for that, but I have other reasons.

First – let's get the cars off the streets. It's simple. The rule could be that you could park for two hours (or four) and then you had to pay. A classic first two hour free rate. Most short term visitors would be able to park in the neighborhood without paying, residents would have to use their garages. This would take the vast majority of cars off the street.

Second – People need to be thinking that parking space costs money. This program would get drivers understanding that parking has value. It is not the responsibility of the taxpayers to provide parking space for people who elect to own and drive cars. Parking is another expense in driving – fuel, insurance, oil, tires, maintenance, and parking.

Third – Security. The process of enforcement would have more people in uniforms and marked cars driving around the neighborhood. They could call the cops if a problem was spotted. What's wrong with having an extra pair of eyes on the lookout for creepy guys walking around (ignore the two geezers with the sheltie and two Chihuahuas, they live here.)

Fourth – Revenue. The money from the permits and fines could be used to keep the street lights lit, the sidewalks and streets in good repair, the trees in the parkway trimmed. Gee who wouldn't want to charge for parking if the money actually went right back in to filling those potholes and cleaning up the weeds that are peeking out through the crumbling curbs.

Fifth – it's just good public policy. We are managing an asset and keeping the public trust.

How it might work: Residents could purchase one time permits, say in groups of 10. How about $5 each. You could order them on line, or at the local fire station or even at the 711 or Bodega on the corner. When someone comes and they are going to stay more than a couple of hours, you put today's date on the permit and they put it on their dash. It is only good for that day. If a resident elected to park their car on the street, they could purchase a permit for full time use. Maybe $75 a month – or whatever. We got $75 a month from half of the 300 cars that park on the street overnight in my neighborhood, (about six square blocks) that would net out $135K a year (not counting the daily permits) – spread that out over an entire city and guess what money it would bring. And that doesn't even count citation revenue.

Enforcement would drive around and check the permits. Citations would be issued as appropriate. Simple, elegant, no worries. All money is collected on line or when permits are purchased. No issue with machines, maintenance, collecting coins, etc.

The money would go to administer the program and what was left over would be used for services in the neighborhood.

OK, you libertarians, come at me.

JVH

Joyce posted this article about credit card parking meter tests in Missoula. Seems the credit card and transaction charges were running almost two thirds of the amount collected. WOW. I can see where this might have not been the best place to test this technology.

I asked Anne Guest, the head of parking in the Montana city, about her on street rates and she said they were 50c and hour. She noted that they were too low to justify the fees associated with them. She's right, of course. There is a tipping point.

Missoula is a college town of about 50,000 and services a large area of western Montana. These are hearty western folk who might look askance at paying a couple of bucks an hour to park.

In many metropolitan areas that have on street rates approaching $3 and $5 and hour, credit card meters are the only way to go. Few carry 12 or 20 quarters just to pay for an hour's parking.

Anne says they will be doing something soon. It seems they are supporting their old meters with parts scavenged from other communities. She has a wide selection of possibilities including new single space meters, Pay and Display, Pay on Foot, and the like. But I'm sure she has the process well in hand.

Rates are one of a number of things to keep in mind when you are considering technology. The most fancy isn't always the best.

JVH

A CEO is sitting in his living room watching the NBA finals. He is a Miami fan and his team is one game up. The last thing he is thinking about is his business. Pat Riley sends Eric Spolestra a note and wants Lebron on the bench. A timeout is called. A commercial from ATT comes on.

A CEO is walking through an airport and calls his own company. He is put on hold. ATT has a solution for that problem.

Our hero remembers that the same thing happened to him a month ago. He makes a note to have Charlie down in Communications call ATT and find out what their new product is all about. He goes back to the game just as Spolestra overrules Riley and leaves Lebron in the game. Final score Dallas 86, Miami 83. Whoops!

The ATT ad did exactly what it was supposed to do. It reminded the CEO that he had a problem he already knew about. A busy CEO can't track all the company's problems. He or she can usually keep about five up front in their consciousness with the rest floating around with the date of their anniversary and the kids shoe sizes. However, ATT reminded him of what he needed and may get a big payoff for their ad on the ABC.

The same thing happened at the trade show in Pittsburgh. Very few people who walked up the aisles actually said "wow, there's something I need but never thought of it before." What they did was have a list of a few things they wanted particularly to see and other things lurking in the back of their minds.

What this means is that vendors can't "sell" a person something unless they actually already need it and have thought about it. The concept of "creating a need" is baloney. That fancy car on Hawaii 50 reminds me of how badly my Belchfire 12 is running and how much the tune up will cost. The catalogue for lawn furniture catches my attention usually because the stuff in the back yard is pretty scuzzy after leaving it out past the first snow.

It's the same in business. You know that you pay too much for electricity, but there are more pressing issues like the manager who quit this morning. You have been thinking about replacing gates, but who can worry about that when the fourth floor tenant slipped and almost broke his leg.

You know the gates are flakey, that the lighting is costly, and that there may be a better way to get oil off the floor. So when you walk through the exhibition, the items that catch your eye are the lights, and the gates, and maybe that powder that soaks up oil. You will have little interest in items that solve problems you don't have, or don't know you have.

It's the job of the exhibitor or the advertiser to remind you of your problems and give you a way out. It's how it work. Now you know.

Think about it – the next time you buy something. Did you buy it because Ronald told you to, or because you were hungry when you saw those golden arches?

OK, back to the game.

JVH

I ride this horse a lot, but charging for disabled parking would solve a lot of problems, the biggest of which is the misuse and counterfeiting of the disabled blue placard (or blue badge as they call it in the UK). Here is a letter to the Editor from a Derbyshire newspaper. I reprint it in full:

I READ with interest that the new leader of the council in Chesterfield is to make one of his priorities to slash the charges for disabled car parking.

I recall that I first suggested charging disabled people to park a few years ago at one of the annual council tax meetings. I was informed then, that 25% of the parking spaces in Chesterfield were allocated to disabled people, and at that time they parked free of charge. The other 75% were paying heavily for this anomaly. I also saw this as a huge loss of revenue when finances were tight.

My reasoning behind my suggestion was that it was folly to presume that all blue badge holders were on the breadline, and not able to afford any charge for parking. But in reality, anyone who has the misfortune to be disabled can apply for a blue badge, from unemployed people right through to millionaires. So why should they have free parking. What blue badge holders require is ample parking close to all amenities. That should be the council's priority.

It is their disability which needs assistance, not their finances.

Yep – This fellow is right on.

JVH

My friend Gary Neff is promoting an idea. Cover parking garages and other buildings in a mesh like substance that becomes a huge TV screen. From the inside you can see through it but on the outside, its like those 'living' billboards you have seen sprouting up on corners across the land.

It took me a moment to connect the dots when I spoke to Gary at the IPI show last week, but I finally did after reading this article in the Hartford Business Daily. I realized we ran a picture of Gary's first project in June's PT. Here it is:

Not too shabby. If you remember how ugly the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC is, this really sets it off. Think of the tons of applications, and the potential ad revenues generated.

JVH

This Story has so many parking references they are difficult to catalogue. First off, it's the 'boot.' The metal monster is being used in Tampa to get people to pay their parking fines. OK. Second the Mayor notes they send people 10 notices before they boot. WOW! Ten chances. No wonder people don't pay on time. Why should they. Just keep track of the notices and then pay when you get the ninth.

Then there's automatic license plate recognition that's used to find the cars that are owned by scofflaws. Super technology. With it, I just wonder why they wait so long before booting. Of course if the person doesn't pay within a couple of days, they tow. I know booting is easier than towing, but towing certainly gets their attention.

Finally we talk to Brandon the Tattoo artist whose car was booted and he had to come up with a grand to get it released. He parks in front of his parlor so he "can keep an eye on my car." The limit there is two hours. He often doesn't like to leave his customers "in pain" to move his car, hence the resulting fines.

So we have merchants who take their customers parking spaces. Brother, sounds like there needs to be some aggressive look at parking policy and some work with the downtown merchants, as well as cruising the streets with their new ALPR system nailing scofflaws.

At least the cigar city is moving in the right direction

JVH

From the Baltimore Sun:

What if "green" cars made pollution worse, not better? What if they increased greenhouse gas emissions instead of decreasing them? Preposterous, you say? Well, consider what's happened in Sweden.

Through generous subsidies, Sweden aggressively pushed its citizens to trade in their old cars for energy-efficient replacements (hybrids, clean diesel vehicles, cars that run on ethanol). Sweden has been so successful in this initiative that it leads the world in per-capita sales of "green" cars. To everyone's surprise, however, greenhouse gas emissions from Sweden's transportation sector are up.

The story goes on:

But perhaps we should not be so surprised. What do you expect when you put people in cars they feel good (or at least less guilty) about driving, which are also cheap to buy and run? Naturally, they drive them more. So much more, in fact, that they obliterate energy gains made by increased fuel efficiency.

So why should I move back into the city or carpool when I can purchase a great electric or hybrid that costs zip to drive and is comfortable and fun. I'll just keep my house in the burbs and commute.

Maybe the Greens should be jumping off the EV bandwagon and on the "Charge Market Rates for Parking" wagon. Hmmmmmmm.

Don Shoup call your office.

JVH

India is beginning to impose parking requirements. They look around, see a lot of cars on the street parking every which way and assume that the solution is more parking. The solution may be charging for parking and good enforcement. You can read the article here.

Over building of parking is already happening in some Indian cities. From the Article:

But creating too much parking space could also be a problem, builders point out. In Punjab and Noida, where recently changed building norms prescribe very high parking facilities, Credai has approached the government to relax the norms.

"Parking space must be optimal. In Punjab, many projects have basement parking lots that remain unused," said Bajaj. "Apart from turning to be a maintenance hassle, unused underground parking lots can also pose a law and order problem as they could be used by unscrupulous elements," he added.

Plus, they add to the cost of the development and raise the rents. Before they begin mandating parking requirements, they need to charge, enforce, and use the money generated to enhance the area. The Shoup-dog would be proud.

JVH

I'm told that there seems to be a groundswell of support for the Women in Parking group PT helped found last week in Pittsburgh. The nine original members tell me that their numbers are increasing. They are holding a virtual meeting soon and will have a web site and other communications processes up and running within the month.

We are acting as administration and if you want to be put in their mailing list, send your 'details' to joyce@parkingtoday.com. She will take care of it and you will be kept informed.

JVH

If you have seen some strange posts here on PT blog, other than the normal parking related ones, they are due to a hacking we have received here at PT. In addition, my email list appears to have been stolen and some of my correspondents are getting rather strange emails apparently from me. Most are caught in spam filters, but some are getting through. Just click delete. Hopefully it should die down quickly.

JVH

We snagged this over on PT's Facebook page from a blog called "Straight out of Suburbia" It's a strange mix of Spanish and English, but I like this guy – He goes by the sobriquet "Chewbacca." He is a Shoupista and here is his plan:

Instead of a PPD, set up a parking market. This should include areas for both short-term and long-term on-street parking. The short-term parking can be handled by putting up meters. Yes, I'm advocating for putting up parking meters in front of people's houses and apartments in these situations. If you want to get really fancy, embed sensors in the ground under each parking space, then use the data on which spaces are occupied to set demand-sensitive prices that keep some spaces open at all times (hat tip to Shoup Dogg). For long term parking the solution is designating certain areas with signs on every block and selling permits, but not the same way a PPD sells them. These permits would be for sale to anyone, and their price would be based on demand so that they don't sell out instantly. They would also have to be renewed periodically.
This system insures that everybody who is willing to pay the market price for parking will have access to both short and long term parking. The prices are a disincentive to leave cars on the street (and hence to own an excessive number of cars) and this benefits alternatives to the car, which, with any luck, will someday make this discussion less relevant.

He is right, of course. Parking isn't free, even in residential areas. He is a reasonable enviro. Not a lot of them around. Check out his comments on high speed rail. Wow! Cool site.

JVH

I spoke to a municipal parking manager the other day and he told me that in his community there wasn't enough parking downtown and the core was dying. They claimed they needed a new parking structure. He did a study and found that there were a lot of unused spaces so he set up a permit program, sold permits to the merchants, moved them to streets away from the downtown core, and voila the downtown started to grow. Revitalization thanks to parking?

I am the last one to take credit away when it is due, but did this relatively simple solution really do the trick? It doesn't seem reasonable to me.

I am a "if you built it they will come" kind of guy. All the free or even available parking on the planet will not get people to go somewhere if there is no other reason for them to go. Conversely, they will park in the mud and walk through a driving rain to see their team play.

Take Old Pasadena as an example – This was the "skid row" area of Pasadena, CA. No one went there. It was a mess. They began a pay parking program and a couple of years later it was the go to area in Los Angeles. So – parking was responsible for the rebirth. Not really. Parking provided the money. The money provided urban renewal. And suddenly trendy shops and restaurants found a place to locate. THEN people started coming to Old Pasadena.

I don't know any facts about the situation mentioned above, but things work in tandem. Parking is an important factor, but so is the street scene, or the entertainment factor, or the mix of stores and clubs and restaurants. Can I sit and watch the world go by? Is there a world going by to watch? Are there nooks and crannies where I can be alone, and benches where my friend and I can sit in the sun?

Are the sidewalks broken, the streets dirty? Are the shops inviting, are there a lot of empty stores? Is every other shop a wig store or run by the Salvation Army?

Parking is a factor, an important factor, but not the only factor. A huge garage may with plenty of parking may not be 'right' for the neighborhood when there are tons of on street parking that just needs to be managed.

Yes, the parking professional needs to be able to sit at the table with the other merchants and planners but it should not be expected that his or her actions will solve all a communities' problems.

JVH

I sat out on the last day of the IPI show to find new products. You know the ones that make you go "wow." If "wow" means something that will change the face of the industry (Like a prox cards, Pay by Credit Card or Pay on Foot) then I failed. The comments I heard from many attendees and exhibitors was that a lot of the products were "same old same old" and others were similar to existing products, but with new outside designs. That is, new paint, new 'skins', new "look" but not a lot of new technology.

In Europe, the major shows are scheduled on an every other year basis. Manufacturers use these events as a 'launch' for new products. We like to think that technology moves rapidly, however in our industry it's a tad more glacial. It's one thing to develop a cell phone that is also a camera, computer, and gameboy with your potential marketplace at a billion users. Huge upfront investment is made based on a high end outcome. Pushing the product to market is necessary and desirable.

However when your potential market is limited in a niche like parking, things move more slowly. Often mockups are shown at trade shows to gauge a reaction, and then adjustments are made as the product finds its way to market and design flaws which went unnoticed in the lab now become apparent. This process on an every other year schedule can mean that new ideas can be test 'shown' at the show and then either put forward or dropped over the upcoming 24 months, a 'final' product can be displayed or a new set of ideas put forward.

When the show runs every year, the manufacturers are hard pressed to keep ahead of the 'wow' factor. Often a year isn't enough time to forge a new product or take a new design from the drawing board to 'reality."

That being said, I do think that some manufacturers made great progress where product enhancement is concerned.

For instance, Park Assist is a parking guidance company that is partnering with Amano McGann. Last year their product, based on using CCTV to determine open parking spaces and red/green lights to guide parkers to them added a new twist. The camera would 'read' your license plate and then you could enter the plate when you paid and the system would tell you where your car was parked.

This year, Park Assist added a LPR camera on entry. When you arrive, your license number was 'attached' to the ticket you received on entry. When you leave, the process of inserting your ticket at a Pay on Foot also called up your vehicle and presented a picture of the location of your car. No need to enter a plate number (and perhaps key it in improperly). It's fast and efficient.

Another such example is the Luke II by Digital Payment Technologies. The company took their successful "Luke" product and expanded on a theme. The new P and D machine enabled you to pay by cell and then be notified by text when your time is nearing completion, and enabled you to update your payment from your phone, if allowed. The new product has many enhancements in design in both the way money is handled and the robust nature of the enclosure.

I noted that virtually all single space meter companies were providing a "pay by credit card" facility on their meters. Let's face it, the market was crying for this technology, one company led the pack, and now others are bringing the enhancement to their products.

Many companies added EV charging stations to their product lines. It was difficult to walk down an aisle without seeing these in abundance. Some supplied the stations as standalone units to be purchased by garages as benefits for potential parkers while other companies (like revenue control) saw them as add ons so their equipment could collect money from the charging stations as well as for parking. Brand spanking new? No, there were a number of such stations last year. However many manufacturers jumped on the sustainability band wagon and provided these products.

Reduce expenses and become 'green' by selecting lighting that uses less power. Pay your monthly parking at a POF with a credit card. In street sensors will provide data for occupancy and rate determination. Cloud computing was noted in a number of booths – locate your computer hardware off site and do away with the limitations of on-site data centers. It was all there.

Next year, expect some of these products to have been moved aside, and others to take their places. Perhaps I am jaded, but for me "wow" is when a company takes a product and makes it better, makes it work, and makes it fit the marketplace. I saw some of those. And I did say "wow".

JVH

This article was underwritten by ACS, A Xerox Company.

Eric Larson, who has written stirring nonfiction about a serial killer during Chicago's great exhibition of 1898 (The Devil in White City) and Marconi's struggle to bring radio to the planet (Thunderstruck), does his best work telling us what happens when the world turns a blind eye to evil. From the dust cover:

The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history.

A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the "New Germany," she has one affair after another, including with the surprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance--and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler's true character and ruthless ambition.

Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Goring and the expectedly charming--yet wholly sinister--Goebbels, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning, eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Berlin, and Europe, were awash in blood and terror.

Memorial Day is a good time to consider the alternatives. We took one path in 1933, when a strong involved America could have stopped a stumbling Hitler before World War II and the Holocaust. This book reminds us that hiding from horror never makes us safe, but ensures our possible destruction. Plus it's a really great read. Eric Larson has a winner.

JVH

Pax Americana – For the past seven decades America has been vilified around the world. People march in protest in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and now the Middle East. They complain, gripe, call us "ugly" and imperial. We either don't do enough, or do too much.

American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines have taken war to enemies of freedom in virtually every decade. We did it not for land, conquest or treasure. Our country is no larger now that it was in 1880. When we were victorious in Germany, Italy, the Philippines, Japan, Cuba, Iraq, Panama, Grenada, or any of the other bush wars we have fought, we asked only enough land to bury our dead.

After all the shouting is done, all the politicians have had they say, all the condemnation of us from within and without has died down, our people know why we do what we do. It was for Freedom.

It's been nearly 50 years since we had a draft, yet we are the most powerful army on the planet. Our military's men and women serve in harm's way without complaint. From a piece by Representative Jeff Miller, Chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee:

Staff Sergeant Daniel J. Clay, from Pensacola, Fla., is one of the more than 5,500 who have given their lives since Sept. 11, 2001. He is part of our new generation of veterans, the Noble Generation — a generation that came of age upon witnessing horrifying destruction and terrorism within our own borders.

Clay was a Marine, and he was proud of it, forgoing college to join the Corps after high school. He was killed by an IED alongside nine of his battle buddies in Fallujah, Iraq, on December 1, 2005. He wrote in case of his death:

"I know what honor is. It is not a word to be thrown around. It has been an Honor to protect and serve all of you. I faced death with the secure knowledge that you would not have to . . . "

A tribute posted on a website dedicated to Staff Sergeant Clay summed up the helplessness we all feel when we learn of a life extinguished in defense of our nation: "I wish I could take your families and friends' pain away, but I can't. . . . Thank you is not enough, but it is all I have."

JVH

The movie is subtitled "On Stranger Tides" and much of it is a tad strange and it certainly isn't great art. But it's a lot of fun. Johnny Depp camps it up as Captain Jack Sparrow, beginning the flick by taking the British Monarchy on and having a chase scene through the streets of 17^th Century London. He is impressed onto a ship captained by Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his daughter? Angelica (Penelope Cruz). They are in search of, are you ready, the fountain of youth.

Leading the British contingent chasing after Jack Sparrow and co is Barbarossa (Geoffrey Rush). There are man eating mermaids, ships that come alive, a love story (well maybe two love stories, if you count the ongoing relationship between Angelica and Jack) yes a love story between a preacher brought along to try to save Blackbeard's soul and Syrena, the beautiful and not so fully clothed Mermaid. Strategically placed hair keeps the "R" rating at bay.

There is a lot of sword play and derring-do. But the key to this franchise is Depp's Captain Jack. His dry wit and foppish demeanor make the movie. It's worth seeing just for his role. He plays Captain Jack right out La Cage aux Faux so well that when Angelica tries to keep him from abandoning her on a desert island by telling him she is pregnant with his baby you believe him when he says that he didn't remember….well you know. And he says he would never be too drunk to forget THAT.

Of course the premise is absurd and the characters rather two dimensional. But this is a movie about pirates and mermaids, and the fountain of youth, not about a King who needed Rush to teach him how to speak without a stutter.

If you want to have a good laugh, and there is one around every corner, see this movie. But don't expect to be blown away. It's not that kind of film.

Oh, I suggest you DO NOT see the 3D version. There isn't much of a "wow" factor in the 3 D parts. It seems that 90% of the movie isn't 3D and the 10 percent isn't worth seeing the 90 percent through the glasses which actually makes it seem like you are watching through sunglasses.

JVH

Bart over at Paylock send me proof of the incident:

I guess one can see how the TSA might have thought this was a weapon. Andy seems to love the moment.

As for the "other" gift – Starship Enterprise Pizza Cutter – It exists:

And we used it last night. Works great. The TSA didn't seem to mind this sharp tool. I guess it's not on their list of forbidden items.

Bart apologized for my troubles. Heh – They had better be looking over their shoulders. As Kahn said in the movie "Revenge is a dish that is best served cold." J

We did have a great time playing Family Feud with the Lilliana Rambo's Texas group and the gang at Paylock.

JVH

Cary posted this link on PT's Facebook page. It's a short film about Validation. Parking Validation, and personal Validation. It's extremely well done, and worth the 15 minute investment. Over 5 million people have watched it since it was put up on YouTube in 2008. If you are a fan of "Bones" you will quickly recognize the star.

JVH

Wow – I was interviewed along with David Cummins, VP over at ACS about my musings on the IPI show. If you are interested, you can hear it here.

I commented that I felt there weren't a ton of new "wow" items at the IPI, but that many from last year had evolved and new features have been added. The show was definitely "green" with many sustainability issues addressed, most predominantly the locating of EV charging stations in garages.

JVH

I was asked by ACS, a Xerox company, muse a bit on parking for their corporate web site. This is the second of the series…

Are you a Shoupista? Do you actually know the Shoup dog? Don Shoup is speaking tomorrow. The room is sold out.

When Professor Donald Shoup of UCLA published "The High Cost of Free Parking" in 2005 he had little thought of what might be coming. He was taking a radical position. On street parking pricing should be set so that it affected the demand. Parking requirements by cities should be abandoned. The money raised should be returned to the neighborhoods from wince it came.

This flew in the face of parking pricing programs that had been followed for decades.

Whether by design or not, cities sat out to subsidize parking in their downtown cores. Low priced or free parking was thought necessary to "bring customers into the downtown area," and to keep constituents happy. The concept of keeping parking cheap or free was endemic.

The pricing model was upside down. Pricing in surface lots and parking structures, although still relatively inexpensive, was more costly than convenient on street parking. On street parking was jammed, and off street structures and lots had plenty of parking available. Drivers would cruise around and around looking for cheap on street parking….

To read the rest, click here

I had breakfast with a manufacturer of on street equipment yesterday at the IPI show. We spoke about a number of topics but he asked me what I thought about market based pricing. The way he asked the question made me think he didn't think much of it.

I probed a bit and found that he didn't believe that prices could be reasonably change hour by hour to fit the number of cars on the street. "How would you communicate that to drivers?" he said.

He noted that his product was perfectly capable of changing rates on a moment's notice, meter by meter. That wasn't his point. He was musing that the good Professor Shoup might have a bit of an "ivory tower" approach and the real world works differently. Good Point.

I haven't reviewed this with the Shoup-dog, but from my point of view you are throwing the baby out with the bath water. It seems to me that to work, the word has to get out as to the rates in an area at a certain time. When the new theater opens, rates will go up in that area when it is usually full (Friday night and on weekends and holidays) but they will go down on Monday PM and etc. We find that an area with tony clubs and restaurants may have higher rates during the evening but low rates during the day.

Rates are adjusted as data is collected about occupancy in each area and raised or lowered so that there is a free space on each block space all the time. Sf Park is adjusting rates monthly, I believe and then not more than a quarter a go. Who knows that may be too often. You need to be sure that the change in occupancy isn't a one-time anomaly, say the opening of Star Wars vs the opening of Hangover IV.

To me it just makes common sense that the rates are adjusted often enough to make a difference, but not so often that you lose sight of the objective

JVH

The powers that be in Los Angeles apparently have removed the head of parking enforcement. Wanda over on PT's Facebook page posted the story yesterday. You can read it there with the PT Facebook wag's comments here, or the actual article here.

First it was the Porno movie, then shop lifting and soliciting prostitution. Yep, this means that supervision is lax at the city that owns LAX. It was interested what they said in the article. He was "untouchable" because his department brought in $100 million a year in citation revenue.

Wasn't anyone at the LA city government wondering how much they could bring in if there was some good oversight in the department? I wonder what a total audit of the enforcement division would bring to light?

Sheesh

JVH

There are always things someone on the outside looking in would change, but from my point of view the 2011 IPI show in Pittsburgh was a win for everyone concerned. There was a lot of talk about having the show in "Pittsburgh" but frankly, it's a beautiful city and their convention center is a great venue.

All exhibitions have a "last day drop off" and if you can figure out a way to stop that (except only having the exhibition on one day) you should bottle it. This year was no different. It's just as it is.

Even the usual whining about booth traffic seemed muted. I know the IPI has put the numbers at 2500 (that includes exhibitor personnel) so exhibitors should be happy.

I didn't attend any of the educational sessions as we were very busy in meeting most of the time. If you attended any or have any input, let me know.

See you next year in the land of sun and sand, Phoenix.

JVH

Having thought about it, maybe the entire thing was a plot by the Texas Family to "take PT down a notch or two." We won too easily. Lilliana and that group are smart cookies. I wonder…..

A note to all exhibitors: A few years ago Zeag was giving out Swiss Army Knives as gifts. Then they realized that virtually everyone carries on these days and the knives would be confiscated. For a year they actually mailed the gifts to booth visitors, but then decided to go with a more 'TSA friendly' gift.

I didn't notice any 'swag' that would set off alarms, except of course those happy lads at Paylock, but it's something to consider.

JVH

We were fortunate enough to be asked to play Family Feud in the Paylock booth at the IPI. It was the last day and for some reason (probably some kind of Texas sly move) IPI Chair elect Lilliana Rambo of the City of Houston and her "Texas Family" threw the game and the Parking Today Family won. I was singularly unsuccessful but my team (Andy, Marcy, and a ringer from ACS Tamara) held up their end. WE WON! What does any of this have to do with the TSA – Read on.

We were given great prizes, the one I will cherish is a Starship Enterprise pizza cutter. It's really ABFAB. Andy won a wine opener and since I am the heavy drinker in the family, he graciously gave it to me. Whatta boy! And therein turns the tale.

I was to fly to LA on Wednesday evening. However weather was against me and flights were late so I elected to reschedule and take an early AM flight on Thursday. I tossed everything in my bag and made it to the airport with barely 45 minutes to spare. The lines were long and when I got through the scanner I noticed that the TSA person at the monitor was calling everyone over to look at the exray of my bag. Then they asked nicely if I would mind if they searched my luggage. The plot thickens. I was sure they were after the pizza cutter.

They spread my unmentionables all over the place and then asked "Do you have a set of brass knuckles in your bag?" Whoops – the corkscrew was in the shape of a great pair of brass knuckles.

Oh yeah, says I. it was a prize I won playing Family Feud. I rummaged around and came up with the offending item. I figured I would simply toss it and that would be the end. HA At that point TSA went in to Slow Motion – I was cursing Cory.

They spent five minutes looking for paperwork and begin filling it out. I asked if I couldn't simply throw it away. Nope – gotta fill out two pages of data with everything about me. I was cursing Bart.

Then it got interesting. The police arrived. I looked confused. They didn't. A big strapping patrol officer told me that he was now trying to decide whether or not to arrest me for a felony – bringing a weapon (that of course is not even allowed in Pennsylvania) through security and trying to sneak it on an airplane. I am now cursing Matt.

He was actually reading the fine print on the blister pack that held the offending item. He looked at me. "I am running you. Is there anything you want to tell me?" I am cursing Cory's parents.

(I have this minor problem. There are two of me. Same name, same birth date, both live in LA. My doppelganger is a felon. I tell him. He says – Oh, that's ok. We run into that all the time. Usually DNA tests can get you out of prison} I am cursing even the concept of booting and enforcement.

He finishes reading the fine print and decides that I'm probably not a felon and says that yes it's a "curio." He will let me off with a strong warning. He says it's legal to sell the item as a "curio" but it's illegal to own one. I look at him and he just smiles – "Yeah, I know," he says." Makes no sense."

Things are starting to look up. TSA now reappears in the form of a non uniformed woman whose job it was to make me understand that they were only doing their jobs and that if I thought about it, I was really the one in the wrong here. She did not succeed, but I kept my mouth shut. First time for everything.

The TSA uniform returns with the paperwork and my tickets and ID. The cop returns with a form that I should sign. He said he would fill it in later =-= all routine, nothing to see here.

I signed and hurried to my plane. Was able to walk on board just as the door closed. Whew

Thinking back on it, all's well that ends well. So thanks to Cory, Matt, Bart, and the rest of the Paylock team and their various relatives and parents, this is a story I will be able to tell forever. But because of the TSA I won't have the pleasure of wearing brass knuckles when I open a fine vintage red.

JVH

Someone asked me last night what I thought was the most unique item at the show. Frankly I couldn't come up with anything that really rang my chimes. So my goal today is to search out the most unique item and run it to ground. I'll have camera and notebook in hand. I will be in a lot of booths, big and small. Watch this space.

In Europe the big parking events are every other year. The World's Largest show, Intertraffic, will next be held in Amsterdam in April 2012. Here's the deal. Manufacturers use that show to "launch" new products. They time their research to fit the show. It's difficult to have something "new and different" every year. It used to be that auto companies had a "new model" every fall. Today major changes come, what, every five years and when you see them, they are stunning.

I'm not saying that the IPI should go to an every other year schedule, but certainly the exhibition would be more exciting.

As for "new" – most wags at the exhibition told me that they see new "skins" wrapped around the same products. Maybe improvements on the technology (Digital's LUKE 2 for instance) and perhaps some yielding to marketplace requirements, but something really cutting edge – If it's there, I'll find it.

Perhaps it's not one, but a number of "new" products or upgrades that solved so called fatal flaws – by tomorrow – I'll be travelling tonight – I'll bring you the List.

JVH

Lisa Bahr from IPS dropped by our booth this afternoon as things started to wind down. I was able to get a picture with PT Sales Director Marcy Sparrow – Had a camera, great subjects, have to take the shot:

And in the Parking Structure:

As we walked to our car, I noticed a bit of confusion at the POF. The person who had just left didn't take their exit pass. The previous day, I had the keys and Andy and Marcy had the car. We were in two different places. I gave him the keys, but I retained the ticket. Andy found that there was no lost ticket facility on the machine, and the 'help' button got him nowhere. Sheesh. And we are in the parking business.

Pictured is an honest man. He could have kept the paid receipt, used it to exit and none would have been the wiser, at least until the original owner of the receipt realized what he had done…

More tomorrow – the last day

JVH

Mark Curtis at the Parking Zone showed me something different and told a story as to its genesis. The company is marketing an upmarket recycling container that takes all types of recyclables, enables users to separate them into appropriate bins, and looks good all at the same time. The unit was designed and first manufactured by Paul Allen's group at Rose Garden Stadium in Portland.

Allen had spent hundreds of millions on the arena, and wanted it to be as sustainable as possible. One area was recycling and Allen didn't want different colored trash cans sitting around his stadium. So the owners designed and built customized units for the center. When other teams visited the Blazers their owners saw the recycling units they fell in love with them and wanted to buy them from Allen. But the Rose Garden Arena was in the sports and entertainment business, not the business of selling such products.

Enter Parking Zone. Mark and his crew now how the marketing and manufacturing rights for the product. And it looks great. Here is Mark and Zone Sales representative Annette Ritola with a sample:

I met with Zia Yusuf CEO of Streetline and we chatted about his company's approach to data gathering and monitoring of individual spaces on street. He said, to my skeptical ears, that his company's approach was more application based than product based. "Sure, we have sensors and collect the data," he said, " but we are building systems that specialize in meeting the needs of three parts of the market, Consumers, Merchants, and the Parking Providers.

I am going to visit his system live in LA when I return next week. Stay tuned.

Zia Yusuf and company VP, Marketing Kelly Schwager:

These boots AREN'T made for walkin, at Universal

Sandy van Leen (c) talks to customers at WPS

Demoing big time at Amano McGann

Richard Joffee and the Park Assist Screen on an Amano POF.

Trisha Reddan was holding down the fort at McCain Parking Guidance:

GM Heith Whalen at Pictoform shows off designs they did for SF Park:

If you want help at T2, ask the man or woman in Blue:

Eric Joseph at GMG demonstrates how to pay a monthly account on a POF.

They are all smiles at Metric with this customer– L-r Jochen Oehmen, Dave Witts, Fran Westerfer from Philly, and Sandy Mace

Ryan Bernardi from Cale with Vivian Papquin-Spanner from LA County:

ParkHelp's CEO Alexis Puig Espel and Gustavo Grundler of Automatic Control Technology, San Juan, Puerto Rico

More to come

Day Three – Lots of pix – If I missed you, flag me down tomorrow…

Paul Trinacty and Timothy Dougan of Apark systems, a bit surprised when I caught them in their booth.

It's a Leaf—maybe the only one in existence…

Bill Franklin at Tannery Creek in a familiar pose with his laptop.

Barry Lazowski of Zip Park and Greg Parzych of TCS –

Hamilton caught in mid "demo"

More to come – the crowd faded about an hour before closing – the exhibitors are pessimistic about tomorrow…

Nine women in parking met on Tuesday to discuss women's issues as they relate to the parking industry. They talked at length about how to reach out to women within the industry and begin recruitment of women into the industry. This was a planning session for a major seminar to be held at the same time as the Parking Industry Exhibition next March in Chicago. Parking Today will be providing secretarial and logistical support for the group. A web site, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other virtual communications networking tools will be available to all women in the industry shortly.

If you wish to be involved, you are invited to contact any of the women who attended the planning session.

Seated (l-r): Sherry Evens, Evens Time, sherry@evenstime.com , Nancy Evens, Evens Time, nancy@evenstime.com , Karla Baig, kbaig@parktrak.com, Chris Stewart, Canadian Parking Association, chris@canadianparking.ca, . Standing(l-r ) Marcy Sparrow, Parking Today, marcy@parkingtoday.com, Brandy Stanley, City of Manchester, bstanley@manchesternh.us, Sandra Smith, Canadian Parking Association, sandra@canadianparking.ca, Barbara Chance, Chance Management Advisors, barbara.chance@chancemanagement.com, Ruth Beaman, Integrapark, ruth.beaman@integrapark.com.

I ran in to Butch Eads, former CEO of Central and now Chairman of National Parking Light Solutions. A very rested Butch told me that he was building a company that would provide turnkey lighting solutions to parking facilities nationwide. His company would determine the need, source the product, finance, install and maintain the lighting. Seems like a good deal to me.

Digital Payment Technology CEO Andrew Scott (R) and Marketing VP Alan Menezes demo their new Luke 2 P and D Machine. Featuring a keyboard for license plate entry and a pay by phone module that allows the parker to "top up" their fee from their phone after being texted from the machine it was introduced at the IPI this year.

Digital

Tom Wunk (l) introduced Scheidt and Bachmann's managing director for parking and leisure center systems Martin Kammler

In addition I ran in to Christine Banning from the NPA and had a nice chat about their upcoming show in Las Vegas in October. Also roaming the aisles was Sandra Smith, executive director from the Canadian Parking Association who told me she was happy to attend the event and shepherd the Canadian contingent.

I spent some time with the Francisco Nora, Luiz Adati, Jorge Novaes of the Brazilian Parking Association who along with their president Andre Piccoli are here with Sebas Vanderae who is promoting his expo parking event to be held in late November in Sao Paulo – for more information contact me.

I was happy to discover that Brandy Stanley from Manchester, NH was in the room. I did not meet her yet, but am looking forward to it, as she, along with Charlie deBow keep me honest here on the blog.

I'm off to party hardy with the vendors this evening – More tomorrow

JVH

The floor was slammed with people the second day – It opened at 10 and went to 1:30.

Bobra Wilbanks of POM demonstrates their new Parktel system that allows a parker to pay their fee by credit card:

Chris Fuchs of Magnetic automation shows off their newly designed parking gate.

Living up to their reputation, Paylock is running a Family Feud. Cory Marchasin (in gold jacket) asks the questions as Michael Klein from Albany trounces a family member from Boston.

More to come

The IPI opened its Exhibition to a reception "mix and mingle on the exhibit hall floor with exhibitors and attendees having the opportunity to talk in an informal atmosphere.

The exhibit hall floor was crowded as attendees flocked to the event after hearing Pittsburgh Steelers halfback Rocky Bleier open the three day long event.

At an awards ceremony following the keynote opening presentation by former Steelers Halfback Rocky Bleier, the IPI awarded its highest honor, the Parking Professional of the Year, to Dr. Barbara Chance, President and CEO of Chance Management Advisors.

Dr. Chance began her parking career as director of on-street parking in Philadelphia. She then founded Chance Management Advisors and for the past 25 years her for has assisted municipalities and universities with planning, management, operations, and financial issues. The company has been involved in teams that have bid on PPP concessions for off and on street parking assets.

She has served as a past consultant member of the IPI Board of Directors and is currently serving on the advisory Council. She has taught the Parking management session of the CAPP program since its inception. Active in regional business affairs in the Philadelphia area, she served as the first woman Chairman of the Small Business Board of Directors for the Chamber of Commerce.

Barbara Chance receives the award from former IPI Executive Director Kim Jackson:

Dr. Barbara Chance:

JVH

Marcy, our sales director, is a Pittsburgh girl and knows all the spots. For lunch today we went to Primanti's in the "Strip" area by the river. This used to be a heavy duty truckers hangout and truckers needed a meal they could eat with one hand…So they developed a sandwich that had meat, cheese, coleslaw (Grass), French fries tomato slice and if you like, a fried egg.

Here's Marcy with a Premanti Sandwich.

Here's me:

No dinner tonight

JVH

If you want to keep up with the goings on at the IPI log on to www.livefromtheipi.com. Andy and I are trying to keep up with the activity on the show floor and even some of the other events the IPI is hosting. Check it out from time to time.

My first impressions --

As usual the IPI show will be a good one. There is a lot of technology to see, and networking will be rampant.

The exhibit hall is huge – and it has a light and airy feel. The IPI is doing their "Power Pitch" programs on the floor of the exhibit hall. Good idea / Bad idea? Don't know --- I've seen it done before to everyone's benefit.

Most of the booths are similar to the last year, except of course Pay Lock who's crazies have done it again. They are holding "Family Feud" of Parking – why not, last year they held a funeral.

There are a lot of new companies – probably 30 or 40. Be interesting to check them out.

As every year, there will be new technology, and a lot of tried and true products.

You can check our my predictions here and compare them to what we actually found on the exhibit floor

JVH

It's five hours to opening – Will they make it. Here are some shots of "set up.:

First, Andy completes the PT Booth. We're Number 1

VP of Sales at Zeag Lee Shorts (right) and a compatriot use the shipping crates for a desk

:

Skidata VP Keith Lynch and a colleague from Austria discuss the final touches on their booth. Skidata has two booths, this one, and one featuring their "cloud" computing system.

Scheidt and Bachmann's Tom Wunk (Seated) and Secom's Ollie Haas :

Magnetic's Thomas Braunwalder and Designa's Robert Kane noted that it's nice to be CEO's. You have staff to set up the booth. I agreed. That's the part I hated most.

Most booths were ready to go:

Some weren't:

I will be back for the cocktail party on this show floor this evening, take a few more pix, get a feel for the room, and report back tonight.

JVH

Parking groupie Wanda over on PT's Facebook Page scooped me on this one. Although fired by the city of Calgary, former Parking Manager Dale Frazier and his assistant have their names on the patent for the city's technological marvel, the ParkPlus system. You can read all about it here.

Seems Dale and his enforcement chief Al Bazar claim, and with some righteousness, to having invented the system which collects money and enforces parking rules in the Alberta city. Their names are on the patent.

There are rumblings coming out of the city that it has tried to negotiate with the two in the past but to no avail. It also seems that if there is any litigation, a city suing its own employees could be embarrassing if not difficult. It seems there is a potential of great value of the system, and other cities around the world are looking at it and more than a few have expressed interest installing a like system in their communities.

HMMMMMMM

JVH