About Kim Fernandez

Kim Fernandez is editor of The Parking Professional magazine.

Super Bowl, Super Parking

February 2, 2013 By Kim Fernandez

Curious about how people park for Super Bowl? We were, and turned to our friends at ParkWhiz, which helps ticketholders reserve parking for the big game, for a little insight.

According to ParkWhiz Senior Vice President, Sales, Dean Bravos:

The average price for a 2013 Super Bowl parking space is $135. That’s up from last year’s average price of $118.
Tailgaters can expect to pay $108 to $375 for reserved party spots.
The most expensive multi-day space the company sold this year was a multi-day RV spot, which went for $1,875. The average RV tailgating space sold for $815, and an all-week space went for a whopping $3,000.
Farther away is cheaper. Drivers who were willing to hoof it from 1.07 miles away for the game could reserve spots for just $38.50. And the least expensive parking space this year cost $29.

Bravos says that while the idea of reserved parking is a big hit with football fans, they don’t always think ahead, and his company stays busy selling spots all the way to kickoff.

For more about what Bravos and his company do to plan for Super Bowl Sunday (including security issues), check out this video by NBC News, or this video on an ABC affiliate in Louisiana.

Filed Under: Pricing, Special Events

Parking Leaders Kickstart the New Year

January 11, 2013 By Kim Fernandez

The New Year’s resolution: the highlight of the holiday season or the bane of one’s existence. It can go either way. Anyone can make a resolution that says we’re going to drop 10 pounds or spend less time on the smartphone or read a book a week or do more yardwork, and lots of us swear that starting January 1, we’re going to work harder, treat our bodies better, and emerge 12 months later better and more successful in some way.

The real question, of course, is how you get from point A to point B. How do you lose that weight? How do you cut back on the email without sacrificing career goals? How, exactly, do you make yourself better/smarter/stronger with the same 24 hours a day you’ve always had?

Businesses are no different; nor is the parking industry. We want to be better at what we do, more efficient, more sustainable, and more successful than ever before despite financial, regulatory, and political roadblocks.

How?

Those are the questions we posed to some of the industry’s top experts in the January issue of The Parking Professional. And they answered, giving their honest evaluations of the industry as it stands and concrete advice for 2013 and beyond. Our industry leaders’ interview is a great starting point for anyone who wants to improve their department or their career this year (who doesn’t?), and we hope you find it useful.

Also in this month’s issue are the winners of our first photography contest (how often do you see a dancer on the cover of a parking magazine?), our Social Media 101 guide for parking professionals, and features on managers as coaches and cheerleaders, turning lemons into lemonade and engaging the entire community in the process, and on airport landside employees’ number-one secret weapon for dealing with difficult customers.

We hope you enjoy this month’s issue!

Filed Under: Inside IPI, The Parking Professional Magazine

Thanksgiving Tale-gate: “America’s Parking Lot” Now Available at Home

November 22, 2012 By Kim Fernandez

You may remember Cy Ditmore–he’s one of the stars of “America’s Parking Lot,” the independent film about the infamous Dallas Cowboys Gate 6 Tailgaters. You met him back in September when the movie was featured in The Parking Professional (it was, incidentally, one of our most popular features to date judging by reader feedback).

Film director Jonny Mars let us know that the movie is available on both iTunes and video-on-demand as of yesterday (check your cable provider’s listing). Beyond what you might expect from a movie about tailgating, it tells a terrific tale and offers a terrific look at the families and neighborhoods that were formed in a stadium parking lot–Parking Matters®. And it’s the perfect companion for today’s Cowboys vs. Redskins game and tummy full of tryptophan,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Filed Under: Lighter Side of Parking

Last Week to Enter The Parking Professional Photo Contest

October 24, 2012 By Kim Fernandez

You know how the holidays sneak up on us every year? Same with tax day–we think we’re prepared and ready, and then wham! It’s here, and we end up panicking to get everything done before the big day ends.

Consider this your seven-day warning: The Parking Professional’s first photo contest ends exactly one week from today, and you have a little more than 168 long hours to get your entry in. We’ve received a lot of fantastic entries, but we still want to see yours!

Need a little motivation? How about a free registration to the IPI Conference & Expo in beautiful Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., next May? That’s what our Best in Show winner will receive, along with having his or her photo featured on the cover of an upcoming issue of The Parking Professional. You could also spice up your wardrobe with a stylish Parking Matters® shirt or see your photo published in the magazine if you take top honors in our six main categories of pictures:

Beautiful
Funny
People in Parking
Structure/Lot
Nature
Most Offbeat or Unusual

All you need to do is take a parking-related digital photo and visit parking.org/photocontest to upload it into the contest. That’s it! Easy-peasy, but you only have one more week to join in the fun.

Hit us with your best shot! I can’t wait to see all of your entries!

Filed Under: Inside IPI, The Parking Professional Magazine

America’s Parking Lot

August 31, 2012 By Kim Fernandez

My dad took me to my first football tailgate when I was 12 or 13 years old. It was a University of Maryland vs. Clemson game, and while I don’t remember who won, the party in the parking lot is clearly etched in my brain.

Filmmaker Jonny Mars went to his first pro football tailgate party as an adult, five years ago, after betting a friend that watching a Dallas Cowboys game at home was a better experience than going to a game in person. He figured there would be food and beer and lots of yelling, but what he didn’t expect to find was a community there among the pickup trucks and tents and trailers. And he certainly never thought his life would be flipped upside-down outside Cowboys Stadium, but that’s exactly what happened.

Mars spent the next four years making a movie called “America’s Parking Lot,” about the Gate 6 Tailgaters in Dallas–possibly the most rabid group of fans the Cowboys enjoy–and how they were nearly torn apart when the team moved to a new stadium, a new ticket pricing structure, and a new parking lot. He and I started talking several months ago, and even having spent much of my work time immersed in parking for more than a year, his film and those fans’ story kind of blew me away.

In the September issue of The Parking Professional, you’ll meet tailgate ringleader Cy Ditmore, who’s featured in the film, and hear his thoughts on football and tailgates and parking. He talks about the family he gained when he started hanging out on the asphalt before football games, and he means it quite literally; the men and women he parties with have become as dear to his heart as his own blood relatives.

The movie is scheduled to appear on most cable systems’ video on demand menus starting November 22, sharing the importance of that parking lot with much of America. I hope you’ll spend some time with our story, get to know Jonny and Cy a little bit, and then make a date with your television to watch the film.

It’s much more than a party out there. It’s a neighborhood, and shows why, in a very grassroots sense, Parking Matters®.

Filed Under: Inside IPI

IPI Conference & Expo Out with a Bang

June 14, 2012 By Kim Fernandez

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A live rodeo in an outdoor arena, complete with performances by good-natured parking professionals, authentic Tex-Mex dinner, and spectacular fireworks display closed out the 2012 IPI Conference & Expo in Phoenix with fun and friends.

IPI Chair Casey Jones kicked things off with an appearance on horseback in the middle of the ring at the Corona Ranch, before some unsuspecting Conference attendees were called out to wrangle calves, milk goats, and have some good old-fashioned Phoenix fun before their friends in the audience.

After a dinner together, attendees were invited outside for a surprise fireworks display that was met with much applause, before bidding goodnight with promises to meet again in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., May 19-22 for next year’s Conference & Expo.

Before all of that, it was another productive day at the Phoenix Convention Center…

Summit Explores How TDM Compliments Parking

A crowd gathered at the IPI Conference & Expo Wednesday morning to learn how parking professionals can integrate transportation demand management (TDM) strategies into their programs to help achieve mobility goals, during the Summit on TDM: Transportation Tools to Support Parking Program Effectiveness.

The one-day symposium, co-sponsored by IPI and the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT), provided participants with a lot of practical, actionable information and case studies. The event was co-chaired by ACT president Brian Shaw, director of business services at The University of Pennsylvania, and Josh Kavanagh, director of transportation at the University of Washington.

In “Show Me the Money: The Business Case for TDM,” UrbanTrans North America president Joddie Gray, AICP, shared vital tips on transportation program funding. She noted that it’s important to create a strategic business plan, based on a clear picture of future transportation demand and desired transportation system performance.

Brian Shaw took to the podium to deliver “Setting the Stage: How Public Policy Can Create a Favorable Environment for Your TDM program.” Shaw explained how transportation programs are funded and how parking operations can be at the table to get their share of federal and other public resources.

Other speakers addressed “Getting What You’re Paying For: Metrics for TDM Programs,” “Building Your Operating Plan: Picking the Right Tools for the Job,” and other topics. The Summit’s afternoon panel discussions gathered the collective expertise of several speakers to field questions and provide guidance on implementing a variety of TDM strategies, in “An Operating Manual for Your TDM Tools.”

Media Crash Course: Speaking Parking Matters®

Wednesday’s general session brought Nick Calderone, owner of Reel Stories, and Phoenix CBS 5 News Anchor Sean McLaughlin to the General Session stage for a robust discussion on talking with the media.

“Nobody knows the information better than you,” said Calderone. “You’re in control.” He encouraged participants to remember going into a media interview that the reporter sought them out for their specific knowledge–”You are the smartest person in the room.”

The two presented their “Bes and Don’ts” for media interviews, encouraging parking professionals to be prepared, honest, passionate, expressive, accurate, and calm. “Everybody can tell if you’re not telling the truth,” said McLaughin. When faced with a reporter, they said, don’t lie, mislead, be evasive or defensive, speculate, or deny. And no matter what, don’t say “no comment.”

“Get that out of your brain,” said Calderone.

We Have Winners!

The last day of the IPI Expo meant lots of excitement on the floor as raffles were conducted and prizes were given away. Cheryl Woodward and Debra Wooden each won $500 in IPI’s Expo-Opoly game. After that, it was time to announce the year’s Best in Show exhibitor booths. Winners are:

Best in Show, 100-300 square feet

First place: Eco Lights
Second Place: Garage Juice Bar
Third Place: Streetline

Best in Show, 400-600 square feet: Magnetic Autocontrol
Best in Show, 800-1200 square feet: Amano Mcgann
Best in Show, People’s Choice: Magnetic Autocontrol

Congratulations!

Media Coverage

The IPI Conference & Expo generated lots of press coverage, as reporters and cameras descended on the show floor to see all the latest in parking technology, products, services, and trends. A few highlights:

KPNX-TV the NBC affiliate in Phoenix featured a live morning interview with Casey Jones and reporter Jaclyn Schultz, complete with a smart parking meter and sensing device to show.
KNXV-TV the ABC affiliate in Phoenix featured an interview with IPI Chair Casey Jones.
KPHO –TV the CBS affiliate in Phoenix sent anchor Sean McLaughlin for a report for the 10 oclock news, but had so much fun he couldn’t tear himself away and stayed for more than an hour.
Sean Holstege, reporter for the Arizona Republic newspaper, toured the floor with Casey Jones and Immediate Past Chair Cindy Campbell, asking in-depth and probing questions about all the new technology.
Cindy Campbell was interviewed for Phoenix news radio station KTAR.
Casey Jones will be the guest on the radio program Business for Breakfast on MoneyRadio 1510.
Finally, the New York Times sent a videographer to the Expo.

Filed Under: Inside IPI, IPI Conference & Expo

IPI Conference & Expo Buzzing with Activity

June 11, 2012 By Kim Fernandez

The 2012 IPI Conference & Expo kicked off over the weekend with the 19th Annual CAPP Classic Golf Tournament, a reception for international and first-time attendees, an in-depth Learning Lab, the Sunsational Phoenix Meet & Mingle Reception, CAPP graduation, and educational sessions in five specialized tracks. It was a busy two days in Phoenix!

Learning Lab Goes In-Depth

L. Dennis Burns, CAPP; Barbara Chance, Ph.D. and Josh Kavanagh, CAPP spent Sunday morning facilitating small-group discussions that focused on downtown, privatization, and university issues, before delving into case studies that were designed to be informative and challenging:

The downtown group focused on the strategic planning process that Fort Collins, Colo., used to explore the possibility of adopting paid parking, and reviewed the nine recommendations in the city’s plan.
The university discussion centered on a fictitious campus that experienced an 8 percent population increase that created parking supply-and-demand issues.
The privatization group had the perspectives of two parking pros from U.S. municipalities contrasting with two private sector property specialists from Lima, Peru. All found themselves struggling to balance short-term revenue pressures with long-term market realities.

Participants applauded the Learning Lab’s format, process, and topic mix, and said they valued the opportunity for quality networking.

Global Parking Association Summit Meeting

IPI Chair Casey Jones, CAPP, told participants at the first IPI Global Parking Association Summit Meeting how proud he was that they traveled from points around the globe to gather together and talk about parking and their individual associations.

Leaders from parking associations in Spain, Canada, Norway, Brazil, Great Britain, and the U.S. met for several hours Sunday afternoon, discussing the various challenges faced by the parking profession in their individual countries, and the ways the industry was similar around the world. The invitation-only event was especially appropriate this year, said Jones, as the IPI Conference & Expo hosted parking professionals from 25 different countries.

After friendly discussion about their associations and the nuances of each country’s parking industry, the group settled in to talk about Parking Matters®, and the friendships that were forged over the conference table. Follow-up events are anticipated.

CAPP Graduation

Sunday night, 13 parking professionals graduated from the Certified Administrator of Public Parking (CAPP) program, earning their certifications before a crowd of their peers after two rigorous years of study.
The newest CAPP-certified professionals are:

Ross L. Allanson, CAPP, Ampco System Parking

Pamela Corbin, CAPP, City of Orlando, Florida

Gordon G. Dash, CAPP, City of Raleigh, North Carolina

Michael Drow, CAPP, Standard Parking Corporation

James Horski, CAPP, Ampco System Parking

Natasha Labi, CAPP, Parking Company of America

Jeffrey A. LaGesse, CAPP, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Amy K. Orr, CAPP, College of Charleston.

Danette L. Perry, CAPP, City of Berkeley, California Transportation

Krishna D. Singh, CAPP, University of Central Florida

Gregory J. Stormberg, CAPP, Parkmobile USA, Inc.

Paul N. Whetzel, CAPP, Charleston County Government

Sandra L. Ziegler, CAPP, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Today at the Conference & Expo

Today will be another busy one for IPI Conference & Expo attendees. Things kick off with a keynote presentation by Britta Gross, director, global energy systems and infrastructure commercialization, General Motors, followed by the grand opening of the Expo. Another round of educational sessions promise to inspire and inform, and a reception on the Expo Hall floor rounds out the day. Check back here tomorrow for highlights!

Filed Under: Inside IPI, IPI Conference & Expo

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

June 8, 2012 By Kim Fernandez

As the song says, my bags are packed and I’m ready to go–it’s time for the 2012 IPI Conference & Expo!

Whether you’re joining us for the world’s largest parking event or not (and I hope you are!), it’ll be worth checking back here every day next week. We’ll be posting all the news from Phoenix right here on the Parking Matters^® Blog, and this is the place to read about what’s already happened and what’s coming up at the Conference & Expo. If you haven’t already, this is a great time to subscribe to the blog–just fill in your email address in that “Subscribe to Posts” box to the right, and our updates will arrive in your email automatically.

You can also keep up with us on Twitter: follow @IntlParkingInst and the hashtag #IPIconference. Because you’re already reading the blog, I’ll give you a little inside scoop: we’ll be giving away some great prizes to people who retweet our Conference updates next week. It’s worth the follow!

Finally, keep an eye out for our newly-appointed Conference Ambassadors, wearing these buttons in Phoenix:

These friendly volunteers have stepped up to answer questions, direct attendees to events and resources, and help orient our newest members and guests to everything going on. They’ll kick things off at the Welcome and Orientation for First Time and International Attendees at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, June 10 in the Convention Center North Hall B-E Foyer (by IPI Registration), and then stick around to help out for the rest of the Conference.

I hope you’ll join us in Phoenix, and keep up with us here if you can’t make it this year. It’s going to be a fantastic IPI Conference & Expo!

Filed Under: IPI Conference & Expo

College Parking Makes the Grade

April 4, 2012 By Kim Fernandez

In much of the country (sorry, Colorado), birds are singing and flowers are blooming and spring has definitely sprung. April brings with it a renewed freshness as we break out of our winter doldrums, sweep out the proverbial cobwebs, open up the windows, and let a little newness in.

April means The Parking Professional focuses on colleges and universities, and there are lots of fresh ideas in this month’s issue.

We kick things off with “Shooting for Three,” which looks at how a university, a neighborhood, and a city balanced their triple bottom line when a new 12,400-seat athletic complex opened on campus. Far from shrinking from the challenge, parking professionals at the University of Oregon put their heads together and figured out how to make the new center and its crowds work for everyone.

The magazine next looks at how the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill balanced its funding when expenses went up recently. Innovative ideas helped keep the spreadsheet healthy without placing undue burden on any one group.

One of my favorite stories from the issue is about Operation Safedrive [PDF], which provides free vehicle safety inspections to students and faculty at the University of Georgia–you won’t believe how far that’s gone in good public relations for the parking services department there. Similarly, you’ll read the story of Texas Tech’s new motion awareness program that helps keep everyone–drivers and pedestrians–a little bit safer.

The magazine also features stories about Duke University’s LEED-certified garage, and how Seattle Children’s hospital used solid data and a little fun and games to proactively push TDM, with great results.

I hope you’ll enjoy the April issue of The Parking Professional. Let us know what you think!

Filed Under: College & University, Inside IPI, The Parking Professional Magazine