Blogs

Pennsylvania House Bill 1862: What Private Parking Operators Need to Know About this New Legislation By Mark Vergenes

By IPMI Blog posted 2 days ago
By Mark Vergenes: A major change is coming to private parking operations in Pennsylvania. On July 17, 2026, Pennsylvania enacted House Bill 1862, a wide-ranging transportation bill that establishes a new framework for how private parking operators can issue charges and contact vehicle owners. The new requirements take effect July 1, 2027, giving operators time to prepare. One of the most significant changes is a clear legal pathway for private parking operators to obtain limited PennDOT registration information, specifically a vehicle registrant’s name and mailing address, for the purpose of issuing invoices for unpaid parking charges or violations of posted ...

Construction Methods for Parking Structures By Jeremiah Vanderlaan

By IPMI Blog posted 7 days ago
By Jeremiah Vanderlaan: A parking structure is not just a place to store cars. It is a long-term infrastructure asset exposed to water, chlorides, freeze-thaw cycles, vehicle loads, and daily traffic. The construction method chosen affects: capital cost; construction schedule; maintenance cost; repair downtime; user safety; lighting and sightlines; future expansion; long-term asset value. There are three main construction methods for parking structures: Cast-in-place Concrete UHPC Panel-and-Beam Precast Double-tee. Cast-in-place concrete is the traditional approach. It can handle complex shapes, ramps, transfers, and ...

Beyond the Citation: Redesigning Parking Enforcement for Trust and Compliance By Colin Heffron, Jr.

By IPMI Blog posted 8 days ago
By Colin Heffron, Jr.: Parking enforcement has a perception problem, and according to Passport’s 2025 Parking Compliance Trends Report, 72% of compliance challenges stem from human factors rather than technology. That means the biggest obstacle between parking programs and their goals isn’t the tools — it’s the relationship between enforcement and the public. In the July/August issue of Parking & Mobility, I make the case that most enforcement programs operate with an incomplete escalation ladder. The data tells the story: 92% of agencies issue citations, but only 11% issue a warning first, and only 18% have any meaningful escalation path beyond that. ...

A Sustainable Shift in Event Parking Operations By Jamal Featherstone, M.S.

By IPMI Blog posted 13 days ago
By Jamal Featherstone, M.S.: At North Carolina A&T State University (N.C. A&T), sustainability is more than a buzzword; it is woven into daily operations. As the nation’s largest historically Black college or university, N.C. A&T hosts a vibrant calendar of events, from legendary homecomings to major athletic matchups. Yet with each event comes the challenge of managing parking logistics efficiently and responsibly. Traditionally, the university relied on printed signs and bulky A-frame holders to notify the campus community about lot closures. This process was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and generated unnecessary paper waste. Recognizing ...

The Ripple Effect of One Unpaid Parking Citation By Olivia Savino

By IPMI Blog posted 20 days ago
By Olivia Savino: An unpaid parking citation may seem like a small issue. One violation. One driver. One unpaid fee. But parking professionals know unresolved citations rarely exist in isolation. Often, they’re the first sign of a larger challenge that can affect an entire parking operation. When violations go unpaid, repeat offenses often follow. Drivers who face few consequences may keep ignoring regulations, occupying spaces meant for permit holders, visitors, patients, students, or employees. This pattern isn’t hypothetical. In New York City, for example, one analysis of city data found nearly 8 in 10 tickets for a common violation went to repeat offenders, ...

People Don’t Fail Systems – Systems Fail People By George Mclean, PTMP, MPA, DBA

By IPMI Blog posted 21 days ago
By George Mclean, PTMP, MPA, DBA: Parking professionals operate at the intersection of policy, technology, and public expectations, yet one challenge continues to surface across the industry: when outcomes fall short, the blame often falls on frontline employees, even when the issue lies with the system itself. In my latest article, I explore a disconnect many of us see but rarely articulate. Across municipalities, campuses, and private operations, a consistent pattern is emerging: Employees are being asked to apply policies that no longer reflect how conditions actually unfold in practice, while technology and performance metrics continue to evolve at a ...

When an Employee Leaves Suddenly: What Leaders Can Learn from the Silence By Lisa Copeland, PTMP

By IPMI Blog posted 22 days ago
By Lisa Copeland, PTMP: Every organization experiences turnover, but there’s a particular kind of departure that leaves leaders with more questions than answers — the sudden resignation. When a long‑tenured employee leaves abruptly, especially after weeks of uncharacteristic quiet, it’s natural to wonder what happened beneath the surface. In leadership, we pay attention to changes in “temperature.” A shift in energy, tone, or engagement often signals that something is out of balance. When this change follows a performance evaluation — even a fair, balanced, and well‑supported one — it can stir emotions an employee may not be prepared to name. Honest feedback, ...

Is Your Parking Garage Costing You More Than You Think? By Scott Israel

By IPMI Blog posted 07-16-2026
By Scott Israel: Many municipal parking garage owners and operators focus on repairs only after problems become visible, by which point the damage is often expensive to fix. A proactive parking garage maintenance plan that includes regular parking garage power washing and parking structure cleaning can help prevent deterioration, improve safety, and significantly reduce long-term maintenance costs. Every day, parking garages are exposed to oil, grease, tire residue, dirt, trash, and corrosive road salts that gradually weaken concrete surfaces and contribute to cracking, spalling, and corrosion of reinforcing steel. Left untreated, these contaminants can shorten ...

July/August’s Ask the Experts – More Great Answers!

By IPMI Blog posted 07-15-2026
The July/August Ask the Experts question generated so many strong responses that not all could be included in one place. Click here to view the responses featured in Parking & Mobility magazine , then continue reading for additional insights. In what ways can parking professionals move beyond operations to become active contributors to the social and economic vitality of the communities they serve? @Scott Petri , President, Mobility & Parking Advisors LLC First, ensure your facility is first-class in looks and professionalism. Second, ask the city council how you can help. Sometimes it’s simple things like making ...

When is Parking Truly A Problem? By Trent Donat

By IPMI Blog posted 07-13-2026
By Trent Donat: It seems parking is always a problem in the mind of every driver as they approach their destination, including me, who knows that there is definitively no parking problem. It seems this tendency to think if we cannot park right in front of the place we are going then “without a doubt there is a parking problem!” When walking a few extra steps (i.e., a block or two) is good for us and is NOT a parking problem. This parking conundrum seems to have entered our minds instinctually from the time we started driving and convinces us we have the right to park in front of where we are going. So, what represents the definition of a true ...

One of the Good Ones: Remembering John Glodt By Aaron Chaves

By IPMI Blog posted 07-10-2026
By Aaron Chaves: There are people you meet throughout your career who leave an impression because of what they accomplish. Then there are people like John Glodt , who leave an impression because of who they are. With the blessing of John’s wife and family, I wanted to share the heartbreaking news that John passed away last week on July 1 after a courageous battle with an aggressive form of cancer. For those of us fortunate enough to know him, John wasn’t just a respected veteran of the parking and mobility industry. He was one of the genuinely good people. His career took him through organizations including 3M , DESIGNA , WPS , ...

When the Numbness Lingers: Months After Our Campus Was Changed By Lisa Copeland, PTMP

By IPMI Blog posted 07-08-2026
By Lisa Copeland, PTMP: It’s been a couple of months since our campus was thrust into a moment none of us were prepared for, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how the emotional landscape shifts with time. In the first days following the campus shooting, later defined a terrorist attack, everything felt sharp and disorienting — a kind of collective vertigo. Now, a couple of months later, the edges have softened, but the weight hasn’t fully lifted for me. It hasn’t disappeared. In many ways, it feels as though it’s settled quietly beneath the surface. Faculty show up for their students. Staff keep the university running. Students reclaim routines even when ...

Parking as a Strategic Revenue Source: How Cities Can Unlock the Full Value of Their Curb Assets By Sam Warnecke

By IPMI Blog posted 07-07-2026
By Sam Warnecke: City budgets face unprecedented pressures as rising costs for services, infrastructure, and climate resilience collide with flat tax revenues and uncertain federal aid. Yet at the curb — prime real estate contested by deliveries, ride-hailing, bikes, and parkers — many municipalities leave millions in potential revenue uncollected. Fragmented payments, legacy meters, and siloed enforcement practices create massive revenue gaps. Parking as a Strategic Revenue Source: How Cities Can Unlock the Full Value of Their Curb Assets highlights how forward-thinking municipalities use connected data platforms to unify meters, apps, permits, and enforcement. ...

What’s Really Happening Inside Your Parking Payments System? By Bill Widis

By IPMI Blog posted 06-30-2026
By Bill Widis: Payments power nearly every part of the modern parking experience, from kiosks and gates to mobile apps and permits. But for many parking professionals, what’s happening under the payments hood remains a black box. And that’s not ideal, because even when everything appears to be working, hidden inefficiencies, missed revenue opportunities, and unnecessary costs can quietly add up. Payments aren’t just a back-end function — they directly impact traffic flow, customer satisfaction, and bottom line. The reality is that most parking environments evolve over time, often resulting in a patchwork of systems, processors, and configurations. Without ...

From Data to Mobility: Lessons from My First IPMI Conference By Chelsea Biltoft

By IPMI Blog posted 06-29-2026
By Chelsea Biltoft: Attending my first International Parking & Mobility Institute Conference has reinforced one idea above all else: parking is no longer just about managing spaces—it’s about creating a complete mobility experience. Working in university parking, I spend much of my time analyzing data from permit systems, mobile payment platforms, occupancy sensors, and enforcement software. Before attending IPMI, I viewed these systems as separate tools. This week challenged that perspective. I learned how agencies across the country are connecting data to improve operations, enhance the customer experience, and make more informed decisions. One topic ...

What We Learned at IPMI 2026 By Peter Richards

By IPMI Blog posted 06-25-2026
By Peter Richards: The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) Conference & Expo is always one of the highlights of the year. IPMI brings together parking operators, consultants, universities, technology providers, municipalities, and mobility professionals from across North America to share ideas, debate challenges, and discuss where the industry is heading. The bonus was that Milwaukee was such a cool city! This year, we were represented both as a speaker ( Peter Richards ) and exhibitor with Parkalytics . Between sessions, booth conversations, and hallway discussions, a few themes stood out. Event Parking Is Its ...

Parking Is Never About the Cars, It’s About the People: Learnings From My First IPMI Conference By Michele Lim

By IPMI Blog posted 06-24-2026
By Michele Lim: I walked into my first IPMI conference not entirely sure what to expect. Being a newbie to the parking industry, I had been a bit tongue-in-cheek when I touted to my friends that I’d be going to this conference “IPMI is huge in the parking industry, trust me guys.” But I walked out with a notebook full of ideas, a handful of new connections, and a genuine question: does the parking industry have some kind of anti-ageing secret? More on that in a moment. The soundbite I loved the most was from one of the sessions I went to: “parking is never about the cars, it’s about the people” – getting people where they need to go, reliably ...

The Quiet Dance at the Front Line of Parking By Lisa Copeland, PTMP

By IPMI Blog posted 06-23-2026
By Lisa Copeland, PTMP: In every parking operation, there is a subtle but essential choreography unfolding each day—the work of customer service representatives. These professionals perform a delicate dance between policy and empathy, structure and flexibility, enforcement and understanding. Parking, by nature, can create tension. It touches something personal: people’s time, mobility, and, importantly, their wallets. Paying for permits or receiving citations often places customers in a defensive posture before a conversation even begins. In that moment, the customer service representative becomes the human face of the organization—stepping into interactions ...

Dynamic Pricing: The End of Parking Reservations? By Philip Olivier

By IPMI Blog posted 06-10-2026
By Philip Olivier: Dynamic pricing is transforming the parking industry, but what happens to the humble reservation when rates change by the minute? For most operators, a “reservation” has always been a simple pre-purchase: a customer pays a fixed rate and parks later. That model made sense in a world of static pricing. But as AI-driven pricing engines, real-time occupancy data, and gateless systems become the norm, selling a fixed-price booking days or weeks in advance creates real tension. Operators must choose: honor the original rate and leave revenue on the table or embrace fully dynamic pricing and risk alienating customers who value certainty. Other ...

Parking Structures Are Infrastructure. We Should Treat Them That Way. By Jeremiah Vanderlaan

By IPMI Blog posted 06-03-2026
By Jeremiah Vanderlaan: Parking structures are often approached as if they are just simplified buildings. I think that is the wrong starting point. They may look like buildings. They have columns, floors, stairs, elevators, lighting and sometimes a facade. But in practice, they behave more like exposed infrastructure. When we confuse these two categories, we underestimate what the building needs to endure. A parking structure has more in common with a bridge than with a typical occupancy building. Office buildings are designed to keep weather out. Parking structures must perform when the outside inevitably gets brought in. Cars carry water, snow, ice, salts, ...