Industry News
August, 2014
Serco Inc. has won a 10-year, $25 million contract to provide parking enforcement services and to manage parking meter and traffic control operations for the city of Inglewood, CA. The company said it will support daily traffic, parking, dispatch and customer services in the LA suburb, as well as monitor scofflaws using license plate recognition technology. Contract work also includes operations and maintenance of the city’s 1,900 parking meters and help in developing new parking enforcement guidelines and performance standards.
Database Consultants Australia (DCA) has acquired the market-leading IncNet database business. Regarded as the best business-marketing database, as well as the pre-eminent business-to-business data source for marketers across Australia and New Zealand, the company offers a range of quality data attributes about the top 50,000 companies in each of those countries.
McMahon Associates, a full-service transportation engineering and planning firm, has opened its newest New England office, in Providence, RI, with Maureen Chlebek, P.E., PTOE, as General Manager-Rhode Island. McMahon recognizes that as the state continues to develop, it will face increased traffic issues and challenges. With its 13th office along the East Coast, the firm continues to strategically plan to broaden its market areas, while meeting the needs of its clients.
Shawn Botterill has joined MobileNOW! as Vice President of National Accounts; he will be based in Calgary, AB, Canada. “His parking operations experience, coupled with a strong desire to leverage technology and build alliances, will be invaluable as we continue to expand our market segments and integrate with hardware providers,” CEO John Oglesby said.
Ohio University recently launched a partnership with Parkmobile, whose app lets users feed parking meters electronically from their smartphone. The 300 bright-green meters on the OU campus in Athens are now equipped with the software, but the biggest change will be the amount of time allowed to park. Martin Paulins, OU’s Director of Parking and Transportation, said that instead of a 2-hour limit, all parking meters on campus will be unlimited.
The city of Deerfield Beach, FL, on the Atlantic Ocean south of Boca Raton, has begun a new pay-by-plate parking program that allows visitors to park and then enter in their license plate number at a kiosk. There are several payment choices: coins, credit cards or by downloading the free app “Way to Park.” If the driver decides to make another payment, time can be added by using a credit card through the smartphone app, “instead of walking back to the kiosk,” said Jeff Nethery, Director of Business Development at Cale America, which installed the upgraded technology.
LR Plaza Garage, an entity related to the L&R Group of Companies, spent $30.3 million to buy a nine-story, 1,161-space parking garage, at Chase Plaza in downtown Orlando, from RP Plaza Property, Orange County (FL) records showed. Some 439 spaces weren’t included in the sale. L&R Group also owns and operates WallyPark off-airport parking complexes. Its Managing Partner and CEO, Stuart Rubin, also is Chairman, President and CEO of RP Realty Partners, parent of RP Plaza Property.
Paying for parking may be a bit more convenient for drivers in downtown Great Falls, MT, thanks to implementation of a fairly new system. A PassportParking app allows drivers to pay for parking with their smartphone, whether parked at a meter or in a parking garage. The app also reminds the user when parking time is up, and gives the option to add more time via your device.
Last fall, Amano McGann was awarded a parking equipment replacement contract for the Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita, KS. The state’s busiest airport is undergoing a major overhaul, including a state-of-the-art terminal and multi-level parking structure. The upgrade allows the airport to utilize advanced parking technology and receive online, real-time data. The new installation includes automated entry and exit stations, fee computers, LPR hardware and software, proximity access and security cameras – all designed to enhance customer experience and safety, while helping the city’s Airport Authority better evaluate parking demand and operate in the most efficient manner.
The city of Roanoke, VA, has transitioned to PARK Roanoke as manager of its on-street parking. The city has had contracts with Lancor Parking to manage its off-street lots and garages for several years. On July 1, the company began to manage its both on- and off-street parking. The city will pay Lancor about $200,000 a year to manage the system. City leaders say the move allows Roanoke to meet its goal of creating a singular parking management strategy designed to create efficiencies and enhance the customer experience.
Scranton (PA) City Council voted 3-1 in late June to adopt a resolution authorizing the city to extend its contract for four more years, with Pango Mobile Parking of Baltimore, for a cellphone payment option for parking meters. The lone dissenter said he simply wanted council to table the resolution to give the city more time to review the Pango pact and to compare it with a proposal from another firm, MobileNOW!
The city of St. Louis, MO, is looking for a new parking meter vendor, saying. its parking meters are outdated and ready for an upgrade. The new meters have to provide multiple payment options, such as credit card, debit card and pay-by-phone. The four competing companies, selected by the city, are Duncan Solutions, Xerox, Aparc Systems and T2 Systems. A decision is expected this month. The city also is testing mobile payment solutions from Parkmobile and PassportParking. Both provide smartphone apps that allow parkers to pay, and extend, by phone.
Chad Lynn has been promoted to Assistant Director of Public Works Services for the city of Beverly Hills, CA. The Director of Parking Operations will continue to oversee the Parking Services divisions (Operations, Meters, Enforcement and Auditing) and also oversee Fleet Management and Facilities Management.
The Board of Management of Germany-based Hoeft & Wessel AG has added Thomas Dibbern, who will be responsible in particular for global sales. Most recently, he was an executive in international sales operations at Scheidt & Bachmann. “Appointing [him to the board] will mean a reinforcement in terms of management and customer orientations,” said Dirk Ulrich Hindrichs, Chairman of the Group’s Supervisory Board.
On Track Innovations (oti) has signed a five-year contract to help manage more than 5,000 on-street parking spaces in Arlington County, VA, one of the first areas in the U.S. to adopt cashless parking solutions. Its EasyPark in-vehicle parking device will replace the county’s existing iPark system. “[We look] forward to working with oti to provide motorists of Northern Virginia with a convenient, low-cost, on-street parking solution,” said County Treasurer Frank O’Leary. It began deploying the devices in June.
The city of Miami Beach has chosen ParkMe to provide live, real-time parking information to residents and visitors alike. Motorists can use the app, from their mobile device or desktop computer, to find parking locations and to check to see how full a lot is. This new relationship helps boost ParkMe’s presence in South Florida. The company, which collects and aggregates data about both on- and off-street parking, says it has built the world’s most comprehensive parking database.
Scheidt & Bachmann recently contracted with the Gateway Center Garage in Newton, MA, to handle the PARCS installation for the multi-use structure. Built over the Mass Pike roadway and considered a Boston-area landmark, it consists of one garage, with two entry/exit terminals and a central cashier station. Operated by Laz Parking and owned by J.F White Properties, the center also has a hotel component, as well as a tenant-use office building.
NelsonNygaard Consulting Associates launched its new website, nelsonnygaard.com, in May. “We’ve made it much easier for you to connect with our staff, find our award-winning work, and learn about NelsonNygaard services,” President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Jewel said at the time. “You can sort staff by location and expertise, and find featured projects.”
SMC Software, a leading provider of white-label reservations technology for the parking industry, now provides an enhanced experience to the global market. Its smartLUIS technology is available for use in multiple languages, most notably English, Spanish and French. LUIS, an acronym for Logical User Interface Software, is a comprehensive enterprise-grade central reservations system. It has highly multiplexed functional channels for managing and maintaining tiered pricing and product inventory, noted President Mike Harley, while leveraging yield management strategies.
Shannon Gabriel has joined the Performance Monitoring Team at The Parking Network, where she “protects and grows garage income through the implementation of best practices and remote testing of parking data,” the company said. In the parking industry for more than seven years, she has held many positions during that time.
Thomas Schultz has joined GKD Metal Fabrics as West Coast Regional Sales Manager. He has more than 20 years of experience in architectural sales. He has spent the bulk of his career in California, “making him particularly suited to working with architects and engineers specifying projects in the West Coast market,” the company said.
Database Consultants Australia (DCA) has acquired the market-leading IncNet database business. Regarded as the best business-marketing database, as well as the pre-eminent business-to-business data source for marketers across Australia and New Zealand, the company offers a range of quality data attributes about the top 50,000 companies in each of those countries.
McMahon Associates, a full-service transportation engineering and planning firm, has opened its newest New England office, in Providence, RI, with Maureen Chlebek, P.E., PTOE, as General Manager-Rhode Island. McMahon recognizes that as the state continues to develop, it will face increased traffic issues and challenges. With its 13th office along the East Coast, the firm continues to strategically plan to broaden its market areas, while meeting the needs of its clients.
Shawn Botterill has joined MobileNOW! as Vice President of National Accounts; he will be based in Calgary, AB, Canada. “His parking operations experience, coupled with a strong desire to leverage technology and build alliances, will be invaluable as we continue to expand our market segments and integrate with hardware providers,” CEO John Oglesby said.
Ohio University recently launched a partnership with Parkmobile, whose app lets users feed parking meters electronically from their smartphone. The 300 bright-green meters on the OU campus in Athens are now equipped with the software, but the biggest change will be the amount of time allowed to park. Martin Paulins, OU’s Director of Parking and Transportation, said that instead of a 2-hour limit, all parking meters on campus will be unlimited.
The city of Deerfield Beach, FL, on the Atlantic Ocean south of Boca Raton, has begun a new pay-by-plate parking program that allows visitors to park and then enter in their license plate number at a kiosk. There are several payment choices: coins, credit cards or by downloading the free app “Way to Park.” If the driver decides to make another payment, time can be added by using a credit card through the smartphone app, “instead of walking back to the kiosk,” said Jeff Nethery, Director of Business Development at Cale America, which installed the upgraded technology.
LR Plaza Garage, an entity related to the L&R Group of Companies, spent $30.3 million to buy a nine-story, 1,161-space parking garage, at Chase Plaza in downtown Orlando, from RP Plaza Property, Orange County (FL) records showed. Some 439 spaces weren’t included in the sale. L&R Group also owns and operates WallyPark off-airport parking complexes. Its Managing Partner and CEO, Stuart Rubin, also is Chairman, President and CEO of RP Realty Partners, parent of RP Plaza Property.
Paying for parking may be a bit more convenient for drivers in downtown Great Falls, MT, thanks to implementation of a fairly new system. A PassportParking app allows drivers to pay for parking with their smartphone, whether parked at a meter or in a parking garage. The app also reminds the user when parking time is up, and gives the option to add more time via your device.
Last fall, Amano McGann was awarded a parking equipment replacement contract for the Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita, KS. The state’s busiest airport is undergoing a major overhaul, including a state-of-the-art terminal and multi-level parking structure. The upgrade allows the airport to utilize advanced parking technology and receive online, real-time data. The new installation includes automated entry and exit stations, fee computers, LPR hardware and software, proximity access and security cameras – all designed to enhance customer experience and safety, while helping the city’s Airport Authority better evaluate parking demand and operate in the most efficient manner.
The city of Roanoke, VA, has transitioned to PARK Roanoke as manager of its on-street parking. The city has had contracts with Lancor Parking to manage its off-street lots and garages for several years. On July 1, the company began to manage its both on- and off-street parking. The city will pay Lancor about $200,000 a year to manage the system. City leaders say the move allows Roanoke to meet its goal of creating a singular parking management strategy designed to create efficiencies and enhance the customer experience.
Scranton (PA) City Council voted 3-1 in late June to adopt a resolution authorizing the city to extend its contract for four more years, with Pango Mobile Parking of Baltimore, for a cellphone payment option for parking meters. The lone dissenter said he simply wanted council to table the resolution to give the city more time to review the Pango pact and to compare it with a proposal from another firm, MobileNOW!
The city of St. Louis, MO, is looking for a new parking meter vendor, saying. its parking meters are outdated and ready for an upgrade. The new meters have to provide multiple payment options, such as credit card, debit card and pay-by-phone. The four competing companies, selected by the city, are Duncan Solutions, Xerox, Aparc Systems and T2 Systems. A decision is expected this month. The city also is testing mobile payment solutions from Parkmobile and PassportParking. Both provide smartphone apps that allow parkers to pay, and extend, by phone.
Chad Lynn has been promoted to Assistant Director of Public Works Services for the city of Beverly Hills, CA. The Director of Parking Operations will continue to oversee the Parking Services divisions (Operations, Meters, Enforcement and Auditing) and also oversee Fleet Management and Facilities Management.
The Board of Management of Germany-based Hoeft & Wessel AG has added Thomas Dibbern, who will be responsible in particular for global sales. Most recently, he was an executive in international sales operations at Scheidt & Bachmann. “Appointing [him to the board] will mean a reinforcement in terms of management and customer orientations,” said Dirk Ulrich Hindrichs, Chairman of the Group’s Supervisory Board.
On Track Innovations (oti) has signed a five-year contract to help manage more than 5,000 on-street parking spaces in Arlington County, VA, one of the first areas in the U.S. to adopt cashless parking solutions. Its EasyPark in-vehicle parking device will replace the county’s existing iPark system. “[We look] forward to working with oti to provide motorists of Northern Virginia with a convenient, low-cost, on-street parking solution,” said County Treasurer Frank O’Leary. It began deploying the devices in June.
The city of Miami Beach has chosen ParkMe to provide live, real-time parking information to residents and visitors alike. Motorists can use the app, from their mobile device or desktop computer, to find parking locations and to check to see how full a lot is. This new relationship helps boost ParkMe’s presence in South Florida. The company, which collects and aggregates data about both on- and off-street parking, says it has built the world’s most comprehensive parking database.
Scheidt & Bachmann recently contracted with the Gateway Center Garage in Newton, MA, to handle the PARCS installation for the multi-use structure. Built over the Mass Pike roadway and considered a Boston-area landmark, it consists of one garage, with two entry/exit terminals and a central cashier station. Operated by Laz Parking and owned by J.F White Properties, the center also has a hotel component, as well as a tenant-use office building.
NelsonNygaard Consulting Associates launched its new website, nelsonnygaard.com, in May. “We’ve made it much easier for you to connect with our staff, find our award-winning work, and learn about NelsonNygaard services,” President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Jewel said at the time. “You can sort staff by location and expertise, and find featured projects.”
SMC Software, a leading provider of white-label reservations technology for the parking industry, now provides an enhanced experience to the global market. Its smartLUIS technology is available for use in multiple languages, most notably English, Spanish and French. LUIS, an acronym for Logical User Interface Software, is a comprehensive enterprise-grade central reservations system. It has highly multiplexed functional channels for managing and maintaining tiered pricing and product inventory, noted President Mike Harley, while leveraging yield management strategies.
Shannon Gabriel has joined the Performance Monitoring Team at The Parking Network, where she “protects and grows garage income through the implementation of best practices and remote testing of parking data,” the company said. In the parking industry for more than seven years, she has held many positions during that time.
Thomas Schultz has joined GKD Metal Fabrics as West Coast Regional Sales Manager. He has more than 20 years of experience in architectural sales. He has spent the bulk of his career in California, “making him particularly suited to working with architects and engineers specifying projects in the West Coast market,” the company said.
