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Industry News

August, 2015

 Parkopedia, a leading parking information provider, has appointed Marty Zacharias as Senior Director of Business Development, a new position within the company. Based out of its Detroit office, he will be the Global Account Manager for many of Parkopedia’s current automotive clients, including Chrysler, Ford, GM and Nissan.

 

IDeaS Revenue Solutions, a leading provider of revenue management software solutions and advisory services, has appointed Jim Short as Senior Account Executive in its car-parking division, headed by Pauline Oliver, Business Development Manager.

 

Code Blue Corp., a leading manufacturer of emergency communication solutions, has promoted David Cook to Chief Executive Officer. For the past three years, he has served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, managing its day-to-day activities. As CEO, Cook will be responsible for driving the vision of Code Blue, while continuing to oversee sales, finance, marketing, business development, product development and customer service.

 

Richard Willson, a Professor in and Chairman of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Cal Poly Pomona, CA, has written a new book, “Parking Management for Smart Growth.”Available through his publisher (Island Press), Amazon or “your local bookseller,” the book provides processes and techniques for strategically managing parking resources to improve transportation, the economy and the environment.. Included is a chapter by his long-time collaborator, Consultant Rick Williams, on managing integrated parking supplies. 

 

Bomel Construction has begun building the initial new structure, a four-level parking garage, in the redevelopment evolution of Hollywood Park in Inglewood. CA.The 1,435-stall garage will serve the existing Hollywood Park Casino. A new 238-acre mixed-use development there is programmed for 3,000 homes, 620,000 square feet of retail space and 25 acres of parks. The centerpiece of the property is expected to be a $2-billion stadium designed for 80,000 pro football fans; St. Louis Rams Owner Stan Kroenke plans to break ground in December.In other news,Bomelhas completed a design-build parking structure at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, CA. The 1,950-stall garage is a key component of a $200-million expansion undertaken by Simon, the mall’s developer. In April, the company began building a nine-level, 1,000-space garage for the Citadel Outlets in LA. Also in April, the Anaheim Hills, CA-based contractor completed a garage for the $350-million open-air Westfield mall for the new Village at Topanga in LA’s San Fernando Valley. 

 

Dubai, UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) – the leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – has completed the initial rollout of the Park Assist M4 parking guidance system (PGS) for installation in several of its shopping malls. Its M4 PGS is “the most advanced camera-based sensor system in the world,” the company says. MAF’s Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre and Bahrain City Centre are currently in operation with the new PGS, with coverage of more than 10,000 spaces across the three sites. Founded in 1992, MAF owns and operates 17 shopping malls, 11 hotels and three mixed-use communities in MENA, with further developments underway in the region.

 

Russell Miller is the new GM and Business Development Manager at WPS Parking Solutions. He joined the U.S.A. Western Region location on July 13, at its offices in Glendale, CA. In other WPS news, Project Manager Ruben Martinez joined its Western Region team on June 22. Also, the company has promoted Michael Alpuche to the Operations Manager role in the Western Region. 

 

Tim Maloney has joined SpotHero, the on-demand parking service, as Vice President of Sales. The parking industry veteran will be responsible for bolstering relationships with operators, while helping the company retain its position as a leading aggregator for parking operators.

 

NelsonNygaard Principal and Founding Partner Bonnie Nelson received two honors this spring – the WTS Lifetime Achievement award and the Livability Award from San Francisco’s Livable Cities organization. She founded the consulting firm in the Bay Area in 1987, a time when women struggled to have a place at the transportation table, both in professional and business terms. Nelson was a Founding Member and the first President of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (now WTS) in San Francisco.

 

The Oregon Department of Transportation has adopted a ground-breaking plan to help more people walk, bike, take transit, share rides and telecommute. The first of its kind in Oregon, the statewide Transportation Options Plan includes policies and strategies that support programs such as travel training, ridesharing, and safe routes to school and work. For more information, go to http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP/Pages/toplan.aspx.

 

Karla Baig has been named Strategic Sales Manager for OmniPark, an industry leader in cloud-based technology solutions, including handheld parking enforcement, online permitting and license plate inventory. She will be responsible for sales for vertical-specific parking enforcement and management software primarily focused on prospecting new accounts, maintaining existing customer relationships, and expanding customer use of products and services.  

 

Jim Corbett, CAPP, has joined Walker Parking Consultants as a Parking Consultant in its Tampa office. With his extensive relevant experience, he will work in the firm’s Resources Group, providing management consultation to municipal and private parking owners across the U.S.

 

The Homestead, PA, Borough Council has approved a partnership with MeterFeeder for an app of the same name that’s designed to allow users to upload and store license plate and payment information the first time they pay for parking and store it on their device forever. Then, when a user’s parking time is about to expire, the app sends a notification to their phone, alerting them and allowing them to add more time remotely. The app is available for download at Google Play or the iTunes store, using any Android or Apple device.

 

Alex Jongeneel, who joined TKH Parking Solutions in January, has moved to its Park Assist unit as Project Manager - Europe. He has 19 years of experience as a Project Manager for a Dutch company that sells on- and off-street parking equipment. 

 

BMW Group, as main sponsor of the 17th EPA Congress, in conjunction with Parken 2015, on Sept. 23-25 in Berlin, will present its BMW i premium parking service ParkNow at the conference and trade show. The company will provide event visitors “a practical and scientific insight into the parking offer of the future.” Parken is the only German trade exhibition that exclusively covers the planning, construction and operating of parking areas. For more information, go to http://www.europeanparking.eu/congress.

 

The PayByPhone mobile payment service is now available in all parking spaces across Geneva, Switzerland. After a successful pilot trial, the technology was rolled out citywide in June. Kush Parikh, President of PayByPhone Global, said that “Geneva is following in the footsteps of some of the world’s biggest cities by offering stress-free, cashless parking for drivers.” Antoine de Raemy, President at Fondation des Parkings, which runs Geneva’s parking operation, said, “We want to encourage more drivers to park within our city and think PayByPhone is a great way to do that.”

 

The National Parking Association (NPA) continues to improve and expand its wealth of online resources for parking industry professionals. The NPA has launched its new and improved “Online Buyer’s Guide to Parking Products & Services.” It is a comprehensive, nationwide searchable database of vendors and service providers that supply the products and services parking professionals need to operate their facilities efficiently. See more at weareparking.org.

 

Advam (UK) Ltd. has appointed Mark Holdsworth as Business Development Manager for its ticketless parking and transport solutions. With more than 10 years’ experience in the parking and technology industries, he will focus on customer development of the ParkCharge, StaffPark and GroundTransport solutions. 

 

Residents and visitors to Clearwater Beach and downtown Clearwater, FL, can now pay for parking conveniently from their smartphones or handheld devices. On July 9, the city launched its pay-by-phone Parkmobile application, which is available on all on-street meters and multi-space lots at the beach and downtown. The app is available for iPhone, Android, Windows, Blackberry and Amazon.

ParkWhiz, an on-demand parking app that makes it easy to find and book parking from any device, announced a new partnership with Lanier Parking Solutions, a parking operations company. The partnership enables immediate availability of hourly, daily and monthly parking at more than 225 locations across 11 states and 35 major cities.  

 ParkWhiz allows drivers to easily find and book available parking via the ParkWhiz mobile app or website. The service allows drivers who commute – and those parking for special events and travel – to guarantee their spot will be waiting for them when they arrive. ParkWhiz lets users compare parking prices, taking the guesswork out of finding affordable parking. The addition of Lanier to the ParkWhiz network means thousands of new convenient parking spots will be available across the country.

 

SP Plus Corporation, a national provider of parking, ground transportation and related products and services to commercial, institutional and municipal clients throughout North America, today announced that its Board of Directors has elected Karen M. Garrison to the newly-created position of Lead Independent Director, effective August 1, 2015. In this new role, Ms. Garrison will, among other things, preside at Board meetings when the Chairman is not present and at executive sessions of the independent directors, serve as liaison between the Chairman and the independent directors, approve Board meeting schedules and agendas, approve information sent to the Board, and be authorized to call meetings of the independent directors.

 

Park Assist has named Scott Dubois the General Manager of the Australia Branch, which covers the Asia Pacific Region. Scott has been with Park Assist since 2009 where he has delivered over 50 parking guidance system projects. Scott is credited with establishing the Australian business in its leading market position. “Scott has been a key contributor to the success of Park Assist for the past six years and we’re excited to have him lead our Asia Pacific branch operations,” said Gary Neff, CEO of Park Assist. Scott is replacing Daniel Cohen, Co-Founder of Park Assist, who recently retired. Also, Jeremy Lewis has been promoted to Senior Director of Client Services. “In the past year, Jeremy has developed a strong client services platform in Australia that we are looking to emulate in other markets. We are pleased to appoint Jeremy as our Senior Director of Client Services. His vision and leadership will positively impact the entire company,” said Neff. Jeremy joined Park Assist in 2014 with a focus on reshaping our services and strengthening client relationships. 

 

ADVAM is pleased to announce the award of a new contract with NCP to manage all card payment transactions across the NCP portfolio. NCP is the largest car park operator in the UK. With a portfolio of over 500 car parks, NCP provides parking in all major cities and airports, processing around 18 million card transactions each year. Previously NCP used four separate PSPs to manage payment processing across their portfolio. This approach prevented NCP from capitalizing on technology and cost efficiencies.


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