Greg Parzych, Founder, President and CEO of TCS International, which was acquired by Norway-based Q-Free ASA in 2013, has officially left the company after a three-year transition. “I thoroughly enjoyed building this organization with wonderful colleagues on our team along the way,” he said. “I know that continued success will come to the group and certainly wish them all the best going forward.” Contact him at gparzych@mjpglobal.com.

 

HonkMobile, North America’s leading provider of on-demand mobile payments for parking, is working with the Town of Whitby, ON, on transforming the way drivers there find and pay for parking. In mid-November, Founder and CEO Michael Back joined Mayor Don Mitchell at the city’s fire hall to officially launch some 700 spaces across the town’s on-street metered and off-street municipal parking lots. The company’s cloud-based technology is designed to streamline parking by enabling users to search, pay for, and top-up parking from their mobile phone or tablet or any Internet-connected device. The app also allows users to store and manage receipts. 

 

Peter Thorson has joined Propark America as a Senior Vice President. “Peter has a robust background in the parking industry and brings with him a unique blend of hands-on leadership and technological expertise, coupled with the mindset of an entrepreneurial strategist,” CEO John Schmid said. “Adding an individual of this caliber to our company as we continue to expand our national portfolio is an exciting development for Propark.”

 

Swinerton Builders, along with The Stahl Companies and IDG Parkitects, has announced that construction is well underway on the Community Memorial Health System Parking Structure in Ventura, CA. The new $11-million, six-level, 571-stall parking structure is being delivered design-build. With a design that architecturally compliments the hospital’s bed tower (also currently under construction), the new structure will feature linear buildings on the first floor that will house retail and serve both the hospital and local businesses. 

 

Travel out of Denver International Airport (DIA) has gotten easier since mid-November, thanks to a new near-airport parking operation, ParkDIA. The 7,500-space facility provides travelers with first-class business amenities that include instant mobile check-in and check-out services, an executive lounge with high-speed Wi-Fi, and a FlyteBoard real-time glance-and-go airport flight information display to keep its busy clients on schedule. Developed by Flyte Systems, the leading provider of cost-effective airport travel information, it displays arrivals and departures for DIA in a familiar airport-style format. 

 

Aiphone Corp., a leading international manufacturer of intercom and entry security products, is relocating its 53 full-time corporate employees from Bellevue to Redmond, WA. After 31 years in its present location, this will provide enough room for growing sales, marketing, technical, customer service, repair and engineering groups. Its operations will be doubled from 15,000 square feet to 32,000 square feet. The new address is 6670 185^th Ave. NE, Redmond, WA 98052; and its phone number,

(425) 455-0510. 

This winter, people in Missoula, MT, will be getting used to the city’s new high-tech parking system that incorporates Luke paystations from T2 Systems. The solar-powered digital machines are replacing the city’s 60-year-old mechanical meters. “We have 90 [new] meters on the street right now. We’ve purchased a total of 117,” Missoula Parking Commission Director Anne Guest told KPAX.com in early December. “Typically, a meter can handle almost 10 vehicle spaces, but it depends if those are parallel or angled.” 

 

Passport has partnered with the Springfield (MA) Parking Authority to bring its mobile payment solution to the city’s downtown area. The app, which was initially available in more than 700 metered spaces, gives drivers the convenience of paying for parking from their smartphones, without having to hurry back to the meter. It eventually will expand to 5,000 parking spaces throughout downtown. Drivers who take advantage of the app also can extend their parking directly from their phone, receive notifications before the end of their parking session, and keep track of all parking history. In related news, Michigan State University also has partnered with Passport to introduce mobile parking payments to metered parking on campus. The mobile app, Spot On, is custom-branded and designed specifically for the university’s parking environment. Drivers on campus are now able to pay for parking right from their smartphone, without having to walk up to the paystation.

 

Walker Parking Consultants will design a new parking garage at Asheville (NC) Regional Airport with as many as 1,500 spaces. The five-story structure will be located directly across from the airport’s terminal. It will include car rental services on the first floor, with convenient access from the baggage claim area, and long-term parking on the remaining four levels. Design of the garage is underway, and construction is expected to be completed by fall 2017. Walker Parking also will be providing parking consulting, structural engineering, and mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering. Lead consultant Delta Airport Consultants will be Project Manager, and architectural services are being provided by Gresham, Smith & Partners.

 

The City of Roanoke, VA, is testing computerized pay-and-display machines, provided by Parkeon, at three lots. They allow parkers to pay using cash, coins, credit cards and even their smartphones, VirginiaFirst.com reported. Currently, drivers can pay for parking only by putting cash into a box slot. Phase 1 of the pilot program will last 90 days. After that, city officials will review the reports. They also are relying heavily on public input. “The next step, if this goes right, is to try it in a pilot project on-street, where we do some meters in the core of downtown,” City Manager Chris Morrill told the website.

 

December marked four years since the Downtown San Diego Partnership (DSDP),as part of its Make Change Count program, installed its first “donation meter.” Provided by IPS Group, the now-21 special red meters, whichcollect donations intended for homeless services, have raised nearly $10,000. The nonprofit organization that operates the program told KPBS.org that the meters “were never meant to be a huge money-raiser.” Homeless Outreach Coordinator Kelly Knight said, “They are meant to be an awareness and education tool.” The donations are collected as the meters fill up and turned over to the DSDP Foundation, a 501(c)3 that supports the local Campaign to End Homelessness. 

 

The Parkmobile mobile payments solution has been available on campus at UMass-Amherst since early December. Students, faculty, staff and visitors can now pay for parking with their smartphones using the mobile apps for iPhone, Android, Windows and Blackberry phones. Those without smartphones can call a toll-free number. The Parkmobile service is being offered at more than 800 spaces around campus. “UMass Parking [and Transportation] Services is excited to partner with Parkmobile to supply a pay-by-cell option for our parking community,” Parking Manager Jonathan King said. 

 

Parking Australia, the national body representing the interests of the parking industry in Australia, elected two new directors at its Annual General Meeting in late November. Sharon Prior and Martin Ryan have joined the board during a significant period for the association. 2016 will focus on the theme of “raising the bar,” which is a key strategic objective designed to encourage best-practices across the industry. This year, the group will roll out an accredited operator program and develop a certified parking professional program aimed at promoting knowledge and expertise within the industry. Prior is Team Leader, Off-Street Parking Services, at Adelaide City Council. Ryan is the Head of Parking and Transport at Brisbane Airport.

 

Strategic Property Partners, the real estate development joint venture between Cascade Investment and Jeff Vinik, owners of Amalie Arena in Tampa, has hired Parkhub.com to manage parking in its nearly 40-acre downtown development district. Customers will be able to reserve and pay for parking online or pay with a credit card on-site using the company’s cloud-based software and handheld card readers. “With Prime powered by ParkHub, parking customers get more payment options and less time in line, while delivering real-time information that makes the overall parking enterprise operate more smoothly,” said Founder and CEO George Baker.