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It’s Curtains for PIE

February, 2019

Barbara Chance and Joseph Sciulli

JVH: What in the wild, wild world of parking are you two doing here in LA? And on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at that? 


BJC: Joe and I came for inspiration, John -- for our PIE presentation in March.


JPS: And since Barbara is from Kansas…


JVH: You thought the inspiration would come from gazing at Judy Garland’s star? Oh, I get it… Kansas, Judy Garland… your parking presentation has a Wizard of Oz theme! But all she parked was a house on a witch!


BJC: Wait a minute, John - what are YOU doing here?


JVH: Paying homage to my idol. James Dean. He’s only a few stars away from Judy. I’m here every week.


 


JPS: Makes sense – one rebel admiring another!


BJC: And John is a parking rebel – only with a cause!


JVH: You might say that. Plus, I had that lean, mean, misunderstood teen look in my younger days... I identified with him. But enough of that -- what’s the Wizard of Oz got to do with parking?


BJC: More than you know. There were some great messages in Oz, especially for a “facts” guy like you, John.


JVH: Like, “There’s no place like home”? Bah! What’s that got to do with parking?


JPS: Ah, much more. You see, nowadays, there are lots of facts about parking and mobility hidden behind some curtains. Get it -- behind the curtain? It’s a great title for our presentation, too.


BJC: Lots of so-called “wizards” are offering their dreams for the future, instead of dealing head-on with the facts that might not support those visions. As the Scarecrow said, “some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don’t they?”


 


JPS: So, our presentation will be pulling back the curtain…


 


JVH: I get it, Toto. But prove it to me. The Scarecrow wanted knowledge. Give me some. 


 


JPS: Ok, here’s an example. Pew Trust articles have quoted experts that say that in the future, fewer people will want to own their own cars, and therefore downtown garages may be headed for extinction.


BJC: But here’s what’s behind the curtain, John: SingularityHub projects just the opposite, because of future vehicle cost, the desire of drivers to keep personal belongings in their vehicles, frequent upgrades and improvements of vehicles, the lack of instant accessibility in non-urban areas, and the projected diversity of vehicle types. And Forbes magazine even sees relatively small effects on car ownership – more the type of vehicle than the fact of ownership.


JPS: And try this one on, John: car and light truck ownership in the U.S. actually increased in 2018, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, which has been studying this stuff since 1984.


JVH: OK, OK, I get it. Those trendy headlines about the future could be misleading and even inaccurate once you pull back the curtain and get deeper into the facts.


 


BJC: Just come to our presentation, John. We’ll be pulling back the curtain on a lot more.


JVH: OK! You’ve convinced me! I’ll be there.


BJC: Just lose the T-shirt with the rolled-up pack of cigs in the sleeve before you come, John. 


Joseph Sciulli, CAPP, Vice President and Senior Operations Consultant. Barbara Chance, Ph.D., President and CEO CHANCE Management Advisors, Inc.



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