The Municipal Parking Tutorial: A How-to Guide & Things You Should Consider

July, 2021

This session is a comprehensive review of the experiences of several municipal agencies. Hear from the experts themselves as they share their path to progressive parking management, as well as the challenges they have overcome throughout the pandemic. 

We will begin our interactive discussion with the City of Paso Robles (CA) as they share how the Police Department managed parking through 2020 into 2021. Paso Robles is a popular California Wine Country tourist destination with a vibrant downtown. With a parking program managed by the Police Department, 2020 was the ultimate lesson in managing priorities from public safety, political unrest, and, of course, ensuring a successful parking program. Learn how the City adjusted its parking program due to COVID-19, recent expansions to the program based upon data-driven decision, and the hands-on approach to education, outreach, and customer service that made the program updates possible. 

The discussion will transition to the City of McKinney (TX) and we will hear firsthand from the frontline parking enforcement officer and a City Planner who have incorporated the City’s motto, “Unique by Nature,” as they implement mobility solutions that were customized for their community while focused on not detracting from the City’s historic charm. McKinney is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, and the community’s willingness to work collaboratively has allowed the City to customize solutions that will support a vibrant and ever-changing downtown environment. Parking expert Brett Wood will join the conversation and discuss the significance of community engagement and will identify that there might be cookie cutter problems and trends that exist in most communities, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. We will explore the importance of adaptability and incremental change and how the City will measure and monitor the ongoing impacts as the transformation is under way.

From there, the discussion will accelerate to the City of Beverly Hills and discuss the transition to virtual parking permits. The overview will include not only the significance of automation and efficiencies within the program, but also the transformation of parking management within the City as a result of department shifts that began well before COVID. We will discuss the importance of LPR throughout this change and provide insights into data security and storage. The Police Department will be on hand to provide a summary of the challenges and successes associated with their recent procurements that included updating and deploying new integrated parking technology and how to communicate those updates within such a high-profile community. 

 You will not want this engaging conversation to end, therefore, if you are drowning in data, we will end the conversation by throwing you a lifesaver! We will highlight how the programs that were shared leveraged data to influence real change within their operations. From traditional parking studies to meter and permit management systems, to license plate recognition cameras, the panelists will share examples of operational adjustments, policy changes, and stakeholder outreach that benefited directly from data-driven decisions, and their creative strategies to work with existing or limited resources.

We have stacked this session with the municipal personnel who are making the changes happen. This will be a candid conversation and the panelists may not have all the answers, but they can certainly explain their experiences and we can learn from each other. Bring your questions and be prepared to share your challenges. You will not want this session to end because we will cover a spectrum of topics including some things that you might not have considered. 

Tutorial Panelists:

Julie Dixon, Dixon Resources Unlimited

Brett Wood, Wood Solutions Group

Commander Caleb Davis, City of Paso Robles Police Department

Parking Manager Donna King, City of Paso Robles Police Department

Sgt Dave Tomlin, City of Beverly Hills Police Department

Alek Miller, Planner, City of McKinney

Eric Davis, Marshall’s Office, City of McKinney

Michael Tinglof, Data Analyst, Dixon Resources Unlimited