2018 TPTA Memberships

WIN A SCHOLARSHIP TO THE 2018 IPI CONFERENCE & EXPO IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA!

Anyone who renews or purchases a TPTA membership on or before December 31, 2017 will be eligible and placed into a drawing to win ONE of TWO "Full Scholarship Conference Packages" to the 2018 IPI Conference & Expo which will be held June 3-6, 2018 in Orlando, Florida.  Each Scholarship Package includes an IPI conference registration, airfare and hotel up to a specific amount.  Please renew your membership today as the holidays are approaching quickly and you don't want to miss out on the opportunity to win.  

Click on the logo below to read more about the IPI Conference & Tradeshow! 

Our Industry Can Help Texas

Even though we aren’t thought of as “first responders” to emergencies and natural disasters, those of us in the Parking and Transportation industry are often cast into that role. We aren’t saving lives or putting out fires, but we are often in the Emergency Operations Centers lending expertise to city, hospital, airport, and university planners as they triage such situations and decide where to apply immediate, but often limited resources.

In the recent wake of Hurricane Harvey, and without any hesitation, the Texas Parking and Transportation Association (TPTA) board of directors decided to respond to the relief efforts by donating $5,000 to the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation Rebuild Texas Fund set up to rebuild communities across Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. $42.8M has been raised towards a goal of $100M. We know this amount can grow, but only with your help.

As national and international partners in this industry, we can make a huge difference together. Our industry is best represented when we are providing ingenious and excellent service; giving to those supporting Texas relief efforts is the best way to show our strength right now. We may not be able to put “boots on the ground," but in uniting to give, we can offer tangible, lasting support to the state of Texas and to our friends and colleagues affected by the disaster.

TPTA would like to challenge and encourage other state and regional parking and transportation associations to donate to the relief efforts throughout affected areas of Texas.

From slingin' wings to parking cars

Chaos in the kitchen, timers going off, hungry patrons impatiently waiting for their food….That was my life close to four years ago and all I had known for almost six years.

I was in the restaurant industry since my junior year of high school, from working the fast food drive-thru to managing a team and keeping customers happy.

Little did I know when I made the leap to take on a job in the big city and out of my comfort zone, just how much I was already prepared for the parking world.

The first day, I encountered a less than entertained parker who wasn’t aware that it was going to cost him to exit our garage. I immediately knew how to handle the situation. I was reminded of when I was standing in a dining room with an upset customer whose food was incorrect and demanded compensation.

Across the board, in any industry, customer service is always the same. A smile can go a long way and it can take the most difficult situations in a whole new direction.

Over the last thirteen years of my working career, it doesn’t matter what setting I am in or what I am tasked with, I know that the customer should feel as if they are always right and a little kindness is the key to success!

Jessica Garcia
Parking Manager
Winpark

Weekly news fix

Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, announced an exploratory transportation project to optimize traffic flows for bus ridership and utilize data analytics to improve navigation at Texas A&M University. Read more about it here.

Billions are wasted every year as drivers search for parking. Read Inrix's report here.

Parking revenues are being impacted by ride-share services. Is your organization feeling a pinch? Read the story here. 

T2 Systems has acquired Parksoft. Read about it here.

Build more or less parking? Can reducing minimums result in more efficient parking management. This piece certainly thinks so. 

And Mexico City has eliminated parking minimums.

Send your news to TPTA@texasparking.org!

What violation would you write here? Tell us in the comments!

Did you take 3 minutes to respond to our survey?

We sent out a survey about the TPTA conference on June 26 and we wanted to share the responses with you. If you didn't get a chance to give us your feedback, the survey is still open - so take a few minutes and tell us what you think!

Until that time - here are some highlights from the responses. Not surprisingly, most attend the conference for a bit of everything: networking, education and hearing industry experts. We plan on continuing to provide these resources via roundtables and the annual conference. 

The hottest topic is innovative ideas in parking operations. Clearly, we want to hear about new and unusual ideas to take our operations to the next level. Are you currently putting in place a program that is innovative and unique? If so - be on the lookout for the call for speakers for the 2018 conference. We would love to hear about your new program! Another hot topic is transportation and transit. Parking data and analytics also shared a spot on the top of the list.

We also heard that attendees prefer to have the conference take place entirely in the hotel versus a separate location. Our show has gotten large enough that finding a location with sufficient space can be a challenge. But for 2018, we're happy to report that the Marriott Marquis in downtown Houston will be hosting our event and it will all take place within the hotel. We are looking forward to seeing you there! 

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas….Not Necessarily?

During my inaugural trip to Las Vegas, Nevada in June, a local newscaster was presenting a story about the passing of legislation regarding autonomous vehicle testing on public roads. She mentioned that it would make Nevada one of the first states to allow this testing without a person inside the vehicle.  While that is true, eighteen states have already passed bills to allow this type of testing on public roads.  Florida has been allowing true “driverless” vehicles since 2016.

The driverless electric shuttle carries passengers in a test program in downtown Las Vegas.
 

Texas is also one of those states.  The Texas legislation will become law on September 1, 2017 which means Texas could begin seeing driverless vehicles before the end of this year’s swimming season.  Prior to the bill being passed, there was no law banning autonomous vehicles on public roadways but manufacturers of AVs have been hesitant  to begin testing with no backup driver without clear guidelines in place. 

Texas is one of the states in front of the pack when it comes to AV testing.  In January of 2017, Texas was named one of 10 designated proving ground testing sites by the USDOT. Peterbilt has been testing semi-trucks out of its Denton, TX headquarters for years.  Although these examples are all from Texas, adoption of driverless vehicle testing and operation is becoming vastly widespread.

Nevada may have once been the leading state for driverless technologies but that is no longer the case,  proving that what happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily stay in Vegas.

Lauren Nelson
Senior Operations Manager
Winpark

Friday funny and some news links

Happy Friday! How about some news today?

How much is a parking space worth in your neck of the woods? Check out Hong Kong.

Parking rates hold steady at Dallas Fort Worth Airport.

Texas A&M has good news.

Austin is extending meter hours on Wednesdays.

More news about on-street parking in Austin.

Sometimes miracles happen in a parking garage! 

Flexible parking for the future

How do we build better parking for the estimated 10 million people who will call North Texas home in 2040?  If cars drive themselves, will they even need to park? What is the latest research and innovative practices in parking management? How is parking evolving in response to changing market demands, urban form, and technology?

Join the North Central Texas Council of Governments to hear experts discuss “Flexible Parking for the Future: Responding to Market Demands and Transportation Choices”

When: August 2, 2017, 7:30 am to 3:30 pm

Where: Hilton Arlington, 2401 East Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX 76006

Register now!

Women in Parking - Lunch & Learn

Join Women in Parking for a Lunch and Learn session. 

When:
11:00 AM CT Thursday, July 27, 2017
through 2:00 PM CT Thursday, July 27, 2017

Where:
Brookfield Property Partners, Two Allen Center
1200 Smith Street, Suite 1200, Houston, TX

Women are finally well represented in supervisory and management positions in most organizations across the country. Yet, despite these visible signs of success, many are finding the road to leadership success rocky. This Lunch and Learn is a rare opportunity to acquire important leadership skills and use those newfound skills to gain the respect of co-workers and those you supervise. It’s filled with insights into the special and often-overlooked talents women leaders can bring to the table and cutting-edge tactics successful women leaders are using right now to make things happen in their organizations.

Fee: WIP members are FREE, $10 for non-WIP members (registration includes lunch and sessions)

Register now!

Take 3 minutes to respond to our survey!

As we plan for content for the 2018 Tradeshow and Conference, we’re keen to hear your thoughts on what you like about conferences as well as ways we could make it better for you.

We’d love it if you could answer these 6 simple survey questions and give us your thoughts.

Houston Host Committee #TPTA2018

Houston is ready to Host! We are inspired! We are hip! And there is no shortage of savvy. Mark your calendars for March 26-28, 2018 and plan on being at #TPTA2018 being held in the Marriott Marquis in Downtown Houston.

If you have any ideas for subjects that you would like to see covered or just to provide feedback in general - keep an eye out for our survey which will be hitting your inbox in the next week. 

The Host Committee is working at a feverish pace to put this show on for you. If you run into any of the following volunteers - please thank them for their hard work! This is a volunteer-run organization and we are so appreciative of all that they do!

Bob Browand, University of Houston
Nicole Chinea, WinPark
Britney Cooper, Walter P. Moore
Melonie Curry, ParkHouston
Jennifer D'Amico, ParkHouston
Julio Deleon, Associated Time & Parking
Kelly Frazier, ParkHouston
Jacob Gonzalez
Walt Gray, Houston Airport System
Eric Holamon, University of Houston
Maria Irshad, ParkHouston
Cynthia Jimenez, ParkHouston
Jay Layden, SP+
Brian Lozano, Walter P. Moore
Liliana Rambo, WinPark
Reggie Randolph, HoustonFirst
Anthony Shipp, Houston Airport System
Jaime Snyder, Walker Parking
Jane Wilcox, SP+
Vernon Williams, Midtown Management District

Roundtable recap

You missed a great roundtable, but fear not - we have some takeaways from attendees to share! How do you use social media and do you think about how to actively engage your followers? Information is great, but engagement is just as important. 

Social media is a vital tool for parking/transportation professionals and we should have clear strategies for its use as it relates to our organizations and our own personal branding. 

Tad Fifer, Transportation Services, Texas A&M, said "You need to vary content and tailor the content to your audience and the platform. It doesn't necessarily need to be informational, but it needs to be engaging."

"You need to have a media strategy," said Michael Civitelli of NuPark. Michael Uldrich of McCarthy appreciated the 30-60-10 rule discussed by Kathleen Laney - 30% of your content should be curated, 60% is informational and 10% is self-promotion. This mix of content both engages and informs followers.

Many of the attendees including Jaime Snyder of Walker Parking, Paul Stresow of the City of El Paso and Bill Donavan of MD Anderson Cancer Center felt that personal branding in social media only adds to your organization.

If you missed the Summer Roundtable - get ready to join us in October for the Fall Roundtable in San Antonio! Stay tuned for details...