their revenue generation could be neutral even with fewer vehi- cles. Innovation and creativity are not slowed by a weakened economy, unless you want themto be. With a slowdown in the construction industry, architects and


Members of the Temecula Parking Group reported:


• Decline of 7% in parking demand at shoppingmalls.


• Reduction of 3% to 5% inmonthly parking sales downtown.


• RFPs for parking equipment down 5% from last year.


• Longer delays (and inability) to finance parking projects.


• Enplanements at airports down 22%.


• Cancellation of some regional parking conferences.


• Reduction in budgets ofmany parking providers.


• Requests (or demands) fromowners and assetmanagers to operate with less.


• Increased interest in transit.


• Governments (and administrations) siphoning parking funds for non-parking purposes.


• Capital costs associated with “green” projects.


• Fear as a factor in preventingmany from spending.


engineers have a little more free time, so we should take advan- tage of this opportunity to collaborate more closely with those professionals on parking fundamentals. Likewise, this is a good time to join other professional


organizations so we can influence how they view parking.With fewer vehicles in a facility, and more competition for your cap- ital dollar, now is a good time to perform those long-overdue repair projects. Don’t overlook yourmost valuable asset – your staff.Apoor-


ly performing staff can adversely impact your operation more than a poorly performing economy. The economy will get better. Can you say the same about your staff? This is an ideal time to train future parking supervisors. The Parking Manager of today does not look at stacks of


tickets. He or she programs stacks of servers. The ParkingManager of today no longer calculates the val-


ue of tickets but return on investment (ROI). The ParkingManager of todaymustmaintain bothADAand


PCI compliance. Training is something we can all do to promote our industry. With trained professionals, we can demonstrate to owners,


building mangers, asset managers, government leaders, hospital administrators, university officials and others that parking is an asset that adds to the bottom line.Moreover, every dollar spent on a well-trained ParkingManager is an investment with a high likelihood of a positive return. Yes, there is a direct relationship between the economy and


parking, so that when the economy suffers, the parking industry feels some of the pain. But instead of commiserating about the pain, take steps to reduce or eliminate it. Use current economic conditions as an opportunity to change the industry for the better. We won’t change the entire parking universe overnight, but per- haps we can change it one garage at a time. TheTemecula ParkingGroupwas honored to have the Inter-


national ParkingAssociation as its guests at this year’s meeting. The IPAismade up ofmember countries in the parking business, mostly in the Pacific Rim. This year, members came fromAus- tralia, China, Taiwan and Canada. They made a presentation on automated parking as it is in China.


PT


IPI NamesWatts Vice President, Sales &Marketing The International Parking Institute (IPI) has promoted Bon-


nieWatts, CEM, toVice President, Sales &Marketing. She will focus on growing IPI’s products and services and creating addi- tional value for itsmembership. Watts, who has 20 years of association experience, has been


instrumental in positioning the International Parking Conference and Expo as the premier parking event in the industry, advancing IPI’s online services, and introducing new programs and initia- tives targeted at suppliermembers. “Bonnie has demonstrated a true customer service focus


since her career began at IPI.There aremany opportunities ahead for the association to provide meaningful services to our mem- bership, and she will be instrumental in helping raise our mem- bers’ awareness of these important initiatives,” said Shawn Con- rad, CAE, Executive Director of the IPI.


“Even with the current economic challenges, I believe the


association and parking industry are about to face the most sig- nificant transformation we’ve had for some time,” saidWatts, who recently earned her Certified ExhibitionManagement des- ignation through the International Association for Events and Exhibitions.


r Parking Today


eaches over 25,000 Parking Professionals Each Month.


JUNE 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com 19


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