Support, Staffing, Relationships


Editor’s note: Cindy Campbell has been getting a lot of ink lately and rightly so. She is the incoming Chair of the International Parking Institute, has a very successful parking program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and is becoming the public “face” of the public parking industry. In preparation for this issue on Campus Parking, PT traveled to her Central California campus in late July and prepared this interview. We also have the interview “live” on our web site, www.parkingtoday.com. Be sure to log on and see and hear Cindy in her interview with JVH.


“T


HE R E LAT IONSHI P between staff, faculty and the parking program is sometimes contentious. We are here as their peers and must see them


as a large part of our customer base.” Cindy Campbell is Associate Director of the University


Police Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. She is in charge of the parking pro- gram. PT began to ask a question about the relationship


PT Blog is put in its place


Cindy Campbell had a bone to pick with PT’s blog. A Cal Poly student wrote an article complaining that the school charged for parking when the lots were empty in the summer. PT agreed that a market-based approach might be appropriate.


“We do have a market-based approach,” Campbell said. “It just fits in with our goals. We are trying to reduce the number of cars on campus.We do that by raising fees. In the summer, we need to close certain lots and garages for maintenance.We set the fees so those on campus will think a bit before they drive.


“We have a myriad of programs to get staff, faculty and students to and from the campus. If you look at the list, parking is last.We think we have a better environment if we reduce the number of vehicles. Do we want to drive them all away? Of course not. But by offering less expensive and convenient alternatives, we work toward our overall goal of a less congested, more open campus.”


26 SEPTEMBER 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


See PT’s Interview with Cindy Campbell “LIVE” at www.parkingtoday.com


between her department and the staff but then thought better of it. She felt it was a legitimate question and began her answer with the line above. “It’s important that we are willing to work with the staff


and faculty just as any other customer. Often the parking department isn’t considered a major player in the planning that goes on at a university. It’s important that we are at the table, even if we aren’t a voting member of the team. “Staffing is a major issue. It is difficult to justify internal


staff. It’s difficult to justify the need to hire someone to run an IT section or provide customer service specific to parking; however, adding enforcement is easy to justify. They provide revenue. Our staff is involved in service, follow-up, quality control, collections and tech support.


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