a degree inMunicipalAdministration. He moved to the Chicago area for his post graduatework inTransportation SystemPlanning at Northwestern University. For nearly five decades, Dick provid- ed parking consulting services to both public and private entities. Hewas associatedwith several firms throughout his career includ- ing Ralph Burke Associates (1990-1993) and The Consulting Engineers Group, Inc. (1993-2004). Dick was one of the Founders of the Parking Consultants


R Richard S. Beebe


ICHARD S. BEEBE PASSED AWAY in his sleep January 12, at his home in North Carolina. He was 80.


Dick grew up in the Cincinnati area and graduated from the University Cincinnati with


Council and served as its Chairman from 1978-1979 and 1991- 1992. He also served three terms on the Board of Directors of the National ParkingAssociation. He received the Outstanding Serv- iceAward for hisworkwith theBoard ofDirectors andwas award- ed the Bernard DutchAward by the Parking Consultants Council. Dickwas very knowledgeable about the parking industry, par-


ticularly parking revenue control;ADA mandates; and vehicular circulation inside a garage. He was an early advocate of automatic parking andwas an originalmember of theAutomatic andMechan- ical ParkingAssociation.Many parking publications, such as Park- ing 101 –A Parking Primer and the Dimensions of Parking have Dick listed as an author and/or editor.While he encouraged the use of advanced parking revenue control equipment, he avoided com- puters and shunned cell phones. He wrote his reports in longhand. I mean wrote with a pen. They would later be typed. He kept his cell phone in his desk drawer tomake sure it never got dusty. When he readmy first draft report as a consultant, he attached


a notewith thewords “NICE JOB!” on it.Tome, that notewas the equivalent earning a Doctorate degree. Dick always respected your opinions as long as they agreed


with his. It was never necessary for someone to guess if he liked you.You knew!Although he would find fault with some humans, he never found a fault with a dog. Canines were the noblest of species to Dick. Each time he would call my office, he would ask aboutmy dogs.


Meeting with HR… from Page 36


is priced anywhere from 10% to 30% below other parking in the area. I have been trying to motivate the operator to market those spaces, but to no avail. It seems tome that operators don’t see it in their best interests


to sell spaces in garageswhere they havemanagement agreements. Look at it from their point of view. They get a phone call at


their office from someone looking for parking. They have 10 lots they run in the area (one is mine). Seven of the lots are either owned or leased by the operator. If they put the person in my lot, they get, what, 10% of the fee as a commission. If they put the person in one of the others, they get 100%.Well, duh. I like the operator; they do a good job. Short of changing the


agreement to a lease, what to do? I will suggest to my owner that he hire a marketing person to spend 100% of their time promoting and selling this garage.


Assuming the cost of a space is $300, and this person could sell even 400 of the available 1,500 spaces, that would net $120,000 a month. If he or she cost 10%or even 15%of that, itwould seemto me to be a good investment. They could promote the garage in surrounding apartments


and businesses; they could have contests and put up signs. They could cut deals with local car rental agencies for auto storage, and a few hotels nearby don’t have parking. A bright person could make themselves a good living and


really increase the base revenue of the facility. In today’s jobs climate, it would seem to me that a lot of peo-


ple on the street could fill this position…as soon as their unem- ployment benefits run out.


Woof! FEBRUARY 2011 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com 37 He enjoyed driving, as long as it was an “American” car. He


would not drive a foreign vehicle, even when he traveled on busi- ness.Whenever Hertz gave him a car he considered non-Ameri- can, he would walk, not drive, back to the office and “request” an American vehicle. Itwas usually a painful decision for someone to deny a “request” fromDick. On his 71st birthday, September 11, 2001, he was in Hobo-


ken NJ. He witnessed the tragedy taking place directly across the river inManhattan.A few years later, he retired from consulting, at least on a daily basis. He would still advise on parking, politics, and dogs. As I reflect upon what Dick Beebe has meant to me and the


parking industry, all I can do is mimic the words he once wrote to me: “NICE JOB, DICK”. He is survived by his son and daughter, Bruce and Cynthia,


and his grandchildren. Jennifer, Courtney and Samuel. ….Chuck Cullen


PT


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