PAR KING TODAY NEWS WPS has added Bruce LaPree to the Germany-based company’s


growing U.S.A. division. As Vice President of Business Development, U.S.A., he will serve on its Senior Management Team. A recognized leader in the parking industry for more than 27 years, LaPree has extensive experience in real estate development, management, access/revenue control technology and parking operations. PolyBrite International has announced installation of


its Borealis LED lamps at the Illinois Executive Mansion in Springfield, resulting in 95% of its interior light fixtures being LED- equipped.. They are projected to reduce interior lighting costs by about 80% and last up to 10 years. Borealis LED products do not produce heat or contain UV or IR, and can assist in the preservation of historic antiques, artwork and woodwork within the mansion. Metric Parking has received two orders for its newly


introduced Elite Multi-Space meter: the cities of Seaside Heights, NJ, which bought 34 Elites, and Port Jefferson, NY, which bought 22 Elites. Purchase decisions were based on overall performance specifications, capability to have dual printers, ability to use the back office software from their existing machines, and trade-in allowance for that equipment. Metric Group President Dave Witts said, “The meters in both sites are used in seaside parking areas, where they must endure harsh weather and high-volume use. Both [cities] elected to use pay-by-space mode, with solar power and pay-by-phone capability.” Watson Bowman Acme Corp. has launched its brand-new website. Visitors to www.wbacorp.com will notice that it includes


POINT OF VIEW from Page 6


I also wonder if the IRS knows about this subsidy, and if the


DOL employees are paying taxes on the additional $2,400 a year they get in parking cost reduction.


The union appears to be demanding the continuation of a subsidy that others don’t get. The government is looking for ways to reduce expenses. The IRS isn’t following its own rules – one part of the government has a policy that flies in the face of another part of the government … Just another day in DC.


And we wonder why parking has such a bad reputation? Take Milwaukee, WI, for instance. Last year, the city voided more than 32,000 tickets that were improperly written, local NewsRadio WTMJ reported. Half of these were for failure to display a night parking permit, but the vehicles actually had valid permits and the city’s computers knew it. City policy is to “write tickets first and then sort it out later.”


•••


One parking enforcement officer wrote more than 2,100 tickets last year that eventually were voided. That’s almost nine tickets a day. How was that to the benefit of anyone? Let’s see: • The PEO wasted the time it took to write the ticket when she could have been writing tickets that were valid and actually ended in revenue collected.


• The city took an inordinate amount of time sorting out the problem, and staff were pressed into action to void the citations.


• And then there were the parkers, who had to deal with the city bureaucracy and in the end were pissed off. Tell me where the win was here?


The number of times that parkers had to waste time proving they were innocent includes 7,991 tickets for an expired meter – where the meter was really paid.


8


many enhancements, such as additional product information, new navigational features and greatly improved search functions, to make their online experience an all-around better one. Feel free to tour the site.


Digital Payment Technologies has deployed 61 Luke II multi-space parking pay stations in the city of Lake Geneva, WI. These high-tech, solar-powered units will replace 965 single-head meters and operate in a pay-by-space mode. They also will allow consumers to purchase beach passes and boat launch permits, and give them the option to extend their parking time via text message without having to create an account. Carlisle Construction Materials (CCM), a division of Carlisle


Cos., plans to establish a PVC roofing membrane manufacturing operation on its Greenville, IL, campus. President and CEO John Altmeyer said, “CCM’s entry into the PVC market is a natural move for the business. PVC is a significant and growing segment of the commercial roofing market, both in the US and in many international markets. Our expertise and experience in EPDM and TPO single-ply membranes will assist us greatly in PVC.” Wilbrecht Ledco Inc., a subsidiary of Microprecision Electronics SA, has appointed Robin Lindorfer as Switches and Foil Resistors Product Manager in St. Paul, MN. She will help the company’s efforts to produce precision microswitches and foil resistors for the US market. Lindorfer has 18 years of management experience in the manufacturing industry, having worked at TSI Inc. and UMI Inc.


Parking enforcement insists this is not their fault, however. Its chief, Thomas Sanders, blames a flaw inherent in the city’s new multi-space parking meters, the radio station reported: There is a one-minute delay between when a parker pays at a multi-space meter and when parking checkers’ computers update with that information.


Now, in defense of multi-space meter manufacturers


everywhere – flaw, what flaw? If the PEOs’ handhelds are updated within one minute of the person paying, I would suggest it’s a grand success. So, the city is telling me that nearly 8,000 tickets are written in the one minute between the time someone puts money in the meter and the PEOs’ handheld computers are updated. Oh, please. I wish they were that efficient.


Here’s how the WTMJ report quoted one parker who fought a “bad” ticket in yet one more case “where the city writes a ticket and puts the burden on you to prove yourself innocent”: To Darrin McCambridge, this [policy] makes the city sound irresponsible. He wonders if this “write ’em all” policy is just a way for the city to make more money.


“It’s a win-win for them,” he said. “It’s a lose-lose for everybody else.


Because at the end of the day, it can be easier to pay the ticket than fight it.” Where do we find these people, working for the DMV?


John Van Horn is Editor of Parking Today. Contact him at jvh@ parkingtoday.com.


PT


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