Client: 20 & Grand Apartments
Problem: Illegal parking in personally designated spots. Many people visit the area to eat at Boundry, South Street, Subway, etc... There isn't much parking so customers will tend to take designated spots of residents at 20 & Grand while they are away. As soon as the person comes back, their personal parking spot is taken. They now have two decisions, park illegally and chance getting a ticket or try and find a metered spot.
Solution 1: Offer residents parking cones to put in their spot while they are gone.
Solution 2: Put up signs over the spots with the specific tenant's name.
Solution 3: Pay tenants a portion of the towing cost if they see cars parked illegally (neighboorhood watch with incentive).
Pay the tenants! This would totally help cut back on the serial illegal parkers...and it would be a great way of getting tenants to self-police rather than having to employ someone to do this. This idea really stands out from the rest for me. Good job.
ReplyDeleteyou could pay bob neill to park at school, that would free up a 20 & grand spot. actually, paying the tenants would definitely cut down on illegal parking, since there are no consequences right now for illegal parkers. good idea b/c it gives tenants a course of action.
ReplyDeleteI like solution 1- offering parking cones to tenants. It's the way of low cost and would be beneficial to both parties. Paying the tenants seemed to require complex process. Great recognition and great ideas!
ReplyDeleteWe are looking for an innovation tactic, but should also consider practical aspects and costs. In these aspects, the 1st solution, "Offer residents parking cones to put in their spot while they are gone" is very desirable.
ReplyDeleteI have tried #1 before and believe me, it doesn't work. I used to live downtown and put cones around my designated spot. Hours later the cones were no where to be seen and a random car was in my spot. If people take the liberty to park in private spots they will extend that liberty to moving the cones.
ReplyDeleteAre there any details about how the tenants would be paid? Would the towing company pay them? Would the towing company be able to come to the 20&Grand parking lot in time to tow a car who is just parking there to grab lunch or dinner? What penalty would there be for the tenant who called the towing company if the car was not there by the time the towing company showed up?
ReplyDeleteWould it be possible to arrange for the towing company to come through once every 30 mins-1hour during high traffic times(11-2, 5-19?) and look for these illegal parkers?
This is a legit concern and I think all your innovations are adoptable and employable. Do tenants of the building currently pay for a reserved spot? If so I like the sign designating the parking spot as reserved. That sign should have the tenants name on it, that is probably more of a deterant than a parking cone.
ReplyDeleteThis is a legit concern and I think all your innovations are adoptable and employable. Do tenants of the building currently pay for a reserved spot? If so I like the sign designating the parking spot as reserved. That sign should have the tenants name on it, that is probably more of a deterant than a parking cone.
ReplyDeleteLove it!! I would suggest that beyond rebating some of the towing fees to the tenants, Ginny McDaniel should be supplied with at least half a dozen raw eggs for just such occasions.
ReplyDelete#3 sounds like a good idea, but somehow I doubt that it is legal.
ReplyDeleteI like the ideas and offer some build / modifications. Just some ideas, feel free to ignore.
ReplyDelete1) go to the restaurants and warn them to warn their customers. Then tow like crazy
2) keep a list in the lobby of "serial violators". tow them immediately. Keep a stack of "warning flyers" in the lobby for tenants to put on violator's cars.
3) Make a deal with the towing company to give you expedited towing service in exchange for their exclusive business.
Create an official arrangement and a set procedures that allows tenants to have violators quickly and lawfully removed. Having someone towed can be harder than it looks - so make it as easy as possible by setting the arrangement in advance. Get agreement with the landlord on who is officially entitled to each space, who can grant permission for towing, and how to handle "mistakes", and an official description of the towing policy citing relevant city codes. Then pass out the business cards of the towing company to all tenants and keep a stack in the lobby.
I think the cones are a great idea... but its got to be a pretty PHAT cone!
ReplyDeleteI dont think the signs are going to have too much of an impact but I think paying the tenants is a great idea. If the tenants get paid for calling in the tow truck, then they get 20% of the towing fees. Booyah!
Nice idea. And yes, Bob should park at school.
I think option two is best because option 1 will be abused, and option 3 could lend itself to people trying to make a buck whenver a car is parked illegally in anyone's space (when in fact it could be a friend visiting a tenant who has permission to use their space). Option two acts as a deterant and is feasible.
ReplyDeleteDoes 20 & Grand really have any reason to pay tenants a portion of their towing costs? What do they gain by doing this? Based on some literature I've read on the Thul/Moseng 'frig I know that 20 & Grand runs a very tight accounting system and that they literally count their pennies (unlike the 8-10 accountants). I'm not sure that they are willing to "pay" anything to tenants since they're spending so much time chasing down pennies.
ReplyDeleteHave you considered adding a gate to the street entrance of the parking lot? Residents could have access via a code, a security card, or some type of remote device.
The code might not be the optimum choice since it could be easily shared and Bob Neill would be able to use the code and still park in the "prospective tenant" spots. (Seriously, how many times can you check out the same apartment building and not decide if you're going to live there?)
the biggest issue here is that people don't realize they are parking in someone's personal spot. most assume this is just a public lot like all the ones at school. if the lots were numbered or even labeled somehow with their owner's name on them i think people would be more considerate.
ReplyDeletei think your biggest constraint will be adoption of a policy by 20/Grand Management. Is there an incentive for them to help alleviate this problem or do they just consider it something that tennants have to deal with on their own.