Department profile — Business & Development

How long have you worked for The City?

I’ve been with The City for nearly 22 years.

Can you tell us a bit about your department?

The business and technology development team has a broad range of responsibilities. We work on long-range plans for the parking system, manage on and off-street parking, gather and interpret data about how people travel and park and use it to form the plans and strategies that guide Calgary Parking. We also provide technology and services to several private companies and even other municipalities. Our team manages those projects and the ongoing relationships with our clients.

My team always looks to the future, understanding how people travel and how that changes over time. While many people are just looking at electric vehicle charging now, we’ve had public chargers for nearly 10 years. When it comes to supporting cycling, every public parkade that Calgary Parking has built in the past forty years offers safe, secure and weatherproof bicycle parking. To us, providing the best service to Calgarians and our clients means being ahead of the curve and leading the way. 

Can you share any exciting new projects you are working on at Calgary Parking?

Calgary Parking’s focus has always been on providing excellent customer service and services that meet the changing needs of Calgarians. We’ve kept this philosophy for more than 50 years. In the past five years, though, we’ve seen significant changes in how and when people choose to travel. When and where people travel and how long they stay (and park) are shifting.

We respond to these changes by adding new products, using seasonal promotions and adjusting our long-term plans. In the past, a job with a company downtown probably meant commuting four or five days a week for most of the year. Now, though, many more people have different schedules than before, working at different times and days and working remotely more often. This means that Calgarians’ travel choices are more varied and they’re looking for better flexibility in how they can use our services.

That’s where we come in with new offerings like the Flex Pass, where you can buy ten days of parking instead of a monthly contract, and discounted daily prices at some lots and parkades. Did you know you can park in Platform and McDougall parkades for only $15 a day or at five different surface lots across downtown for only $10 a day? Platform Parkade offers the first two hours for $5 on weekdays. This is just one way that Calgary Parking is evolving to support more travel choices for Calgarians.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My role helps to ensure that Calgary’s parking system remains a model of efficiency that provides excellent value for Calgarians and a model for other cities. Calgary was one of the first places in the world to have a full demand-responsive parking system where prices are based on demand and automatically adjusted to keep the system working at peak efficiency. Making this happen involves looking both backwards and looking forwards every day.

Looking back means reviewing data, mapping and modelling to understand how everything is working and then using that information to improve our service. Looking forward means talking with Calgarians, customers and clients, looking at changes in the industry and working with people across The City to tailor our services to address tomorrow’s issues.

What do you like best about working for The City?

The City offers amazing opportunities in a community of innovative professionals across many professions. I get to work on a variety of interesting issues with collaborative people to make our city better for everyone. Every day is a new adventure and I can’t wait to see what the next 22 years have to offer.

How can I find out more information about Calgary Parking?

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