Impartial Parking Policies and Curbside Equity
Too often, debates about parking are contextualized in their simplest form as good versus evil. The environment? Good. Pollution? Evil. Modal alternatives like walking, bicycling, and mass transit? Good. Congestion? Evil. But the more nuanced reality is that without cars, people living in underserved communities would often lack access to work and educational opportunities.
Car ownership can provide mobility, both in terms of the freedom to move and the capacity to rise to a higher economic position. As we rethink the curb lane and unlock its true potential, it’s important to understand the impact that our policies, including parking regulations, have on disadvantaged motorists. Panelists from Los Angeles, the City of Chicago, and the private sector will share their challenges and inventive solutions for striving to make the curb more socially equitable.
Moderator:
Matt Darst, Director of Curb Lane Management, Conduent Transportation
Matt Darst, JD, oversees an industry-leading analytics team at Conduent. Darst is an advocate of applying data science to gain critical curb lane insights for informed, data-driven decision-making. His team has helped cities implement award-winning innovations like “asset lite” solutions for data gathering, predictive occupancy and compliance algorithms, demand-pricing, and the equitable allocation of enforcement personnel. Prior to moving to the private sector, Darst served as First Deputy Director for Chicago’s Revenue Department.
Panelists:
Hal Darring, CEO, Global Parking System
Hal Darring is the President and CEO of Global Parking System (GPS), a certified minority-owned business enterprise providing parking solutions for airports and municipalities. Hall brings twenty years of experience in his roles and is intimately involved in delivering curb lane services like parking enforcement and meter collections. His team supports the ParkIndy consortium, and he works to partner with certified MBE and WBE firms to ensure community representation in parking projects.
Mark Granado, Assistant General Manager, Field Operations & Administrative Services, LADOT
Mark Granado has served the public for over 20 years managing budgets and improving operations across various City departments. Most recently he spent five years as LADOT Division Manager over Parking Operations & Support where he managed the City's $200 million parking citation processing services and meter coin field collection administration programs. He currently serves as Assistant General Manager of Fiedl Operations and Administrative Services.
Kiran Khokha, Deputy Director, City of Chicago Department of Finance
Ms. Khokha oversees debt collection operations for the City of Chicago Department of Finance, emphasizing fines and fees reforms to promote equity and assist low-income motorists. She manages innovative programs like the Clear Path Relief Pilot Program and the Business Recovery Payment Plan Program. She played a key role in implementing the City Sticker Debt Relief Program, eliminating driver’s license suspensions for parking and compliance tickets, reducing city sticker violation penalties, and creating more accessible payment plans for hardship participants. Previously, she worked in Chicago’s Department of Law and Department of Administrative Hearings. She graduated from the Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles in 2007 with honors.
