Milestone of career.

Yesterday was my 10th anniversary working for LA Metro.? It has been a rollercoaster ride in the past ten years.? Fulfilled with ups and downs, work hard to climb, and excited when it comes down.? I recall when I first started ten years ago, I inherited a parking program with 87 locations and over 27,000 parking spaces that spread out over 1,400 square miles without a piece of equipment, an enforceable policy, a parking demand model, or even an email box.? I had one staff member and one intern working on the team.? On my second day with LA Metro, I bought two hand clickers to help count cars instead of my intern counting by his finger.? This is how the Metro Parking Management team was born.? ?To be fair, the gentleman who hired me (Mr. #Cal Hollis) had warned me before I accepted the challenge. All the parking lots were filled with non-transit or unauthorized parking.? Today, Metro Parking Management is a team consisting of over 100 years of parking management experience. We manage parking comprehensively from different perspectives. From operations to enforcement, from routine maintenance to capital projects, and from parking cars to scooters and bicycles.? Our transit parking program is one of the pioneers in managing Park and Ride with innovative solutions. Profitable and organized. ?

A few years ago, I was offered to oversee more programs, including TDM, Bikeshare, Vanpool, and more.? My career had elevated from a focus on parking management to mobility programs.? During the time I oversaw Bikeshare, we lowered the ride fare to align with transit fare through a new business plan and expanded to other service areas. Vanpool program used to receive their monthly report through written records and faxed them to our administrative staff. We implemented online reporting and brought the program to this century.? ?Our Open Streets Grant program has been sponsored events at more than 30 jurisdictions and hundreds of miles of street closure events.? A small but meaningful program that helped thousands of people Adopt A Bike.? We put thousands of bicycles in the hands of people who need them. I am proud to be the founder of this small program.? ?

September 2024 is also my ten-year anniversary of serving the National Parking Association (NPA) as the Board of Directors. ?Parking is the first love of my career, and I will always be there.? Once you are in Parking, you are always in Parking.? The industry is evolving, growing, and is heading to more innovation.? Last night, a bunch of parking people chatted about the old days with coin boxes, and we all use fully automated technologies these days. We witnessed generations of changes in our industry. However, one thing it does not change – PEOPLE.? I have met countless good people from different parts of the country.? We learned from each other, shared our thoughts, and coached the next generation of parking people.? Special thanks to NPA, which brought me lifelong intelligence value.? ??

Day after day, I often encountered people who asked me, “How are you doing?” Well, I wake up every morning with a job and a career that allows me to do what I love: raise my family and serve my community. What’s not to like? There are many people I would like to thank. First is my team—a special team that I built and worked together day after day. Then, my wife can tolerate my work as a priority.? Mr. #Calvin Hollis & Ms. #Jenna Hornstock brought me to LA Metro. Ms. #Therese McMillan coached me through many challenges during her time with LA Metro. ?Special thanks to our CEO, #Stephanie Wiggins. The adoption of the Parking Ordinance, Supportive Transit Parking Program, Bikeshare business plan, TDM Master Plan, Adopt A Bike, and most recently, encouraged me to work on Mobility Hubs development; she had put in her assistance to help these programs through.? Sometimes, she questioned and challenged us, but only for good means.? At her capacity, she probably did not realize her effort helped, but I realized and appreciated it.

What next? We are in an exciting era. The LA28 Olympics are less than four years away. There is a lot of work in front of us. Two weeks ago, a high school student interviewed me and asked me how I look at Los Angeles's future. I told her that I would like to see Los Angeles be “The place to be, " a place people want to visit, want to reside in, and want to work at. I look forward to the next ten years of my career to do what I love to do! ???