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ParkHouston

About Us



The mission of ParkHouston is to be a solution-focused partner that supports Houstonians with programs that support public safety, quality of life, sustainability, and economic development.

ParkHouston manages the limited on-street parking spaces to support public safety, quality of life, economic development, and sustainability in Houston.

Public Safety
Public safety in neighborhoods is addressed by regular patrols and customer service requests. In 2021, ParkHouston responded to over 10,000 service requests - 97% of our service requests are completed on time.

As we serve all 635 square miles of Houston, parking violations such as blocking the sidewalk, blocking crosswalks and blocking fire hydrants in parking in tow-away zones are addressed through regular patrols.

Quality of Life
All neighborhoods are unique, particularly in the largest US city with no zoning. ParkHouston receives a range of customer concerns from the resident living next door to a bar or to a business district dealing with a commuter parking and mobility challenges. We collaborate with stakeholders to implement programs that meet the parking needs of residential and commercial stakeholders in neighborhoods. Programs include the Residential Permit Parking Program, the Community Parking Program and Parking Benefit Districts.

To address blight in neighborhoods, our officers complete over 7,000 service requests annually for abandoned vehicles on the public street. To encourage compliance, a warning is issued before the vehicle is towed.

Our efforts to support the quality of life continues with the Volunteer Parking Enforcement Program. ADA parking spaces are vital for those with disabilities to work, live and play. Volunteers issue over 80% of the citations issued to vehicles illegally parked in ADA parking spaces.

Economic Development
To improve our management of the curb space, ParkHouston has deployed a data management platform that integrates data from our parking management system, parking meters and digital payments. This platform allows us to manage rates to improve parking space availability in real time.

The new data management platform is the first step in the City providing the public real-time curbside parking space availability. Limiting traffic and omissions from cars circling for a parking space and allowing people to #Knowbeforetheygo, quickly find a parking space and go to their destination.

Sustainability
The first solar-powered meter was installed in 2007 and there are close to 1,000 in use. We converted to pay-by-license plate, making our 2.4 million meter transactions paperless.

Parking stakeholders are not our only constituency. To support alternative modes of transportation, ParkHouston developed regulations to address vehicles parked in dedicated bicycle lanes. As the City moves forward to build 1,500 plus miles of bicycle lanes, the violation code does not require signage, allowing more investment in actual bicycle lane infrastructure. The savings from eliminating signage on bike lanes is estimated at $1.8 million dollars.

The bicycle advocacy community was also interested in educating about bicycle safety. We developed an online Bike Friendly Driver course. For a first offense, motorists can take the Bike Friendly Driver course have the fine waived. The information about the waiver is placed on the windshield with the parking citation, stressing compliance over enforcement.

ParkHouston will continue to leverage technology to serve Houstonians more effectively and efficiently. We are committed to staying connected. We are more than parking citations and we will continue to establish programs that support public safety, quality of life, economic development, and sustainability.

Accredited Parking Organization Logo

Go to www.parking.org APO Program

Preparing for the certification allowed us to measure the effectiveness of our organization as compared to our industry peers. It gave us the opportunity to identify our strengths and areas for improvement. The process provided information that we could use to make operational decisions that would improve the efficiency of our organization.

Most importantly, the APO with Distinction Accreditation recognizes our team for their outstanding work that is done day in and day out.

DIVISION RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Establishment of the first citizen-led Parking Commission in the state of Texas.
  • Named Municipal Parking Organization of the Year for 2007 by the International Parking Institute.
  • Implemented an Ambassador Training Program.
  • Established Community Outreach Program to educate neighborhoods on public safety and parking regulations.
  • In partnership with the Houston Public Works, added 65 ADA compliant parking spaces in the Central Business District, doubling the number of accessible parking spaces.
  • The Texas Parking & Transportation (TPTA) Employee of the Year (Kevia Stroder, 2015, Norman Holt, 2017, Lisa Alaniz, 2018, and Carlos Medel, 2019)
  • International Parking and Mobility Institute (IPMI) Professional Recognition Program (Adriana Chapa, 2010, Melonie Curry, 2018, Maria Irshad, 2020, and Carlos Medel, 2021).
  • IPMI Parking Matters Award 2017 (311 Integration)
  • TPTA Equipment & Technology Award from TPTA 2017 311 integration 2017
  • IPMI Marketing and Outreach Award 2016
  • TPTA Equipment & Technology Award (LPR/Pay by app) 2014
  • IPMI Award of Merit New Meter Deployment 2007
  • International Parking Institute Parking Organization of the Year 2006