Justin Chang, AIA, LEED AP, is the Director of Design for the San Francisco office and brings over 15 years of experience as a Project Architect. He joined Walker in 2006 and has experience managing projects from conceptual studies and design documentation through to the construction of large scale mixed-use buildings. Justin’s responsibilities include: client interface, technical consulting, coordination of architectural design, and budget/schedule management. He is experienced in parking functional design, parking alternatives development and analysis, complete design, and construction administration of parking structures.  As a LEED Accredited Professional, Justin has an understanding of the rating system and the current practices for attaining sustainability in parking structure construction.

Interview:

Q: Tell us about your favorite styles of Architecture?

A: Modern design, some of my favorite architects include Renzo Piano, Richard Nuetra, and Brian McKay-Lyons.

Q: Why did you want to become an Architect?

A: I wanted to do something creative and found an interest in the design of buildings and structures.

Q: How did your path lead to Walker?

A: I was working at the time for Thornton Tomasetti in New York and met Jim Davis golfing at an IPI conference.  Since I happened to be heading to San Francisco afterwards, he encouraged me to come in for an interview during my vacation.  A few weeks later I accepted an offer to join the San Francisco office.

 

Q: What is the most exciting and unique project you’ve worked on while here at Walker?

A: Some of my favorite projects have been working with WRNS Studio. Since they really focus their energy on designing contextual architecture unique to each of the building sites, these projects typically have some interesting and striking architectural design features.

Q: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

A: Collaborating with our Walker team to exceed our client’s expectations.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about working for Walker?

A: Having the freedom to focus in areas that benefit the company while also fueling professional growth.

Q: What do you find most challenging about working in parking?

A: Keeping it interesting.  Laying out 9′ x 18′ stalls can be a little dry sometimes, but learning new skills, like BIM and Sustainability trends, are just some ways I’ve tried to keep growing professionally.

Q: What trends do you see now in the parking industry?

A: Automation both from driverless vehicles and mechanical parking will impact how we adapt our services to meet future needs.  In urban areas, we’re seeing many alternative transportation services being offered such as, car sharing, bike sharing, even scooter sharing, that will put pressure on our core services.

Q: In your downtime, what might we find you doing?

A: Spending time with the family, playing guitar, seeing live shows, and snowboarding.

Q: Tell us about your family?

A: Alice and I have been married 15 years and we have two sons, Dylan (13) and Logan (10).

Q: What do you love about living in San Francisco?

A: The weather is great most of the year.  You can drive 3 hours and be skiing one day and on the beach the next.  The diversity of activities and people make this area unique and fun to be a part of, also Napa is just an hour away as well!

Thank you, Justin!

If you’d like to get in touch with Justin, you can reach him here. Please note, the San Francisco office has a new address effective April 3rd. You can find them at 601 California Street, Suite 820, San Francisco, CA  94108.

Kate Stairs, PE, is the Director of Operations for Walker’s Philadelphia office. With Walker since 2002, Kathryn has gained valuable experience in the design, construction administration, and restoration of parking structures and buildings as well as the design of new parking structures.  Prior to joining Walker, Kate performed project engineering for a contractor in New York where she was involved in anchor block restoration of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

Check out more of her story in this month’s Walker Headlights!

Q: You attended Drexel University, can you tell us about your college experiences?

A:  Drexel provided me with a solid education and valuable professional experiences.  Their 5-Year Engineering program includes three 6-month internships.  I was able to work for an owner’s in-house engineering department, a large contractor doing bridge restoration in New York City, and Walker Parking while in school.  It’s a strenuous school schedule because you are either in classes or working full-time year round, but it was a wonderful way for me to immerse myself in the design and construction industry and get a sanity check on whether it’s was a good fit. 

Q: How did your path lead to Walker?

A:  I found Walker for my last internship.  Having previously worked for an owner and a contractor, I wanted to experience another side of the industry to round out my college “education”.  I loved working for a consulting engineer and knew this was where I belonged.  At the end of my internship I was able to continue working part time until I graduated and joined Walker full-time. 

Q: What’s your favorite thing about working for Walker?

A: I know it sounds like a stock answer, but the people I work with really fuel my day to day enjoyment of Walker.  The Philly office is a great group of talented professionals who work hard every day, and I love working with them. 

With regard to the actual work, I especially enjoy the start of a Restoration project.  It’s exciting to go into a project with a fresh set of eyes, gather information during the survey, think about what we are seeing, figure out what’s going on and most importantly, what to do about it. 

Q: What led you to pursue a career in engineering and restoration?

A:  I don’t have the typical engineering backstory.  My dad was a mailman, my mom is a nurse, and I’m pretty sure I associated “Engineer” with trains until adolescence.  My interest grew once I was in high school and got into higher level math and physics.  I was really drawn to the challenge that designing and building structures presented.  My college internships really cemented that interest.  Restoration wasn’t on my radar until I was full-time at Walker, and began to be exposed to projects here and there.  Besides being really interesting work, I am drawn to the pace of restoration projects and the opportunity to work closely with Owners and Contractors.     

Q: What advice would you give an aspiring engineer?

A:  Spend your time well – get as many internships as you can, and mix it up a bit so you have some different perspectives.  College is such a large investment of time, effort, and money.  Take every opportunity to ensure that you’re putting that effort towards the right industry for your interests and skills.   

Q: Tell us about your family?

A: My husband and I have been married for 11 years, have two young daughters (6 and 3) and a black lab who tolerates our chaotic, fun, loud house admirably.  We are in the thick of it – working hard to build a good life and give our all to our girls, careers, and each other.  We are so fortunate to be surrounded by a network of parents and extended family that is generous with their time, cooking, and love.

Q: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

A:  Balancing the structure’s repair needs, a client’s budget, and everyone’s expectations is an art.  When it all comes together it’s very rewarding.    

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Pennsylvania?

A: I love the variety of living in a climate with 4 seasons and being close to Philadelphia.  My family really enjoys living in a smaller suburb while still having access to the restaurants, events, and history of the City.

Q: In your downtime, what might we find you doing?

A: I have always been an avid reader, and crave time spent in a good story.  These days, most of my downtime is spent playing and reading with my girls.  We’re pretty deep into a Lego phase, and spend a lot of time building and playing in miniature communities.  It’s an interesting crossover between my personal and professional life. 

Q: Who do you admire most in life?

A:  This is the easiest to answer:  my parents.  I was raised by two extremely hardworking people.  Their lives were busy, but the love and effort was always clear to my siblings and I.  They had great pride in their work and even greater joy in their family, something I admire more and more the older I get.  As my husband and I navigate parenthood and careers, I am grateful to my parents for their example.  

Q: What is the most exciting and unique project you’ve worked on while here at Walker?

A:  A number of years ago I worked on a project in Lower Manhattan for a package delivery company who needed to repair the roof level plaza slab over their distribution facility.  The repairs were especially challenging because the Owner required that they be completed with no interruptions to their nearly 24-hour operations.  The solutions that Walker and the project team developed were innovative, cost and schedule effective, and most importantly, resulted in no lost time for the Owner.  It was an exciting project to take part in, and I was proud of our role in the successful result. 

Q: What is your philosophy towards your work?

A: For me, relationships are key.  This is true for everyone we interact with – coworkers, clients, Contractors, manufacturers…  I think when people respect and appreciate the team members they collaborate with, it makes projects successful and work a happier place to be.

Q: What does an average day look like for a Director of Operations at Walker?

A: That’s a great question, and to be honest I’m still answering it for myself!  I’m a month into my new position and still figuring a lot out.  I’m looking forward to making sure the Philadelphia office continues to be a great place to work, something that I’ve been grateful for since I started here.    

Thank you, Kate!

If you’d like to get in touch with Kate, you can reach her here.

Jonathan Wicks joined Walker’s Parking Operations Consulting Group after 10 years of leadership positions with private parking operators. Based out of the Los Angeles office, he covers the West Coast. He has expertise in all manners of parking including Class A commercial garages, hotel, event and stadium, on street valet, mixed use, municipalities, off-airport, and flat lots.

He has developed parking policy and procedures and consulted for the City of Beverly Hills, SFMTA, Starwood, CIM, LBA, the Irvine Company, and the Counties of Santa Clara, Alameda, and Contra Costa. He is a forward thinking parking operator who has recently led work in mobile App development and EV implementation.

We had a chance to sit down with Jonathan and ask him a few questions. Check out his story in this month’s Walker Headlights!

Q: How did you get started in the parking/transportation industry?

A: I had just graduated college and my girlfriend’s sister’s fiancé got me into parking management. He was managing the valet at the W Hotel in Westwood, CA whose new nightclub was popular with celebrities at the time. It was so busy in the evenings, the valet manager used to say a prayer before each shift hoping all the valets scheduled to work would show up. They needed bodies just to move cars off the public street, service was an afterthought. I was referred for the assistant manager position and was hired but placed at another hotel, the Century Plaza in Century City, CA. I was 25 years old and managing union valets who’d worked at that hotel longer than I’d been alive.

Q: What are some of the big lessons you learned while working for private parking operators?

A: You absolutely must know your sub-markets and on-street conditions. If a garage a half-block away changes their rate structure, you as an operator must respond accordingly or miss out on potential revenue for your client.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about your role as a parking consultant at Walker?

A: I believe our projects at Walker have real world implications and immediate benefits for the public at large. Not only do we aim to make the act of parking a more pleasant experience, we right size parking, so garages are not overbuilt. This saves developers and members of the public money in the long run and hopefully leaves space for more desirable and beneficial land uses.

Q: What’s the most exciting part of being in parking consulting?

A: Every day is different. I can work on one project for weeks at a time, or several projects in a day. Each equally interesting and almost all offer growth and learning opportunities.

Q: You have been a part of many projects here at Walker, can you pinpoint your favorite?

A: I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to Honolulu, HI twice for projects this year. I should discount that work more to get repeat business on the islands.

Q: What trends do you see in the parking industry?

A: Parking will change in 2 major ways over the next 5 – 10 years. 1) Connected cars will communicate with parking equipment and garages to not only pay for parking but also find available stalls. Google recently launched a feature on their Waze app which helps drivers find parking at their destination. 2) The driving public will begin to transition to self-driving vehicles which will more efficiently use public and private parking supply in central business districts.

Q: When working with a city to develop parking policy and procedures, what do you find to be the most interesting part of the process?

A: Parking is like the game of baseball. The game is the same no matter where you play, but each city has a different stadium with unique dimensions and character. Helping a city maintain their local character while solving for parking problems everyone has been experiencing is very satisfying.

Q: You like to travel – what’s a favorite place that you have visited?

A: Croatia. I’ve been 2 summers in a row and hope to go back next year.

Q: Have you noticed any differences in the parking culture of other countries versus the U.S.?

A: Reserved parking in parts of Europe is managed through a pop-up lock which resembles a bike stand. Only the owner of the stall can unlock and use the space.

Q: What parking innovation are you most excited for?

A: I think autonomous cars are inevitable and will make city living the optimal use of our planet’s limited resources.

Q: What kind of parking mobile apps do you think will be used in the future?

A: I think pay-by-phone apps which make paying for parking easier will continue to grow, especially as mobile wallets replace credit cards as the preferred payment device for many Americans.

Q: If you weren’t working in parking, what do you think you’d be doing?

A: Probably on a beach in Croatia writing poetry.

Q: In your downtime, what do you like to do for fun?

A: I love being outside. Beach volleyball and hiking are passions of mine.

Q: What would we find you doing on a typical weekend?

A: I would definitely be near a beach somewhere.

Q: I’m sensing a strong beach theme. What is something about you that doesn’t involve sand?

A: I once sang on stage, poorly, with Shania Twain.

Thank you, Jonathan!

If you’d like to get in touch with Jonathan, you can reach him here.

Megan Gardo, Parking Analyst II, joined Walker Parking Consultants in 2007 and works out of our Philadelphia office. We welcome you to get to know more about Megan in this month’s Walker Headlights.

Q: Congratulations on your recent award from the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association! You were recognized as one of the Top Transportation Demand Management Professional under 40. Tell us about this experience.

A: The Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association is a local advocacy group focusing on developing sustainability in our region, specifically focusing on transportation Demand Management issues.  Several members of my office nominated me for the award as a surprise.  And it most definitely was a surprise!

The awards were presented to individuals with a variety of backgrounds throughout the region who are working to find creative solutions to improve our quality of life through engineering, planning, and marketing, as well as developing commuting alternatives.  It was an honor to be included among individuals working so hard to guide the community towards a more sustainable future.

Q: This has already been a rewarding year for you, do you have any goals for the rest of 2016?

A:  I don’t have any specific goals at this time.  My overall plan is to continue to grow in the field and expand my skill set and experience.  I hope to continue to work with multiple consultants throughout the company, both learning new concepts and providing assistance where I can in order to provide clients with the best possible recommendations.

Q: What brought you into the parking industry?

A:  I graduated from Penn State in 2007, with a degree in actuarial science through the business college.  After completing my internship, I knew I wanted to explore my options outside of my field of study.  Parking, and Walker, kind of happened by accident.  I interviewed with Greg Neiderer (a marathon interview of five hours, including a skills test!) and found the concept very interesting.  Parking impacts everybody and I had never really thought about the science or art behind designing parking.

Q: What’s something unique that many people don’t know about you?

A:  Every Tuesday, well almost every Tuesday, for the last nine years, I meet up with friends from grade school to drink coffee and catch up.

Q: If you could share a meal and conversation with any person, who would that be and why?

A:  I don’t know if I could narrow it down to one person.  Some days I’d say it would be my grandfather.  I think I would have liked to know him as an adult and get to know him better.  Other days I’d say my past self or future self, but on both occasions to remember to not sweat the small stuff.  I think a dinner with J.K. Rowling would be an interesting meal.  She overcame a dark period in her life to become a world famous author, billionaire, and philanthropist.  I imagine she has a unique perspective on the world.

Q: You’re located in our Philadelphia office, what is your favorite part about living in Pennsylvania?

A:  I don’t know if it counts, but my favorite thing about living in Pennsylvania is its proximity to the beach!  Most Central Jersey shore points are only 1.5 hours from my house and make a great day trip or weekend visit.

Q: You have been a part of hundreds of projects here at Walker, can you pinpoint your favorite?

A:  I have many favorite projects for one reason or another, but there are a few the stick out in my mind.  I worked on a shared parking study for the Mohegan Sun Casino up in Connecticut.  I learned a tremendous amount about shared parking on that project and got to stay at a beautiful hotel.

There was also a downtown parking study for a project in Iowa.  The study area was fairly large, and required three teams of two to collect the data.  After the survey was over, the group of us, mostly new to the company, would go to dinner and hang out.  While several of them are no longer with the company, we still get together when proximity and time allow.

Q: What might we find you doing on a typical weekend?

A:  I’m pretty boring, unfortunately.  On a typical weekend, I’m probably doing the typical around the house chores, playing in the garden, working on my latest arts & crafts project, hanging around reading a book, getting together with friends, or visiting with my family.  On a less typical weekend, I like to go on day trips to the beach, white water rafting, a trip to NY, or other adventures.

Q: Last month you celebrated nine years at Walker, what has been your best memory to date?

A:  One of my best memories over the last nine years has to do with a project I can only refer to as the “Secured Government Facility.”  I got to visit this very restricted campus, stand in the lobby where a scene from Argo was shot, and visit their super-secret museum and several other really cool artifacts.  During one of my visits, the space shuttle Discovery was being transported to Washington Dulles Airport.  The flight path took the craft directly over our heads at a very low altitude.  It was just amazing.  If only we were allowed to have cameras on campus!

Q: Do you have a favorite television show?

A:  One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Gilmore Girls.  It is one of those shows that I can turn on episode from any point in the series and just enjoy.  I’m very excited for the revival on Netflix.

Q: What advice would you give a young professional interested in entering the parking industry?

A:  First, I’d like to point out that I sort of jumped into the deep end when it came to parking.  I didn’t study urban planning in college.  I didn’t operate a parking garage before joining Walker.  My sole experience with parking was as the end user.  I could recognize when something wasn’t working, but I didn’t necessarily understand why or how to fix it. That all came later, which brings me to my first recommendation.

Look for opportunities to educate yourself on parking, attend seminars, join parking associations, apply for an internship, talk to professionals in the field, and find out where you would like to focus your interests.  And be prepared to continue to learn.  Parking is an evolving field, with new technology constantly changing how parking works.

Thank you, Megan!

If you’d like to get in touch with Megan, you can reach her HERE.