Department Profile – Parking Operations

Meet Medina, Coordinator of Parking Operations at Calgary Parking. Take a look at what Medina and her team bring to Calgary Parking and people who walk, wheel, drive, or take transit. Enjoy the read!

How long have you worked for The City?
I have worked for The City for three years.

Can you tell us a bit about your department?
The Parking Operations team handles important projects like fixing complicated parking structures, maintaining various assets across Calgary Parking facilities, and running the Municipal Impound Lot operations efficiently and effectively, from providing a safe and secure storage yard for vehicles to processing the release of vehicles to their rightful owners as quickly as possible.

We adopt an integrated approach to service delivery, planning, designing, and maintaining assets to make them easily convertible for different purposes. We also manage the parking pay machines all over Calgary and the parking lots of well-known businesses across the city.

It's exciting to be part of a team that works closely with the community, supporting projects that benefit everyone and making lives better every day. We encourage new ideas and work on making things better through continuous improvement projects. Our focus areas include safety, security, customer service, building maintenance and technical support.

Can you share any exciting new projects you are working on at Calgary Parking?
As Calgary Parking's Operations department, we're taking an integrated approach to our projects, focusing on environmental resilience and reducing our carbon footprint. A project we are proud of is the installation of solar panels at the Municipal Impound Lot in collaboration with the Corporate Environment group to power the parkade, electric vehicle chargers, and solar-based cameras for safety and security. Over time, this will help preserve the environment and achieve our long-term sustainability goals.

Thanks to the solar installations we just finished, we've got some exciting new projects in the works; we're looking to expand these to other suitable locations. Additionally, we are setting up solar-powered cameras at the Municipal Impound Lot to keep things safe and secure. Also, we're adding more electric vehicle charging stations at our parking lots, making improvements to surface lots, rehabilitating parkades, and reconfiguring Calgary Parking administrative spaces. These are all projects we're working on daily, and we're thrilled to be collaborating with the rest of the Mobility teams to optimize resources and save costs.

We're also upgrading our pay machines to be solar-powered and tap-based, aiming to go paperless and reduce coin/cash handling as much as possible.

What does a typical day look like for you?
I make sure that every decision I make aligns with The City's strategic goals and objectives. My day begins by planning and focusing on safety for my team and every Calgarian. I also check in with my team, either in person or through Teams chat or meetings, to make sure that they are supported at all times. It is crucial to ensure that I continuously triage my task list to allocate time to meet the demand and execute the established and leveraged priorities. At the end of each day, I always ensure that I have time to reflect on the day and plan for the next day.

What do you like best about working for The City?
I am proud to be part of an organization that continuously works hard to make a difference in the lives of Calgarians. The City's daily impact on residents and visitors fuels my passion for public service. The best part for me is experiencing each moment with a high sense of integrity, reputation and inclusion.

How can I find out more information about Calgary Parking lots and parkades
You can learn more about us here.