If, like me, you have been wondering why Impark has issued multiple parking violation notices when parking on the public streets surrounding the University of the Fraser Valley, it may be because people may be paying for parking with the PayByPhone app using the wrong code. In an effort to discover why I was being continuously issued parking notices by Impark, even though I was paying for parking, I called Impark, I visited security, I visited the Parking desk in the book store, and I visited the UFV Human Resources office. I kept being given the runaround, because parking was not the responsibility of the university. No one knew anything about the issue. No one would take responsibility for this corporate abuse of power.

After the fifth parking ticket, I was irate, and I reported this ongoing issue to Human Resources as a possible case of harassment. Finally, I received a response from someone who had a relationship with Impark. I received a phone call from Elizabeth to tell me that they have being negotiating with the city regarding the ownership of the roads surrounding the university. These roads are not the responsibility of UFV, so they do not have the jurisdiction to affect signs posted on the roads owned by the City of Abbotsford.

A message from the Assistant, Human Resources, UFV

Stephen Bau stopped by HR regarding an Impark issue. He has received five tickets with Impark even though he pays for the stall every time he parks. He has been able to resolve the issue when he calls them, but is not happy that he has to deal with this on a constant basis. I’ve attached his most recent ticket. He went to the bookstore to get a resolution and was told that they only deal with paying for parking passes. Ancillary Services does facilitate and coordinate/communicate with Impark, correct? If you could touch base with Stephen to provide a solution about this problem, I know he would appreciate it.

Let me know if you need any more information on my end.

Many thanks,

Ashley,
Assistant, Human Resources

A message from the Assistant to the Director, Ancillary Services, UFV to Dave Lebans, Operations Manager, Impark

Hi Dave,

Can you please reverse the attached ticket?

Stephen has been issued tickets in the past due to him entering the incorrect lot code every time he pays.

I explained to Stephen that College Drive is not owned by UFV, and therefore has a different lot code. When Stephen has spoken to Impark in the past, he mentioned that he has asked if he is entering in the wrong code and he was told no, which is why he has been ticketed before.

Stephen: here is a list of the lot/site codes:

Please refer to this for the future when paying for parking with the Pay by phone app, and ensure you have entered in the correct code for where you are parked.

Thanks,

Elizabeth,
Assistant to the Director, Ancillary Services

A message from Dave Lebans, Operations Manager, Impark to Assistant to the Director, Ancillary Services, UFV

Hi Elizabeth,

I will take care of this notice. I confirmed that he did pay for location 1925 (UFV) at the time of the ticket.

Thank you,

Dave

A message from myself to Impark

Then, I went into full social justice warrior mode, sending the following electronic missive to the UFV administration and Dave Lebans, Operations Manager, Impark, Burnaby BC.

This is outrageous. I should be suing Impark for fraud and charging my freelance rate for the time I have wasted because of Impark employees issuing tickets to people who have read the signs, used the PayByPhone app, input the only lot number indicated anywhere on the university grounds, and paid for parking. It has been a weekly occurrence that I have called Impark to cancel the charges for yet another improperly issued parking notice, and not one of your employees or service representatives had a clue about what was going on. When I inquired about why this kept happening, none of the representatives were able to inform me that I needed to use a different lot code. This is appalling customer service and user experience design.

How could I possibly know that I am supposed to refer to site codes listed only on the UFV website? Your system is broken. Until you have properly installed signs to indicate the correct codes to use with the PayByPhone app, you should cease patrolling the areas that do not have adequate information to indicate how your system works.

Why is the university taxing the poor anyway? Students are already going into debt to get an education for jobs that do not exist. Sessional instructors are not being paid a living wage, and are already sacrificing their to time to pass on their knowledge to the next generation in an effort to give back to the community for the well-being of society.

What is the benefit of the extortionary practices of Impark for the good of society in a city that refuses to invest in adequate public transportation?

Silence

My expression of frustration and appeals to the UFV administration and Impark appeared to fall on deaf ears, so I used my skills as a problem solver and a communications designer to increase the urgency of my message.

Silence is a tactic often used by undemocratic authoritarian corporate power to control and manipulate the masses.

Because of the democratization of the tools of production and the disruptions brought about by technological innovation, undemocratic corporations are in the process of relinquishing power to the people. People have been trained in the tools and techniques of mass communication and are equipped to use laws that protect free speech, satire, and the fair use of intellectual property for journalism and public education.

Until the university administration and Impark properly deals with the issue of improper signage, we will need to inform the public of its abuses of power and its extortion of students and faculty.

A Response

Within sixteen minutes of sending the above message with a PDF of my sign, I received the following response.

Thank you for your time in addressing this issue. I can appreciate your frustration and will look into this further and will get back to you.

Thank you,

Dave Lebans
Operations Manager, Impark
Burnaby BC

E. Dlebans@impark.com
impark.com

Damage Control

At this point, the public relations management team of Impark should be informed of a potential public relations disaster for the corporate brand and an action plan will need to be activated to deal with the media.

At the very least, the effect will be to waste the time of management on the public relations issue. However, it may also be possible to effect change, and ensure that ongoing abuses of power cease.

In the long term, the corporation will be thrown on its heels to justify its own existence, possibly by investing its revenue in efforts to deal with the climate change crisis. By limiting the reach and influence of the Impark brand, and limiting the growth of parking lots in favour of reclaiming land from an oppressive automobile-centred culture, it might be possible to increase the demand and availability of reliable public transportation and create more usable and inclusive public spaces.

Doing My Research

I thought it would be a good idea to make sure that I had photographic documentation of the area and the existing signs. I would consistently park in the same place, if it was available, in stall 7251, close to the entrance on the right-hand side of College Drive.

If I walked about 300 metres toward the stadium (former home of the Abbotsford Heat hockey team, before they left town), I encountered another sign. Here, I realized, was the only sign that I could find that did have the correct lot number.

I had indeed made a mistake, but an honest one, because there was no indication of the variety of lot numbers to choose from at the pay station with instructions to use the PayByPhone app.

A Public Protest

It may not be Luther’s 95 Theses, but these posters might be a worthy protest to see Impark banished from the university. Why should students have to pay for parking because of a stadium built by the city for a hockey team that left town? Download the PDF file and create your own posters in both portrait and landscape orientation. Feel free to stage your own protest or distribute these posters around campus.

Complaints Department

Graphic design is a wicked tool for throwing wrenches into bureaucracies.

Inspired by David Thorne of 27B/6.

Exploitation for Hospitals and Universities

It is interesting how parking fees are being enforced for those who tend to have the least disposable income: the sick and the unemployed.

If I look on the map for areas that feature pay parking, I can see a Downtown Abbotsford lot that might make sense. I do not see any pay parking surrounding City Hall. The City of Abbotsford appears to have made the decision that the hospital and the university should be the target market for corporate and government exploitation.

Buy Me a Boat

Please tell me how allowing Impark to extort money from students and faculty is any different from David Thorne setting up a GoFundMe page for a boat.

Sorry, Dave Lebans, Operations Manager, Impark, I will not be buying you a boat.

The Precariat

Yours, sincerely, a graphic designer with a lot of time on his hands.

In sociology and economics, the precariat (/prɪˈkɛəriət/) is a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, which is a condition of existence without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare. The term is a portmanteau obtained by merging precarious with proletariat. Unlike the proletariat class of industrial workers in the 20th century who lacked their own means of production and hence sold their labour to live, members of the precariat are only partially involved in labour and must undertake extensive “unremunerated activities that are essential if they are to retain access to jobs and to decent earnings”. Specifically, it is the condition of lack of job security, including intermittent employment or underemployment and the resultant precarious existence. The emergence of this class has been ascribed to the entrenchment of neoliberal capitalism.

The Resistance

As a member of the resistance, how should one use corporate media platforms that are actively undermining democracy? The Nazi resistance would disrupt the supply chain. Starve them of attention? Or use these tools to inform people of the corporate abuse of power?