Good Samaritan Costs City Money – Proves Space Sensors are a Necessity

The entry below reminds me. It is very important that cities have the new space sensor technology. You put a “hockey puck” style sensor in each space which connects to the meter and then provides information to the passing enforcement officer. Why?

When Don Shoup and I went to Pasadena to take some pictures last week we parked in a space on Colorado Blvd. As we walked to the Pay by Space meter to pay our fee, a fellow stopped us and said “I’m parked in the space in front of you and have an hour left on the meter, why not just pull into my space and not have to pay.” Of course we did.

That little bit of good Samaritanism by the parker cost the city of Pasadena a couple of bucks. If they had sensors, not only would they have much better information about length of stay and cars that had overstayed their welcome, but the meter could have been ‘reset’ when the fellow left and we would have had to pay the fee, just as in an off street lot.

My buddy at DCA in Australia, Declan Ryan, claims that the increase in revenue both from citations and meters, is so much with these little beauties, that they are paid for in just a few months and cities seem to swear by them.

Think about it. How can you know if people are overstaying the time on the meters? Surveys show that about 90% of all parking violations are never written. That means that most people don’t get tickets. Think about it yourself. If you park and don’t have money for the meter, don’t you run into the cleaners or drugstore and then come back and drive away and most of the time you don’t have a ticket. At least nine times out of ten. Well if it’s true for you, why not everyone. Space sensing helps cities know that they have a problem in a certain area and they can focus their enforcement. It also helps to understand parking length of stay and enables staff to make proper decisions about parking rates and rules.

JVH