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Law Enforcement
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Don't feed the meters
DC Department of Public Works looks to curb parking violators with video technology
May 9, 2008
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by Nancy Caronia
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There are approximately 17,000 parking meters and 4,100 blocks of residential parking permit zones in Washington, DC. In a city with a vast and efficient public transportation system, it would seem that parking for employees, residents, and shoppers wouldn't be a problem.
Think again.
Downtown employees are notorious for feeding meters -- it's less expensive than paying for a monthly pass at one of the many DC parking garages. Then there are the drivers who park on the wrong side of the street in parking permit zones, so street cleaners can't do their job. These situations affect residential and shopping districts alike.
The DC Department of Public Works receives a disproportionate number of service calls -- almost 3,000 a month -- requesting a more aggressive enforcement policy. According to William O. Howland, Jr., director, DC DPW, the department is "pretty aggressive in parking enforcement," but parking is monitored by patrol officers walking a beat.
While officers use handheld computers to input license data and time on the meter (chalk marking car tires is a distant memory in DC), it's still a cumbersome task. Howland noted that only about 25 percent of the city is covered each day, giving car owners a chance to learn the pattern of when and where patrol officers will be working a timed enforcement beat.
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| The Washington, DC, Department of Public Works is working to improve its parking enforcement by evaluating license plate recognition systems. |
Currently, the DPW uses camera systems to search for violators parked in front of hydrants and other illegal parking infractions. These vehicle immobilization crews or "boot crews" have been using a license plate recognition (LPR) system designed by Canadian-based Genetec for more than two years. Howland noted that these crews cover about five times more territory than if the officers had to do all the work manually.
Panasonic cameras mounted on top of the patrol vehicles read the license plates, then the information is automatically stored in ruggedized Panasonic laptop computers. "The city uses these computers in boot crews and police patrol cars," explained Michael Belack, chief information officer, DPW. "Drivers can focus on driving and the system does the work from there."
While the cameras are expensive, anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000, Howland noted that the mounted cameras enable parking officers to cover a lot more territory with better accuracy. "We're going to get more violators because the parking officer may not have time to go through every vehicle if he or she is walking," Howland noted. The cameras and computers tag vehicles automatically, no manual input required.
But where DPW really needs help is in timed enforcement. Toward that end, the DPW is testing three different systems to evaluate the best features of each.
"We're not issuing tickets, but we're driving around to get a feel for what is good about each system and what needs to be improved," noted Howland. "Whatever is the best of the three, we're hoping that one company can tweak the software to meet all of our needs. It is possible that we could choose all three to work different parts of the city."
The DPW is evaluating Genetec's newest LPR software, AutoVu Sharp, Remington Elsag's Mobile Plate Hunter 900 LPR system, and autoChalk from Tannery Creek Systems, which evaluates vehicles based on size, shape, and color (not license plates). "Our crews have gone out in different conditions so it will be a multi-dimensional evaluation. We need to know which one is the right one to use in the city," said Belack.
GPS tags allow vehicle images to be identified while the officers are driving by at 25 to 30 mph. Depending on the sophistication of the software, the license plate will be given a date/time stamp or images of the vehicle will be captured to prove vehicles were parked in the exact same spot for more than two hours.
Additionally, Howland said that the DPW is also looking to put a camera system on street sweepers. "We have assigned street sweeping that says we're going to do these blocks at these times. There are many violations in this area. The city of Chicago has just awarded their contract for this and we worked with them on perfecting the software," said Howland. "It was written so that we have the ability to ride the Chicago contract."
With street sweeping, the more expensive cameras were chosen since "we want a picture of where the cars were in relation to the rest of the block," Howland explained. "With timed enforcement, I'm going to be open as to how to do it."
Plans are in the works so motorists can enter their ticket number and license number to see photographic evidence associated with their ticketed infractions on the Web. A judge and prosecutor will have access to the same information. "With certain infractions," added Howland, "a picture is worth a thousand words."
MORE INFO
Genetec genetec.com
Remington Elsag remingtonelsag.com
Panasonic panasonic.com
Tannery Creek Systems tannerycreeksystems.com
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