Winter Park announces new tech to enforce time limits on parking
WINTER PARK, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Visitors to Park Avenue in Winter park may want to start setting a timer when they park street-side.
The Winter Park Police Department announced via social media on Friday that it is rolling out new software to enforce time-limit parking in the downtown business district.
The software is being added to parking enforcement vehicles that drive through the area regularly.
A department representative said the vehicles have been outfitted with license plate readers that scan plates and their locations as officers drive the district.
The software then logs that information and when a vehicle’s time has expired, the parking enforcement software alerts the parking enforcement officer with a tone if the vehicle has not moved at least 500 feet from where it was logged.
The new technology was approved by the Community Redevelopment Agency as a way to better address parking issues in the area.
Police said it cost about $35,000.
The enforcement runs throughout the entire business district, which police define as everything betwee Interlachen Avenue on the east, Fairbanks Avenue on the south, New York Avenue on the west and Swoope Avenue on the north.
The time limits on parking in that area range from 15 minutes to four hours, and are posted by sign.
On Friday, people in the busy shopping and restaurant area seemed to like the idea.
Many complained that they often have to utilize parking lots up the block due to drivers taking up spaces for too long.
"I see some of the same cars in the same location for a couple of days,” said Park Avenue visitor Taylor Lee.
Though others had concerns about the tighter limits on parking.
"If you're going to a restaurant, or going shopping, you're probably going to take longer than three hours,” said Diana Leyva.
Police said they will be issuing warning tickets for the rest of the month, before beginning citations October 1.
The department stresses that the technology will only be used by parking enforcement in that area.