More tickets, fewer meter maids.
The New Jersey State Legislature is considering a bill that would allow cities to deploy "smart" parking meters, high-tech meters with cameras and the ability to remotely issue tickets to parking scofflaws.
Nicholas Pugliese reports:
A bill sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, would explicitly authorize municipalities to use the smart parking meters. The measure, S-2579, has already cleared one Senate committee and is expected to be heard in a second on Monday.
Pugliese explains in more detail how the proposed law clears the way for the new parking meter technology.
Unlike current law, which generally requires a parking ticket to be placed on the windshield of a car, Sweeney’s bill would allow police or parking enforcement officers to remotely review meter-generated footage of an infraction and then issue tickets through the mail using the state courts' e-ticketing system.
A pilot project testing the "smart" parking meters in Palisades Park tripled the amount of parking tickets issued over a five-month period.
Pugliese also notes that the state in 2014 rescinded its red light camera policy after public outcry.
FULL STORY: Cameras in New Jersey parking meters? The 'smart' devices could cause a spike in tickets
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