In an effort
to free up downtown parking spots, Winter Park will begin using a new software program that can quickly alert parking enforcement officials when a vehicle has exceeded its allotted time limit.
Winter Park has long grappled with trying to solve its parking woes in its downtown district, primarily along its famous shopping corridor, Park Avenue.
So as a way of freeing up parking spaces, parking enforcement officers on Oct. 1 will begin using new software and technology that will enable them to monitor the amount of time that a vehicle has been sitting at a spot, according to the Winter Park Police Department.
If a car has gone past the allowable parking time, the software will alert the officer, who will issue a citation to the owner. The technology will be used in the downtown business district, bordered by Interlachen, Fairbanks, New York and Swoope avenues. Parking spaces in that area allow 15 minutes to four hours of free parking.
“I think this is a great step,” City Commis-
sioner Sarah Sprinkel said Friday. “Any time you help with [parking] enforcement, you help with the parking situation. Our residents and visitors want to be able to park easily.”
Special cameras, along with the computer software, will be mounted only inside parking enforcement vehicles and used only by parking enforcement officers, according to police. The technology will scan license plates of parked vehicles, logging the time and location.
After the permitted time has expired, the software will alert the officer with a tone. The software also will be able to track if a vehicle has not moved at least 500 feet from its original parking space. Fines will start at $25 per vehicle.
The technology cost $35,000.
A recent report from consultant Kimley Horn pointed out that the growing number of new restaurants along Park Avenue could be exacerbating the parking problem because those types of businesses require more spaces than retail stores.
As eateries have replaced retail stores in recent years, there is now a demand for more than 200 new spaces in Winter Park’s downtown district, according to the report. A recommendation from the report said that Winter Park should consider restrictions on new restaurants.
In the coming weeks, city officials will review the recommendations in that report and others and develop a recommendation for city commissioners by this fall.