Title
Authorizing Council's Committee on Streets and Services and Committee on Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative Economy to hold hearings regarding possible implementation of technologies to streamline on-street parking solutions in Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, Visitors and residents in Philadelphia are well aware of the struggle involved in finding parking spaces on crowded City streets, particularly at peak traffic hours. One study has shown that drivers spend an average of 18 minutes looking for parking spaces in large American cities. Parking in these cities have a major congestion, economic waste and a negative impact on the environment; and
WHEREAS, Large cities who experience similar parking problems to Philadelphia, such as Boston and New York City, have adopted parking technology as a solution that streamlines the process of finding available parking spaces. Local municipalities and institutions, such as Lower Merion Township and the University of Pennsylvania, have also adopted parking technology; and
WHEREAS, Parking technology consists of features such as display monitors on street corners which let drivers know about parking vacancies, mounted cameras fixed to pre-existing traffic lights, poles that monitor spaces with laser sensors, and in-pavement sensors installed in parking spaces which identify vehicles using motion detection; and
WHEREAS, Equipment like License Plate Recognition (LPR) currently in use by law enforcement can easily be adapted by parking technology, making awarding fines, fees, and violations possible at the push of a button on a mobile application. Tickets and permits for parking can be easily updated and identified for major events; and
WHEREAS, Parking technology infrastructure can be continually updated and adaptable to incorporate and work in conjunction with other applications already set in place, such as SEPTA and Indego mobile applications. Physical parking technology installations requir...
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