There are new parking enforcement vehicles in town! When Public Works launched its new Parking Enforcement Service [1]in May 2022, technicians were driving regular-sized electric cars from the City fleet. Now three of those cars have been replaced with purpose-built, electric, three-wheeled GO-4 vehicles. It will be easier for traffic to maneuver safely around these narrow vehicles when they are pulled over, which is especially important in our busy commercial districts.
[2]The new vehicles are outfitted with cameras that will make it possible to use Automated License Plate Readers (LPRs) for parking enforcement, but they are turned off at this point. In the coming months, Public Works staff will work with providers to configure the system to strict privacy standards, and receive training before using the system.
Used for parking enforcement at cities across the Bay Area and the nation, LPRs makes parking enforcement more efficient and less labor-intensive, enabling staff to check meter payment status simply by driving down the street in an LPR-equipped vehicle. Importantly, LPRs allows enforcement of time-limited parking without chalking tires or manually recording license plate numbers, locations, and times.
Privacy is a priority, the City’s report said, noting that the Parking Enforcement LPR Data Privacy Policy [3] requires data to be used for parking program needs only, as well as information security and regular data purges. Public Works parking staff using LPR systems will not have access to personally identifiable information—they can’t look up license plates. Finally, citations will still be printed and placed on vehicles, as required by State law.
400 parking meters repaired
As of last month, repair is complete on 400 single-space meter mechanisms, work that followed updating the modem on all meters from 3G to 4G. We are glad to have working meters back in these spaces. Paid parking helps open up spaces, reducing congestion by allowing people to find parking spaces more quickly.
Parking information
Check out alamedaparking.org [4] for extensive information about parking in Alameda. For specific questions, read the Parking FAQs [5]. There you can find information like how to request a disability parking zone in front of your home, get temporary “no parking” signs for a moving van, or obtain a 24-hour permit to park your RV or boat trailer on the street.
To report a parking violation in progress, a broken meter, or ongoing parking issues, call 510-522-PARK. To received updates on Alameda parking,
To receiving parking updates, join the auto parking mailing list [6] on the City’s website. Scroll down to Transportation and select “Transp – Auto Parking.”