The Jersey City Council will vote to consider camera assisted parking enforcement pilot program next month, with the administration seeking resident feedback on parking via a survey that went online today.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Too many people in Jersey City feel like anything goes when it comes to how our streets are used, and that has real consequences for safety, for getting around, and for quality of life,” Mayor James Solomon said in a statement.
“This pilot gives us a smarter, more consistent way to enforce the rules that already exist and to make our streets safer and calmer for everyone.”
Cameras will be used to detect vehicles parked illegally in no-parking zones. If a violation is detected, the system captures a time-stamped photo of the license plate and vehicle.
A citation is issued via mail only after a JCPD Parking Enforcement official reviews for accuracy, according to the mayor’s office.
The program will track concrete outcomes, including the number of double parking incidents on targeted corridors and the percentage of time that bike lanes and crosswalks remain clear and accessible.
Further, the city plans to assess how long vehicles occupy commercial loading areas to improve turnover and reduce traffic backups, as well as reviewing broader measures of traffic flow and street safety.
Camera-assisted enforcement would allow the city to address high-frequency, high-impact violations in a targeted, data-driven way, without placing the full burden on traffic enforcement officers.
The pilot will allow the city to evaluate the technology’s effectiveness before any broader deployment decisions are made, a sentiment similar to what Solomon expressed while on the campaign trail last year.
Similar to the Hoboken Camera-based License Plate Enforcement for Access & Response (CLEAR) program, which was implemented for a three-month pilot by then-Mayor Ravi Bhalla, now a state assemblyman (D-32).
The program it was often criticized by small business owners on Washington Street and praised by bicycling advocates.
The resolution that will go before the Jersey City Council on June 10th would authorize the city to enter into the necessary contracts to proceed.
Subject to council approval and PSEG permitting for the use of utility poles, the administration is aiming for either a July or August program launch.
Further, today’s survey will also help prioritize pilot locations.
Once pilot locations are identified, the city will host community meetings in each ward, as well as one citywide meeting with Special Improvement Districts (SIDs) and local businesses.
This is the first step in continual engagement with businesses in each pilot area to provide clear information about the program, specific locations, types of violations being enforced, and existing parking regulations.
Finally, if the program is green lit, the city will publicly report out performance metrics and outcomes of the pilot and conduct a post-launch survey to collect feedback from the community about the program.