City May Implement Illegal Parking Cameras
Drivers in the city of Chicago are already acutely aware that if the run a red light at one of several intersections throughout the city, they will have a photograph of their car taken. This is usually followed by a ticket in the mail and a copy of the photo of their car speeding through the intersection a bit too late.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, if Mayor Daley’s latest plan comes into action, illegal parkers in the city of Chicago will also be subjected to similar photographic crime-stopping power. The mayor wants to install high-resolution digital cameras to the front of street sweepers to capture images of cars who are parked illegally and blocking the street cleaning machines. The street sweepers will feature two cameras, one to take a photo of the vehicle and its surroundings and the other to focus on the license plate.
Mayor Daley originally brought up the idea three years ago and now City Hall appears to be moving forward with the plan. City aldermen are expressing concern over the plan, in part because the signs that tell motorists not to park in certain areas because of the street sweepers are typically removable paper signs, which can blow away or be taken down by pranksters. Thus, motorists may not even realize that they are parking illegally.
I suppose that it is more cost-effective to use automatic cameras on vehicles already in use for another purpose, rather than employing additional personnel to patrol and issue tickets. While the aldermen’s concerns are valid, this is the same argument that could be raised if it was simply a patrol officer placing a ticket on a car. The motorist could still fight the ticket, stating that there was inadequate notice that it was a no parking zone. Further, the motorist could potentially use the photograph that the street sweeper takes of the surroundings to show that there was not a “no parking” sign, if that is indeed the case.
I hope that the Wienermobile has learned its lesson and won’t fall victim to these new illegal parking cameras.
Chicago, Mayor Daley, parking cameras, street sweeper cameras
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