The Gainesville Police Department unveiled new parking supervision technology on Monday that will help remedy parking issues in loading and unloading spaces on the historic square.
Many businesses on the historic square in downtown Gainesville have reported numerous issues with customers parking in loading and unloading spaces in front of their shops. The spaces are meant for 5-minute drop-off and pick-up carriers but have been used by citizens for longer stays in the downtown area. New technology was recently added to the square that will help supervise the spaces using cameras and tag-referencing capabilities.
The “SafetyStick” technology is meant to ensure specific parking spots are being used in the most effective manner possible. They have a bollard-like appearance and can monitor traffic to help identify violators and enable proper parking enforcement.
Gainesville Police Lieutenant Kevin Holbrook said they have been flexible with parking issues in the past, but with a growing population and extensive free parking space, change was needed.
“So we're very lenient when it came to parking and the utilization of spots downtown,” Holbrook said. “Since the creation of the new downtown North deck, as well as the South parking deck, and the Hall County parking deck, we have realized that there's ample parking and working with merchants downtown, bringing forward information that they were having issues when it came to loading zones, as well as other parking issues. That's what led us to this solution.”
Holbrook noted that he’s grateful the city is able to provide so many free parking spaces, but unfortunately in some cases, parking times and locations are taken advantage of.
“Many times when we look at these loading zones, you know, they're there for that, simply loading,” Holbrook said. “For instance, there's one in front of Atlas Pizza on Washington Street, it's very convenient for someone to pull up in front of the location, run in, grab a to-go order, and leave. But unfortunately, people were using it as a parking spot.”
The new SafetyStick parking poles are only implemented at 5-minute unloading and loading parking spots around the historic square.
“Most people wouldn't even realize that they are there,” Holbrook said. “But it's a technology that utilizes tag readers, as well as motion detection. So say an individual pulls into one of the loading zones, after a timer is set, it will then take a picture of the tag or tags on the vehicle, record it and then send it to us so that we can verify if that car is in fact loading or not. And then we can follow up with a fine or citation if necessary.”
Holbrook emphasized that there has been a large amount of positive feedback from businesses since the poles were implemented. Previously, some delivery trucks were forced to stop in the middle of the road, which would back up traffic all around the square.
“We have around 10 zones or spots that have been identified that we are currently using,” Holbrook said. “So it's something that, you know, we think is going to be very successful, we think that the merchants downtown are going to be very appreciative of it. So far, we have heard nothing but positive or praise when it comes to this because ultimately, it's helping the merchants and helping those that have deliveries downtown.”
In the event that you get a ticket for being in a delivery parking space for too long, the fine and penalty are designated in a different class than traditional violations.
“This is not something that we would consider a moving violation where that is a criminal violation,” Holbrook said. “This is more of a civil penalty. It is associated to the vehicle and not necessarily the driver. So for instance, the ticket will come to the registered owner of that vehicle for it being parked illegally in one of those designated areas.”
With high levels of growth being seen in Gainesville and Hall County, traffic around the square will only continue to increase. The opening of new restaurants and amenities for the public means more deliveries in order to stock food, merchandise and other goods for people to buy. Gainesville Police hope the new improvements will help everyone move throughout the square smoothly — from the consumer to the business owner.
