Morganton City Council approves new parking management system, possible penalties coming
The Morganton City Council approved the purchase of T2 Systems, a parking management system to modernize the ticketing process.
Morganton City Council unanimously approved a new electronic parking system designed to modernize the ticketing process and record-keeping, though questions remain about how to handle unpaid tickets.
The new system, T2 Systems, includes handheld devices with License Plate Recognition technology and electronic chalking. “Basically you’re holding a computer in your hand and camera all in one,” Sharon Jablonski, director of cultural and creative development said about the hardware. The device takes photos of the license plate and the tire valve to know if the vehicle has moved.
“You can’t beat the system,” Jablonski said … “unlike going out and washing off the chalk or moving your car to hide the chalk, it doesn’t work like that.”
The system will also let parking officers know when someone has gone over their two-hour limit so they can go back and issue a ticket. It’s hard to argue with the ticket because it will include a photo of the license plate and other information. However, people will still have the option to dispute their tickets.
The system also handles collections, where people can pay through scanning a QR code or calling a toll-free number. Analytics will also show who is paying and who isn’t with real-time data, so there’s no question about who is paying, Jablonski said. Residents can apply for residential permits online, eliminating the need for physical stickers. The system will identify vehicles using license plate recognition tied to the permit. Construction workers will also have an exception for a period of time and ticketing will not occur during special downtown events such as the Morganton Festival.
Jablonski said another valuable feature of the system is its potential to support marketing and tourism by tracking where visitors to Morganton are coming from through license plate data.
Purchasing the parking management system is the first phase, she said, adding that the second phase will include a new parking map with areas marked determining two-hour, four-hour, or all-day parking. The map will also show which areas are designated for customer parking only and which areas are designated for employee parking. This will be brought to the city council in September, along with recommended repercussions for violators.
Parking in downtown Morganton has been a hot topic for years, and residents have differing views on how to address the situation. According to Jablonski, the problem is that employees park in front of businesses in spaces meant for customers, which she said can equate to thousands of dollars in lost revenue a year. She has also received complaints that two hours isn’t long enough for visitors and locals to shop and enjoy the restaurants downtown.
“We are not wanting to punish our customers,” Jablonski said. “That is not what this is about.”
Staff, specifically the Main Street office, have been researching systems since late May, when the Downtown Parking Committee instructed them to do so. This involved talking to other municipalities across the state to see what systems they are using, Jablonski said.
Two of the municipalities that use T2 include New Bern in the eastern part of the state and nearby Lincolnton, which had positive remarks about the company. The system also provides management for larger cities and parking decks for universities across the North Carolina system.
However, Jablonski said that both Lincolnton and New Bern noted that the system does not stop people from not paying their tickets. “The only way to stop them from not paying is to have an actual punishment,” Jablonski said, adding that towing or booting could be options. The amount owed could also potentially be taken out of the individual’s state tax refund if allowed by the city council.
“It is a matter of what you’re willing to do,” Jablonski said, adding that the council could choose to increase fines, but she said she’s never found that to work, “because if they’re not going to pay the $5 or $10, they’re not going to pay the $25 or $50.”
The parking system was approved unanimously by council and is expected to be fully operational by October. The cost for the first year is $9,562, and $3,828 per year thereafter.
Madison Lipe is the municipal reporter for The Paper. She can be reached at 828-445-8595 or madison@thepaper.media.
