New parking zones, fines still on the table for discussion in Morganton

The last few months have been quiet on the subject, but the City of Morganton has not dropped discussion on parking improvements in downtown. Equipment needed to implement the new system has recently arrived, and the Morganton City Council may debate new parking zones and repercussions for not paying tickets as soon as the December meeting.

According to Sharon Jablonski, director of cultural and creative development, the hardware for T2 Systems, the new parking management system, arrived just over a week ago. The equipment, she said, was ordered in August after the city council voted to approve the new system.

Jablonski had originally planned for an October implementation, but with the late arrival, that goal wasn’t able to be met. But residents will soon hear about changes to parking, with new areas for merchants and new areas for customers. There will also be a recommendation for how to handle unpaid parking tickets, and what fines are appropriate for the offense.

In order to implement the new parking system, the additional changes will need to be voted on before moving forward. Jablonski said she’s hopeful that the item will be on the city council’s December agenda, but that could change. Following any council approval, Jablonski said that the 30 days after will be a warning phase.

Currently, Jablonski said she is working on getting the newly-hired parking officer prepared through training with the new system.

In August, the city council approved the purchase of T2 Systems, a parking management system that includes a handheld device with License Plate Recognition technology and electronic chalking. The officer will take a photo of the license plate for identification and then take a photo of the tire valve to determine if the vehicle has moved.

The device notifies the parking officer when a vehicle has exceeded its time limit, prompting the officer to issue a ticket. The new tickets will be harder to dispute since they’ll include a photo of the license plate and other identifying details. However, drivers will still have the option to appeal.

T2 Systems also handles collections, enabling people to pay through scanning a QR code or calling a toll-free number. The city will have access to real-time data, which will show who is and isn’t paying.

Downtown residents will be able to apply for residential permits online, which will eliminate the need for decals or physical passes. The device will recognize the license plate associated with a residential permit. Contractors for the city will also be exempt for a period of time and ticketing will not occur during special downtown events such as the Morganton Festival.