Tired of Street Sweeping Tickets, Eagle Rock? Help Is on the Way

LOS ANGELES, CA - Angelenos could see some relief from parking citations on street sweeping days, thanks to new GPS sensors that can track when a street has already been swept, officials told the City Council's Transportation Committee today.

The GPS sensors were installed to help city officials determine the most efficient sweeping routes, but Bureau of Street Services officials are also following a recommendation by a "parking reform" task force to use the data to reduce the issuance of unnecessary street sweeping-related parking citations.

Officials said the devices have been installed on all of the city's 100 street sweeping vehicles, and they will be testing the technology over the next six months.

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In the meantime, the bureau will also be conducting a pilot program on select streets, by using the real-time data to prevent traffic officers from issuing tickets to vehicles parked on streets that a sweeper has already passed through.

The costs for incorporating the data onto the devices of traffic officer is still unknown, city officials said.

The city is also looking into the possibility of making the data available to the public via a website or app.

The city spent $150,000 to buy and install the GPS sensors, awarding the contract to Orpak USA Inc., according to a city report. Another $30,000 was allocated for the monthly subscription to the GPS service, but funds have not been earmarked for maintaining or replacing the equipment.

Information from the Orpak system will be given to Xerox, the city contractor that issues the parking citations, department officials said today.

The various departments involved in the project are expected to report back to the Transportation Committee in October on their progress.

The city gave out more than 642,000 citations for street sweeping parking violations last fiscal year, ending June 30, which comes out to about $46.9 million, transportation department spokesman Bruce Gillman told City News Service.

The $73 street sweeping citations represent about one-fourth of the parking citations given out by the city, he said.

City News Service