By: Mary Genson | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published November 25, 2024
BIRMINGHAM — Ever since the Birmingham City Commission approved the expansion of the 15 Minute Short-Term Parking Pilot in downtown Birmingham, visitors have had designated places to park for when they just need to run a quick errand.
Up until now, parking enforcement had to use their own sight to monitor when a vehicle has been parked too long. In order to make the process of enforcing the 15-minute time limit more efficient, the city is installing sensors. The goal is to ensure a high turnover rate so that the spots are available for those who need it.
At eight parking spots throughout the downtown area, there will be visible parking meters, serviced by CivicSmart, a software company that specializes in parking products and services.
Balu Subramanya, founder and CEO of CivicSmart, said these meters will alert parking enforcement when a vehicle has spent more than 15 minutes in a designated parking spot. A photo of the car and time of arrival will be disclosed to parking enforcement.
The city plans to have these parking meters up and running by Thanksgiving; however, the official timeline is currently unclear. If the sensors’ monitoring of these spots proves to be effective, the city plans to expand the 15 Minute Short-Term Parking program to more areas of downtown.
Birmingham Parking Systems Manager Aaron Ford said, “We are trying to solve a problem that we feel like everyone knows exists.”
Ford said it is common to see cars and trucks parked illegally when driving around downtown. This behavior is often justified by the drivers because they believe they just need to do something really quickly and do not want to have to search for a different place to park.
“We are hoping that by giving people a place to go for short-term parking, they will utilize the spaces instead of parking illegally,” Ford said.
Subramanya said these sensors have been installed in communities nationally and internationally. Overall, he said the feedback has been positive from businesses.
“The business communities actually love it because their No. 1 priority is that those spaces are available for customers who come in,” Subramanya said.
Visitors will still have to pay the meter when they are parking in a 15-minute space. This was something the commission discussed, but they ultimately landed on keeping the required payment.
Ford said it is unclear whether or not this program will lead to a decrease in revenue from the meter because, in this case, they are not taking a meter out of their inventory.
“This is something we have identified has been a need in the city based on people parking illegally for short periods of times and we are hoping that it will be utilized properly, and hopefully will alleviate that,” Ford said. “We are excited to see if this is a program that works.”
More information on parking in Birmingham can be found at bhamgov.org/parking.