[Carfreeliving] Put cameras on street sweepers/buses & redeploy PCOs to enforce safety/efficiency violations?

[Andrew Sullivan]

Put enforcement cameras on buses and you will see a huge effect.  And 
very happy bus drivers who won't have to drive around double parkers 
and bus lane blockers (as much).  Rescue Muni strongly supports this 
idea.

-------------------
   ANDREW SULLIVAN
h:     415 673 0626
f:     415 673 0686
m:     415 609 8801
e: andrew at sulli.org
w:    www.sulli.org
-------------------
On Apr 14, 2005, at 8:43, Jeremy Nelson wrote:

> - Dave Snyder wrote:  "One solution is to use cameras mounted on the 
> street
> sweeping machines to ticket all the cars that don't move for the street
> sweepers, freeing up jars and jars of peanut butter for other parts of 
> the
> bread. Similarly, buses could be equipped with cameras for ticketing 
> the
> owners of cars parked in bus stops. This latter idea has a positive 
> effect
> that would be very popular socially: the bus stops would become 
> extremely
> short-term parking zones, available for free parking until a bus 
> comes, when
> the driver would have to get out of the way or else face a guaranteed 
> $275
> ticket."
>
>
> - Mike Sallaberry wrote:  "I like it...intriguing approach.  Does any 
> place
> use cameras like this?"
>
>
> - Jeremy Nelson writes:  Yes! Several California cities already use 
> cameras
> on street sweepers to automatically issue tickets to parking violators,
> including Redwood City, Palmdale, and Richmond (see 8/17/04 CCT article
> below).
>
> I pitched this idea to Commander Sylvia Harper (Director of PCO 
> Enforcement)
> last summer (see e-mail below).  She brought it up internally at DPT 
> Deputy
> Directors' meeting with Bond Yee.  She follow-up with me to say the 
> idea was
> met with general interest but then asked TLC to do more research on
> cost-effectiveness and how well the cameras are working in other 
> cities.  I
> assigned this task to an intern who promptly got a paying job and 
> could not
> do the research.
>
> Trying to revive the idea, I also recently talked with MTA Director 
> Peter
> Mezey about this in relation to the MTA structural budget deficit as a 
> way
> to "do more with less."  He also seemed very interested, and mentioned 
> that
> this would be a good model for the MTA to transition to in order to be 
> able
> to redeploy PCOs who are currently being used during morning rush hours
> solely for street-sweeping to enforce violations that impact the 
> safety and
> efficiency of the transportation system (parking on the sidewalk, bike
> lanes, and bus lanes; we call these 'Quality of Service' violations and
> believe that DPT should prioritize these types of violations).
>
> TLC would be happy to meet with any interested MTA staff and 
> transportation
> advocates to discuss this idea, discuss who should take the lead, and 
> put
> together a proposed workplan for how DPT might shift to this model.  
> Perhaps
> there are Prop K funds for this kind project under the rubric of 
> 'better
> system management' or similar category?
>
> Ideally, MTA/DPT would pursue this on their own as a "cost-savings" 
> and/or
> "best practice management technique" that are politically popular 
> right now.
> If that's not possible, TLC could work with other groups to advocate 
> for the
> MTA/DPT to transition to this model; unfortunately we can't take the 
> lead on
> this project right now, unless someone out there can identify some 
> financial
> resources for us to hire a part-time intern specifically for this 
> research
> project and subsequent advocacy campaign (likely cost: 100 hours at 
> $10/hr =
> $1000).
>
> Hope to continue the conversation with anyone interested- Jeremy
>
>
> =========================
>
>
> Hi Cmdr. Harper- How are you?  I wanted to thank you and your staff 
> again
> for taking the time to meet with TLC and our partner groups San 
> Francisco
> Bicycle Coalition, Walk SF, Rescue Muni, and Senior Action Network a 
> few
> months ago to discuss how we can work with DPT to pursue more robust 
> parking
> enforcement so that San Francisco's transportation system is safer and 
> works
> better for all modes of travel, especially pedestrians, bicyclists, and
> transit passengers.
>
> Along those lines, I thought you might be interested in the article 
> below
> about how Redwood City and Palmdale are using cameras attached to
> street-sweeper machines which allow them to redeploy the PCOs that had
> previously been exclusively dedicated for street-sweeping enforcement.
>
> DPT could also pursue this cost-effective strategy to free up more 
> PCOs to
> enforce sidewalk parking, double-parking in bike lanes, and parking in 
> bus
> zones, etc.  Could you let me know if this is something DPT would 
> consider
> and how TLC could help advocate for the use of this technology to do 
> better
> parking enforcement without more resources?  Best-Jeremy
>
>
> =========================
>
>
> "Richmond to use sweeper-camera to enforce parking"
>
> Published Tuesday, August 17, 2004, in the Contra Costa Times
> By Karl Fischer, Contra Costa Times
>
> RICHMOND -- Last year, residents complained that city street sweepers 
> often
> failed to follow their routes. City officials
> attached global-positioning satellite trackers to them and the problem
> improved.
>
> This year, Richmond faces crushing budget cuts and drastic 
> understaffing at
> the Police Department, which can't easily spare an officer to ticket
> illegally parked cars that clutter the path of the GPS-enabled 
> sweepers.
>
> The solution: Sweeper-cameras will help enforce parking rules.
>
> "We're taking it to the next level. We're going to put a video 
> recorder on
> one and see whether we can use it for parking
> enforcement," acting Police Chief Charles Bennett said. "It just 
> doesn't
> make sense to have an officer or police assistant follow around the
> sweepers, writing tickets as they go."
>
> If trials this fall prove successful, Richmond will become only the 
> second
> California city to mount video cameras on street sweepers.
>
> In coming months, when a Richmond sweeper encounters a parked car 
> blocking
> its route, the operator will flick on the camera to record the license 
> plate
> and the infraction in progress, as well as the time and location. 
> Later,
> police will review recordings and mail $36 tickets to car owners.
>
> Bennett says his plan, though unconventional, will generate consistent
> revenue for the cash-strapped city.
>
> City officials don't know how much revenue or how many tickets 
> sweeper-cams
> would generate, but expect to learn more after the one-sweeper test.
>
> If that camera performs as Bennett expects, the Police Department will 
> spend
> about $20,000 to outfit all five city sweepers with higher-quality 
> cameras.
>
> Operators will not record continuously and will only document parking
> infractions, Bennett added. The sweepers will only record on blocks 
> with
> signs warning motorists of their schedule.
>
> Few issues have enflamed Richmond residents in recent years more than 
> street
> sweepers. Upset residents have packed City Council meetings and City 
> Hall
> phone lines over poor service, lack of service, parking tickets for
> violating sweeper zones, a lack of parking tickets for scofflaws and, 
> above
> all, the hated sweeper-schedule signs.
>
> Some neighborhoods so despised plans to post signs warning car owners 
> of the
> sweeping schedule that the city held a mail-in vote last summer about
> whether all neighborhoods must have them. As a result, Carriage Hills,
> Richmond Annex and Richmore Village opted out.
>
> Public Works Director Rich McCoy sees potential in sweeper-cams.
>
> Just as last year's satellite tracking system add-on helped resolve 
> many
> complaints about absent sweepers, cameras could combat another common
> complaint: Poor steering.
>
> "Right now, the proposal is to hang the camera right over the edge on 
> the
> right of the sweeper," McCoy said. "If you say your car was dinged by a
> passing sweeper ... this is recorded evidence" of whether it did.
>
> Richmond's interest in sweeper-cams follows a path first blazed by the 
> Los
> Angeles County city of Palmdale.
>
> That city installed dashboard cameras in its four sweepers a year ago. 
> In
> addition to sweeping, they also help city workers inspect curbs, 
> gutters,
> sidewalks, trees and other publicly maintained roadside features.
>
> "We really haven't had any major problems with them," Palmdale street
> maintenance supervisor Bruce Roadhouse said. "The sweeper will 
> sometimes
> vibrate the camera, and sometimes dust obscures the view. But that's 
> about
> it."
>
> Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer at cctimes.com
>
>
>
>
>
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