A new era of parking meters in Santa Monica is set to generate $1.7 million a year in extra revenue for the City of Santa Monica.
The expansion of parking meters with sensors started on Monday, which means any existing minutes left on a meter will now disappear and reset to zero whenever a vehicle leaves.
The sensors will also display a “max time exceeded” alert whenever a motorist attempts to pay extra to exceed the posted time limit.
Currently “feeding” the meter beyond the posted time limit is prohibited and subject to a $64 citation.
The sensors are part of the new credit card and phone-enabled parking meters installed over the past several months and represent the latest in parking meter technology.
Customers who pay by phone can receive text messages when the meter is about to expire and can remotely add more time up to the posted time limit.
Enhanced parking data will also be available through real-time, daily, and monthly reports of parking space usage, regardless of whether the meter was paid or not.
This, combined with the ability to track average length of stay, will allow the City to better manage parking space time limits and provide data to adjust time limits where needed to meet demand.
Future expansion of real-time parking maps will include on-street parking spaces. Ultimately customers will be able to use online and mobile applications for parking guidance and information, enhancing the public’s ability to find available parking spaces.
The City first installed parking meter sensors on select blocks in Downtown in March 2011 as part of the initial pilot project to replace the old coin-only parking meters.
