New technology helps Winter Park issue more parking tickets

WINTER PARK, Fla. — Since October, the Winter Park Police Department said it has issued more than 100 tickets to people who have left their vehicles in public parking spaces for longer than three or four hours.

The agency said in October that it was cracking down on parking in the popular shopping and dining destinations of Park Avenue and Hannibal Square.

Officials said monitors mounted atop parking enforcement vehicles scan vehicles' license plates and track how long they have been parked in spots.

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The Police Department said the new technology cost $35,000.

Officials said they issued 1,130 tickets between Oct. 1 to Feb. 11 -- 124 more tickets than that time last year and 195 more tickets than that time two years ago.

Scott Whitehead, who has shined shoes in downtown for more than 30 years, said he believes it is not shoppers and diners who are taking up parking spaces.

"It's not the people (who are) coming in and out. It's the employees parking here for eight hours," he said. "(Parking officials are) not as lenient as they used to be, because I think they see the effect on the business."

People who leave their vehicles in a parking spot too long could receive a $25 ticket, and those who move to another parking spot fewer than 500 feet from the previous parking spot could face a $55 ticket.

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