The Joliet City Council is taking a step toward having free parking for customers who frequent downtown businesses.
The City Council Tuesday unanimously approved spending $56,738 with Minuteman Security Technologies for a mobile license plate reader that can be used to enforce parking regulations in the downtown area.
A license plate recognition camera has the capacity to capture photographic video or images from license plates and transform the optical data into digital transformation in real time. These cameras are installed at fixed locations where they collect license plate information from vehicles on public roadways.
Currently, parking meters are used in downtown to enforce parking. But some council members favor having free parking in downtown with a two-hour limit, according to Greg Ruddy, public works director for the city. He said the mobile license plate readers can locate drivers who park in their spots for more than two hours and ticket them.
Ruddy said without these readers, it would be impossible to locate people who park in their spots for more than two hours, whether they are customers or employees of downtown businesses.
Last year, a parking consultant hired by the city recommended Joliet switch to free parking in downtown and remove the parking meters. Ruddy said another plus of the camera system is it can detect stolen vehicles or cars that have traffic infractions. He said such violations can be forwarded to the Joliet Police Department for action.
District 4 Councilman Cesar Cardenas on Tuesday said free parking is needed in downtown.
“With construction in the downtown area, we have to do anything we can to help the businesses,” he said.
Joliet resident Grant Alexander said free parking is available in nearby communities that have downtowns like Plainfield and Shorewood.
“Parking is hard to find, but meters deter people,” he said. “When they have to put money in the meter, they would rather not even frequent that business.”
Additionally, the City of Joliet was bestowed a honor as it was one of two Illinois cities that made Go Banking Rates’ 50 safest and most affordable cities to live in this year’s list.
Elgin received the top spot while Joliet came in at 17th place. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Joliet has a median household income of $84,971 and Go Banking Rates puts its average monthly mortgage cost at $1,427 and total monthly cost of living at $3,572.
Joliet has seen a 6.9 percent increase in average home value from last year at $246,417, according to the real estate Web site Zillow.
