Some residents, merchants are wary of new meters

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A sampling of Bloomfield residents and shopkeepers surveyed regarding the parking meters now in place along the Washington Street side of Glenwood Village found that almost everyone questioned was uneasy about the cameras built into the high-tech system.

Seven meters have been installed for a 90-day joint pilot program between the Bloomfield Parking Authority and Municipal Parking Service, of Minneapolis, Minn. The meters are “touch and display,” allowing a person to make parking choices by touching a video screen. The meters accept credit cards and only American quarters; and automatically begin a five-minute period of grace to pay once a car pulls into the space.

A camera at each meter, pointed toward the street, records the vehicle’s license plate. If the meter is not paid in time, the owner will automatically be given a parking ticket. If car goes over the time limit by more than five minutes, the violation is also automatic.

According to Anne Price, the BPA operations manager, the revenue generated by the meters will be split between the BPA and Municipal Parking Services.
The meter also has a camera pointed away from the street and toward the sidewalk. Price said this camera was for merchant security.

But the meters are also capable of providing ticker-tape news transmissions, weather forecasts, verbal directions on how to use the meter, and could transmit local advertisements and emergency reports. The meters can also be programmed to accept payment via cell phone or interconnect with a car’s guidance system. But it was the cameras that got the most attention of everyone interviewed.

Resident Mucio Locero was bothered.
“It’s Big Brother right there,” Locero said. “It’s just another way for the town to make money.”

“It’s another form of control,” said Ted Glick. “Once someone leaves their home, they’re being monitored. Is the purpose of a parking meter to regulate people? It’s an abusive, despicable, money-making scheme.”

Ed Rovinsky thought people would go to the mall to avoid a parking ticket.
“Five minutes is not enough,” he said of the period of grace. “People may not have the change.”

Teddy Esteban agreed with Rovinsky that five minutes was too little. But Esteban said he was in favor of the merchant security camera.

Price has said it is possible, should the pilot program proves successful, that the touch and display meters would be installed throughout Bloomfield. Resident Jane Califf said the meters would make her feel she was living in a police state.
On Washington Street, merchant Carlos Hornis, the owner of Xtra Shoes, said he did not like the new meters.

“First of all, with the automatic ticketing, if you’re late, you get a ticket,” Hornis said. “It’s like you’re under constant surveillance. That’s not cool at all.”
He also did not like the idea of the merchant security camera.
“I’m definitely against that,” he said. “I’m being observed 24/7?”

Angel Charon, the owner of Heavenly Bites, said the meters have their good and bad points. But he thought they were capable of invading a customer’s privacy.
“A couple of my customers are sitting down eating and they’re not sure what the meters are doing, like it’s just watching,” he said.

Charon also did not like that the meters had no way of telling if a driver was handicapped. But he said he was told that although the meters were not capable of determining if a person was handicapped, later, a person may have to swipe a handicap-identification card. He said the general sentiment of officials favoring the meters seemed to be that if you want to park over two hours, use the parking garage.

One woman who parked on Washington Street while the survey was being conducted had stopped her car in a space to paint her toenails. She did not know that she was parked illegally even though she was in her car.

But Price said that during the pilot program, the meters will not be issuing tickets.
Nick Zios, the owner of Roxy’s Florist, said he had no comment about the meters because he did not understand them.
“The public is paying dearly to use their cars,” he said.