Heated parking-ticket contests soon could come down to a photo finish.
Councilman Jimmy Vacca (D-Bronx) said traffic agents should have picture evidence of some of the tickets they write.
He proposed a law last week that would outfit all traffic agents with a camera phone-like device that both writes up and photographs violations.
Chicago already has outfitted its ticket agents with similar devices.
The idea is to cut down on out-of-control agents who write questionable tickets and to keep motorists who constantly challenge every violation from clogging the court system.
“I’ve got calls about tailpipes that were just over the crosswalk, or a car that was an inch too close to a hydrant,” Vacca said. “At some point, it just becomes too judgmental.”
Vacca says some obvious violations, like expired meters, shouldn’t be photographed. Others that could be interpreted by a judge, like parking too close to a hydrant, should be, he said.
Vacca said traffic agents have been on a ticket-writing rampage over the past several years, using the violations as a way to create city income.
Councilman John Liu, chairman of the Transportation Committee, said that the bill is “on the fast track” and that he hopes to hold hearings on it by January.