Carmel-by-the-Sea approves funding for on-street parking sensors and real-time parking website

The Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council on May 23 approved funding to install on-street parking sensors and add a real-time parking map to the city’s website.

City Information Technology Manager Sophie Weaver described two sensor options: corner-mounted units that scan both sides of a street and in-ground sensors installed beneath individual parking spaces. Weaver said the system would show available spaces with green markers and occupied spaces with red on a map integrated into the city website and would update in real time when connectivity is available. “On a normal day, the sensors would be directly tethered to the website. So in real time, if it does sense a spot is open, then it will just update the website when it senses that,” Weaver said.

Weaver estimated the total system cost in presentation slides; she described tradeoffs between sensor types, saying in-ground sensors require more hardware per space while corner units are fewer but more technologically advanced. In response to public concerns about privacy, Weaver said the proposed system would use non-camera sensors and “there will be no information collected from the sensors,” adding that the non-camera approach was chosen to avoid collecting personal data.

During public comment, resident Paul Tomasi asked whether the sensors could notify enforcement when vehicles overstay time limits; Weaver and later staff confirmed the system could be configured to detect overstay and alert enforcement staff for follow-up.

Council action: A council member moved and another seconded a motion to approve the parking sensors project; the council approved the motion by unanimous roll call (Council member Pritchard: Yes; Council member Moreau: Yes; Council member Morgan: Yes; Mayor Pro Tem Blessing: Yes; Mayor Norman: Yes). Motion carries unanimously.

Council members said they supported the project for both residents and visitors and noted further decisions (sensor type and installation logistics) could be finalized by staff.

The council also discussed implementation details including how to publicize the website to tourists and how the system would behave during Internet or power outages.

The council did not specify an exact procurement timeline during the hearing; staff said site-specific installation logistics (which could include short-term lane or space closures if in-ground sensors are chosen) would be addressed during procurement and permitting.