OXFORD, Miss. (WTVA) -- The Oxford Board of Aldermen has been coming up with ideas for how to solve problems with parking in the ever-growing downtown area.
Tuesday night, the board voted on having an outside company come in and handle the parking full-time while also extending the times which parking is monitored.
Before this decision was made, parking tickets were given by Oxford Police Department.
"You're looking at a later period where the two-hour parking applies. You're looking at Saturday enforcement where it didn't apply. You're looking at more than one person out there writing the tickets, and you're looking at more high-tech equipment looking for those who are violating the parking," said Police Chief Mike Martin.
The high-tech equipment mentioned brings a whole new dimension when it comes to monitoring and metering.
"They are going to use license plate readers, the kind that mounts on a vehicle, and as you drive by a vehicle, it recognizes a license plate. It recognizes if you've been there for two hours or however long you've been there. It also recognizes habitual offenders," said Martin.
The city has been actively trying to find a solution to handling the growing amount of people heading in and out of the downtown area.
Mayor George "Pat" Patterson is confident in the new measure.
"They're going to be efficient in enforcing these regulations, and they will be responsible for writing the tickets and collections. It's a nationwide firm, and we think they'll do a good job....Give this a try, and if it works, we'll follow up on it. If it doesn't, we'll go another direction," said Patterson.
The new company will take over responsibilities next month.
