LA's Tiger Team, Now With Punch

One of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's traffic fixes has been these anti-gridlocked zones. But do people actually listen to signs? No. But with a threat, more will. So then came the Tiger Team, a specialized team that would patrol a heavy rush hour traffic artery to enforce the no parking signs by ticketing and towing away any vehicle parked there. Today, the fourth such team was deployed on Sunset Blvd.

Five traffic control officers and seven tow trucks along a 4.2-mile stretch of Sunset Boulevard from Vermont Avenue to Laurel Canyon Boulevard will make up the Tiger Team IV LPR Unit. They will patrol the streets ticketing and towing motorists who illegally park their vehicles along the boulevard during the morning rush hour times of 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM and the afternoon rush hour times of 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

However, there's an added feature to this group's technology sack: "This time around, the Tiger Team IV’s patrol vehicles will be specially equipped with license plate recognition (LPR) camera technology that will enable the traffic control officers to scan license plates, locate stolen vehicles, identify amber alerts and find scofflaws. Additionally, these special LPR Tiger Team patrol vehicles will be stocked with 10-inch monitors, clear picture and video, and wireless transmission capabilities."

It seems that, finally, the Department of Transportation will stop ticketing stolen vehicles or, at least, store them knowing what they have and why it isn't being picked up. The left hand is starting to meet the right hand. A good step, indeed.

Photo by California Em via Flickr