New cameras will automatically cite Cleveland drivers for parking violations

CLEVELAND — Next time you park in Downtown Cleveland, be careful. The city plans to install roughly 40 cameras in hopes to decrease parking violations. 

“The goal of this is to better enforce illegal stopping and parking activities, oftentimes and especially downtown,” said Mathew Moss, a senior strategist in Mayor Justin Bibb’s office.

The city plans to reduce parking violations by installing roughly 40 new cameras on Euclid, West 25th, Prospect and Huron. They are contracting with a company called Autonomous to install cameras that can scan license plates and automatically issue citations if a car is improperly parked. 

“Our goal is to deploy the camera, collect as much data as we can in terms of when the loading activity is most concentrated,” Moss said. 

Moss said using data from the cameras will then allow the city to create smart loading zones. These are areas where people will be able to legally stop for a bit to drop somebody off, or for delivery drivers to pick-up food that’s been ordered.  

“A loading zone might be a loading zone when we need it most, maybe early in the morning, through the early afternoon perhaps, and then it can transition to paid parking, or maybe a valet zone in the evening,” Moss said. 

The city plans to install the cameras in the first quarter of 2026 and start creating those smart loading zones in February and March. 

Changes are also coming to parking fees and hours for city street parking paid by using app Park Mobile. 

“Currently folks are capped at two hours, coming into the new year they’ll be able to extend beyond two hours to a third and fourth hour,” said Lucas Reeve, senior strategist in Mayor Bibb’s Office.  

Reeve said the fee for the third and fourth hour will increase per hour. 

Another change in 2026 is that parking fees will now be enforced seven days a week in downtown and six days a week in Ohio City and will extend to later hours.

Reeve said the city expects an increase in revenue from these parking changes. 

“[Giving Cleveland] the ability to invest into neighborhoods with better lighting, crosswalks, speed tables and things like that,” Reeve said.