Want to avoid parking tickets in Elgin? There's an app for that
An Elgin man frustrated with getting $50 tickets under the city's odd-even parking laws has drawn up an iPhone application to remind him where to park.
"I had the flu and forgot to move my car for a day or two and I got a ticket," said Jason Musser, a resident of the Gifford Park neighborhood since 1997. "It's always a pain and I thought it would be nice if I didn't have to think about it."
Musser, a former software developer and current product manager, wrote the program for his iPhone in a few hours and began selling it for $1.99 at replikon.com/elginparking last week.
The program is simple, he said, color coding odd sides of the street with orange and using emerald green for even sides.
"You can save $48 by buying the app and not getting a parking ticket," he said.
After a yearlong test period, Elgin officials in 2009 enacted year-round odd-even parking restrictions for the Gifford Park area, near the city's northeast side, and the Southwest Area Neighbors in the southwest part of town.
The ban is intended to make leaf collection, snow removal and street sweeping more efficient and predictable, especially in older parts of town with narrow streets and larger trees. Residents have from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. each day to move their vehicles to the correct side of the street or face a $50 fine.
RuthAnne Hall, the city's management analyst charged with implementing and monitoring the odd-even program, plans to meet with Musser Friday to talk about his new program.
She said the city is always looking at ways to connect with residents and several people at city hall have downloaded the app out of curiosity.
"It's a great technology tool. A lot of municipalities are launching iPhone applications," she said. "This is exciting because it's driven by residents."