Parking Enforcement

The City of Fredericksburg’s Parking Permit Program is intended to preserve safety and access for Fredericksburg’s residential neighborhoods when they face potential adverse effects because of their proximity to commercial businesses, or other uses that generate a lot of traffic and visitors. The autoChalk system consists of a camera mounted to a police vehicle, a laser, laptop and GPS unit. This equipment tracks the turnover of vehicles in time-restricted parking.

A parking enforcement officer drives through the downtown area at the posted speed limit while autoChalk records parked vehicles through digital photography and specialized software. When the parking enforcement officer drives through the area again after the time limit expires, autoChalk alerts the officer to any violations it detects. The officer then compares the before-and-after images to confirm the infraction and autoChalk generates a ticket to be sent by mail to the vehicle’s owner, using information from the license plate registration.

Parking enforcement officers also patrol other areas of the City, such as the neighborhoods around the University of Mary Washington, the train station, and retail centers. These areas are monitored manually, with a hand-written ticket left on the windshield in the event of a violation.