SANTA MONICA—The city of Santa Monica has started using AI-equipped cameras mounted on top of city parking enforcement vehicles to automatically detect cars obstructing bike lanes. Santa Monica’s Traffic Services Division partnered with the San Francisco-based company Hayden AI to implement the solution.
Seven city vehicles are currently fitted with the company’s vision AI platform, which uses camera systems and computer vision to detect potential violations and capture images.
The technology still requires a human enforcement officer to review and verify each violation before a fine is issued. Each violation results in a $93 fine, a policy that took effect on July 1, 2026, after a 60-day warning period that began May 1. Payment plans are available for low-income residents.
Santa Monica first piloted the program in May 2024 on two vehicles, logging nearly 1,700 violations in six weeks. The idea behind the project is to make city streets safer for cyclists, who are often forced to swerve into vehicle traffic when drivers illegally park in bike lanes. Since the citation phase began in July, the city issued roughly 50 tickets and several hundred warnings, according to a city spokesperson.
The seven-vehicle expansion cost the city $944,000, part of a broader $1.6 million package that also covered automated enforcement and transit tracking. The funding comes from Measure K, a ballot measure that Santa Monica voters approved in November 2024, which raised the city’s Parking Facility Tax on privately owned parking lots from 10 percent to 18 percent.
The tax specifically excludes city-owned lots and structures and is expected to generate about $6.7 million a year. The ballot language stated that the revenue was intended to enhance public safety, create safe routes to school, reduce the risk of fatal traffic accidents, and maintain other essential city services, though the measure does not legally require that the money be spent that way.
The program has drawn both praise and criticism on social media platforms including X and Instagram. Cyclists and disability advocates have responded favorably to the program, viewing it as a positive step toward making streets safer for vulnerable road users. Critics argue that the city is using the program as a revenue generator and that officials should instead prioritize larger issues, such as reducing crime.
By Milan Manesh