Hyattsville is using new motion-sensor cameras to monitor free parking spaces.

The city recently installed the cameras to monitor parking spaces on Gallatin Street near Vigilante Coffee and the post office which are free to use for 15 minutes.

Manufactured by Municipal Parking Services, the solar-powered SafetySticks use motion sensors similar to a red-light camera to take a photo when a car has pulled into a free parking space and when it leaves.

If the photos are more than 15 minutes apart, the owner of the car is sent a $35 fine through the mail. The city is sending warnings instead of fines through March 20, however.

The cameras currently monitor six spaces in the 4300 block of Gallatin Street as part of a pilot project, but it could add more later.

The parking spaces are also in the same area that the city recently added a series of colorful murals to help make the road safer for pedestrians.

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