I actually see speeding as a close corollary to this parking app. People speed. Can’t stop it. But when you see a speed trap marked on your map, you’re going to slow down. In a way it actually increases the effectiveness of the enforcement.

Knowing that parking enforcement is nearby, to your own admission, will encourage drivers to either pay up, or pack up.

The point of the site isn’t to break unenforceable laws. It’s to balance market forces. Parking meters used to take $.05 denominations. Now you need to download an app and pay several dollars plus transaction fees even if you’re just a door dash guys stopping to pick up someone’s order of biryani.

A thick cut of the revenue from modern parking meters goes to corporate pockets, so it’s not like you’re doing your civic duty by paying the meter. This is especially true in Chicago where meter collection revenue goes 100% offshore; whereas parking ticket revenue goes back to the city.

The sensible thing for a city to do is to allow 1-2hr free parking (by sign), and regularly enforce violations with patrols.

The sensible thing for a driver to do is to look both ways before parking, and alert fellow drivers if they are about to get a ticket.

Let me ask, if a you and a friend were out for lunch and you saw the meter maid coming by would you tell them, or keep it to yourself?