Members of the Birmingham City Council were elated on Tuesday to announce that gone are the days of residents stuffing their glove boxes with multiple parking tickets without consequences.

The council approved several measures strengthening the city’s parking enforcement capabilities, with one allowing the city to tow vehicles with three or more outstanding parking tickets.

“I think this is great. Southside is a disaster when it comes to parking and I’ll be glad to see it enforced,” said Councilor Valerie Abbott.

Council President Darrell O’Quinn said that when he first came to office in 2017, staff showed him a spreadsheet with thousands of parking violation offenders that included hundreds of repeat offenders.

“And when their car is towed they will get no sympathy from me,” he said laughing.

Enforcement will not begin until later this fall, according to city staff, and officials will hold a public education campaign before the new code takes effect. Repeat violators will also receive notification by mail that they will be at risk of being towed, city staff said. The ordinance also includes a hearing process for residents to contest wrongful tows in municipal court.

City officials said the towing ordinance has no effect on for-profit towing companies that remove vehicles from private properties.

The amendments to the city’s motor vehicle and traffic ordinances approved Tuesday also included language allowing Birmingham police to tow vehicles parked in designated parade routes as well as those parked in streets that have been notified of repaving or construction.

The council on Tuesday also approved an agreement with Gtechna USA to provide on-street parking management and enforcement services. The software included in the agreement, along with license plate reader technology, will allow city staff to automatically identify parking violators as the workers drive the streets.

The three-year agreement will cost the city no more than $395,239, according to the agenda.

Council members confirmed that the Gtechna software is only for city workers and residents will still use the ParkMobile app to pay for parking spots and meters.

The city’s website has information on how to pay unpaid parking tickets.