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Budget Year / Version:  
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Description

To meet changing safety and security surveillance needs, Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) and County Security recommends the installation of additional cameras within the 3 MCDOT parking garages to include coverage of all stairwells, lobbies, decks, rooftops and all pedestrian and vehicular entrances/exits to the garage. This will require the use of additional camera types such as 360-degree field of view cameras for parking deck coverage, 180-degree field of view cameras for rooftop coverage and License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras at entrances and exits. This project will fund security installation in the Wheaton Parking Lot District.
MCDOT will conduct a security audit through the County's contracted parking consultation service to ensure that phasing is in line with best industry and safety/security practices. The MCDOT phasing of the enhancement of electronic security measures into the existing garage surveillance system will be spread out over a 7-year plan. This will phase installation and upgrades to focus on high-incident, high-traffic areas and to deter criminal and behavioral issues.
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Phase

Preliminary Design Stage

Status

New
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Budget Snapshot
$1.27M Total
Expenditures/Funding
$1.22M 6 Year Total
Expenditures/Funding
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Location

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Estimated Schedule

In the first two years, this plan will prioritize placement of LPR cameras and 1st Floor stair landings in all locations as well as placing improved network and facility infrastructure to support future enhancements. In phase II, installations on the highest occupancy decks and garages, elevator car and further stair landings, followed by low occupancy but high vagrancy decks and roofs and lastly, any remaining areas that may need improved coverage. In the final year of the plan, the existing 16 cameras that are at or beyond useful life will be upgraded.
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Justification

Parking Lot districts (PLDs) have camera surveillance equipment that records 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The original purpose of installing the camera surveillance system that includes 290 cameras, was to protect County property. These camera systems are focused primarily on the pedestrian and vehicular access points, ground level elevator lobbies and payment stations located within the parking garages.
Over the past few years there has been an increase in security incidents reported by MCDOT's contracted security patrol officers and increased requests for video footage from Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) to investigate criminal incidents that have occurred in parking garages. The number of MCPD cases supported by video footage obtained from MCDOT parking garages has increased 115% over two years.
Additionally, camera surveillance equipment and systems in many parking garages are aging and are beyond useful life, resulting in increased repair, replacement, and general maintenance costs. The majority of the 290 cameras currently installed in PLD garages are older analog and/or IP cameras, with an image quality range that is limited to between 1.3 - 4 megapixels. These cameras operate on a legacy ViconNet and Valerus software system that is connected and accessible only on the County fibernet.
It is anticipated that newer cameras will have enhanced features such as expanded fields of view, increased storage, cloud-based access to cameras, remote access from any browser or device, automatic security and software updates, person of interest and motion sensing alerts, and vehicle and people analytics, which make it easier and less time-consuming to identify relevant incidents and download video.
MCDOT projects that enhancing the existing surveillance system to extend coverage into these areas in the Wheaton PLD would require approximately 40 additional cameras to include coverage of every stairwell landing and elevator lobby, 23 deck cameras, LPR cameras for entrances and exits, and upgrading the existing 16 cameras that are at or beyond useful life.
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Fiscal Note

FY24 supplemental in Current Revenue: General for the amount of $339,000.
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Disclosures

A pedestrian impact analysis will be performed during design or is in progress. Expenditures will continue indefinitely.
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Coordination

Bethesda PLD, MCPD, County Security
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Budget Snapshot
$1.27M Total
Expenditures/Funding
$1.22M 6 Year Total
Expenditures/Funding
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Project Details
Project NumberP502411
Date Last Modified03/12/24
Administering AgencyTransportation
CategoryTransportation
SubCategoryParking
Planning AreaKensington-Wheaton
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Total Expenditures by Cost Element (000s)
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Total Funding by Source (000s)
EXPENDITURES (000s)
Cost ElementsTotalThru FY23Est FY24Total 6 YearsFY 25FY 26FY 27FY 28FY 29FY 30Beyond 6 Years
Planning, Design and Supervision00000000000
Land00000000000
Site Improvements and Utilities00000000000
Construction127506012152791891891891891800
Other00000000000
Total Expenditures127506012152791891891891891800
FUNDING (000s)
Funding SourceTotalThru FY23Est FY24Total 6 YearsFY 25FY 26FY 27FY 28FY 29FY 30Beyond 6 Years
Current Revenue: General339060279279000000
Current Revenue: Parking - Wheaton9360093601891891891891800
Total Funding Sources127506012152791891891891891800
APPROPRIATION AND EXPENDITURE DATA ($000s)
Appropriation FY 25 Request0
Year First AppropriationFY24
Appropriation FY 26 Request189
Last FY's Cost Estimate0
Cumulative Appropriation339
Expenditure / Encumbrances0
Unencumbered Balance339