A camera-fitted car will soon be patrolling Ashburton’s streets in a trial to spot overstaying parkers.
The Ashburton District Council will trial an automated number plate recognition (ANPR) system from next week to find out if the technology could be used for parking compliance in Ashburton.
The first phase of the trial will run from November 10 until Christmas, with a council-marked vehicle fitted with a camera patrolling the CBD – Burnett, Cass, Tancred, and East streets.
Compliance and development group manager Ian Hyde said that the first phase of the trial was about comparing data collected by the ANPR system and council’s traffic wardens.
“Our traffic wardens will still be issuing tickets for overstaying in parks during the first phase, but a live trial with tickets generated by the new technology is planned for next year.”
Local Democracy Reporting revealed earlier this year that Hastings District Council’s fine sweeper – a camera-covered car that catches out overstaying parkers – had snapped more than 5000 vehicles in five months.
Using licence plate recognition technology, the vehicle, driven by parking officers who issue the tickets, pinged 5326 vehicles for parking infringements in Hastings and Havelock North from January 1 to June 1.
For the Ashburton trial, Hyde said the vehicle would be driven around the block up to several times a day, with each trip replicated by a traffic warden on foot.
“We’ll be comparing the data from the camera and the wardens, as each parking space has to be defined by its time limit, or if it is a mobility park.
“In the second part of the trial next year, we’ll look at how the system generates tickets and how they are sent to vehicle owners, because currently most people get an infringement notice on their windscreen.
“We understand that some people might also have concerns about privacy, and we want to reassure the community that the cameras automatically blur faces.
“The system is designed to focus on a vehicle’s number plate, make, model and colour.”
The wider trial will also look at identifying vehicles with expired Warrants of Fitness or registrations, in line with the council’s existing enforcement responsibilities.
Following the full trial, a report on how and whether to proceed with implementing the technology will be presented to councillors for consideration.
The council raked in $120,000 more than expected for parking fines despite a lower number of infringements in the 2024/25 financial year.
Council figures revealed that the value of parking infringements exceeded the annual budget by $124,567 in 2024/25 following government-enforced price increases in October.
The total amount taken in was $574,217, up from the $502,513 in 2023/24, but the number of infringements issued was 6100, 35 fewer than the previous year.
