Some of the criticisms on social media to a district council trial, of a camera fitted car to catch overstaying parkers in Ashburton included, a waste of time and money, adding to congestion, and a revenue grab.
The district council announced the initiative last week, including on its Facebook page.
Comments included:
‘‘What a lot of wasteful spending again instead of fixing some of the road and streets that badly need it.’’
‘‘And you actually think this will bring people into the cbd. You obviously don’t want people to go into town and spend.’’
‘‘So they’re driving around in circles, looking at cars and how unsafe will this be for normal people out driving?’’
‘‘Apart from the obvious moneymaking side of it, what was the reasoning behind it?’’
In announcing the trial, group manager of compliance and development Ian Hyde said phase one would be about comparing data from the car’s Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system and the district council’s traffic wardens.
The vehicle would be driven around the block up to several times a day, with each trip replicated by a traffic warden on foot. From now until Christmas, it would patrol Burnett, Cass, Tancred and East Sts.
“Our traffic wardens will still be issuing tickets for over-staying in parks during the first phase but a live trial with tickets generated by the new technology is planned for next year,” Hyde said.
‘‘In the second part, 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.’’
Following the full trial, a report on how and whether to proceed with implementing the technology will be presented to councillors for consideration.
Similar technology has been rolled out in other regions, including a Hastings District Council car which snapped more than 5000 vehicles in five months.
Hyde later told Local Democracy Reporting the trial would cost $2000 a month, covered by existing budgets.
