Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) technology will be used on parking patrols in Whakatāne from Monday.

The technology is intended to help keep Whakatāne District Council compliance officers safe and make time-restricted parking enforcement more efficient.

LPR is a tool to assist compliance cfficers, helping keep parks turning over so spaces are available for people visiting shops, services and businesses in town.

Parking rules and time limits aren’t changing, so drivers still need to check signs and move their vehicle before time runs out.

The main difference is that tickets issued through LPR will be sent by mail rather than left on the windscreen. The system is a camera mounted on a council vehicle, which reads number plates as it travels through time-restricted parking areas.

If a vehicle is detected beyond the time limit, it’s added to a report for a compliance officer to review.

LPR doesn’t issue tickets automatically, as an authorised compliance officer reviews every potential infringement before a ticket is sent.

Officers can still issue instant fines on the spot for other offences, including parking on broken yellow lines, berms, footpaths and flush medians, or in a mobility car park without a permit.

Nancy Elliott, manager community regulation, said officer safety had been the key driver for the project.

“Our compliance officers can find themselves in challenging situations while carrying out enforcement duties. This technology allows us to do that work more safely and efficiently, while helping ensure time-restricted parking spaces are used as intended.”

Parking enforcement isn’t new in Whakatāne, with the council having long monitored and enforced parking restrictions throughout the district.

It began investigating LPR, and a trial showed the technology could support this work while reducing the time officers spend on foot monitoring restricted areas.

The council then decided to proceed, and staff training and system testing were completed ahead of the rollout.

“The trial showed us there are smarter ways to carry out parking enforcement,” Elliott said.

“It also gives us a better understanding of parking demand and turnover in busy areas.”

The system records number plates and photos to check parking time limits. Information is collected and managed in line with privacy requirements and council policies, and anything that could identify people, or the number plates of other vehicles, is automatically redacted.

With both restricted and unrestricted parking available throughout Whakatāne, drivers can choose what suits the length of their visit.