Jesten Ray, Program Professional, 509.625.6819
Monday, March 13, 2023 at 1:29 p.m.
License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology, which utilizes cameras and software to read license plates, has been used since the late ’70s in the United Kingdom. Many municipalities began using it in the ’90s.
LPR technology is used by multiple departments at the City in varying ways. Parking Services originally tapped into the technology in 2015.
Starting in 2022, the department began using LPR to determine if motorists have paid for parking or stayed beyond the limit in the same parking space. LPR also identifies vehicles on the scofflaw list, which indicates who has unpaid parking tickets.
Each of the City’s three Parking Services vehicles has two LPR cameras and two tire cameras.
Beginning in 2023, Parking Services plans on using LPR to check for valid parking permits and look at data regarding occupancy/turnover to make data-driven decisions. The data collected can help identify trends within the Paid Parking Zone. The City will better understand turnover and occupancy levels and can adjust rates or change the curb to address needs. Data and enforcement are the only reasons Parking Services utilizes LPR technology.
Parking is still learning to utilize LPR and associated data. A positive change is that the LPR software can be set to look for time limit violations and scan up to 4,000 vehicles a day. Previously, this was a very manual process that Parking performed, car by car, and took a lot of time.
How It Works
The LPR technology, when running, reads the license plate number of each vehicle it passes and takes a photo of the license plate and valve stem of the driver’s side tire. (If the vehicle moved, the valve stem will not be in the same position as the initial visit.)
The photos are automatically taken when a Parking Services vehicle is operating the software. However, employees also have to manually accept or decline the hits. The next time the vehicle drives by, it collects the same information.
If the vehicle has not moved and is over the time limit for the zone or has not paid, the LPR software dings and shows a “hit.” If accepted, the hits go to the enforcement handhelds and are reviewed one final time before a warning or parking ticket is issued.
What’s So Different?
Parking Services can easily tell if someone is staying beyond the posted time limit in a parking space or using more than one payment method to stay in the same space.
See why accuracy matters when using parking apps.
