Auckland Transport is gearing up to drop a staggering $40,000 on installing parking infringement cameras at Claris Airport.
The high-tech surveillance system is designed to promote a fair rotation of the limited parking spaces available.
“The main reason is to discourage the long-term storage of vehicles in the car park at Claris Airport.” John Strawbridge, Group Manager of Parking Services at Auckland Transport says.
“It’s important parking is managed and enforced effectively so that people have the opportunity to park there.”
The advanced system will be equipped with license plate recognition technology, capable of tracking every vehicle that enters and exits the car park, with the data sent back to a central computer.
AoteaGBI.news understands the current enforcement strategy at Claris Airport involves staff from the council building opposite the carpark either crossing the road or peering out the window to keep an eye on the parking area.
Auckland Transport (AT) has indicated that initially, vehicle warrants and registrations will not be under surveillance, but has not ruled out the possibility of such monitoring in the future.
Remarkably, the council-controlled organization has made no revenue projections for this new CCTV system, leaving it unclear how long it will take to recover the $40,000 investment. Strawbridge adds, “AT has not done any forecasting for this, as our objective is not to generate revenue but to encourage parking turnover and give more people the opportunity to park.”
The fines for parking violations range from $12 for a 30-minute overstay to $57 for exceeding six hours, they compound over extended periods.
While AT claims the cameras will streamline parking enforcement, the move draws comparisons to a previous AT expenditure of $32,000 on a bus stop on Aotea (Great Barrier Island), an island with no public transport network.
The $40,000 investment is set to cover the camera hardware, installation, software license, and support, with the system expected to be operational by September or October.
AT asserts that access to CCTV data and footage will be tightly controlled, available only to authorized personnel, and insists that surveillance will not intrude on private property without a valid reason.
