Confusion over parking eye monitors
MEDIA RELEASE
23 December 2009
New parking eye monitors recently installed in the Taupo town centre are causing confusion for some motorists.
The parking ‘eyes’ are small electronic devices built into the road in each parking space. The eye simply detects the presence of a vehicle sitting above it. If a vehicle has been in the park for longer than the permitted time a signal is sent to the parking attendants letting them know where and for how long.
“They don’t take your car’s photo, or record its registration,” says Taupo District Council Regulatory Manager Eric Foley, “it is simply a way of letting our parking attendants know very quickly where the offending cars are.”
Mr Foley says that the eye monitors are a cost saving device, “they require less time to actively monitor and record parked vehicles in the CBD. We want to continue supplying free parking to all motorists, and these devices help us to monitor parked vehicles more efficiently.”
Mr Foley says that the installation of the meter eyes will also provide Council with a very useful reporting tool; providing information on parking bay use, and typical duration of stays.
One of the new parking eye monitors