City of Vancouver cracks down on illegal parking near SkyTrain stations, using licence plate recognition tech
The City of Vancouver has launched a pilot strategy that will allow parking tickets to be issued by mail in four residential permit zones near major public transit hubs, expanding the use of licence plate recognition (LPR) technology in parking enforcement.
The pilot is currently underway in the residential areas surrounding SkyTrain’s Joyce-Collingwood Station, Oakridge-41st Avenue Station, and SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station, as well as along the Commercial Drive corridor.
The four pilot zones — where vehicles are required to have a residential permit in order to be able to park on the curbside — have long been used by some commuters and visitors as informal park-and-ride areas.
To avoid traffic congestion and high pay parking fees in Downtown Vancouver, some drivers are known to leave vehicles parked for extended periods on nearby curbside streets before continuing their trips by SkyTrain, contributing to parking shortages and enforcement challenges in surrounding residential neighbourhoods.
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According to the City, the neighbourhoods were selected because they have experienced low compliance with parking regulations, creating challenges for residents, local businesses and traffic flow.
Under the strategy, municipal parking enforcement officers can use LPR cameras installed on City bylaw enforcement vehicles to identify parking violations and issue tickets that are mailed directly to the registered vehicle owner instead of being physically placed on the vehicle.
The City states the initiative is intended to improve compliance with parking rules, increase parking availability, and support more efficient enforcement operations. The safety of parking enforcement officers is also one of the stated reasons.
Parking tickets sent by mail are not entirely new in Vancouver. The City already mails tickets in certain circumstances, including when a ticket is removed from a vehicle, when a vehicle leaves before a ticket can be served, when someone other than the owner is driving, or when it is unsafe for an enforcement officer to issue the ticket in person.
The municipal government notes that the pilot could be expanded to other areas of Vancouver depending on the results.