Hamiltonians could see the introduction of ground-breaking parking technology later this year that will make parking and manoeuvring around the city easier.
Hamilton City Council parking activity team leader John Purcell is set to present a business case to the council later this year to integrate the technology his parking wardens use with an innovative app that will be used by wardens and residents.
The public will be able to download the app to their smartphones. It will enable them to see where car parks are available. It will also let them pay for parking on their phone, set reminders when their time is about to expire and top up their time from their phone again if necessary.
The same technology will provide Mr Purcell and his team with information about parking behaviour and will enable them to plan what resources - physical and human - are needed where and when.
While Mr Purcell's proposal will need to be discussed and adopted by the council before it can be implemented, his team will begin to use other innovations from next week.
Wardens will begin to use new RTs which include a panic alert button. Hamilton parking wardens are verbally abused on a daily basis. Until now, wardens don't record all incidents as they regard them as "part of the job". The new RTs can record the incidents.
From next month, wardens will also use new hand-held devices that use web-based technology to issue infringement notices. This will enable people to pay their infringement within minutes of it being issued. Mr Purcell said people, angry at being fined, often wanted to pay their ticket that day but until now that's not been possible because of the way the ticketing system works.
That makes them angrier, he said. The new technology will mean infringements can be paid almost immediately.
Four of Hamilton's 10 parking wardens will also trial body-worn cameras. A council policy being drafted in consultation with the Privacy Commissioner needs to be finalised before the cameras can be used but it's expected wardens will be using them within about a month. It's hoped the use of the cameras will reduce the incidents of abuse wardens receive daily.
"It will be standard practice to turn the cameras on when a warden is approached by a member of the public," said Mr Purcell. "Wardens receive regular training on how to foresee or avoid potential conflict and primarily walk away when situations occur. We believe cameras are the next logical step and offer the opportunity for our wardens to reduce the intensity of sensitive discussions with members of the public."
The Privacy Commissioner has been consulted and a policy is in the process of being drafted. Parking wardens do not enter private property.