Leonardo's ELSAG ALPR Blog

ALPR: The Parking Solution You May Not Have Thought About

Written by Bart Blair | Jun 1, 2020 1:00:00 PM

It's natural to associate automatic license plate readers with law enforcement agencies. After all, most ALPR stories that make headlines are typically about the good guys capturing the bad guys with the help of their ALPR technology along a crowded interstate or busy city streets.

But guess what?

License plate readers can also be pivotal for parking operations big and small, hence our ELSAG ALPR Parking Software

Whether you're the owner of a small pizza shop who relies on curb-side parking, in charge of parking or security at a college campus, or responsible for the daily management of parking at, say, a municipality, hotel or casino, consider all the ways ALPR technology can greatly increase the  efficiency, accuracy, and accountability of enforcement.

Time Limit Enforcement

Your municipality has passed ordinances which limit how long a vehicle can be parked on the street outside your pizza shop, but you know that the red sedan has been parked out there all day!  How much business do you and other retailers lose because your customers can’t find parking?  By tracking the length of time vehicles are parked near your business, the municipality can create essential space turnover which in turn can benefit your business, your consumers, and even the municipality.

How it works: Enforcement simply drives past the parked vehicles and lets the LPR software do the work. As each plate is scanned,  a timer starts. Enforcement drives by later, and new plates are scanned and their timer starts, but at the same time, the system generates an alarm for any vehicle which has overstayed the time limit. Through efficient and accurate enforcement, the municipality creates a parking environment that is good for business and customers! 

Permit Enforcement

Ever wonder if your permit holders make copies of their permits, or have someone tell you they forgot their permit?  They can’t do that if their license plate is their permit!  With ALPR software, you can ensure access to parking permit holders while keeping out anyone who doesn't have a permit. 

How it works: Just choose the zone you want to enforce and every read is compared to a list of plates allowed to be there. If a plate is not on the "Allowed List," an alarm is created and the enforcement officer can take the appropriate action. 

Scofflaw Patrol

Writing tickets doesn’t do any good if they don’t get paid, right? Let your ALPR technology identify repeat offenders with outstanding tickets.

How it works: While enforcing other parking rules, or as a focused deployment, our parking software can create an alarm whenever a scofflaw vehicle is identified. Your enforcement officer can then take the appropriate action.

What does all this lead to?

Employing an airtight way of tracking parked vehicles and enforcing your organization's rules will no doubt lead to an improved compliance rate, better turnover, increased payment rate, and a better experience for your customers and businesses. It’s the ultimate win – win scenario!

Interested in talking more about this?