The solar-powered camera is mounted outside St Thomas of Canterbury College on Middlepark Rd, where it operates from 8.15am to 9.15am and 2.30pm to 3.30pm.
Christchurch City Council transport operations manager Stephen Wright said the council has had many requests from schools for parking officers to monitor driver behaviour during drop-off and pick-up times, but its resources are limited.
"To date, we have issued 58 infringement notices to vehicles for driver infringements and during the week beginning 25 November, only three infringement notices were issued, so it's good to see a downward trend.
“This camera can be moved from one location to another as needed, is completely solar powered, has a memory card and SIM card installed, and built-in license plate recognition software, so it automatically detects a vehicle in a specified zone and records a video of the offending vehicle.”
The camera is in its second month of a six-month trial. The trial on Middlepark Road was preceded by a warning period between August 26 to October 13 where the camera was operational but only warning letters were issued for infringements.
During this time 63 warning notices were sent. Signs were also installed 50 metres on either side of the camera to warn people it was active.
“Since the trial began on 14 October, we’ve seen a significant improvement with compliance in and around the cycle path and broken yellow lines outside St Thomas of Canterbury,” Wright says.
He said there were also benefits for health and safety as parking officers were not required to be onsite to ticket people.
“This is a big positive, as our officers encounter a high level of abuse during school enforcement.
"While it is disappointing to see a few repeat offenders, we hope that over time we will continue to see positive behaviour change.
"It’s just making sure that everyone has access to safe and reliable roadways.”
