Sensors to create parking-fine windfall

Melbourne City Council made almost $34 million from parking fines last financial year.

Melbourne City Council is set to reap almost $3 million more a year in parking fines after the council last night approved new in-ground sensors to alert parking inspectors when motorists overstay time limits.

The council made $33,864,282 from parking fines last financial year.

The new technology will be rolled out from July and is expected to make the council an extra $11.82 million over four years, even after the $5.48 million price tag for introducing the new technology is deducted.

Advertisement: Story continues below The in-ground sensors, which record when a vehicle moves in and out of a parking bay, will send a message to the nearest parking inspector when a motorist has overstayed the time limit by five minutes.

The sensors will be installed in the city's 4619 single marked bays by the end of October.

A report recommending the new technology and passed by council last night was marked confidential and will not be released to the public.

The council also plans to introduce new licence plate recognition technology to identify vehicles overstaying parking times in residential areas.

The number plate recognition technology is fixed to a moving vehicle that records the presence of vehicles and then at a subsequent drive by notifies the inspector if the vehicle has been there too long.

The systems will be in place in Flemington, Kensington, North Melbourne and Carlton.

As part of the parking changes, from September there will be a limited trial of technology allowing motorists to pay for on-street parking using mobile phones.