Deputy Head of College News

Introducing Mobile Enforcement Technology to School Zones

An important message from the Brisbane City Council.

Safety around our schools is a high priority for Brisbane City Council. Schools are busy areas, especially during peak drop off and pick up times, where there are often lots of children who do not always understand the danger of roads and vehicles. Brisbane City Council (Council) has parking rules in place to keep children, parents, carers and road users safe and to minimise speed and traffic jams around schools. 

Council’s Parking Compliance team often receives a high volume of complaints during school terms vehicles parked illegally in and around school zones which cause a high hazard and safety concerns. To minimise safety risks, Council officers attend school zones on-foot to take enforcement action for noncompliance. 

During Term 3 of 2022, Council will commence trialling new technology within school zones, with our Mobile Enforcement Technology patrolling schools during peak drop off and pick up times in addition to our on-foot parking officers.

A parking officer will be driving these vehicles, which are highly visible and act as a deterrent to parking illegally, while also increasing public awareness. There are two types of technology that will be used in this strategy; Mobile Enforcement Vehicles and Vehicle Mounted Cameras.

A Mobile Enforcement Vehicle harnesses artificial intelligence and number plate recognition technology to improve the way we regulate parking. This technology consists of a video processing server, router and a highly accurate Global Positioning System (GPS) device, along with a set of cameras enclosed in a roof-mounted POD. A parking officer simply drives the outfitted vehicle through an area monitoring all parking rules and offences capturing detections of non-compliance for parking offences.

The Vehicle Mounted Camera is a high-definition camera mounted onto the dash of an enforcement vehicle. The camera is fitted with a fish-eye lens which has the ability to capture photos of offences that are viewed by the parking officer driving the vehicle. The reliable technology has the ability to capture multiple offences by vehicles in motion whilst entering, passing through or exiting a school zone.

Parking offences captured by mobile enforcement technology are reviewed by an authorised officer who assesses the evidence gathered and makes the decision on whether to issue an infringement.

To ensure you do not receive a parking infringement, take extra care when parking on roads and streets surrounding schools and always follow the signed parking rules. Signs, markings and offences to watch out for that are commonly enforced in school zones include: 

• parking signs (for example, some streets near schools have 15-minute parking limits during school zone hours or parking is restricted during peak times)
• ‘no stopping’ signs
• yellow edge lines (stopping and parking is prohibited)
• ‘no parking’ signs
• ‘loading zone’ signs (pick-up and drop-off only)
• parking in or across driveways
• illegal parking on footways and nature strips.

For more information on parking near schools, please visit Council’s website www.brisbane.qld.gov.au and search ‘School parking’ or ‘Safe roads around schools’.

Thank you and let’s work together to increase the safety at our schools for everyone.