Downtown Medicine Hat is pictured in an undated photo

By Charles Lefebvre

Parking enforcement

Parking enforcement to change next year

Dec 19, 2019 | 5:09 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Police Service will be making changes to how they enforce parking bylaws next year.

During Monday’s city council meeting, council approved the $70,000 purchase of a mobile licence plate reader for the police service.

The reader will scan licence plates, and can determine how long a car has been parked in the same spot. It will be used to help enforce parking in downtown and near the hospital, where two hour on-street parking is in effect.

“This gives us a better ability to monitor the parking and enforce the rules,” said Police Chief Andy McGrogan.

McGrogan says the new system will be more effective than the current system,

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which involves officers adding chalk lines to tires. He notes the system has been circumvented by people wiping the chalk off their tires or moving to a different spot.

“It’s probably a method that has been used at least as long as I’ve been here, 40 years, and there is better, more modern ways to do it,” he said. “So, (it’s) a bit of an expense up front, but that technology will last us for some time, and (be) more effective, and more reliable.”

McGrogan says the city will have to adjust bylaws to accommodate the new system, the public will have to be educated about the bylaw changes, and officers will need to be trained to use the new reader. He expects it to be in place by the fall of 2020.