The Kirkland Police Department Parking Enforcement Division will begin using a license plate recognition system for purposes of monitoring parking in time-limited, city-owned lots and spaces in downtown, beginning the week of Aug. 8.

The system uses a lap top computer and a camera that captures an image of a vehicle and its license plate. The system’s GPS feature loads the vehicle’s coordinates, the software time-stamps the image, and the system alarms when vehicles captured in the database have gone beyond their time-limits in a parking space.

Time-limited parking areas include the Lake Street (and Central Way) lot, the Lakeshore Plaza lot, Peter Kirk Municipal Garage, and on-street parking in downtown.

“This proven technology will simply enhance the manual chalking system we currently utilize to monitor and enforce parking regulations in our downtown core,” said Lt. Mike Murray. “Experience has shown that these electronic chalking systems are more efficient in the time it takes our parking enforcement officers to monitor vehicles and more accurate because of the detail the system captures in the images.”

Murray notes that the parking regulations for downtown are not changing, but that the new system will be used in addition to the manual chalking system.

The City of Kirkland is working with the Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce and Kirkland Downtown Association to notify downtown businesses of the new system. Signs will be posted at parking lot pay stations to inform parking lot users.

For more information, visit www.kirklandwa.gov/police.