24/7 anti-illegal parking sentry system installed in Dakota after people keep illegally parking there

Illegal parking at several blocks of flats in Dakota in Mountbatten has prompted a response from the authorities.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will implement a system to detect instances of illegal parking, said Member of Parliament (MP) for Mountbatten Lim Biow Chuan.

In a Jan. 2 Facebook post, he explained that "high occurrences" of illegal parking have been reported near blocks 90A and 90B Jalan Satu in the Dakota Breeze estate.

This causes inconvenience for residents and safety concerns for pedestrians and students, he said.

It also potentially blocks emergency vehicles from entering the road.

Lim told Shin Min Daily News that parents of students attending the nearby Kong Hwa School tend to park their vehicles at the area.

They would then wait for their children there, affecting traffic.

Some residents also pointed out that motorists opt to park on the road as the car park is a distance away.

"Those two blocks are the furthest away from the car park in the estate. So it's inevitable that there will be such problems," a 42-year-old resident said.

How the system works

While HDB parking enforcement officers have been attending to this issue, there have been cases of motorists returning immediately after the officers leave, Lim wrote.

To address the issue, HDB has implemented a trial of a new round-the-clock "digital sentry" system.

The system, which was installed on Jan. 2, detects vehicles parking or waiting in unauthorised zones.

It also displays the offending vehicle's licence plate on a screen, alerting the motorist immediately.

If the vehicle is not moved promptly, the vehicle's licence plate will be recorded for "further enforcement action", Lim said.

Fines for illegal parking range from S$35 to S$100.

If it works it works

One resident said he'd noticed the instance of illegal parking cases fall after the system was installed.

The 33-year-old had often observed parents illegally parking at the area on school days, he told Shin Min.

"When parents park their cars on the roadside while waiting for their children, they take up space on the road. This is a safety hazard for pedestrians and drivers," he said.

In the comments section of his Facebook post, Lim said that if the situation improved, the system could potentially be deployed elsewhere.

He clarified that residents can still use the loading and unloading bay for short periods of time.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News and Lim Biow Chuan/Facebook