Forum Topic

“South Chiswick” Unliveable Neighbourhood, FAQs - ANPR

Makes for an interesting read https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/info/20053/transport/2175/south_chiswick_liveable_neighbourhood_-_frequently_asked_questions_faqs/6Seems ANPR is really hard for them to manage. Wonder why - maybe their database is suboptimal?Last time I applied for a CPZ permit for example, there was no way of retrieving the username. A neighbour had forgotten his and we had to mail Serco. It had a totally different format to mine and even had a space in it - no underscore. Maybe this lack of consistency in ID management is causing headaches for them? Running a separate database from the CPZ one also seems an onerous overhead. Residents in the 2 exempt Hartington CPZ areas have to apply again - doesn’t appear to be any sync up with the existing CPZ or DVLA data. Even if they have inconsistent usernames, these should still be unique IDs they could hook up to. Wonder if people will end up with 2 completely separate accounts, 1 for the CPZ and 1 for the exemption, each with their own userid. Doesn’t make much sense to me, and looks like a poorly designed architecture.I work at the business end of IT. Maybe an IT engineer like Mr Robinson can shed some light on this. What intrigues me is that they seem to manage it ok in H&F where you get automatically added to the exemption list via CPZ and DVLA data. Why cant they do that here - is it the CPZ database design or are there other reasons?

Russell Pearson ● 2217d12 Comments

Not everyone in the CPZ who has a car needs/has a resident's parking permit.

Catherine Steele ● 2216d

Maybe it's time to abandon the uninvented, rashly promised and expensive ANPR schemes, and try using a few cheap concrete blocks instead.

Peter Evans ● 2216d

Interesting question Russell. I wonder if they are using an adapted legacy database? If so the cost of integrating that into a new system might be high. Thinking about it though, is this database maintained by Serco? If so, I can imagine Serco salivating at the idea of profits to be made from integration/updating. And would you trust anything Serco did?????

Iris Hill ● 2216d

I think you could well be right there Iris. My bad for thinking it was poor practice in the team, they’re probably just using an old archaic legacy database to manage the CPZ, hence you can’t request a check on the username. They’d find it really tricky to export the data out to a new system, especially the userid data, so they had to rig up a 2nd one for Hartington. Serco would indeed charge a fortune to create a system that works, (a bid to upgrade, that was open to other companies might produce a better more cost effective option however).So based on that, we get lumbered with blockades, and a mix of timed / limited user base ANPR systems, rather than a coherent implementation that meets local needs.

Russell Pearson ● 2216d

Put it down to a left-wing socialist council who feel being stuck in a time warp is best suited to its majority liberal voters from Chiswick.

c james ● 2216d

"Maybe it's time to abandon the uninvented, rashly promised and expensive ANPR schemes, and try using a few cheap concrete blocks instead."The concrete blocks are at least easy to understand and fair. With ANPR it is never clear what is allowed and what is not. Can you drive in, turn around and leave? Can you drive in, park for a while and leave travelling in the same direction? For how long do you need to park? Or is there some special important reason for ANPR cameras to be introduced?

Alex Shpinkov ● 2216d

"Or is there some special important reason for ANPR cameras to be introduced?" Perhaps at £20000 per camera there is no money?

Iris Hill ● 2216d

"Or is there some special important reason for ANPR cameras to be introduced?" Perhaps at £20000 per camera there is no money?

Iris Hill ● 2216d

"Or is there some special important reason for ANPR cameras to be introduced?" Perhaps at £20000 per camera there is no money?

Iris Hill ● 2216d

Given the amount of PCN revenue Hounslow have projected from TGT, ANPR cameras even at £20000 each could quickly pay for themselves.

Andrew Jones ● 2215d

£500,000 for TGT, they could make a new database that works for that.http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=info&page=conroad265g.htm

Russell Pearson ● 2215d

ANPR cameras, even jolly nice ones, are less than £2000 each installed and connected. Far better than concrete blocks which, as has been proven in Ealing are rather difficult for emergency  service vehicles to navigate.

N V Brooks ● 2215d