The city's new digital parking enforcer is in operation, but it won't be used to issue tickets until June 9.

In the meantime, the rooftop camera mounted on the bylaw department's Ford Escape is being used to educate drivers who are currently staying longer than allowed in the two-hour parking zones in downtown Whitehorse.

When the camera detects a violation, the officer places a brochure on the windshield.

Bylaw manager Dave Pruden says nothing really is going to change, though monitoring time violations will be more efficient and bylaw officers will be able to cover more ground if required.

Officers these days still need to get out of their vehicle to chalk tires as a method of checking for compliance, which can be a safety issue, he said in an interview Thursday.

Pruden said on average, the city currently issues between 180 and 210 tickets a month for staying longer than the two-hour time limit.

Typically, he added, an officer will chalk between four and eight two-hour zones in a morning, and perhaps just as many in the afternoon, depending on the work load.

The tire chalking program will continue as the sole means of issuing tickets until the electronic camera takes over June 9, Pruden said.

The new $60,000 surveillance equipment was recommended in the Downtown Parking Management Plan adopted by city council in 2011.

As the bylaw car drives by, the camera records the licence plate of the parked vehicle and the time, Pruden explained.

He said if the vehicle is still parked there more than two hours later, the lap top will sing out as the bylaw car passes by again, and the officer will stop and write the ticket.

As outlined in the brochure being circulated by the bylaw department, the two-hour zone requires drivers to leave the zone after two hours, for a minimum of two hours.

The clock, however, does not stop and start with each movement of a vehicle.

Drivers who park at 9 a.m. in a two-hour zone have until 11 a.m. before they must move their vehicle. If they leave and come back at 10 a.m., the clock does not restart.

Rather, once a vehicle is recorded in two-hour zone, the two hours begin, and regardless of how many times the vehicle leaves and returns, it must leave the zone at the end of the initial two hours for at least two hours.

So if a vehicle parks at 9 a.m., it must vacate the zone at 11 a.m. and cannot return before 1 p.m., says the brochure.

Pruden says in some communities down south, once a vehicle has parked in a two-hour zone, it's not allowed to return at all that day.

A parking zone is defined as one side of the street on a city block, the other side of the street being another zone.

Pruden said drivers simply moving their vehicle from one side of the street to the other could cause safety issues, not to mention it's illegal to drive across a solid yellow line.

The media and others, he said, will try to make out this increased enforcement as an effort to raise more money for city coffers.

Pruden insists raising revenue is not the reason for implementing the new procedures.

The intent is to ensure a steady rotation of parking opportunities so that residents are able to park and do their business, Pruden said.

He said tougher enforcement is driven by complaints, such as those from the business community worried about losing customers who can't find a place to park.

The new parking plan adopted by city council three years ago recommended stricter restrictions throughout the downtown core by 2020.

The plan calls for eventually removing free all-day parking from Black Street to Lowe Street, and from Front Street to Sixth Avenue, along with promoting more transit use and encouraging the development of more private parking lots.

Pruden said the stricter parking rules included in the new management plan are only recommendations.

There is, for instance, nothing on the books right now to expand restrictions beyond those which already exist, though that's not to say the city won't receive and respond to further complaints, he said.

Pruden said in the last year, for instance, the city added four or five two-hour zones because of concerns raised.

Any requests to address parking concerns with increased restrictions are reviewed by the city's traffic committee before any action is taken, he pointed out.

Pruden also acknowledged if officers detect an issue in other parking zones, such as drivers plugging meters in the one-hour zones along Main Street, the digital surveillance equipment could be brought into play.

Right now, he said, the focus is on the two-hour zone.

The brochure being circulated by the bylaw department notes free parking is available at the city parking lot at the top of Main Street, behind the United Church.

There's also free parking in the city lot at Black Street and Front Street.

Free parking is still available on some city streets, though the brochure recommends drivers get there early because they fill up quickly.

The brochure points out downtown residents living in a two-hour zone can pay $25 a year for a permit to park for free in front of their homes, and $350 a year for a second vehicle.

In 2013, according to bylaw records, the city collected $544,349 in coin revenue from parking meters. How much it collected through fines related to meter violations was unavailable this morning.

For all other parking fines, including revenue from tickets issued for staying too long in a two-hour zone, the city collected $56,799 last year, according to records.