In gated communities of significant size, it’s not uncommon for each subdivision to operate on an independent access control system with unique gates at the entrance to each neighborhood. The Rive Isle neighborhood recently gained access to a local freeway, which has significantly increased traffic from non-residents, cutting through the property. The existing rules state that the larger HOA has to pay for residents from outside Rive Isle to use their gates, making tracking crucial. The main community entrance is monitored by virtual attendant, but Rive Isle employs a live guard. Surveillance Technology, Inc. (STI) recently installed Proptia servers and a credentialing kiosk on visitor lanes, where there is a guard. When the guard grants access to a visitor, they print a paper guest pass with a barcode that can be scanned for re-entry prior to the pass’s designated expiration.
Residents can use their existing stickers with long-range UHF readers. Readers were also installed on exit lanes, so vehicles require credentials to exit the community. This facilitates the master HOA paying per use. By capturing tags on all lanes going in and out, the guards at Rive Isle can identify residents who would benefit from purchasing a permanent pass. To complete the access control enhancement, Surveillance Tech upgraded the swing gate operators, which had been damaged in a recent storm.
STI installed a 4K surveillance system for the community, as well. Because the guard makes a record of vehicle tags, license plate readers were not necessary for granting access; but they were installed to save tag information to an indexed file. There are two Ultra ColorMax bullet cameras shooting broad shots of the entry and exit lanes. Five traditional turret style 4K cameras are placed outside the rear and front of the guardhouse, as well as both sides of the sliding glass doors, so all of the interactions between the guard and the users are captured. There is an additional camera inside the guardhouse, which includes audio recording to protect the residents and the guards.
When potential clients ask where to place security cameras outside business properties, the team at Surveillance Tech thinks outside the box. In the case of Rive Isle, a roundabout at the center of the community connects the property to nearby neighborhoods. STI strategically placed a set of cameras to capture vehicle license plates of cars in the roundabout. Surprisingly, there is a high volume of cars that go left upon entering the roundabout, to expedite reaching the neighborhood by going counter-clockwise. These cameras are aimed to capture plates, even if the vehicle is going the wrong direction, so the security team can recognize residents violating the intended use of the traffic feature. Rive Isle now has 24/7 color coverage of the entire intersection. Like the data from the guard house lanes, these records are stored in a flat file on the servers for later use.
