  We demonstrate how a time-dependent analysis of the decays $D^0 \to K^0_S
K^\mp \pi^\pm$ can be used to determine the $D^0-\bar{D}^0$ mixing parameter
$y$ with a precision that is competitive with established methods. The proposed
analysis is an inclusive study which makes use of the measurements of the
coherence factor and mean strong phase difference for these decays recently
performed by CLEO.
