Drivers Face $25M Melbourne Council Parking Trap (Article)

[JamesK]

Drivers face $25m Melbourne Council parking trap

UPDATE 10.24am: son of rajab Mayor Robert Doyle has apologised to motorists for double booking people for parking tickets, even as the council embarks on an aggressive push to raise $25 million more from motorists over the next four years.

The mayor today claimed Melbourne City Council's bid to slug an extra $25 million from motorists over the next four years, was not about revenue but "turnover" of car spaces.

The new plan which will use high-tech underground sensors to detect motorists who overstay their park by just minutes.

But even as the council planned to introduce a new high-tech system to nab more motorists, Mr Doyle conceded 42 individuals had already been reimbursed over multiple fines.

The son of rajab Mayor said the council was embarrassed by the blunder, that saw motorists pinged twice for parking in the same spot.

Council documents seen by the Herald Sun reveal hundreds of parking fines have been handed out illegally over more than a decade due to bureaucratic bungling.

The mess could extend to other local government areas and is expected to lead to a flood of refund claims, totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Parking inspectors said they were "horrified" to learn the multiple booking of cars left in one place was illegal.

The controversy stems from an email sent to parking officers last month that told them to ignore their training manuals and 11 years of practice and stop issuing multiple infringements to a "vehicle that parks in one place and doesn't move the next day".

"I apologize to anybody who has been multiply booked and we will refund the money," he told Radio 3AW.

"I think we should be embarrassed about it, I am frustrated by it, but it is the right thing to do."

Meantime, news of a $25 million grab in parking fines using new high-tech sensors was not about revenue, Mr Doyle claimed, but turnover of car spaces.

"What I want is turnover of those car spaces," he said.

Mr Doyle said the council would be happy to reap no extra money if driver's adhered to the parking time limits.

Melbourne City Council councillors will next week vote on plans for a hardline approach aimed at reaping an additional $6.4 million in fines every year.

This will push Melbourne's annual revenue from parking fines to almost $50 million.

A month-long trial of new in-ground sensor technology showed almost one in five drivers overstay their time period.

The new technology is expected to nab an extra 150 cars a day, or 53,000 a year.

The technology, first reported in the Sunday Herald Sun, will be able to alert parking inspectors seconds after a metre expires.

Melbourne's parking officers last year issued about 460,000 parking fines to the 11 million cars in the CBD.

"The new technology will deliver a higher level of PINS (parking infringement notices) issued than the original budget estimate," the council memo said.

"Allowing the recovery of once-off costs, the net return over a four-year period is estimated to be between $7.6 million (conservative scenario) and $25.7 million (aggressive scenario)."

Parking fines in the CBD range from $60 to $119.

son of rajab Mayor Robert Doyle is looking to install 4500 sensors across the CBD, Southbank and West Melbourne to boost revenues.

But business owners are worried the crackdown will drive shoppers out of the city.

[email protected]

- with Anne Wright

105 comments on this story

Edited April 14, 2011 by JamesK

[JamesK]

I find this bit PARTICULARLY interesting

Parking inspectors said they were "horrified" to learn the multiple booking of cars left in one place was illegal.

The controversy stems from an email sent to parking officers last month that told them to ignore their training manuals and 11 years of practice and stop issuing multiple infringements to a "vehicle that parks in one place and doesn't move the next day".

[funkymonkey]

The controversy stems from an email sent to parking officers last month that told them to ignore their training manuals and 11 years of practice and stop issuing multiple infringements to a "vehicle that parks in one place and doesn't move the next day".

cheapest long term carpark evar. just make sure you're not in a clearway and you're good to go. $60 fine for 2 week carpark. nice.

Or...

Day 1:

Park car in one spot.

Receive fine.

Go home in car.

Day 2:

Park car in same spot in same orientation, place yesterdays fine on window.

Repeat.

Infinite carparks.

Problem council? Umad?

[xALmoN]

cheapest long term carpark evar. just make sure you're not in a clearway and you're good to go. $60 fine for 2 week carpark. nice.

Or...

Day 1:

Park car in one spot.

Receive fine.

Go home in car.

Day 2:

Park car in same spot in same orientation, place yesterdays fine on window.

Repeat.

Infinite carparks.

Problem council? Are you positively annoyed friend?

i was thinking of the same thing.. interesting.