Drivers face increased parking fines under new January 1 rule as fees are hiked for first time since 2011
For the first time since 2011, residents of a large city are facing higher parking charges in the new year.
Drivers in Seattle will now have to be especially cautious about where they leave their cars or risk fines of up to $73.
Beginning on January 1, the Seattle Municipal Court will increase fines for the majority of parking infractions throughout the city, according to Komo News.
Nowadays, depending on the infraction, the majority of parking fines vary from $29 to $53.
However, these will go up to $43 and then $73.
The majority of infractions presently cost drivers $47, but starting on New Year’s Day, this will increase to $69 instead.
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Currently, it seems that the maximum fine is $250, which can be imposed for infractions including parking in a designated accessible bay without permission or with an invalid placard.
The $250 fine is, in fact, the only sum that won’t go up in 2025.
There are other cities outside Seattle that are implementing significant changes to their parking regulations.
In Washington, Iowa, the police department is taking local parking ordinance violations more seriously. Instead of issuing tickets in response to complaints, officers will instead actively seek out violators.
The next few weeks will be spent by police on patrol routes around the city giving written warnings to vehicles found to be in violation of frequently breached parking laws.
“We just felt that, you know, maybe it’s time we spend a little more time addressing these issues while we’re on patrol,” stated Jim Lester, the chief of police for the city.
We should take a somewhat more proactive stance instead of one that is a little more complaint-based.
With $25 fines that can increase to $50 during snow emergencies, authorities will probably step up their efforts by the beginning of 2025 in order to achieve this goal.
In another instance, a driver has expressed his surprise at discovering a $92 charge on his vehicle after parking on a seemingly ordinary street.
In Cherry Creek, a neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, Jason McLaren believed he had just discovered a fantastic parking space outside an Italian restaurant.
McLaren felt the place would be free because his wife was using a disability parking badge, so he chose not to pay the meter.
However, upon getting back to his car, he discovered a $92 ticket from LAZ Parking, a private organization that oversees the area.
McLaren phoned LAZ, assuming they had just made a mistake, but to his surprise, he was informed that he had parked in a private lot and was therefore responsible for the fine.
“I reached out to LAZ and said you must be mistaken,” McLaren told 9 News.
“And they said, no, you parked in one of our lots and you owe usmoney.”
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The meters are on private property and are situated between First and Second Avenue on Clayton Street, where he parked.
But they look like public municipal meters to the untrained eye.
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