This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Graduated parking fines are a way


to deter chronic violators without unfairly punishing anyone else. Gradu- ated fines are lenient for the cars with only a few tickets but punitive for the few cars with many tickets. In Clare- mont, CA, for example, the first ticket for overtime parking in a calendar year is $35, the second $70 and the third $105. For illegally using a disabled parking space, the first ticket is $325, the second $650 and the third $975. For minor violations like overtime


parking, some cities issue a warning for the first offense and graduated fines for subsequent offenses. The warnings show citizens that raising revenue is not the chief goal of enforcement. Because parking tickets create hostility toward both the enforcement officers and City Hall, a warnings-first policy for minor offenses can reduce political opposition to enforcement. Repeat offenders will paymore but everyone elsewill pay less. Until recently, graduated parking


fines were impossible because enforce- ment officers had no way of knowing how many previous tickets a car had received. Now, however, officers carry handheld ticket-writing devices that wirelessly connect to the city’s ticket database. These devices can automati- cally assign the proper fine for each vio- lation according to the number of previ- ous tickets for the license plate. A driver who receives many tick-


ets for the same offense is probably either careless, unlucky or a scofflaw, and risking a ticket may be a rational choice. A study by the Boston Trans- portation Department, for example, found that the price of a ticket multi- plied by the probability of citation for illegal curb parking was often less than the price of off-street parking for three ormore hours, so the temptation to risk a ticket is strong. Scofflaws can do a simple cost-


benefit calculation – they may get a ticket for one in 10 violations, but the conventional flat-rate fines never increase. Higher fines for serial viola- tors can reduce the total number of vio-


Complete Parking A Revenue Control Syst


Customized to Your Applic


 


 


Complete Parking Access & Revenue Control Systems


Customized to Your Application


Unlimited Expandability


100% Web-based Interface Two Year Warranty Made in the USA


www.GMGSYS.com 888-464-7978


PT’s Webinars Always Free


www.parkingtoday.com FEBRUARY 2011 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com 25


We’re Expanding! Looking for dealers in your area


lations without harshly penalizing anyone else. Graduated fines are therefore both fairer andmore effective than flat-rate fines. Stronger punishments for serial offens-


es are standard legal practice.As an extreme example, California sentences third-time felony offenders to life in prison. No one should receive a life sentence after three parking tickets, but higher fines for repeat- ed parking offenses do fit logically within the legal system. Flat-rate parking fines are like treating hardened criminals and first- time offenders equally.


Most cities will no doubt continue to


rely on parking fines to help balance the budget, but the next time they need more money from this source, cities should increase the fines for chronic offenders without unfairly penalizing everyone else.


This commentary, which originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times, is reprinted here with the permission of the author, a UCLA planning professor who specializes in park- ing issues.


PT


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56