May 5, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Four Vehicles Booted Under New Parking System
DECATUR - The City of Decatur has booted four cars and collected $9,780 in fines from individuals on the vehicle booting/towing list since initially sending notices to people that they could face booting or license suspension on April 6.
Notices giving motorists 21 days from the date of mailing to pay fines and fees owed are sent to everyone who becomes eligible for booting, meaning that the first day for actual booting was April 28. All four motorists who had their vehicles booted came in to pay their fines immediately prior to having their vehicles towed.
A video detailing the initial booting can be seen at http://vimeo.com/11381334.
A total of 51 individuals remain on the list of drivers eligible for booting and towing while 41 have either paid their fines or had those tickets and fines waived since the city implemented the new downtown parking system.
Under the new parking system motorists owing more than $100 in parking ticket fines and fees would be eligible for booting and towing and those with 10 or more unpaid parking tickets could face license suspension. While vehicle owners are regularly added or removed from the list of eligible motorists, the original booting eligibility list included 84 drivers with tickets and associated fines totaling $19,300.
A total of $13,925 remains outstanding as there have been additional motorists added to the list or additional tickets issued.
The city earlier this year passed a list of changes to the downtown parking system to balance the need for parking space turnover amongst people who visit the downtown area for shorter periods with the needs of downtown employees who need longer-term parking.
Changes include:
- Reducing the hours of parking enforcement to a window of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- The creation of an employee on street parking program providing an additional dedicated parking option for employees who work downtown. Eighteen people have purchased the permits to date.
- Using trolleys to provide quick drop-off service to encourage garage parking (Implementation still to occur).
- Increasing meter bag rates to $10 per day and increasing parking ticket fines for late payments.
- Stabilizing parking garage and surface parking rates at $25 per month for covered parking and $20 for uncovered parking, which would result in an increased charged for some and a decrease for others.
The downtown employee parking permits are available at the City of Decatur’s Finance office on the second floor of the Decatur Civic Center. An active map showing available spaces can be found on the city’s web site at www.decaturil.gov by clicking the “downtown parking” button.
For more information contact Billy Tyus at 424-2753.