Montgomery mayor details new, tougher parking ticket enforcement plan

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Drivers who get booted due to the new parking enforcements may eventually have to show a valid driver's license and proof of insurance before the boot will be removed. The same would go for those whose cars are towed.

"We're not going there yet, but we have the ability to get the authority," Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said during his weekly press conference. "Hopefully, we can get people's attention."

The city has started measures to crack down on people who feed the downtown meters and who have outstanding parking tickets.

"We're not starting today," said Steve Jones, director of general services for the city. "We're giving you ample time to go down and satisfy the courts with what you owe. Then we'll move forward."

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, the decision was made to begin putting boots on cars with more than five parking tickets beginning March 1.

Offenders must pay a fine to have the boot removed and pay their parking fines within 24 hours, or the car will be towed. If towed, the cost of the tow plus the booting fine plus the parking tickets must be paid, which can be costly.

Tickets can be paid online through the city's website.

Jones said the city will work with All About Towing, which charges $75 per tow plus $25 per day for storage of vehicles.

The city will allow those with $100 or more in parking tickets to make arrangements to pay them off. Those with less than $100 must pay the total at one time.

"It's really about modifying behavior," Strange said.

The city also decided to lower the hourly rate for its parking decks to 50 cents per hour, which is equal to the rate of parking meters.

The city issues about 50,000 parking tickets each year.

Strange also addressed the possibility of updating the parking meters with ones that take credit cards, as has been a trend in larger cities. He said the process would be too expensive for the immediate future.

"It's on the radar screen, but if I told you were would be doing that in the next few months I would be wrong," Strange said.

Source: http://blog.al.com/montgomery/2012/01/montgomery_mayor_outlines_new.html

jerry sandusky interview white house shooting internet censorship sveum benetton ads cornucopia best buy black friday deals