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RESIDENTS in a major city are facing an increase in parking fines in the New Year – for the first time since 2011.
Drivers in Seattle will now need to be extra careful where they leave their vehicle, or face fines that are going to be as high as $73.
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According to Komo News, the Seattle Municipal Court is introducing a rise in fines for most parking violations across the city, starting from January 1.
Currently, most parking fines range from $29 to $53, depending on the violation.
But these will be increased to $43 through to $73.
Most violations currently cost drivers an amount of $47, but this will go up to $69 from New Year’s day.
It appears the largest fine currently is $250, which can be given for violations such as illegally parking in a marked disabled bay or with an invalid placard.
Indeed, the $250 fine is the only amount that won’t be increasing in 2025.
Seattle isn’t the only city that’s introducing a hefty change to parking laws.
The police department in Washington, Iowa, are to get more serious on residents breaking local parking laws – with officers to seek out offenders instead of issuing parking tickets in response to complaints.
Police on patrol routes across the city will spend the next several weeks issuing written warnings to cars that are caught violating commonly broken parking laws.
City Police Chief Jim Lester said: “We just felt that, you know, maybe it’s time we spend a little more time addressing these issues while we’re on patrol.
“Rather than being a little more complaint-based, being a little more proactive in our approach.”
To this end, officers will likely ramp up their efforts by the start of 2025, with $25 fines to be handed out that can rise to $50 during snow emergencies.
Elsewhere, a driver has revealed his shock to find a $92 fine on his car after parking on a regular-looking street.
Jason McLaren thought he’d simply found a great parking spot outside an Italian restaurant in Cherry Creek, a neighborhood in Denver, Colorado.
As his wife uses a disabled parking placard, McLaren assumed the spot would be free – so he decided against paying the meter.
But when he returned to his vehicle, he found a $92 ticket from LAZ Parking – a private company that manages the area.
Thinking they simply made a mistake, McLaren contacted LAZ but, to his shock, was told he’d parked in a private lot and owed the fine.
McLaren told 9 News: “I reached out to LAZ and said you must be mistaken.
“And they said, no, you parked in one of our lots and you owe us money.”
The meters, located on Clayton Street, where he’d parked, between 1st and 2nd Avenue, are placed on private property.
However, to the untrained eye, they resemble public city meters.
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