The parking gods: Not smiling

By Cindy Landrum  

FEBRUARY 23, 2010 10:05 a.m. (1)

Parking scofflaws, beware.

The city of Greenville is cracking down on repeat parking offenders by hitting them harder in their pocketbooks.

Fines for parking violations will increase based on how many citations the vehicle has received.

“We’ve got some people who get a couple of tickets a day,” said Dennis Garrett, the city’s general manager of parking. “We’re trying to discourage repeat violators.”

The new fine structure began last week.

Ten dollars is added to a ticket for every citation the vehicle has received, he said.

The usual fine for exceeding a two-hour time limit is $8, he said.

The second ticket for the same violation will carry a fine of $18, he said.

The third ticket will cost $28 and so on, Garrett said.

After six months, the number of violations will be reset to zero, he said.

“The whole purpose is to get people to park legally,” Garrett said. “If somebody is going to be parking for more than two hours, we want them to use one of the parking facilities and to move off the street.”

The escalating fines were a result of complaints from downtown business owners who  said downtown employees were using the on-street spots and making it difficult for their customers to find a place to park, said City Manager Jim Bourey.

“It’s been a problem, and it’s growing,” he said.

Garrett said some people have racked up $2,000 and $3,000 in parking fines.

The city will also crackdown on people who move a few spots to avoid a ticket, Garrett said.

“We’ve had officers observe people driving around the block and park two spaces down to avoid a ticket,” Garrett said. “That’s a violation.”