City of Regina looking at $10 parking ticket hike

The City of Regina wants to boost parking tickets by $10.

A proposal that's going to the city's public works committee on Thursday would hike the penalty for parking at an expired meter to $55 from $45, starting Jan. 1, 2014.

The "early-payment" cost (if payment is made within 14 days) would go to $20 from the current $10.

Penalties for parking in no-parking zones will also increase from $50 to $60 ($15 to $20 with early payment).

While most tickets will go up $10, a bigger hike is in store for parking in front of a fire hydrant (minimum penalty going from $10 to $65) or illegally parking in a disabled spot (minimum penalty going from $65 to $165).

A report from the city administration says theseare the first increases in 10 years and that Regina ticket penalties are well below other cities' fines.

The city report also says high demand for parking spaces and the low cost of the infraction right now means more tickets are being written.

While two years ago there were just over 65,000 tickets given out,this year it's expected 100,000 ticket will be written.

"Currently as a result of low fine amounts, citizens and visitors choose to park illegally knowing there is a chance they may not receive a ticket and that if they do receive a ticket, the financial penalty is relatively small compared to the cost of obtaining legal parking," the administration report says.

With the higher ticket fines, the city expects to pull in an extra $700,000 next year.

The proposal needs approval of the public works committee, plus final approval by city council.