Wilmington is further addressing enforcement of parking tickets and the fines associated with them.
Mayor Mike Purzycki is sending Wilmington City Council an ordinance to lower certain parking fines from $40 to $25. Purzycki says in a release this is part of a series of parking enforcement improvements that aim to reduce hassles for residents and city government.
Cabrera says some parking enforcement in Wilmington feels predatory.
“I understand during the Baker administration, you know, the budgetary issues, and why the fines were raised from 25 through the evolution," she says. "It was $10 and it went up to 15, and then it went up to 25. So now we went from 25 to 40. That's a pretty huge jump. I did my research on parking, and I realized that there were only three cities in America that had parking fines of $40.”
She adds some of the poorest neighborhoods get hit hard by these parking tickets.
“$40 is a stretch for a lot of people," Cabrera says. "I find myself that I ended up having to pay the additional fines on top of that, because I would just be so mad at the fact that they even gave me a ticket and before I could even fight it, next thing you know, the fines are accumulating. And a lot of people feel they don't want to live in a city where you're gonna get fined every time you turn around, between the street cleaning and the moving you know the time limitations.”
If approved, the new fine structure will take effect on July 1.
It would decrease fines for violations such as unattended vehicles, and violations of limited time parking or exceeding time on parking meters.
The city rolled out a new Residential Parking Permit process last month, extending permits to two years instead of one. It also condensed City parking zones into east and west sectors, which matches the more familiar trash and recycling program.
