Residents call for paper tickets to prove they have been unfairly fined

Manly residents are calling on the council to bring back paper tickets for the digital parking meters, claiming there is no way to prove if they have been unfairly fined.

• Unpaid fines put breaks on budget
• Digital meters not so fine
• Anger over parking ticket

Manly residents are calling on the council to bring back paper tickets for the digital parking meters, claiming there is no way to prove if they have been unfairly fined.

Local resident Peter Tully contacted the Manly Daily after reading about fellow resident Lesley Sargeant being fined over a glitch in the new parking system.

Mr Tully said the same thing happened to him last month.

“I put my rego details in and pressed OK and walked away” he said.

“Alas on my return I found a $106 parking fine.”

Like Ms Sargeant, Mr Tully went straight to council chambers. He was told to take it up with the State Debt Recovery Office. His appeal was then rejected.

Mr Tully said he is furious.

“I am an honest and considerate resident in the Manly area yet we are treated as guilty without any opportunity to argue our case because the council has eliminated our only proof – the paper ticket.”

Ms Sargeant said the new paperless system – introduced in February – is archaic and not user friendly.

She said residents are forced to take a photograph of the display screen and the time just in case the system has a glitch again.

A Manly Council spokesman said when a parking fine is disputed, the council has an evidence- based process for reviewing and resolving infringements.