Boroondara Council fines man with valid parking ticket for overstaying two-hour limit

Reddit users have gone into meltdown working out why a man was issued an $83 parking fine half an hour before his ticket was due to expire.

Motorists in Boroondara have coughed up more than $20 million in parking fines in the past two years, according to Boroondara Council figures.

The revelation follows a social media meltdown over a fine issued to a motorist half an hour before their ticket expired while their car was parked in Wakefield St, Hawthorn.

A user of online chat forum Reddit posted a photo of the $83 fine, issued on July 1 at 12.35pm, alongside a paid parking ticket with an expiry time of 1.07pm.

The post attracted more than 170 comments from users speculating why the fine was issued, with some noting the council was within its right to fine the motorist.

Others called for greater clarification on how council parking rules were applied.

Boroondara spokesman Shiran Wickramasinghe said parking fine revenue was used to pay for services and maintain council infrastructure such as roads and footpaths.

Drivers must comply with two-hour time limits as signed as well as pay for a valid ticket, Mr Wickramasinghe said.

In this instance the motorist parked for two hours with a paid ticket, but when their ticket expired they returned to their car and bought another without moving it.

This meant the motorist breached parking conditions for the space, Mr Wickramasinghe said.

“According to parking officers, the motorist in this instance has overstayed their two-hour limit that applies to this carpark by remaining in the same parking bay for over two hours,” he said.

“Purchasing a ticket to park beyond the two-hour limit for that day does not entitle motorists to stay for a longer time period in this carpark.”

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Mr Wickramasinghe said motorists must leave a timed parking area once the limit was reached, but they could return to the same space and have their limit renewed provided they paid for another ticket.

He also noted motorists could contest a fine by requesting an internal review by the council.

Council coffers were boosted by $10.6 million in fine revenue in the 2017/18 financial year, while interim figures for the past financial year indicate it could receive a further $10 million.