How much council collected in parking fines revealed
THE Toowoomba Regional Council collected hundreds of thousands in parking fines in the CBD over the past 12 months, new data has shown.
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THE Toowoomba Regional Council collected hundreds of thousands in parking fines in the CBD over the past 12 months, new data has shown.
Statistics from the council's environment and community group showed parking officers collected nearly $760,000 from infringements in the previous financial year.
While the TRC suspended paid parking for several months as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, officers were still out in force during that period.
However, it appears the pandemic did have an effect on the overall revenue, with the council collecting $299,000 between January and June 2020.
This was far below the $460,000 it collected in parking fines between July and December 2019.
Environment and community portfolio leader, councillor Tim McMahon, said parking officers were an important part of a thriving CBD.
"The management of parking is an essential and necessary function to ensure safety, management of traffic flow and turnover of parking," he said.
Several business owners complained about receiving fines in March, during a difficult period for the CBD as it grappled with the effects of COVID-19.
It led to a call from Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl for the council to waive recent parking fines.
In response, TRC CEO Brian Pidgeon said parking officers "have now been given much greater discretion to issue warnings and to only issue infringements where absolutely necessary".
