A MAJOR city is set to reinstate a strict parking rule within days – which could result in $150 fines for vehicle owners.
The regulation has been suspended for the last two years due to a bizarre tech issue but it is due to be reinstated on November 1.
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Drivers in Great Falls, Montana, are preparing for the return of the city’s parking violation procedures that were suspended back in 2022, after an error with the license plate recognition tech.
Great Falls uses a third-party software from Passport Parking for its metered parking around the downtown area, reports KRTV.
However, Passport Parking did not have access to the state’s DMV data – which is said to have caused the license plate recognition error.
Brock Cherry, director for city planning and community development, said: “The city started to not boot cars anymore during 2022 because there was a reconfiguration with the software that we used.
“In order to ensure that we were booting the proper persons and also being able to mail them letters concerning any sort of violation that they had.
“It’s state-owned information, it’s sensitive, and when [the state] distributes it to an entity like Passport, they want to ensure that everything is protected and taken care of.”
The former ruling will go back into effect on November 1 along with the city’s letter notifications, which will let individuals know of any outstanding citations.
It’s been advised that anyone with current unpaid summons will need to pay before November 1 to avoid being booted.
Cherry added: “During this two-year period of not booting, essentially what we’ve had is people have been able to just get parking ticket after parking ticket without any sort of [further] enforcement for that ticket.
“So what that has resulted in is we have a certain amount of folks who have compiled approximately $80,000 worth of violations.”
Any vehicles with five or more unpaid citations after November 1 will be eligible for “booting”.
This could result in a $150 immobilization fee, which would then see the vehicle impounded if not paid after 48 hours.
Vehicle owners who are unsure of any outstanding citations have been told to contact the Great Falls City Planning and Community Development Department.
Cherry added: “I strongly suggest getting those tickets paid, so that we don’t have any negative experiences and we can continue to have a wonderful downtown parking program.”
It comes as a major clampdown on abandoned vehicles is set to cost drivers $1,000 fines.
Authorities say they want to deal with longstanding issues with abandoned vehicles in a community in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Elsewhere, newly camera-equipped school buses have begun rolling out to stop reckless drivers and keep kids safe while getting on and off.
A suburban school district in Illinois is leading the effort by issuing hefty stop arm violations against drivers who refuse to stop when a school bus lights are on, and its stop arm is extended outward.
A furious driver has also kicked off after he was hit with three tickets after parking in a “free” lot.
The motorist still got fined despite proving he was in the right even after staff tried to help.
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