Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
MOTORISTS caught parking incorrectly in Wagga were slugged more than $1 million in fines during the past financial year, but the overall total is down on previous cash collections.
Despite the drop, drivers were still slugged close to five times the total revenue collected by Dubbo City Council over the same period and well above other comparable centres Albury, Orange and Tamworth.
According to figures published by the NSW Office of State Revenue, Wagga City Council issued 7883 infringement notices during the 2013/14 financial year worth a "face value" of $1,020,738.
July last year was the biggest money-maker for the organisation, with 837 infringements issued.
Of the total, 322 fines were issued in school zones, netting $95,626.
The number of school zone infringements have remained steady over the past four years.
Wagga City Council manager of regulatory services Greg Minehan said the decrease in fines was a result of recent changes to physical parking infrastructure across the city.
The extensive roll-out of T markings - or marked parking bays that maximise available space - and the introduction of council's mobile parking car with Licence Plate Recognition Technology (LPRT) have had a "fairly significant impact" on driver awareness of timed zones, Mr Minehan said.
The LPRT car was brought in to patrol on-street timed parking and conducts patrols a number of times each day - more than any ranger could do on foot.
Mr Minehan wouldn't be drawn as to why the city's parking revenue total was so high compared to other centres, citing a number of factors were at play - including the number of car spaces, rangers and privately owned car parks.
There are 3198 on-street parking spaces in the Wagga CBD, of which 1850 are unrestricted.
In the same area, private or council-owned car parks offer 2768 restricted and 826 unrestricted spaces.
Mr Minehan said there were "no covert operations undertaken here at all" and parking enforcement was highly visible.
"We still strive to be very clear and proactive in our operations," he said.
All penalty notices are managed by the State Debt Recovery Office (SDRO), who negotiate with drivers for the payment of the penalty.
After a SDRO administration fee is removed, the remaining money is returned to council.