Letter: Paying parking fines locally

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

On page 16 of the Dec. 5 Mountain Xpress in the News Briefs, we’ve been told: “Parking Fines to Go Up.” I have paid several parking fines over the years, but I noticed that I was to remit my payments to Bethesda, Md. Is there a reason I send my parking fine payment out of state?

I was wondering if the Mountain Xpress might look into and report on this policy a bit more and see if we could lower our parking fines if we took care of business here locally instead. Parking is becoming more and more a racket in Asheville.

— Michael Harney
Asheville

Editor’s note: Xpress checked in with city spokeswoman Polly McDaniel, who responded that fines are no longer required to be sent out of state. “Payments for parking citations that are mailed come directly to the city of Asheville,” McDaniel wrote. Parking fines were scheduled to go up starting Feb. 1, and there’s no word that the change in mailing destinations will affect that increase.

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3 thoughts on “Letter: Paying parking fines locally”

  1. Phillip C Williams

    Well, I am plumb tickled if parking fines have indeed gone up. I have a booth at the Lexington Park Antique Mall on Walnut St. The dealers have a number of spaces – that we pay for monthly – in the outdoor City lot on Rankin Ave. behind the Civic Center. Invariably, when there is an event downtown, folks help themselves to our spaces, even though there are signs that plainly say “Parking by Permit Only”.

    The ticket for this offense has been $10 for a long time. Many folks, instead of paying $7 or $9 for “event parking” in the Rankin Ave garage, just opt to risk the ticket and take a merchant’s space. It’s only a couple bucks more, and they don’t have to fight the line trying to get out of the parking garage when the event is over.

    Someone told me it was recently raised to $20 and I have not seen as many folks taking our spaces – personally I wish they’d raise it to $50. Business owners and tenants pay their fees monthly for the privilege of using those spaces, and the City won’t tow anyone – and I think it is fine for violators to be discouraged by making it not worth their while to steal a parking space that has been paid for by someone else.

  2. jason

    Asheville parking is not a big deal. Only the lazy have problems with it. There are always spots available if you know where to look.

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