PORTLAND, Ore. -- Drivers caught flouting specific parking rules will begin paying a lot more, effective Monday, the city's transportation bureau announced.
The city began issuing wallet-busting parking fines after the City Council and Multnomah Circuit Court approved increasing the amount parking scofflaws pay.
According to bureau officials, standard fines increased $10, although there are some notable exceptions:
- The fine for blocking a fire hydrant increased from $100 to $150
- Blocking access to a handicap ramp will incur a $210 fine, up from $150
Anyone caught illegally parking in a handicapped spot may regret the decision. Parking in a disabled zone without a valid permit will now cost a staggering $450. That's a more than 100 percent increase from the previous fine of $190, according to the city.
Unlawfully using a handicapped permit will now cost $720, up from $450.
The city expects to generate an additional $500,000 per year from the new taxes. Officials, however, claimed the fine increases were not a cash-grab but were instead aimed at deterring rampant parking abuse.
"We do not put fines in place to make money, Transportation Bureau Director Susan D. Keil said. We put fines in place to change behavior."
Another transportation bureau official said parking scofflaws were creating "very real safety hazards" by using disability access and parking without permission.
Overtime parking fines would tick up $10 per violation after the holiday season. Effective Jan. 4, 2010 an overtime parking violation would cost $34, Keil said.
She added that fines had not increased in about three years.
More information was available at the City of Portland Transportation Bureau website.
