Parking over line leads to surprise fine for Havelock North resident

Irene Soeberg was not aware that it was illegal to park over the line in a carpark. She found out when she was pinged with a $40 fine in Havelock North. Photo / Linda Hall, LDR

By Linda Hall, Local Democracy Reporter

Irene Soeberg didn’t know “it was thing” to get pinged for parking over the line in a carpark.

The Havelock North resident was parked outside Bellatino’s Food Lovers Market in Treachers Lane, Havelock North, in a free but timed carpark.

”I was there for maybe 20 minutes. It’s a free straight park. As I drove in, there was a car to the right and left of the park. The car on the left was so close to the line that I decided to centre my car in the space that was available to me, to avoid dents,” Soeberg said.

That meant her car was over the line on the right side.

When she returned, there was a $40 ticket which read “Failed to park entirely within parking space”.

Soeberg posted the ticket on social media saying “my bad but didn’t know this could even happen”.

”I didn’t know, so I really just want to let others know.”

Hastings District Council (HDC) confirmed it was an offence to not park entirely within the indicated space (partially parking in the neighbouring space).

While parking fees are set by local councils, fines are set by central government. From October 1 those fines are set to increase by up to 70%, along with an increase in towage and storage fees.

Asked if it had any plans for the increased revenue from the fine hikes, HDC responded: “It’s not guaranteed that council revenue will increase, as it’s possible that as a result of the new fines/fees people may be more compliant with the parking restrictions (which is the desired result). As such, council currently has no plans for any potential increased revenue.”

It said in the last financial year the most common offence was parking over the time limit.

Napier City Council agreed that parking officers were able to infringe someone for encroaching into an adjoining car parking space, “however, parking officers in Napier will generally use some discretion and issue a warning in the first instance”.

It said parking revenue covered operating costs of parking activity and associated expenses. The revenue raised ensured that the operation of parking and costs associated with this work were not funded by rates. Revenue raised through parking fees and charges was ringfenced for uses associated with parking within Napier to ensure sustainable, ongoing funding for the council’s parking services.

Its most frequently issued fine was for parking in a metered space and failing to pay the prescribed fee.

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The increases include a $600 hike for parking in an area reserved for disabled persons with the fine going from $150 to $750, while overstaying in a park for not more than 30 minutes will go from $12 to $20.

Soeberg’s fine comes under “All Other Parking Offences” – and today will cost offenders $70.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.