Garcetti's Committee Proposes Big Cuts To Cost Of Parking Tickets
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — When you live in L.A., getting a parking ticket - and a whopping fine - comes with the territory.
Offenders usually are forced to shell out at least $63, with some citations exceeding $90.
Now a team commissioned by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti is working to change that. They found those prices are simply too high for minor parking infractions, especially for first-time offenders.
The committee this week unveiled a series of parking reform proposals, including sharp cuts to parking fines, on a sliding scale.
Jay Beeber and Steven Vincent, directors of the Los Angeles Parking Freedom Initiative, are part of the mayor's working group on parking reform.
Under their plan, first-time offenders would face a $23 fee, $33 for a second offense in the same year and up to $68 for the fourth offense.
Those proposed fines are far below the current cost of a parking ticket, especially for first-time offenders.
Vincent says they had to change the culture at City Hall, where parking tickets were seen as an essential funding source for the city budget.
L.A. motorists who spoke with CBS2/KCAL9's Dave Bryan said they liked the idea of reduced fines and a tiered system.