But mayor Graeme Hanger says there is not a shortfall of spaces overall.

Data from the NSW Government, which gathers reports from all councils following the completion of a financial year, says Bathurst Regional Council issued 2159 penalty notices worth $288,106 in 2017-18, and 1830 ($230,852) in 2016-17.

It sent out 2155 penalty notices valued at $271,608 in 2015-16 and 1557 notices worth $202,254 in 2014-15.

Cr Hanger said parking enforcement in the CBD and the council entering into contracts with private car park owners were the reasons behind the sharp increase in parking offences.

“Reviews have been conducted on car parking around the CBD and council continues to monitor the demand and supply of car parking in the CBD on an annual basis,” he said. 

“Investigations to date have revealed that there is currently not a shortfall of spaces overall, although popular areas do fill during busy periods.”

The mayor said council will soon start preparing “an Integrated Transport Plan for the CBD and linkages into the CBD that will consider road, parking, footpath and cycle path needs within and to and from the CBD as the city continues to grow”.

Bathurst was second only to Orange City Council in terms of the number of parking tickets issued.

Orange residents received the highest number of penalty notices for parking offences in the entire Central West region in 2017-18.

Orange City Council issued 6128 penalty notices valued at $793,050 for parking offences in 2017-18 - a sharp increase of 30 per cent on 2016-17.

The council had issued 4711 notices ($578,038) in 2016-17, 4361 ($506,477) in 2015-16 and 5401 ($651,402) in 2014-15.

Parking offences in Central West in the past four years:-

The data suggests that Orange continues to remain ahead of other councils in terms of penalty notices and the value of fines in the region.

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Dubbo Regional Council, which issued one-fifth the number of penalty notices issued by Orange and almost half the number issued by Bathurst, was at a distant third position.

Dubbo sent out 1185 penalty notices valued at $150,256 in 2017-18, recording a slight increase on the previous year. 

It sent 1166 penalty notices worth $144,016 in 2016-17, and 1134 notices valued at $129,914 in 2015-16.

Cowra Shire Council was the only place where the traffic offences have been declining over the past four years.

The council sent only 57 penalty notices valued at $6909 in 2017-18 as compared to 107 penalty notices worth $14,311 in 2016-17. 

Its figures for 2015-16 and 2014-15 were 155 ($37,670) and 254 ($79,046) respectively.

Though Bathurst Regional Council registered a sharp increase in parking offences, it has been witnessing a decline in police notices for speeding offences. 

Speeding offences in Central West in the past four years:-

Police issued only three notices for speeding offences in 2017-18 as compared to 18 in 2014-15.

In Orange, speeding offences came down from 2851 in 2014-15 to 43 in 2017-18.

The decline was gradual as police issued 2159 notices in 2015-16 and 604 in 2016-17.

Cowra and Parkes also witnessed a sharp decline in speeding-related offences in their areas.

In Cowra, the speeding notices came down from 1714 in 2014-15 to 156 in 2017-18. 

Police issued 710 speeding notices in 2015-16 and 361 in 2016-17.

Similarly for Parkes, police issued only 50 speeding notices in 2017-18 against 866 issued in 2014-15.