HAVE you come back to your car fearing the worst after overstaying your welcome, only to breathe a sigh of relief when there isn't a piece of paper tucked under the wiper?
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It's a more common occurrence for motorists in Bathurst at the moment, but that relief is coming at a significant financial cost to Bathurst council.
In an average year pre-COVID, the council was receiving around $400,000 per financial year in revenue from parking fines.
The council chose to show leniency during the pandemic, but in September, 2022 told the community that parking enforcement would escalate again.
However, it appears that has not eventuated, as the revenue for this financial year is $260,000 less, or about two-thirds, of what the council had forecast to generate.
Why parking enforcement hasn't bounced back
The council's director of Environmental, Planning and Building Services, Neil Southorn, said there are two reasons behind the low parking fine numbers.
The primary reason why is that staffing levels are not as high as the council would like.
"We have to prioritise when parking enforcement can be done, and if there is a higher-priority risk to safety, then our rangers will be deployed for that," Mr Southorn said.
That means, at this time, the council is unable to carry out the level of enforcement it wants to do, however, there are still rangers on patrol and motorists should not flout the rules thinking they won't be caught.
The second reason parking revenue is down is that plans to implement new technology have hit a snag.
Mr Southorn said there has been difficulty in approving the new technology that the council is piloting in the camera car.
"We're trialling some new generation camera technology, which includes vehicle number plate recognition," he said.
"The technology we currently use has number plate recognition. These are just the next generation camera which enable us to do it more efficiently.
"Theoretically, they can also be deployed in the off-street parking areas. We're trialling this, so that's why I say 'theoretically'. We're just trying to make sure that it's workable, and it also has to integrate with the process for the issuing of penalty notices."
However, the council does hope to build back up to its regular enforcement levels.
Mr Southorn said there are positions being advertised for rangers, and people interested should apply.
Rachel Chamberlain
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
