Parking task force proposing $25 fines

Parking permits, graduated fines and a strict no-parking policy were just three items addressed by Cape Girardeau's new parking task force.

By the end of the group's first meeting Wednesday, one decision was clear. Fines for illegal parking will likely rise for the entire city.

The task force will recommend parking fines starting at $25. Since 1991, the fine has been $10; if unpaid, it rises to $15 after seven days and $25 after 30 days. Under the recommendation, the fine would rise to $35 after seven days and $45 after 30 days.

The city created the panel after Ward 1 council member John Voss agreed to table an proposal to raise parking fines to $50. Both he and Ward 3 council member Debra Tracy live on streets adjacent to the Southeast Missouri State University campus.

Last year, 25 percent of all the city's parking tickets, 804 in all, were issued on two blocks of Alta Vista Drive. Police records show one car was ticketed 22 times.

Members discussed graduated fines for repeat offenders, but learned from member Lt. Mark Majoros of the Cape Girardeau Police Department it would be almost impossible to enforce.

The police department has one officer whose full-time job is parking enforcement, though any officer can write parking tickets. Without a specialized computer, none of the officers can, at the time of ticketing, tell whether a car has been previously cited.

Students park illegally on residential streets as a shortcut or to avoid paying university parking fees, which can range from $80 to $140, said task force member Brooke Lockhart, a Southeast sophomore.

"I park where I'm supposed to," Lockhart said. "There's going to be students who just don't care."

The panel meets again at 1 p.m. Oct. 18 to discuss whether parking should be banned altogether on streets adjacent to campus or whether the city should create a residential parking permit program. Its report and a proposed ordinance will be delivered to council when the work is done. No date has been set.

In the meantime, residents of Alta Vista and Terrace drives have seen some relief since temporary no-parking signs were posted in August. Between mid-August and the end of September, 17 parking violations have been recorded. During the same period last year, 94 tickets were issued.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127