Saying they’re concerned about undue burdens that may be inadvertently placed on less prosperous residents, the Boston City Council last week floated a proposal for a sliding scale for parking fines based on income.
If approved, parking fines could be based on a driver’s income taxes, which would make tickets more expensive for wealthier drivers and less expensive for lower-income parkers. City Councilor Julia Mejia, who proposed the legislation, says she’s surveying city residents to see how they feel about the potential change. Others said they’d rather see less towing implemented or adjusting meter prices to lessen any burden on lower-income users.
The City of Brussels, Belgium, this month stopped leaving parking citations on windshields. Instead, illegally parked vehicles are scanned and citations are mailed directly to owners’ homes. City officials said too many tickets left under windshield wipers were lost, and the new system should do away with that risk.