Athens Police Department Parking Enforcement Division has started searching and towing cars with outstanding parking violations during the annual Spring Roundup.
Although cars with unpaid tickets can be towed any time, each spring parking enforcement officers actively look for cars with multiple unpaid violations over a period of time, said Captain Dave Williams of the Athens Police Department.
Spring is the best time for the roundup because there is a higher number of cars on the street and they are more mobile. Also, officers want to check as many cars as possible before summer break, when many students will take cars home, he said.
Parking enforcement officers use hand-held computers to enter car license numbers along the street, deciding if a car with unpaid tickets should be towed. The owners then must pay their unpaid ticket fines, along with a towing fee of about $75, before the car will be released, Williams said.
Athens High School student Tim Hoffman said he has two unpaid parking tickets, but the roundup will not make him pay sooner because he does not have the money to pay.
The police department pays overtime to the station's three parking enforcement officers during the roundup. Last year's spring roundup collected about $17,000, which more than covered the cost of the overtime, Williams said.
He said the roundup is not about the revenue, but to encourage compliance.
If we didn't enforce
people would never pay he said. The purpose of (parking enforcement) is to make sure enough space is available. If we didn't have parking enforcement then the town would be a mess.
The police department would rather see fines paid than cars towed because towing takes more time and people get upset, Williams said.
Parking officers collect money from the roughly 760 meters in Athens each week. About $5 is gathered from each meter, said Athens City employee Randy Fulks.
About 6,000 parking violations are issued from the Athens Parking Enforcement Division each month, Williams said.
In a press conference last week, Mayor Ric Abel said there are about 5,000 outstanding violations now, some of which could be a year or two old.
Williams said Athens probably issues so many parking tickets because Uptown is concentrated in such a small area. Also, a lot of people live in the shopping area.
If all of the residents parked
there would be no room for shoppers
he said.
In the past, the police department has sent out courtesy letters to the addresses of drivers who have outstanding violations, but the police parking enforcement computer, which was bought in 1992, can no longer handle this. They are looking for a new system with better tracking, he said.
Sometimes drivers will not realize they have unpaid tickets, especially if they loan their car out, Williams said.
Drivers who are unsure if they have outstanding parking tickets can call the Parking Enforcement Division during normal business hours at 592-3308 or stop by the Athens Police Department.
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Jayne Gest
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Athens City employee Randy Fulks empties out a parking meter on College Street yesterday afternoon. Fulks makes his way around to each parking meter once a week, visiting around 760 meters each week.
