A South Surrey man is cautioning motorists who receive parking tickets in White Rock to take a close look at their notices before paying the fine, after he received two tickets that were issued before the time he had paid for expired.
“I was livid,” Al Price said last week, of his reaction when he discovered that a ticket placed on his windshield the Wednesday evening was written up two minutes after he’d paid to park for three hours.
“I paid for three hours at 8:19 p.m. The ticket was issued at 8:21 – and I’d put $9 in the meter.”
Price found a similar ticket on his car on the previous Wednesday evening, July 4. That one was also issued before his paid time had expired, he said.
City officials promptly threw the first ticket out, Price said, and he is confident they’ll do the same with the second one.
But he wonders how many other people are being wrongly penalized and not catching the mistake; paying a fine they should never have been charged in the first place.
“This is twice now. If they’re doing it to me, they’re doing it to all kinds of people,” he said, of those tasked with monitoring the city’s lots.
“All it’s doing is driving people away from the beach.”
City manager Dan Bottrill said Friday he has not heard the complaint before, but said he could understand how Price’s latest experience might happen.
“I guess when you leave your car to purchase your ticket, I guess it’s possible that a parking enforcement officer is walking along behind you, looking at vehicles. You’ve left your vehicle to pay for your parking… so it’s possible in the intervening period of time that an officer looks at it and tickets you.”
While ticketing motorists who have paid is not the intent of parking enforcement, “it can happen,” he said.
Bottrill said anyone who disagrees with a parking ticket can dispute it.
Pay parking has long been a hot issue in White Rock, often blamed on driving away both visitors and business. Over the years, complaints have included that enforcement is too aggressive.
In late May, a task force charged with exploring the issue – again – offered council two dozen suggestions for improvement. The report was referred to staff for further input, and council has promised to hold a planning session before bringing the matter back for public discussion in September.
Price described parking as “a thorny issue with everybody in White Rock/South Surrey.” And while he and his girlfriend had been making a Wednesday evening jam session a regular outing of late, the recent tickets have soured the idea.
“I’m never going down there again,” Price said.