THE amount of money raised by the City of Ballarat through paid parking spaces is on the rise, but less of it appears to be coming from infringement tickets.
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The city issued 25,786 parking tickets in 2013, about 3500 less than in the year before.
The majority of the tickets were for failing to pay a fee and obey instructions. Of the rest, most were for parking for a period longer than indicated.
The Courier estimates the fines raised $1.64 million in 2013, compared to $1.92 million in 2012.
The city did not provide The Courier with current dollar amounts for different types of parking fines, so the estimate is based on data from last year.
The city also does not publish a break-down of how much of its parking revenue comes from meters versus tickets – but the combined sum is on the rise.
According to the city’s annual report, a total of $4.93 million was raised by parking fines, fees and meters in the last financial year, $500,000 more than in the previous 12 months.
The Courier obtained a list of every traffic infringement issued in 2013 through a Freedom of Information request.
Some of the areas attracting the most tickets changed between 2012 and 2013, including the hospital precinct.
In 2012, 1182 fines were issued outside the Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital, making it one of the worst areas for parking tickets in the city. In 2013, fewer fines were issued outside both the Base and St John of God hospitals.
The City of Ballarat has also invested in a third level for the car park currently under construction at the Base Hospital to ease parking problems in the area.
While the number of fines decreased at the hospital precinct, it rose sharply in some areas of the CBD.
More tickets were issued on Dawson Street South between Sturt Street and Dana Street than on any other block in 2013. The year before, it was not in the top five.
A similar amount of tickets were issued on Armstrong Street North and Lydiard Street North and south as the year before.
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