Doylestown Borough. Photo by James Short.
Borough Council voted last week to advertise an ordinance that would increase the fine for exceeding the borough’s 15-minute parking limit from $10 to $50, marking the first change to the penalty since the spaces were created in the 1990s.
The proposed amendment updates the borough code governing motor vehicles and parking and would specifically raise the fine for violations of the 15-minute parking limitations.
Borough officials said the increase is intended to create a meaningful deterrent and bring the fine in line with other comparable parking penalties.
At the Feb. 23 meeting, Councilman Robert Kinney asked how long the fine had remained at its current level.
Browne responded that the $10 fine dated back to 1993, when the 15-minute spaces were first created. Davis confirmed the penalty had not been updated since that time.
“So, there’s a little bit of catching up to do,” Kinney said.
Council President Jack O’Brien noted the increase would bring the fine into alignment with other similar parking violations, including fines associated with required parking spaces.
Davis explained that because the 15-minute parking section was added later, it existed as a separate portion of the code and was inadvertently left unchanged during prior borough-wide fine adjustments over the past 25 years.
“Our director of parking operations noticed that discrepancy,” Davis said, adding that parking staff reported some motorists were aware the low fine functioned as “a bit of a get out of jail free card.”
“There are some folks who are not deterred right now who will be deterred after this,” Davis said.
Councilman Dennis Livrone asked whether the violation was frequent. Davis said it occurred fewer than 40 times last year, and added that borough enforcement policy provides a buffer.
“I will tell you that our protocol is to identify the cars in the space in the free 15-minute spaces and not issue a ticket for at least a half an hour,” Davis said.
If adopted after advertisement, the ordinance would take effect five days after approval.
