Waipā District Council staff issue 169 parking tickets during March, most in the Te Awamutu and Cambridge CBDs.
Drivers were parked illegally in disabled parking spots, on broken yellow lines, on the footpath and breaching parking time restrictions.
More than 200 tickets have been issued in the last three months as the council counters parking issues in town centres.
Council compliance manager Karl Tutty said although parking has always been enforced in Waipā, Council had increased its efforts in this area from just responding to complaints, to active patrols.
“Prime parking spaces in Cambridge and Te Awamutu CBD areas should have a high turnover of cars, allowing more drivers to use them,” he said.
The highest ticketed areas have been Alpha, Victoria and Empire streets in Cambridge and Sloane Street and Selwyn Lane in Te Awamutu.
Parking tickets range from $15 to $150 depending on the offence.
In some cases, entire streets contained cars left in time-restricted spaces for an entire day and some drivers had received multiple tickets for repeat offences.
“Those who are getting the tickets aren’t happy about it but overall, we have seen an increase in parking turnover and availability which is great, and we’ve had some good feedback from residents too, particularly around disability parks and the safety issues of cars on footpaths,” Tutty said.
Parking maps which outline parking spaces in Cambridge and Te Awamutu centres are available at www.waipadc.govt.nz/parking.
