Aspinwall parking fines going up, waterproof citations in use

The cost of paying off a parking ticket in Aspinwall has gone up.

The borough has also done away with the yellow envelope citations officers had to write on and could be damaged in heavy rain.

Police are using handheld devices now that both print and electronically store citation information. Tickets come out on waterproof paper so they are easy to read and withstand the elements better.

Officers can use the devices to take photos of license plates, meters and other related things for traffic enforcement and print them on the ticket.

The changes also allow people to pay the fines online or over the phone. Information on how to do that is printed on the ticket.

Changes took effect May 16.

“It makes (ticketing) a little easier and made residents more knowledgeable,” deputy police Chief Mike Vith said May 20.

Fines for an expired meter went up from $5 to $10.

Citations for obstruction of vehicle traffic, obstruction of a fire lane, of hydrant access and of driveways all went up from $15 to $50.

Fines for parking violations at a no-parking sign, in a one-hour parking area, in a resident-only parking area and in a merchant lot or in the parking areas along Freeport Road went up from $15 to $50.

Other parking fines remained the same, for instance for violating the parking schedule for street sweeping. That fine will remain at $10.

Fines delinquent after 30 days are $50.

Handicapped parking violations remain $100.

It is the first increase in fines since the 1990s.

Information was posted on the borough website and police Facebook page about the increased fines.

Police Chief David Namec said his department classifies all the above as ordinance violations. Officers issued 5,390 ordinance violations last year.

He said the fines are not to make people dig deeper into their pockets, but to make them more aware of their surroundings and “read signs.”

Another goal is to have residents get up-to-date parking permits.

Complaints about the fine hikes have been minimal so far.

“I’m really surprised it has not been as bad as I thought it was going to be,” the borough’s Assistant Manger Dawn Eastley said during the first week of the increases. “They’ve been paying them. I’ve not been having anybody yelling or carrying on at the window, but it’s early yet.”

Council approved the fee hike for traffic violations last August. They did not go into effect until mid-May because the borough did not have the hardware and software upgrades in place, borough Manager Melissa Lang O’Malley said.

The borough bought the two hand-held citation makers from Fort Washington-based UPsafety at $3,000 each.

It also approved a three-year contract with the company for service for $3,000 annual maintenance fee. Aspinwall owns the machines.

Officers in the past would have to give boxes of citations to borough staff for record keeping. The new devices upload information for online storage.

“I think this makes it more efficient time-wise,” Namec said.