The Dubbo Regional Council will not copy the Bland Shire Council's forgiving approach to parking fines.
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The Western New South Wales council based at West Wyalong is currently not fining those who overstay their allotted time in a parking zone.
Instead, motorists are finding a gentle reminder on a slip of paper asking them not to exceed the parking limit in future.
“We're going through a tough drought and the atmosphere in town needs a little uplifting, and we certainly don't want to be the big bogey man that's going around imposing this type of fine when it's not necessary,” Bland Shire council general manager Ray Smith said.
Dubbo Regional Council mayor Ben Shields said while he appreciates what West Wyalong is trying to achieve it’s not a realistic option for a city the size of Dubbo.
“Our parking restrictions are in place to ensure people don’t park in a prime CBD space for the entire day, “ he said. “We want to give a number of people the chance to park close to where they conduct their business. If that doesn’t happen, the city will descend into chaos.
“It’s a nice theory, but in Dubbo, the initial pleasure at no parking fines would soon disappear when people struggled to get a park and certain sections of the CBD ground to a halt.”
Cr Shields said even with fines in place, the Council is struggling to get people to adhere to the rules.
“We’ve begun an awareness campaign with the Dubbo Chamber of Commerce to educate business owners and employees on all day parking areas they can use to avoid taking up the valuable parks in those prime retail areas,” he said.
“Council is looking at placing signs around the CBD to let people know about those unrestricted parking zones.”
“There are places such as behind the Macquarie Regional Library; the signs would let people know they are an option.”