Changing the rules for parking fees in cities can have dramatic consequences for some. It is hard to call a disabled woman being asked to pay 18 thousand złoty differently. There are other examples from other cities.
This woman does not want to reveal her identity. She is a disabled person. Previously, she could park for free in Katowice, but on December 1st last year, the city changed the rules. She did not know about it. In July, she received a fine. A collective one.
– On each of those days where a photo of my parked car was taken, the amount due is shown as 300 PLN. There are 60 of these dates here, which gives a total of 18 thousand. What is shocking to me is that the notification of the violation of the regulations reached me only after half a year – says the woman.
Bartosz Kurek accidentally failed to extend his parking subscription. A few days of delay and a 1200 PLN fine, which he only found out about when he called the Municipal Streets and Bridges Authority himself.
– Nobody is interested in listening to us. Not at all. We are bouncing off the walls. We get an automatic response to all letters that we should have looked, we should have been careful – says Bartosz Kurek, a resident of Katowice.
“It's better to know the rules”
Previously, parking fees were checked by inspectors who placed a notice of the fine behind the windshield wipers. They were replaced by vehicles that scan license plates. The notes behind the windshield wiper disappeared. Notices about fees appeared on the streets.
– It's better to know the regulations, to be familiar with them. When we go to another city or another country, we also have to familiarize ourselves with the rules in force in that city, in that country. Well, unfortunately, not knowing these regulations can be harmful to us – says Dawid Kwiecień, representative of the Municipal Streets and Bridges Authority in Katowice and the Katowice Publishing Agency.
Katowice has won court cases twice related to the parking zone. In Gdynia, the court ordered some regulations to be changed, but the problem of reporting fines remained.
– At the last session of the city council, we adjusted the parking resolution in the part that the provincial administrative court expected from us, we also clarified the method of calculating this fee, how it looks, what the process looks like, but there is still no such automatism – says Łukasz Piesiewicz, Gdynia councilor.
Since December, more than 20,000 drivers have been fined for parking errors in Katowice. Forty-two received fines exceeding 10,000 złoty.
– We will consider these cases individually. If it is justified, certain reliefs will be applied – announces Dawid Kwiecień.
Our disabled interviewee filed an appeal. A month ago. She's still waiting. By expanding the paid parking zone, a new fee collection system was introduced. It's fully automatic and absolute. In Katowice, parking mistakes cost a lot.
Main image source: TVN24