Rotorua's parking ticket hotspots

More than $300,000 worth of parking fines have been waived by the district's council in the past year.

Rotorua District Council regulatory and support services manager Neven Hill said the council collected $503,131 from parking infringement fines in the past financial year, ending June 30. The central city street which collected the most tickets was Pukuatua St, followed by Tutanekai and Eruera Sts.

All revenue goes back into providing parking-related services across the district.

"This is not limited to staff costs, but includes marking of parking bays, provision of parking meters and pay and display machines and maintenance of areas where people park vehicles."

However, he said, $328,330 worth of fines were waived by council staff after people appealed against their tickets.

Of the 35,500 infringement notices issued last year, 2483 were waived for a number of reasons.

"Reasons people may get off include where they have already registered or warranted their vehicle, or were in the process of doing so, or if a parking meter was found to be faulty.

"We have waived tickets for some overseas visitors who weren't familiar with New Zealand rules and on sympathy grounds based on the particular circumstances of a person.

Mr Hill said people could apply in writing to the council outlining the reasons why they thought their infringement notice should be cancelled, providing proof of the same.

"The council will then consider the issues on their individual merits and respond in writing to the applicant," he said.

Mr Hill said more than half of the council's annual parking infringement revenue of $503,131 was from expired warrants and registrations, totalling $261,515. He said those fines were split evenly between warrants and registrations.

Last year, the council collected $241,616 from the 27,637 parking fines issued for being over time in a metered parking space.

"Parking wardens can issue many different infringements but are limited to offences for stationary vehicles only.

"These offences are not limited to, but include, bald tires, parking on a broken yellow line, parking over a fire hydrant, parking on a grass verge, parking in a clearway and parking in a mobility space without a permit."

Mr Hill said parking wardens mainly worked in the central business district but moved around the city to do compliance checks at suburban shopping centres, such as Ngongotaha, around schools and also responded to complaints received.

"They cannot work on private property."

Mr Hill said wardens did local patrols during major events, such as rugby games or netball tournaments, to ensure cars were parked in a way that allowed for the free flow of traffic.

"It is acknowledged that some people do get annoyed as they seem to believe it is okay to park across vehicle entrances, on broken yellow lines, bridges, clearways and grass verges.

"The easiest way to avoid receiving a parking ticket is simply to follow the basic road code rules.

"In many cases, wardens will assist people by warning them, making their experience a more positive one.

"Drivers do have a responsibility to ensure that residents are able to exit and enter their properties and also to ensure the way is kept clear for emergency vehicles," Mr Hill said.

But, compared with Tauranga, with a population of about 120,000, Rotorua, with a population of about 68,000, gets off lightly.

Tauranga residents paid $1.35 million in parking fines last year, a third of that coming from warrant and registration fines.