Darien Street Parking Violations Will Cost More, to Match Parking Lot Violations

If you get a parking ticket on a Darien street, it’s now going to cost you double or even triple what it cost before: Most violations are doubling, from a $15 ticket to $30 one, and $60 if not paid within 15 days.

The Darien Board of Police Commissioners raised the price of tickets for violations on streets (which the commission controls) to match the fines for town parking lots (which the Board of Selectmen controls and already raised).

The board held a short public hearing Wednesday at 3:45 p.m., in which no member of the public showed up (it was unclear how much the hearing had been publicized) and then unanimously voted to raise the fines at the board’s regular meeting at 4 p.m.

Little discussion took place before the vote. The Board of Selectmen requested that the police commissioners raise the fines.

Here’s a list of the violations and what you’ll pay if you get ticketed for them. The biggest increase, and the biggest fine, is for parking in a handicapped parking space — which quadruples.

Fine Amounts

This list shows the violations, the old fine, the new fine and the fine if not paid in 15 days:

• Parking in a no parking zone; all-night parking; overtime parking; improper parking; failure to display parking voucher; failure to obtain or display parking sticker; obstructing crosswalk; obstructing a driveway; obstructing a fire hydrant; obstructing a street; parking within 25 feet of a street corner; parking away from the curb; double parking; failure to park on right side of road; parking on a sidewalk — WAS 15; NOW $30; if not paid in 15 days: $60
• Parking in a fire lane — WAS $25; NOW $100; if not paid in 15 days: $130
• Improper parking in a handicapped space — WAS $50; NOW $150 with no late fee

Downtown parking enforcement, both in parking lots and on the street, is done by Department of Public Works employees, Police Capt. Donald Anderson said in a memorandum to the board.

Technically, the ticket should be paid at the Police Department or by mail within 15 days of the date on the ticket, but the department’s records office has been pretty forgiving, Anderson said, and if the postmark on an envelope for a mail payment is within the 15-day deadline, the clerks haven’t been charging the higher costs.