Since September, Selwyn District Council has issued 493 infringement notices across the district.
The council started monitoring car parks in October 2022 but did not have a dedicated staff member focused on parking until September this year.
In the first six months from October 2022 to April this year, the council issued 100 infringement notices, but adopted an education-first approach, mostly giving out warnings initially.
But one Leeston resident told Selwyn Times he received a parking ticket for his campervan sticking out over part of the footpath.
He said it was the first time in six and a half years of parking there that he had been told he was doing something wrong.
“The only thing that upset me was how they went about doing it,” he said.
The resident said he would have liked to have seen a warning given first, rather than a $40 fine.
“I feel like they should have come and spoken to me about it.”
The resident spoke with district council staff but they would not waive his fine.
Ellesmere Ward district councillor Shane Epiha said he has received a lot of messages about fines.
“It seems people have been caught off guard by the adjustment,” Epiha said.
Council head of regulatory Susan Atherton said the change has been driven by residents’ concerns.
“Due to the volume of requests we are receiving from residents, we added an additional staff member in the regulatory team in September to assist with responding to residents’ requests around parking safety.”
Between August last year and the end of July this year, the council compliance team received a total of 1464 complaints, of which 844 were vehicle-related, including parking issues.
A number of other residents reported on social media they had received fines, mostly for parking on a berm.
