Can sticky tickets drive the wardens away?

A call for an adhesive strip on parking tickets issued by the County Council was made at last week's meeting of the council.

Cllr Emer Toibin called for the strips to prevent disputed fines, where tickets have blown away from the windscreen.

She called on Meath County Council to "amend the design of parking tickets issued from its public parking machines to include an adhesive strip or section, similar to those used in other local authorities, to allow motorists to securely affix the ticket to the inside of their vehicle windscreen."

"This small change would ensure better visibility for traffic wardens, reduce the number of disputed fines due to dislodged or misplaced tickets, and improve the overall efficiency of parking enforcement across the county.”

Cllr Toibin said people have had to pay the fine even if they had already paid for parking and were unsuccessful in appeals.

She was told that instances of tickets blowing away or falling down are very rare, and fines issued in these cases can be appealed and resolved with proof of payment.

New meters were installed in three towns in 2020. The type of ticket cannot be changed without removing and replacing all meters.

MCC is endeavouring to maximise the use of modern technology, and as the life cycle of current meters ends, they will replace the current meters with “Modern Smart Parking Meters”, allowing options such as: contactless and multi-payment options such as accepting coins, credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, and apps, negating the need for a ticket altogether, license plate recognition (LRP), enhancing enforcement and reducing the need for physical permits.

The council will also look at dynamic pricing, facilitating adjusted rates based on demand, time of day, or special events.

Energy efficiency will also be taken into consideration and any new meters will be solar-powered and designed for low energy consumption.

Clr Tóibín was told the parking team checked with other local authorities and was advised that none of them use adhesive tickets at present.