Starting Monday, the city will start to put wheel clamps on vehicles with four or more unpaid parking citations.
Drivers will receive a 72-hour warning that gives them another chance to settle their parking fines before an immobilization device is attached to their wheels.
These devices will not be used on first-time violators — but instead for repeated violation of parking regulations that remain unresolved after their court dates, according to a city news release.
Parking enforcement agents will first place green warning notices on a vehicle to give the owner another chance to pay any outstanding balances. If the balance still remains unpaid after 72 hours, the agents will either put a clamp on the wheel or tow the vehicle.
“Our goal is voluntary compliance, not immobilizing vehicles,” Tiffany Heibel, parking maintenance and enforcement supervisor, said in the release. “Drivers who pay or contest their parking citations on time will never encounter these devices. They are intended only for those who repeatedly ignore citations and fail to address them through the court process.”
Similar to the barnacle, which is another parking enforcement device used by the city, wheel immobilizers prevent the vehicle from being driven and incurring any new parking violations.
When fines are paid or other arrangements are made through the Municipal Court, the device is removed, according to the release.
How to pay parking fines
Payment for a parking citation is due 15 days after receipt. Payments can be processed at the following locations, or online, at:
- Violations Bureau, 600 E. Broadway, second floor
- Columbia Police Department, 600 E. Walnut St.
- Online at Pay.CoMo.gov
- IVR/Phone: (573) 874-7694, option four
Payments made at the Police Department after 9 a.m. will not be credited until the next business day.
