You park, you pay: Charlotte City Council hikes fines for these traffic infractions

Mary Ramsey
·3 min read

Drivers will now pay a higher fine for certain traffic infractions in Charlotte, a move that will make the city’s parking tickets the most expensive in the state.

The City Council unanimously voted Monday to revise Charlotte’s city code to increase the fine from $25 to $100 for drivers who:

  • Block an intersection

  • Park on a sidewalk

  • Park in a bike lane

  • Or park illegally on a streetcar right-of-way.

The fine for illegal commercial vehicle parking was also raised from $25 to $100, and the council approved a $25 per hour fine for drivers who leave their vehicles “illegally parked in metered and time-restricted spaces.”

Those are the highest fines in North Carolina, city manager Marcus Jones told the council.

The ordinance changes also included adding “illegal parking provisions” for public bicycle paths, streetcar right-of-ways, electric vehicle spaces and loading zones. The vote also approved updates in the city’s ordinance for definitions of phrases such as “commercial vehicle” and “plug-in electric vehicle” to align with state statutes and the city’s Unified Development Ordinance.

The changes are “effective immediately upon approval,” according to the council’s agenda, and were first recommended to the council by the city’s Quality of Life Team in September.

Some council members said they weren’t sure if even a $100 fine will be enough to deter illegal parking, particularly for commercial drivers.

“Our commercial parking throughout the city is getting worse day by day,” District 2 representative Malcolm Graham said.

At-large Council member Lawana Slack-Mayfield floated the idea of a motion to make the fine $300, but that failed to gain traction.

“Do we have the opportunity to have a much more robust conversation regarding the fine increase?” she asked.

Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston said he was a “reluctant” yes vote, saying he believes “punitive punishments are not good ways to get community-wide changes.”

District 6 representative Tariq Bokhari said he supports the changes but thinks it’s important to also keep in mind how hard it can be to find parking in parts of Charlotte. “I would just have us remember that there’s a two-sided coin here,” he said.

Moving forward, council members said they want to hear regular updates from city staff on whether Monday’s changes are making a difference on traffic issues.

Other City Council notes

  • Tree canopy: City Council members heard a presentation on the city’s tree canopy at Monday’s meeting, something that left multiple members “pleasantly surprised.” Charlotte has lost trees, the presentation said, but at a slower rate than expected. And while it will take more work, the city’s long-term canopy goal is still attainable. City staff said they will present recommendations on how to accomplish that goal to the council alongside Trees Charlotte in 2024.

  • Transit system: Members also heard from interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle, who said the transit system will ask the council to approve a new contractor, National Express Service, to run its bus system later in November. The new contract would begin in February, when current contractor RATP-Dev’s contract ends. Bus operators would not lose their jobs in the process.

  • Arts plan: The council voted 9-2 to accept a new arts and culture plan for the city, but not before multiple council members expressed concerns about a lack of specificity in the plan. Bokhari introduced a substitute motion for the council to “receive” the plan rather than “accept” it, but that motion failed. Bokhari and District 7 representative Ed Driggs voted against accepting the plan.

  • COVID relief funds: Bokhari and Driggs were also the two votes against allocating $5.95 million in COVID relief funds towards anti-displacement programs. Funds were also approved for multiple “business opportunity hubs.”

  • Carolina Theatre renovations: The council voted unanimously to extend the completion deadline for renovations to the Carolina Theatre from the end of 2023 to Dec. 31, 2025. They also committed an additional $2 million in tourism funds to the project.

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