It’s bad news for people who like to play chicken with parking wardens, or think parking on the footpath is fair game: Christchurch’s parking fines may increase by 70% as soon as October.

That would boost the fine given by the city council to overstayers (in a free five-minute spot, for example) from $12 to $20 at a minimum, or up to $97 if they stayed for more than six hours.

For someone parking in a restricted or cultivated area - like a grass berm, footpath or cycleway - the fine may jump from $40 to $70.

Someone double parked - or parked inconsiderately - would be slapped with a $100 ticket instead of a $60 one. It would be the same cost increase for someone parked in an area reserved for charging EVs.

Stephen Wright, the council’s head of transport operations, said fee increases would better offset the cost of enforcement while positively changing driver behaviours.

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