A parking officer issues a fine on a vehicle. Source: HeraldSun
THE golden hour between 11am and noon raked in $3 million dollars in parking fines last year.
An hourly breakdown of data from 2012/13 revealed 42,800 parking fines were handed out in Melbourne's CBD during the pre-lunch hour.
It was the busiest timeslot for parking inspectors who issued an average of three tickets per minute.
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Melbourne City data analysed by the Herald Sun showed parking fines spiked from 10am but peaked before noon.
Main streets where the fines were handed out are Lonsdale St, Queen St and Exhibition St attracting the most hits.
Parking signs drive Melburnians crazy with their confusing times. Source: HeraldSun
Collins St Precinct chairman Don Parsons called on the Melbourne City Council to consider time extensions on parking spaces during these hours to help local retailers.
"An hour is fine if you are coming in to pop into one shop," Mr Parsons said.
"But people drive to the city because we have some of the best shopping in Australia.
"We are at a disadvantage against the Chadstone shopping centres of the world with these parking fines and restrictions," he said.
He called on council to be more "liberal" by offering a 10-15 minute grace period.
The data analysed by the Herald Sun also showed the peak number of fines were issued on Thursday, closely followed by Wednesday and Friday.
Revenue from fines hit $43 million last financial year with 484,785 tickets issued.
The figure had increased by 23,000 from 2012/12 raking in an estimated $5.6 million extra for the council.
A Melbourne parking officer issues a fine. Source: HeraldSun
The number of fines issued is now level with 2010/11 data.
The council saw a drop in fines and revenue in 2011/12 after introducing faulty parking technology including numberplate recognition.
Melbourne City Council said the technology bungle had now been fixed prompting noncompliance rates to drop from 19 per cent to 12 per cent.
Spokesman Sam Bishop defended the fines saying more than 900,000 drivers parked in the city ever month and penalties encouraged turnover.
"Demand for car parking spaces in the City of Melbourne is extremely high.
"Parking rules exist to ensure a regular turnover of parking spaces and that the needs of all users - residents, workers, businesses and visitors are met.
"In order to have a high functioning city we need to maintain a steady turnover of car spaces. "Regular enforcement also ensures the safe and fair use of high demand on-street parking in the area."
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