It’s wise to stock up on loose change before you go since free parking permitted on perpendicular streets is harder than ever to find.
Motorists heading to downtown Chapala for business or pleasure should take note that the pay-to-park system set up along the full length of Paseo Ramon Corona is now fully activated. It’s wise to stock up on loose change before you go since free parking permitted on perpendicular streets is harder than ever to find.
Vehicles left in the paid parking zone are being ticketed regularly for omission of payment and for exceeding time limits. Sanctions may also be applied for other types of violations, summarized below.
Not to be confused with the blue and white citations issued by state traffic officers, the 20-centimeter parking ticket is issued in black-and-white original with a yellow carbon copy, labeled at the top with the Chapala coat-or-arms, a Folio number and the legend “cedula de notificación de infracción” in capital letters. Blank spaces are filled in by authorized inspectors who monitor the pay-to-park zone. They are uniformed in khaki slacks and white monogrammed shirts.
Meter use
To avoid getting hit with a fine, drivers must be sure to drop coins into one of the 10 electronic meters installed along the avenue, retrieve the printed receipt and place it face up in a visible spot on the dash board before locking up and abandoning their cars. The receipt shows the date, expiration time in large numbers, amount, time length and meter number.
The devices are easy to operate if the user follows the step-by-step instructions displayed on the face in intelligible English and Spanish. They are equipped for deposit of coins only in one, two, five and ten peso denominations, and do not dispense change.
Four of the machines are spaced along the sidewalks running on the north side of the street, two are located on the narrow walkway paralleling the opposite side, and four more are set adjacent to the lower level lateral road.
Payment is obligatory seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., with the exception of official Mexican holidays. The standard rate runs at six pesos per hour, payable in two-peso increments for each 20-minute period.
Dealing with tickets
Persons who receive parking tickets will have to visit the city hall building to pay up. Fees are collected at the cashier window in the main lobby during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. After-hours personnel stand duty just inside the entrance from 3 to 9 p.m. on week days and 9 to 9 on Saturdays and Sundays. Cashiers are required to hand out official government receipts in exchange for payment. Eventually nearby Oxxo and 7-Eleven outlets will be authorized to handle parking fines.
Tariff scale
A table listing the different types of sanctions and their costs is printed on the back of the page. A 50-percent discount will be applied if paid within five working days of issuance.
The full fine for omission of payment (including overstaying time) is set at 200 pesos. There is a 450-peso charge for occupying two parking spaces. The same tariff is applicable in cases when the inspector clamps a boot on the wheel to immobilize the vehicle.
Based on the municipal code of parking regulations, the rate jumps steeply for other violations in areas considered to be under the city’s jurisdiction:
- 581 pesos for blocking driveways, invading no parking zones at intersections and parking horizontally in a diagonal space or vice versa.
- 600 pesos applied to unauthorized persons who charge motorists a fee for parking on public thoroughfares.
- 1,500 pesos for occupying exclusive parking zones, such as those designated for firemen or the handicapped.
- 1,590 pesos for inserting inappropriate coins, plugs or other foreign objects in the meters and for damaging the apparatus.
- 2,500 pesos for interfering in inspection or ticketing procedures, blocking the meter coin slots, and falsification or other misuse of duly authorized personal parking permits issued for regulated zones.
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