Curious

30 euro fine for parking offender who paid extra

Two different short-term parking zones meet opposite the Wels provincial court(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

He wanted to do everything right: A man from Attersee bought a parking ticket in Wels using a cell phone app. However, he was parked in the free zone and should have set the parking meter instead. He was fined 30 euros for this. After "Krone" research, the mayor of Wels waived the fine after all. 

Not all short-term parking zones are the same! Some are subject to charges, others are not. In the former, a parking ticket must be purchased from a machine or cell phone, whereas in the free parking zones it is sufficient to deposit a parking meter. So far, so simple. Things only get tricky when a paid and a free short-term parking zone are adjacent to each other. A "Krone" reader in Wels found just such a spot.

The man from Attersee parked his car on the blue line and bought a parking ticket using the mobile parking app. When he returned less than two hours later, still within the permitted parking time, he was very surprised to see an organ ticket for "no proof of short-term parking" flashing out from behind his windshield wiper.

Not familiar with the area
When asked, he was told that this was correct because: He had parked his car right at the beginning of the free short-term parking zone and had not left any proof in his car. "I am of course aware that the mistake was mine," said the car dealer. The 30 euros weren't a big problem either, but as someone unfamiliar with the area, he didn't know his way around.

Fine turned into a warning
"There are several places like this in Wels, this one is actually well marked," says Wels Deputy Mayor Gerhard Kroiß. "However, I understand that, especially if you're coming from out of town and are possibly under stress." The Deputy Mayor backed this up with results: After a phone call with the park sheriffs from the Austrian Security Service, the fine was converted into a warning. Kroiß: "He acted in good faith and also paid, but the guards couldn't have known that."