Parking fines in Steinbach are going up. Councillor Cari Penner says city council this week received a report on the matter from the administration. She notes the current fine of $15 hadn't been reviewed in about 15 years. Penner says the administration report indicated Steinbach's fines were well below those in other communities.

"Ours are certainly much too low to be prohibitive at all. So we decided that rather than enact something that would be too high for people and would discourage them form parking in the downtown area, we would make it a fair and equitable amount. $40 and $20 if paid within seven days."

Councillor Michael Zwaagstra told council the purpose of parking fines is not to generate revenue.

"It's about making sure that parking is available when people need it. And so the reason that we have parking meters and the reason we have two-hour limits in some of the areas is to encourage the turnover of the traffic. The purpose of the fine is to set it high enough that people will want to make sure that they move their cars (when time is up) to make space for others but not so high that they're not willing to park in that area at all. It's about having a proper balance and we think this fine reflects that balance."

Council was unanimous in approving the change although Deputy Mayor John Fehr suggested the fine should be higher to serve as a proper deterrent.

"I don't think that's a deterrent at all. I have been a recipient of having to park somewhere else because of people that parked there when I really needed it. Sometimes I'll take my granddaughter, and when my son was here, I actually had to drop my kids off sometimes and then I had to walk from a distance and pick them up. To me this is no deterrent at all. I think it should be $100 and maybe $40 for the reduced fee (if paid in seven days) but this is not enough in my opinion."

Chief Administrative Officer Troy Warkentin says the $40 fine will take effect around the beginning of August, once they've had a chance to print new tickets and documents.

City council also gave final approval to a doubling of the fine to $100 for people who park illegally in handicapped parking spots. There is no easing of that fine for paying within seven days.