Wayne County tells visitors to park right or get towed
By Steve Herring
Published in News on August 4, 2010 1:46 PM
Beginning Thursday, anyone parking in the county-owned parking lots around the county courthouse had better be properly parked or they could find their vehicle missing when they return to the lot.
County commissioners Tuesday morning invoked a state law that allows the county to regulate parking on county-owned property.
Parking, long a problem around the courthouse, is expected to be even worse next week when the first-degree murder trial for Cesar Laurean gets under way.
County Manager Lee Smith said the basis for the board's decision was two-fold.
"It has been a problem because people have been double parking and actually parking by the islands and people cannot back out," he said. "We have had altercations and it has not been safe."
Also, there are concerns that the parking situation will deteriorate because of the public and media attention the Laurean trial is expected to generate, he said.
Smith said a county staff member would be selected to ensure that the ordinance is enforced.
The county is currently looking at several potential towing companies and signs will be installed with the name of the towing company and a phone number to call, he said.
Violations include vehicles that are:
* Not parked within a marked designated parking lots on Courthouse Square and in parking lots across the street from Courthouse Square
* Parked in handicapped designated spaces that do not have the necessary handicap decal
* Parked in a reserved parking space that does not have the necessary information on the driver's side of the dashboard that can be seen from outside the vehicle.
Any vehicle in violation will be subject to being towed and stored. When that happens the owner will have to pay the towing company for the cost of towing and storage.