Town driven to lessen parking perils
Towing law changes include lower fees, more readable signs
By Meiling Arounnarath, Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL -- Downtown visitors who park in private lots could see lower towing fees under a proposed change in the town's towing ordinance.
And they might be able to avoid towing altogether if they get to their cars before the vehicles have been attached to tow trucks.
The town's policy does not regulate fees or clearly explain the "rights and responsibilities" of the tow-truck operator and the owner or operator of the car being towed.
The town plans to hold a public hearing in February after a resident submitted a petition regarding private-lot towing regulations.
Margaret McCann wrote two letters to the Town Council in the fall. She said the town's ordinance should cover towing fee regulations and require larger type on no-parking signs.
She wrote to the town after her car and her husband's car were towed one night from Panera Bread's parking lot on West Franklin Street. The McCanns had to pay $150 each to have the cars returned, she said in a letter written to Panera and provided to the town.
"I'd also like to suggest that additional signs be posted where cars will see them once they're parked; it's impossible to read all of the text on the current signs when one is turning in from busy Franklin Street," McCann wrote in a letter dated Sept. 10, 2007.
At the public hearing, the town is considering the amendments the Chapel Hill Police Department recommended to the ordinance:
Drivers who park in private lots would pay no more than $100 for towing, and no more than $20 per day in storage fees. The storage fees would not apply within the first 24 hours of the vehicle being towed.
Tow-truck operators would call the police within 30 minutes of placing a vehicle in storage, providing police with the car's license tag number, a description of the car and where it is being stored.
A driver could avoid towing if he returned to his vehicle before it was attached to the towing truck. A driver who reached his car after it had been attached but before the tow truck had left a private lot would be charged no more than $50 and the vehicle would be released to him.
Contact staff writer Meiling Arounnarath at 932-2004 or meiling.arounnarath@nando.com
The Chapel Hill News
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/news/story/12123.html
Towing law changes include lower fees, more readable signs
By Meiling Arounnarath, Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL -- Downtown visitors who park in private lots could see lower towing fees under a proposed change in the town's towing ordinance.
And they might be able to avoid towing altogether if they get to their cars before the vehicles have been attached to tow trucks.
The town's policy does not regulate fees or clearly explain the "rights and responsibilities" of the tow-truck operator and the owner or operator of the car being towed.
The town plans to hold a public hearing in February after a resident submitted a petition regarding private-lot towing regulations.
Margaret McCann wrote two letters to the Town Council in the fall. She said the town's ordinance should cover towing fee regulations and require larger type on no-parking signs.
She wrote to the town after her car and her husband's car were towed one night from Panera Bread's parking lot on West Franklin Street. The McCanns had to pay $150 each to have the cars returned, she said in a letter written to Panera and provided to the town.
"I'd also like to suggest that additional signs be posted where cars will see them once they're parked; it's impossible to read all of the text on the current signs when one is turning in from busy Franklin Street," McCann wrote in a letter dated Sept. 10, 2007.
At the public hearing, the town is considering the amendments the Chapel Hill Police Department recommended to the ordinance:
Drivers who park in private lots would pay no more than $100 for towing, and no more than $20 per day in storage fees. The storage fees would not apply within the first 24 hours of the vehicle being towed.
Tow-truck operators would call the police within 30 minutes of placing a vehicle in storage, providing police with the car's license tag number, a description of the car and where it is being stored.
A driver could avoid towing if he returned to his vehicle before it was attached to the towing truck. A driver who reached his car after it had been attached but before the tow truck had left a private lot would be charged no more than $50 and the vehicle would be released to him.
Contact staff writer Meiling Arounnarath at 932-2004 or meiling.arounnarath@nando.com
The Chapel Hill News
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/news/story/12123.html
