Blue zone parking rules in 'shambles,' Colbert says

St. John's city council is confused about its power to issue tickets in disabled blue zones.

Last week, the city upped the penalty for illlegal parking in a zone to $400 from $75.

Now, council doesn't know if it can collect the money at all.

"The regulations are absolutely in shambles," Coun. Gerry Colbert said.

"I have two pieces of provincial government legislation here dealing with the issue of how you ticket, how you handle, how you enforce ... and they are in conflict with each other."

In one piece of legislation, issuing a ticket requires evidence that the driver has ignored both a handicap sign and blue paint on the ground.

In the other, a ticket only requires evidence of one marker.

The confusion is leading to cases being thrown out in court and some wrongdoers not getting ticketed at all. 

"The city has not been issuing tickets unless there is both a sign and a blue space," said Robert Bursey, a lawyer in the city’s legal department.

The city doesn't know many spots are missing markers. 

Officials said they are working on a solution to make people who illegally park in disabled zones pay.