DALLAS — Is your vehicle registration expired? If so, you might want to take care of that ASAP, as drivers can now be fined for parking vehicles without proper and up-to-date registration in Dallas.
On Wednesday, Dallas City Council passed an ordinance that makes parking with an expired registration, an expired license plate or without a license plate a civil offense that could result in a fine of up to $500.
In a June memo announcing the proposed ordinance, former Dallas Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry (now the city manager in DeSoto) wrote that the policy change was sparked after the city’s Department of Transportation staff found many vehicles without proper registration “take up valuable curb space which could be used by nearby residents.”
"The Department of Transportation receives numerous complaints regarding parked motor vehicles on public streets with expired registrations, expired temporary paper plates, or no license plates," the memo read. "Upon investigation, staff determined many of the vehicles are legally parked, but are being left on the public street or repair and/or resale purposes. These activities lead to discarded vehicle parts and containers being left in and along the roadway. In addition, various vehicle fluids are being released on to the street and may flow into storm drains. These vehicles also take up valuable curb space which could be used by nearby residents."
The memo concluded that, without any city ordinance in place to cover such situations, a new one was needed "to cover this gap."
The Parking Management and Enforcement Division of the Transportation and Public Works Department will begin issuing warning citations from Monday, August 19 through Monday, Sept. 3, according to a press release. After that, regular citations will be issued. The fine amount is $45, according to city officials.
A similar ordinance is in place in Garland.
