I REFER to last Wednesday's letter, 'Insert graciousness into URA's grace period' by Mr Tan Tatt Si.
Mr Tan said he parked his car at Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Carpark B when he went to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on April 23 to donate blood platelets. He said he was delayed in the donation process and was fined $10 for overparking. He felt URA should be gracious and waive his fine.
We appreciate that Mr Tan is a blood platelet donor. This is admirable. In reviewing appeals for waivers of parking fines from motorists, however, URA takes other factors into consideration, besides the fact that the motorist is a blood donor.
First, URA is sympathetic to motorists using this carpark. We understand motorists visiting SGH may be delayed for reasons beyond their control. URA gives a considerable grace period in this carpark to allow motorists to return to their vehicles to drive off or renew their coupons for extended periods of parking.
At the same time, we must ensure that motorists park responsibly, and comply with parking regulations so as not to inconvenience other motorists. We also have to verify any justifications furnished by motorists when reviewing their appeals.
In Mr Tan's case, he had overparked for more than one hour, which far exceeded the usual grace period there.
We understand a hospital visit for blood platelet donation process normally takes two to three hours. This is made known to the public on SGH's website and is known to regular donors. Mr Tan displayed a $1 parking coupon with a start time of 11.20am for a one hour parking duration. The carpark is a 10-minute walk from the haematology centre. Based on the record of his visit to the centre, Mr Tan arrived and registered at the centre at 11.15am and completed the process at 2pm.
A parking offence notice was issued to Mr Tan at 1.23pm, after the parking coupon displayed had expired for more than an hour.
In reviewing appeals from motorists for waivers of fines, URA also takes into account the track record of the motorist. If he has a number of parking offences, we tend to view the appeal less favourably. Taking in the circumstances of the case and Mr Tan's track record, we could not accede to the appeal. Nonetheless, while the fine should be $20 for more than one hour of overparking, we factored in the grace period and fined him only $10.
Lim Eng Chong
Deputy Director (Land Administration, Carparks)
Urban Redevelopment Authority
