Tag: Parking
Birmingham Council Amends Laws Affecting Predatory Towing, Plan More Changes
The Birmingham City Council wrestled with the issue of predatory towing this week and passed two ordinances to start addressing the problems.
Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, who heads the council’s transportation committee, has worked to resolve complaints on both issues since 2017.
After council approval of the ordinances, he called the action “a milestone because it has been a lot of effort.” Read more.
Birmingham City Council Sets Aug. 29 Public Hearing on Towing, Parking Changes
Members of the public will be able to address Birmingham city councilors Aug. 29 regarding proposed changes to local ordinances regulating towing from paid parking lots in the city. City councilors are considering revisions to the ordinances after widespread public complaints about predatory towing and other parking-related issues around Birmingham. Read more.
Birmingham to Air Proposal on Predatory Towing During Wednesday Public Hearing
The Birmingham City Council will hold a public hearing Wednesday to discuss predatory towing practices in the city.
For more than a decade, Parking Enforcement Systems, a private towing company operating in downtown Birmingham, has been the subject of numerous complaints over its practice of removing cars from downtown lots. In May 2013, the council approved an ordinance capping towing fees at $160 per vehicle — PES had been charging more than $280 — but complaints that the company has aggressive practices have continued. In one instance in September, a 29-year-old Birmingham resident was shot and killed on a Parking Systems Enforcement lot after an argument with a PES employee over a towed vehicle escalated into violence. Read more.
