Parking Fine!!

I

ItalianObsession

New member
Hi there

Really hope someone can help!

Ive been researching for hours on where to and where not to park in Florence and thought i had it sussed! i parked there yesterday in a blue line space that DID NOT SHOW ANY RESTRICTIONS IM SURE! I paid for 4 hrs of parking, displayed my ticket, even checked with a local that it was ok to park there and went to the market. We came back to a ticket saying that I had parked in a prohibited zone for street cleaning but I didn't see any signs so I feel like they're just trying their luck cos they saw a foreign car.

How can I argue this fine and do I have a chance of winning? Or is it not worth it? I feel really cheated as I tried so hard to make sure I was parked in the correct place. Plus there were loads of other cars there too! Surely if there was street cleaning restrictions then no car should have been parked along there??

Please help as this is really stressing me out :(

Many thanks in advance
 
Parking fine

Are you still in Florence? Why don't you go to the policeman-station (stazione vigili urbani) and ask for the reason you got a fine? (or ask your hotel reception, or the tourist information office to call there and find out). I am sure there is a reason.... It is not always easy to understand where you are allowed to park....blue signs on the road sometimes mean that parkings are "for residents only" (this is perhaps the reason why you have seen a lot of other cars parked there) but, if this was the case, you need a special permit to park your car there, those parkings are not for everyone, but only for people who live there....
Hope you enjoyed you holiday anyway!
best regards,
Tourist Information office of Sovicille
info@prolocosovicille.it
 
Parking fine

Hi there

Thank you for such a prompt response! As you say, the signs can be difficult to understand!! The box ticked on the ticket was something to do with street cleaning, so I don't think it was a residents area, but it doesn't explain exactly what I did wrong!

We are still here so I will try and find a tourist office to help. I can speak a little Italian but certainly not enough to dispute a parking fine! Hopefully they can help.



Thanks again for your reply
 
Yes, I agree - head to a local police station or to the APT office (there is one on Via Cavour near Palazzo Medici Riccardi as well as one at the back of the Church of Santa Maria Novella, the back side that faces the train station) and see whether they can help you figure it out.

Blue marked spaces in Florence can definitely be used by any vehicles (white ones are for residents) and street cleaning usually happens at night, so I am not understanding why the ticket would have been given during the day while you were at the market. Make sure to go with the street address and area you were parked in written down, they can double check with their info when street cleaning happens there. Can you go back and take pictures of the area you were parked in? When you returned to your car, were there still lots of other cars around and did they have tickets too?
 
Parking fine

Hi Lourdes

Thanks so much for replying.

You know, my Mum suggested taking photos and I was so upset about the fine I said there's probably no point! (mums are always right!)

I would happily drive all the way back (we're actually staying in Montespertoli) to take photos and go to an ATP office there. The space was definitely, definitely blue - I even spoke to a local guy who said we'd found a great place to park for the market!!

I've kept the pay and display ticket to prove the time we were there and I'll go back and photograph the space I parked in and the road if it will help.

I wouldn't be complaining if I just parked haphazardly somewhere, but because I researched so thoroughly were tourists can park, getting a fine is a real slap in the face!!

Thanks again, and Lourdes the info you provide for people on your site and blog etc. is amazing. I used your stuff a lot while planning our trip this year!! So very helpful :)
 
Parking fine

There were lots of other cars when we parked up (which is why we felt lucky to have found the space) and the road was still full when we got back.

I was thinking that if it was for street cleaning then surely there should be no cars parked down there at all?? They couldn't just have wanted our space for cleaning? And I know the cleaning signs show when the cleaning takes place and there was no sign showing this
 
We just learned this summer ourselves that it doesn't matter whether there are other cars parked there as well - actually, we did the same, thinking if others park here, then it must be okay. We got a parking ticket too. Best thing is to pay it, rather than risk late penalties fees later.

Even with rental cars, they'll track you down months later and send the ticket to you back home. At least that is what we have received as feedback as what happens, both here, on our comments sections and on FB :(
 
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