LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The city of Louisville is stepping up its war on illegal parking. The Parking Authority of River City will soon begin placing boots on vehicles with three or more unpaid parking tickets -- even if the car is parked legally.

The new regulations will begin on May 7 to allow people who already have three or more tickets to pay them to avoid the boot.

The change in policy (in the past, vehicles could only be booted if they were parked illegally even if the owner already had three tickets) comes after the Metro Council approved an amendment to the parking ordinance.

Mayor Greg Fischer signed the amended ordinance this week.

"These are habitual offenders who continue to break the law and not pay the consequence," said Cathy Duncan, PARC's executive director. "On-street parking is purposefully made available for patrons of nearby businesses and is therefore short-term parking. People who continue to use it for longer-term parking will be penalized."

The change comes four years after booting was originally introduced to the city.

Since the beginning of the booting program, $778,769 has been collected. Currently, there are 19,145 people with three or more outstanding citations (93,590 total citations), totaling more than $3.3 million in outstanding revenue.

While it has been a successful program, one of the drawbacks of the original ordinance is that the car must be illegally parked in order to be booted, Duncan said.

Anybody who suspects they may have unpaid parking citations are encouraged to visit the PARC website (www.louisvilleky.gov/parc) and click "Search for Citation."

Payments can be made online at www.louisvilleky.gov/parc, in person at 430-A S. Third Street, or by calling 502.569.6222. PARC contracts with Republic Parking System for parking enforcement.

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