In an effort to increase revenue, the City Council decided last year to nearly double the fee for parking ticket violations to $50 throughout the city. The policy-makers also increased the time limit in some parts of Winslow from two to three hours, and later in the year added a second parking enforcement officer.

Predictably, revenue from parking tickets has increased by more than 50 percent since the new officer was hired, and that’s likely to increase even more since, with two officers working the island, parking enforcement now occurs seven days a week.

There’s been a lot of grumbling and complaints, some from ticketed citizens and also some business owners who think the old two-hour limit and lower ticket fee was a better way to go. And there also seems to be an increased number of violations around the ferry terminal, especially involving disabled parking spaces.

The parking police are also branching out in areas that they normally have ignored, including the Rolling Bay Service Center. People are receiving tickets, for example, when they park on the wrong side (pointed toward oncoming traffic) around Bay Hay & Feed and the Bainbridge Island Municipal Court.

While these actions strike some people as being contrary to the rural lifestyle enjoyed on the island, such increased diligence is not unusual these days as many cities see funds derived from parking violations as needed revenue. However, the addition of an employee certainly will cut into that increase.

Still, if you don’t break the law you won’t be ticketed. That’s the best way to avoid the extra cost.