Parking Copenhagen clams up over clamping rules

Parking officials in Copenhagen are keeping the rules under wraps, claiming drivers will argue with wardens and skirt around the law if they know the system. According to public broadcaster DR, Parking Copenhagen is withholding information about its regulations and issuing tickets without any reference to written policy.

DR received a 110-page document after requesting the official rules from the parking authorities in Denmark’s capital. They found that while sections included guidelines on how wardens should behave and issue tickets, large chapters concerning actual parking conventions were omitted.

When questioned about the missing information, Parking Copenhagen said that the data was “exempt from the law in that it is necessary for the protection of significant considerations regarding the implementation of public control, regulation or planning enterprises.” The group added that motorists would try to work around traffic laws if they became too familiar with the system and embark on long, semantic arguments with wardens issuing tickets.

Hans Gammeltoft, the parliamentary ombudsman, has rejected the department’s claims, however, saying he doubts that knowing the rules would make motorists evade the law, and that the argument “did not justify secrecy”.

According to the Copenhagen Post, the information Parking Copenhagen wants to keep secret includes policies on the positions of parked vehicles, tyre control, recommended observation times and parking wardens’ judgements.