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Todd Platis says he intended to pay his three parking tickets.

"But then I ended up letting them go too long, and the cost goes up so fast," he said.

Platis didn't think it would become a big issue unless he got more tickets. But on Thursday morning he went outside to find a yellow boot on his wheel, a bill for $446 and a threat to impound the car if the fine wasn't paid by 9 p.m.

On Wednesday, Salt Lake City kicked off its new two-ticket limit by booting 27 cars with overdue fines. Platis said his car was booted while parked legally, but a scan of the license plate showed the three unpaid tickets from 2009 and 2010, including one issued for an overstay of 15 minutes.

"It's my fault," said Platis, who routinely pops in and out of two-hour spaces near his apartment at 300 S. 200 West because he has no permanent parking. "You do have to pay your parking tickets, but two is a little strict. I had no idea they'd boot me for three tickets."

Previously, the city reserved the impound lot for cars with six or more past-due parking tickets — a rule that Platis said was printed on the tickets he was originally issued.

"I wish they would have sent me something in the mail telling me the new policy," he said.

Under the new system, drivers can unlock the boots immediately with a credit card payment by phone. The fine for the boot is $191 — more than previous fines — plus the total amount due on previous violations.

The amount "may sound a little high ... but there is some overhead in this process," said Capt. Carroll Mays, who heads the city's parking-enforcement division.

Previously, officers impounded the cars of serial parking violators, which Mays described as a "big inconvenience" for motorists whose cars were taken on Friday nights and couldn't be retrieved until Monday. Booting faced the same problem, Mays said. Under the old system, boots could only be removed during business hours, leaving cars exposed to vandals and burglars.

Many of the 27 boots placed Wednesday were returned by Thursday, Mays said. One boot was returned so promptly, it was used twice.

"Nobody's happy about the fine, but at least they can have their car right away," Mays said.

Booted cars may still be impounded if the fee isn't paid within 24 hours. An extra $25 fee is charged every day the fine isn't paid — up to $500, Mays said. However, no deposit is required upfront, Mays said. Earlier information about the new ordinance indicated an upfront deposit.

The new system also goes beyond the usual hot spots downtown. Patrol cars with license-plate scanners are going into residential neighborhoods and calling for boots to be placed on cars that are parked lawfully outside the owners' homes. At least one car was booted Wednesday after its plates were scanned in a patrol sweep on Donner Way, near Emigration Canyon, Mays said.

Still, most of the enforcement will focus on downtown parking because "that's where the people are," Mays said. On Thursday morning, one block from Platis' car, another car sat booted in a metered space.

"These are people who consciously decided not to pay [their tickets] and ignored all the reminders," Mays said.