Andrew Lloyd left his Vauxhall Corsa in Mount Preston Street, North Leeds, on a denuded strip of road interrupting double yellow lines while he went to pick up his girlfriend. When he got back he had a parking ticket.
Now the council says he should have known the double yellows were "continuous" – in effect travelling under the new tarmac – and it refuses to drop the £30 fine.
The Leeds Metropolitan University student has until tomorrow to pay it before it is doubled.
But he said: "How can they be yellow lines if they go under the tarmac and no-one can see them? It is quite wrong of the council to do this – I will take this all the way."
Mr Lloyd, 25, said: "There were no signs to say I could get a ticket. I thought it was quite legal. I thought the council would have painted the double yellow lines again or put up a warning sign."
He wrote to Leeds City Council pointing out the lack of warning signs but the council replied saying: "No signs are required for double yellow lines to be enforceable as they simply mean "No waiting at any time". The part of the road where your vehicle was parked had some road work done in it recently. However the double yellow lines have no T-bar to confirm the end of the yellow lines, therefore the double yellow lines are continuous yellow lines."
Tony Vickers, of the Association of British Drivers, said the council's actions were illegal.
"If you want to enforce the law you must supply the correct signage," he said.
"If it is not correct, they have no right to do this – you shouldn't have to imagine the lines are there."