Tag and tow time for drivers parked illegally during downtown rush hour
Posted October 5, 2015 6:16 am.
Last Updated October 5, 2015 8:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto police are out in full force on Monday, targeting drivers who park illegally on rush-hour routes. Park illegally, and it’s tow time for you.
With the latest “tag and tow” blitz, police will be tagging and towing vehicles parked or stopped illegally on major streets bound by Dufferin Street, Bloor Street, Don Valley Parkway and Lake Shore Boulevard.
The blitz aims to combat gridlock by ticketing and towing vehicles that obstruct rush-hour routes.
“We’re having a blitz to remind people your behaviour has to change permanently, not for a couple of weeks,” Mayor John Tory told 680 NEWS on Monday morning.
No stopping, no parking in busy lanes of traffic during rush hour downtown or anywhere else in the city. You will be towed and ticketed.”
Last month, Tory said it is “selfish” and “unacceptable” for anyone who chooses to park illegally and block traffic on city roads, adding this is the only way to make the message clear to drivers.
Listen to the full interview with Tory below:
Having a car tagged and towed comes at a hefty price tag for drivers.
A $150 fine will apply for standing, stopping or parking illegally on rush-hour roads between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Drivers whose vehicles are towed away will also face a towing fee of $200 and daily storage of $80.
During the last tag and tow blitz earlier this year, drivers faced a fine of up to $230 to get back their vehicle, while delivery trucks faced as much as $1,000.
“We are not talking chump change here,” Tory said.
The mayor said police are having some success with the “tag and tow” campaign but “we’re going to keep at this because people have told me they just don’t want to be sitting in traffic jams, and it also causes accidents when you have this cars sitting, blocking a lane of traffic.”
Police have issued more than 61,000 tickets and towed over 12,000 vehicles since the campaign started in January. Around 960 of the vehicles had out-of-province licence plates.
