Committee approves increased fine for illegal rush-hour parking
Posted January 4, 2012 3:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – Reaction at City Hall is mixed, after Toronto’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee approved a $150 fine in a 3-2 vote for drivers who block live lanes during rush hour by parking or stopping illegally, Wednesday morning.
“The 150 dollars is a proportionate response. It’s a stiff fine. If during rush hour, you get 150 dollar ticket, and you get a tow, you’re going to think twice before you do it again,” said committee chair and Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong.
The fine will first need to be approved by city council two weeks from now, before it comes into law.
If they vote in favour of the increase, it would mean drivers who park illegally during rush could face a $150 ticket. However, councillors say it won’t change anything if it’s not enforced.
“It’s not the penalty that acts as a deterrent, but it’s the certainty of apprehension and prosecution,” said Councillor John Parker.
“One of those things that politicians do so that they can go home and tell their constituents that they’ve confronted a problem and they’ve dealt with it, and they’ve dealt it with by raising the fine,” he added.
“It’s an issue very much of not putting the resources of parking enforcement where they should be, which is out on the main streets during rush hour, to keep those routes going,” said committee vice-chair Councillor David Shiner, adding that the offending vehicles should simply be booted out.
“The Police Services doesn’t support this, and neither does city staff. We’re trying to move traffic. Putting a boot on it kind of makes that a little bit more difficult,” replied Minnan-Wong.
Others, meanwhile, said they would accept the vote.
“This takes seriously the issue of gridlock in our city and traffic, the inconvenience that it is and the impact of quality of life,” said Councillor Michael Layton, who originally pushed for a $500 fine.
680News reporter Carl Hanstke spoke to one man who parked briefly to grab a coffee.
“That’s a pretty wild fine, yeah,” he said. “It would be a different decision when I get my coffee, that’s for sure.”
The increase is seen as a way of unclogging live lanes during rush hour (defined as 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.) by discouraging them from parking illegally or stopping in no-stopping zones.
Under the new rules drivers who park in a bike lane at any time of day would also receive a $150 ticket.
With the final approval, Toronto would have the most expensive rush hour traffic fines in North America.
