New Toronto parking rules kick in next week | GTAMotorcycle.com

New Toronto parking rules kick in next week

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iFly55

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http://www.680news.com/2014/01/17/exclusive-new-toronto-parking-rules-kick-in-next-week/

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EXCLUSIVE: New Toronto parking rules kick in next week
Toronto Staff Jan 17, 2014 04:13:46 PM

CityNews has learned Toronto parking enforcement officers are about to be given new powers that could ding your wallet and leave you asking, “Dude, where’s my car?”

Under the new rules the city will be able to tow your vehicle if you have three undisputed, unpaid tickets on your record and a fourth is being issued. Click here for a map of where cars end up once they’re towed.

There will be a 14-day grace period to pay outstanding tickets before that new law kicks in on Thursday — two days after the city announces the changes.

Parking officers will also be able to issue tickets for expired licence plate tags on parked cars. Previously, police pulled cars over to issue that fine.

And tickets for parking on busy streets during rush hour will more than double to a $150 fixed fine, meaning a judge can’t discount a disputed fine. The old charge was $60.

Rush hour parking bans apply from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday.

“The steps that we are taking to raise the fines will send the message to delivery trucks and other individuals who park illegally to say, ‘You may not care about everybody else, but if you care about your own pocket book, make a better decision,’ ” Coun. Josh Matlow told CityNews.

Brian Lawrie, Founder of Pointt’s paralegal services, says the laws aren’t in place to tackle congestion, but instead to wrest hard-earned money from citizens.

“They are using it to increase taxation and it’s quite plain to everybody that that’s the purpose,” he told CityNews.

He also thinks towing vehicles after a few unpaid tickets is extreme.

“It’s an unfair punishment for something that really is a minor, nuisance type of violation.”

Reaction was mixed online, with some calling it a blatant cash grab, and others saying the threat of being towed is the only way to get drivers to pony up and pay their outstanding tickets.
 
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I'm all for the tougher rush hour parking and stopping laws. So annoying when butthead drivers pull over and sit while a line of cars behind have to go around.
 
I thought businesses like couriers, etc. just go to police HQ and get the tickets cancelled.
 
I have no problem with these "new" rules... One thing they should do is patrol parking lots more. There's always aholes parked illegally "just for a couple of minutes".

And yes... On duty couriers and delivery trucks get their tickets canceled, it's a big waste of time.
 
The best is seeing Canada Post trucks being ticketed parking fines. Your paying a parking enforcement office to ticket a crown corporation to pay the municipal government. They should just average out the yearly fine and cut a cheque so they're not wasting resources from both sides that the tax payer pays for.
 
Sunspark said:
I thought businesses like couriers, etc. just go to police HQ and get the tickets cancelled.
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Cancelled? No, they negotiate a lower settlement for the bulk ticket fines.

This change only addresses one issue that effects traffic, and does that imperfectly. If the vehicles aren't towed immediately, then the problem isn't really alleviated. Also, as I see it, the semi permanent blockages caused by construction hoardings, that are pushing pedestrian traffic into the street and causing lane closures, are far more of an ongoing issue. For example what wingnut decided that it was reasonable to park construction equipment on Yonge northbound, north of Front, blocking one or two lanes for weeks?
 
Just pretend that you're handicapped and get a sticker like all those other people.
That's something that's really riled me, since my mother-in-law was wheelchair bound.
All it would take would be a parking control officer to wander around a bit in a downtown area for a month, e.g. around Metro Hall, and note sticker numbers that are there daily, and then cross check them against the owners.
I've seen people lugging heavy equipment for their job out of the trunk, and take it six or seven blocks away. Meanwhile, they're parked in a rush hour route blocking traffic, while the parking lot beside them, is forced to reserve an empty spot.


Boy, it didn't take long for the war on the car to get rolling again, did it?
 
Makes perfect sense.

$150 parking fine during rush hour.

$155 for texting while driving any time of the day.
 
Rob MacLennan said:
If so, then it's a waste of resources to ticket them in the first place.
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I agree... I've seen the UPS guy walk out the back of his truck with a package in his hand and a meter maid writing a ticket. I told the UPS guy that he's getting a ticket.. he kind of smirked and said that he knows. They are writing these tickets knowing they will be canceled... just to pad their numbers.



My favorite part of that PDF is:

21.0 OUT-OF-PROVINCE LICENCE PLATES/TRIP PERMITS

Until legislation is amended, we are unable to obtain a conviction against vehicle owner registered outside of Ontario.
Requests for Trial (RFTs) - ownership information cannot be obtained in time to process Request for Trial.
This condition may change in the future for certain provinces/states.
Accept payments if offered. The IVR system will accept payment on out-of-province tickets.
 
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Splash said:
I agree... I've seen the UPS guy walk out the back of his truck with a package in his hand and a meter maid writing a ticket. I told the UPS guy that he's getting a ticket.. he kind of smirked and said that he knows. They are writing these tickets knowing they will be canceled... just to pad their numbers.
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Sounds like some of that 'gravy', that Ford keeps ranting about getting rid of. It costs the city money, in a parking enforcement officer who could actually be writing valid tickets, and costs the couriers money, in the salary of someone who has to have the tickets vacated.

My statement about the amounts owed being negotiated was based on multiple news reports, over the last two days, that reported on the increase in fines.
 
Lol pure right wing cash grab. Raising taxes to cover the costs looks bad to their constituents (people who don't wanna pay taxes) so they do it by adding/raising "user fees" and fines. One way or another, the citizens get to pay the same, whether it's through municipal taxes or higher rates for courier services :cool:
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Lol pure right wing cash grab. Raising taxes to cover the costs looks bad to their constituents (people who don't wanna pay taxes) so they do it by adding/raising "user fees" and fines. One way or another, the citizens get to pay the same, whether it's through municipal taxes or higher rates for courier services :cool:
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Where is the right wing in all of this? Ford's power was stripped, the Fiberals are in power Provincially, and it's out of the Federal Government's mandate.
 
Baggsy said:
Where is the right wing in all of this? Ford's power was stripped, the Fiberals are in power Provincially, and it's out of the Federal Government's mandate.
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They are moderate right on a global scale (we are just a bit skewed due to the proximity to the US) and if Ford's "gravy train" campaign did anything, it was to scare the council into getting creative with their taxation.
 
FiReSTaRT said:
They are moderate right on a global scale (we are just a bit skewed due to the proximity to the US) and if Ford's "gravy train" campaign did anything, it was to scare the council into getting creative with their taxation.
Click to expand...

Well it definitely confuses me when you start calling the NDP right wing ;)
 
Baggsy said:
Well it definitely confuses me when you start calling the NDP right wing ;)
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We were discussing the party you were referring to as "the Fiberals".. As for the NDP, I refer to them as "dumb socialists" (I don't consider socialism to be dumb, but NDP's take on it is a different story...)
 
Splash said:
Canceled? Yes. All they have to do is prove they were making a delivery at the time of the ticket and the ticket will be thrown out. Page 10 http://ticketsave.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/backgroundfile-31301.pdf
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That's ********. They should have to follow the same rules as everyone else.

I've complained about a Tim Horton's transport truck that blocks an entire alley for 3 hours a day on numerous occasions. The store even has it's own parking lot. Nothing ever happened. It idles the entire time, too.

Traffic gets backed up on St. Clair due to delivery trucks all the time.
 
The rush hour fine is great but the rest is complete BS. The outstanding parking tickets policy is especially BS. I used to get ticketed on my old street a lot but didn't have much of a choice because we had three cars in the household. I would let the tickets accumulate and then pay the fine + fees at plate renewal time. This means I'm giving them MORE money than if I were to pay each ticket immediately. So why do they want to tow my car when I'm basically promising to pay more money? I can't run from the tickets and keep renewing my plate stickers so it's plainly obvious this is a dirty cash grab.
 
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